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Roast magazine has announced the finalists for its 23rd annual Roaster of the Year awards, with companies competing in Micro and Macro categories. The supplied report details four Micro finalists; the winners are scheduled to be announced Oct. 19 and featured in the magazine’s November/December 2026 issue.
The awards divide entrants by annual production: Micro Roasters roast less than 100,000 pounds of coffee, while Macro Roasters roast more than 100,000 pounds. Roast said finalists are listed alphabetically and that company information in its report came from each finalist’s award application. The supplied report identifies four Micro finalists: Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters, Dessert Oasis Coffee Roasters, Idle Hands Roasting Co. and Indie Coffee Roasters.
The applicants’ profiles describe a range of company sizes and approaches. Sacramento-based Chocolate Fish, founded in 2008, reports annual production of about 93,665 pounds. Michigan’s Dessert Oasis Coffee Roasters, founded in 2009, reports about 68,000 pounds. Salt Lake City’s Idle Hands, established in 2021, reports about 85,000 pounds, while Carmel, Indiana-based Indie Coffee Roasters, founded in 2018, reports 47,386 pounds across five locations.
The award criteria extend beyond coffee quality. Roast says judges consider sustainability, employee and community education, industry involvement, and diversity, inclusion and equity, among other factors. The company descriptions and operational details in the report are based on applications, rather than independently verified findings presented by the magazine.
How the Awards Judge Roasters
The finalists put attention on a broader set of issues in specialty coffee than roast quality alone. Under the criteria described by Roast, the award considers how businesses source and produce coffee, support employees and engage with their communities and the wider industry. That makes the competition relevant to coffee professionals and readers interested in how roasters describe their responsibilities across the supply chain.
The four Micro finalists also illustrate that the category includes businesses with different operating models, from multi-location retail and wholesale companies to a smaller six-person operation. Their application profiles describe efforts such as public coffee education, waste reduction, producer partnerships and staff development. These are company-reported practices; being named a finalist does not, by itself, establish that one approach has produced better outcomes than another.
The awards may also offer customers and industry peers a window into how participating roasters present their work. However, the announcement does not provide a comparative scoring breakdown, so readers cannot use the finalist list alone to rank the companies or assess individual judging results.
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Two Categories, One Award Cycle
Roast describes the competition as its 23rd annual Roaster of the Year awards. The Micro threshold is below 100,000 pounds roasted annually, and the Macro threshold is above that amount. The announcement does not specify how a company producing exactly 100,000 pounds would be categorized.
For this year’s Micro judging, Roast says a tie in the first round resulted in four finalists. It presents them in alphabetical order, not as a ranking. The application-based profiles include details on sourcing, roasting, training, environmental programs and community work, but the announcement does not publish judges’ individual comments or scores.
Roast also directs companies interested in competing in 2028 to the award criteria and application. The immediate milestone, though, is the announcement of the 2027 winners and their subsequent feature in the November/December 2026 issue.
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Judging Results Still Pending
The winners have not yet been announced in the supplied report, and it does not identify the judges, disclose finalist scores or explain how the tie was resolved beyond stating that it occurred in the first round. The announcement gives no separate list of Macro finalists in the source material provided here, so their names and number cannot be reported from this material.
The company profiles are drawn from award applications, according to Roast. The report does not describe an independent audit of production totals, sourcing claims or sustainability programs. Those details should therefore be understood as information submitted by the companies, not as findings independently confirmed in the announcement. It is also unclear whether additional judging or verification takes place after finalist selection.
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Winners Due October 19
Roast has scheduled the announcement of one winner in each category for Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. It says both winners will be featured in the magazine’s November/December 2026 issue. Until that announcement, the listed finalists remain in contention, and no outcome should be inferred from their alphabetical order.
Roasters considering a future entry can consult the criteria and application for the 2028 competition, which Roast links in its announcement. Further details about the judging process, the Macro finalists and the selected winners may become available with the results or the magazine feature; the source material does not say when or whether a full scoring breakdown will be published.
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Key Questions
Who are the 2027 Micro Roaster of the Year finalists?
The four finalists listed in alphabetical order are Chocolate Fish Coffee Roasters, Dessert Oasis Coffee Roasters, Idle Hands Roasting Co. and Indie Coffee Roasters. Roast said the fourth finalist resulted from a tie in the first round of judging.
When will the winners be announced?
Roast scheduled the winner announcement for Monday, Oct. 19, 2026. The winners are also due to be featured in the magazine’s November/December 2026 issue.
How are Micro and Macro roasters defined?
The award defines Micro Roasters as companies roasting less than 100,000 pounds annually and Macro Roasters as companies roasting more than 100,000 pounds annually. The announcement does not state how production of exactly 100,000 pounds is classified.
What does the award evaluate?
Roast says the criteria include coffee quality, sustainability, employee and community education, industry involvement, and a commitment to diversity, inclusion and equity, among other factors.
Are the finalist profiles independently verified?
The report says its company information came from each company’s award application. It does not describe an independent audit, so application details should be attributed to the companies rather than treated as independently verified findings.
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