A leader in pricing, strategy, and operations for specialty coffee roasters.

Rarely is it coffee that holds a roastery back. More often, it’s a lack of structure in three critical areas of the business.

People

Incredible coffee, top-of-the-line equipment, and beautiful branding without the right people to bring your vision to life leaves you running in place.

Process

Roasteries are both product companies and factories. Both need bulletproof processes to succeed in an incredibly competitive landscape.

Profit

The phrase, “The coffee business is tough,” is both common and a misunderstanding of the industry. In reality, our business is quite simple — it’s just tough without profit.

We developed the Core 7—a framework that helps roastery owners build smarter, more profitable businesses by focusing on People, Processes, and Profit. In the last 9 years, it’s helped roasters double net profit, create new sales channels, and make strategic business decisions.

Roastery owners who master the Core 7 don’t follow the pack—they lead it.

What’s It Like to Work With Pomelo

Pre-Order The Owner’s Manual Book

Pre-Order The Owner’s Manual Book

Industry Leaders Say 👇👇👇

“A grounded and practical guide for roasters ready to build systems that last…”

Rachel Apple – Founder, Raise the Bar Coffee Inc. | Consultant, COE & USBC Head Judge

“…His insights—shaped by years of experience…are invaluable….”

Xavier Alexander - Co-Founder of Metric Coffee

“…Witty yet demanding, insightful yet practical, Luke pushes you to rethink your approach.”

Philipp Schallberger - Sourcing, Roasting, Storytelling, Partner of Kaffeemacher, Switzerland

“…The Owner’s Manual…gives real…advice…to make a roastery work long-term…”

Carly Green - Sourcing & Quality Consultant and Founder of Cherry Love Coffee

“Luke Waite has written a master class in operating a coffee roasting business…”

Spencer Turer - Vice President at Coffee Enterprises and Founder of the Coffee Writers Guild

Listen

A podcast a little about coffee, mostly about good work people in coffee do.

Some past guests have been:

Lucia Solis - Luxia Coffee

Kat Melheim - Roaster Kat & Algrano

Philipp Shcallberger - Kaffeemacher

Lucia Bawot - Author & Founder of SANA

Kenzel Fallen - Three Keys Coffee

Xavier Alexander - Metric Coffee

  • Chris Kornman of Royal Coffee and the host of Sourced: The Coffee Podcast interviewed Luke Waite about his new book.

    They covered the topics of good being the enemy of great and vice versa, as well as whether it makes sense to scale your roastery.

    Listen Here

  • Bill from San Franciscan Roaster Co. had Luke Waite on his podcast, Coffee Roasting Legends, to chat about his forthcoming book, the coffee business, and what it means to say yes to opportunity and receive affirmation from the folks around us who encourage us to take the next step.

    Listen Here

  • David from Buy The Drip interviewed Luke Waite on the ins and outs of running a coffee roasting business, ensuring your margins are in your favor, and how anyone can get a quick win through iterative process optimization.

    Have a listen below!

    Listen Here

  • Lucia Solis broke her rule of “no guests” to better understand both ends of the supply circle a little better.

    Thanks for making an exception and facilitating a great conversation.

    Support her podcast work here.

    Attend one of her Fermentation Training Camps (FTC’s) here.

    Listen Here

  • John Wilt of the Actually Good Coffee Podcast had Luke Waite on his podcast to chat about his new book, The Owners Manual.

    Thank you for asking inquisitive questions that serve roasters.

    We hope you enjoy the conversation!

    Listen Here

  • Chris Deferio had me on his podcast to share about my new book written for owners of coffee roasteries.

    Thanks for being a generous host and asking probative and thoughtful questions to help owners.

    Listen Here

  • GFDGW is an interview series where we interview folks throughout the coffee supply circle—from producers, exporters, importers and nearly everyone in between. The goal is to inspire you to bring more good into the world through your work, whether it’s in coffee or not.

    Listen Here

  • Luke was interviewed on the Marketing Should Be Fun podcast and talked about how he helps coffee roasters get profitable and the loneliness that often comes with being an owner.

    Listen Here

  • While we were at coffee fest chicago, our owner Luke was interviewed by Chris Deferio. They talked about roasting operations, growing profit in your coffee roaster and how to allow your identity to guide the decisions you make within your coffee roaster. Listen to the full podcast here.

    Listen Here

  • We had the chance to share out take on roasting operations at coffee fest in chicago 2022. If you missed it, don’t fret. We recorded it for you here. If you’d like the deck that goes with this presentation, send us an email at pomelocoffee@gmail.com.

    Listen Here

  • After our roasting operations session at coffee fest, we shared the stage with 5 coffee roasters from all over the country and we also recorded that session for you as well here.

    Listen Here

A sanctuary for camaraderie, candid feedback, and professional development.

Who We’ve Worked With

Sakrid Coffee + Purefi Coffee Roaster + Starved Rock Roasting Company + Haven Coffee Roaster + New Math Coffee Roaster + Sidecar Coffee + Good Intentions Coffee + Third Cup + Rite Coffee + Ceramic Coffee + Three Waves Coffee + Portrait Coffee + Reverie Roasters + Iron and Kin + Three Keys Coffee + Verb Coffee Roaster + Be Bright Coffee + Yellowstone Coffee Roaster + Theory Coffee Roaster + Swisscontact + Drift Coffee & Kitchen + Swings Coffee +

Sakrid Coffee + Purefi Coffee Roaster + Starved Rock Roasting Company + Haven Coffee Roaster + New Math Coffee Roaster + Sidecar Coffee + Good Intentions Coffee + Third Cup + Rite Coffee + Ceramic Coffee + Three Waves Coffee + Portrait Coffee + Reverie Roasters + Iron and Kin + Three Keys Coffee + Verb Coffee Roaster + Be Bright Coffee + Yellowstone Coffee Roaster + Theory Coffee Roaster + Swisscontact + Drift Coffee & Kitchen + Swings Coffee +

Illinois + Texas + Florida + Iowa + Idaho + California + Georgia + Kansas + North Carolina + Montana + Virginia + Honduras +

Illinois + Texas + Florida + Iowa + Idaho + California + Georgia + Kansas + North Carolina + Montana + Virginia + Honduras +

Where We’ve Worked

Articles

Featured
No Money Left Behind: Renting Time
No Money Left Behind: Renting Time

First up, we have renting time on your roaster. Often, roasters purchase roasters that significantly exceed their current or projected capacity and need. As a result, the roaster is left sitting idle more often than not. We both know that if your roaster isn’t spinning, it’s depreciating and costing you money instead of making you money.

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2024 Reflections - A Culmination
2024 Reflections - A Culmination

This year, like all the others, was a lot. If I’m being honest, it felt like the future was very bright and quite dim at other times. But more than anything this year was a culmination of the last 4-5 years of dreams and visions that I’ve had for both The Lev Co and Pomelo. Here’s why this year felt like a culmination:

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Junto 1 Reflections
Junto 1 Reflections

Last year around this time, I had a conversation with a client where they asked if I knew of any groups specifically for owners of roasteries? I sheepishly responded by saying, ‘I didn't’ know of any roastery owners groups but that I’d considered starting something like it for a few years.’ After that conversation, I put the thought of starting and running a cohort for roastery owners up on my mental shelf.

Read More →