The Core
Roaster flags Ripe, Big, and Caramel in the cup.
DarkCaramel
Well-reviewed roaster
74CBI
$1.97/oz
Typical $1.44 to $2.75/oz
Limited comparison
Roaster · Alameda, CA
Highwire Coffee Roasters
On YouTube
Meet the roaster on camera
About the roasterShop tour
Ground Control Coffee Brewer @ Highwire Coffee Roasters, Oakland, CA
Eli Salomon · 12.8K views on YouTube
Watch on YouTubeCherrybook summary of the video
Founders of Highwire Coffee Roasters discuss their adoption of the Ground Control brewer across their cafes, detailing how the vacuum-brewing technology allows precise recipe tuning and consistent extraction for both hot batch brews and iced lattes.
Inside this video
From Eli Salomon:
“Ground Control was one of those things that once we discovered it, we really saw like, wow, this is distinctly different from other equipment on the market.”
“One of the things that I was drawn to with Ground Control is the ability to dial in specific recipes by coffee.”
“The resolution of control is very high in getting the textures and flavors you want out of coffee.”
Explore the videos
Videos by their credited creators. Playing a video connects to YouTube. Privacy
The roaster
7 lots in stock, mostly Mexico, El Salvador and Costa Rica.
- In stock
- 7
- House Index · limited data
- 67
- Freshness
- Batch roasted weekly · ships in ~2d
OriginsMexicoEl SalvadorCosta Rica
Roaster at a glance
- Tracked since
- July 202613 lots seen; 7 in stock now
- Origins
- 1 countryMexico
- Process mix
- Other 100%
- Sourcing
- 14% of lots name the producer or farm1 of 7
- Coverage
- 3 reviewer videos · 1 press mention · 2 Reddit threadsVideos and articles about the roaster, not by it
- Their channels
- Instagram ↗Linked from their own site
- Where to find them
- 9 locations, Alameda, CA1234 Park Street
- Merch
- 7 items in stock
How Cherrybook Index is calculatedavg coverage 26% · limited data
Coverage is below 50%. Available roaster-level evidence comes from Reddit. Per-lot evidence from SCA grades, Coffee Review entries, and public on-shop product ratings is limited across the catalog. With limited signal, scores are also pulled toward a neutral 50 baseline by the Cherrybook Index methodology, so lots can read flatter than the actual cup quality differences between them. The average Cherrybook Index therefore leans more heavily on roaster-level reputation than per-lot quality.
Roaster signals
Apply to every lot from this roaster.
- Reddit94/100weight 18%
- YouTube—weight 10%
Per-lot signals (averaged)
Vary across lots; averaged over 7 in-stock lots.
- SCA gradenot on file · weight 25%
- Coffee Review70/1001/7 lots · weight 20%
- On-shop ratingsnot on file · weight 12%
- Cherrybook reader ratingsnot on file · weight 30%
- Transparency22.9/1007/7 lots · weight 5%
Bonuses earned (per lot)
- sprudge7/7
- stale decay6/7
Base components are renormalized over whatever signals are available for each lot. SCA + Coffee Review are capped at 40% combined to keep the cupping story from dominating. Bonuses (accolades, awards, editorial coverage) and freshness decay are applied on top.
The catalog
7 in stock · 2 archived
Milk ChocolateAlmondBrown Sugar
Well-reviewed roaster
71CBI
$2.26/oz
Typical $1.60 to $3.05/oz
Limited comparison
Bauhaus
Think Sweet Roasted Notes, Full Body, and Dark Chocolate.
DarkDark Chocolate
Well-reviewed roaster
65CBI
$1.99/oz
Typical $1.44 to $2.75/oz
Limited comparison
Market Hall Blend
Think Chocolate, Smooth, and Full Bodied.
Chocolate
Well-reviewed roaster
65CBI
$1.99/oz
Typical $1.43 to $2.73/oz
Limited comparison
After Hours Decaf — Decaf
Think Sweet, Syrupy, and Dry Cocoa.
Sweet AromaticsCocoa Powder
Well-reviewed roaster
65CBI
$2.00/oz
Typical $1.42 to $2.71/oz
Limited comparison
Shadow Play
Roaster flags Heavy, Chocolaty, and Brown Sugar in the cup.
DarkCocoaBrown Sugar
Well-reviewed roaster
65CBI
$1.99/oz
Typical $1.44 to $2.75/oz
Limited comparison
After Hours — Decaf
Think Sweet, Syrupy, and Dry Cocoa.
Cocoa PowderOverall Sweet
Well-reviewed roaster
65CBI
$2.01/oz
Typical $1.44 to $2.74/oz
Limited comparison
Also available · subscriptions, sample packs, gear
Tightrope
Taste data is still sparse; open the detail page before judging this lot.
Well-reviewed roaster
69CBI
$1.97/oz
Conscientious Objector Organic
Not much signal yet; the detail page has what we know.
Well-reviewed roaster
69CBI
$2.01/oz
Single Origin Coffee Subscription
Not much signal yet; the detail page has what we know.
Well-reviewed roaster
69CBI
$1.91/oz
Archived (2)
Well-reviewed roaster
72CBI
$1.91/oz
Out of stock
OrangeMelonHoney
Well-reviewed roaster
71CBI
$2.04/oz
Out of stock
Community reputation · Reddit
Cult favorite· sentiment 94/100
Two Reddit posts give Highwire Coffee Roasters strongly favorable marks. One home barista said The Core produced an Americano better than Starbucks. Another called the Batak Sumatra the best coffee they had tried and praised its nuance, balance, and smoothness.
The Core AmericanoBatak Sumatrabalance and nuance
Threads cited (2)
- r/espresso · 15↑ · First americano from my rocket. 4 shots to learn. Three shots to dail in the highwire “the
First americano from my rocket. 4 shots to learn. Three shots to dail in the highwire “the core” roast. And it’s better then Starbucks.
- r/Coffee · 6↑ · Best coffee I have ever tried. Ever. What's yours?
I've tried quite a few coffees, from quite a few 3rd wave roasters. Stumptown Guatemala Finca El Injerto - Bourbon, etc.. I recently tried Highwire Coffee Roasters Batak Sumatra, and it is the best coffee I have ever tried. It is so good that I took an hour and a half out of my Saturday to get some fresh beans. It is s
Press · Sprudge
- Budding Bay Area Roasters Get A Boost At Highwire Coffee2015-02-26·sprudge
In the last ten years, the Bay Area has become a mecca for nascent coffee roasters looking to…
Flagship cafe
Alameda Highwire
1234 Park Street, Alameda, CA
Open in maps →One of nine Highwire Coffee Roasters cafes in the East Bay area.
For roasters
Cherrybook runs a monthly Roaster Spotlight Series featuring one roaster with an editorial piece and a giveaway. Interested in being featured? See the format or email josh@cherrybookcoffee.com.