A coffee bean’s unique qualities can be traced back to its origin. The same is true about a coffee roaster.

Collective Coffee Roasters’ origin story begins with its co-founders, Garret and Delynn Kamps, discovering their love for specialty coffee while living in Reno. As their passion for quality grew, the couple began buying beans from local roasters, exploring the various tastes and aromas, and learning more about the craft.

When they moved back home to Elko, however, they found that the city was devoid of specialty coffee. So they had beans shipped all the way from San Francisco, which proved to be both expensive and inconvenient. Innovatively, Delynn started roasting coffee at home with a popcorn maker before eventually buying a home roaster. Soon after that, friends began asking for these homemade roasts, and the requests became more frequent. So the Kamps joined with a couple others to form a company of coffee lovers on a mission to bring specialty roasts to their city.

That’s when Collective Coffee Roasters was born.

In 2017, CCR bought its commercial roaster and set it up in a storage closet at Dreez Restaurant, which was their one and only customer at the time. After developing CCR’s espresso blend, they began to supply some of Elko’s local coffee shops with specialty beans. As their business grew, more coffee lovers joined the CCR team. The community of “coffee people” connected to CCR was growing, too.

Roasting is both an art and a science. That’s what Delynn loves most about the process—tweaking variables, measuring results, creating something beautiful to share with others. Personally, she prefers African beans, especially Burundi, prepared with a V70 pour over. Garret’s passion lies on the sourcing side—learning the stories of CCR’s suppliers and helping local growers who strive for quality, innovation, and sustainability. He likes coffees that can be pulled as both an espresso shot and a pour over, then comparing the distinct flavors unlocked by these two brewing methods. It’s this kind of love for the craft that’s at the heart of coffee culture.

Coffee culture can be generally described as accepting and challenging, collaborative and welcoming. It’s a global community of people who value the connection that comes through coffee. And that culture is what CCR is creating in Elko today, inviting people to join them and savor the moment one cup at a time.