Our Story: Bringing Fresh, Specialty-Grade Coffee to Chicago
CBC Roasters began with a simple belief: coffee is more than just a morning ritual—it's an experience to be savored. Since 2017, we've been roasting small-batch, specialty-grade coffee in Arlington Heights, serving coffee enthusiasts throughout the greater Chicago area with a commitment to freshness, quality, and transparency that sets us apart from other roasters.
From Chicago to Arlington Heights: Finding Our Home
After moving from Chicago to the northwest suburbs, we fell in love with the Arlington Heights community. The warmth of the neighbors, the vibrant local business scene, and the genuine appreciation for quality craftsmanship made it clear—this was where CBC Roasters belonged. We opened our doors at 541 West Golf Road in 2017, and from day one, Arlington Heights has embraced us as one of their own.
What started as a passion project has grown into a thriving specialty coffee roastery, but we've never forgotten our roots. We're not just a business in Arlington Heights—we're part of the fabric of this community. We know our customers by name, we support local events, and we take pride in being the neighborhood coffee roaster that Chicago's northwest suburbs can call their own.
Our Roasting Philosophy: Fresh, Never Pre-Roasted
Walk into most coffee shops, and you're drinking beans that were roasted weeks or even months ago. At CBC Roasters, we do things differently. We roast every bag to order—never pre-roasted, always fresh. This means we don't roast a single bean until you place your order. Your coffee is typically roasted within 2-3 days of shipping, ensuring you experience coffee at its absolute peak flavor.
Our roasting facility houses two precision drum roasters—a 5kg and a 12kg—allowing us to maintain the small-batch approach that's essential for quality control. Our typical batch size is just 15 pounds, which means every roast receives meticulous attention. We're not trying to be the biggest coffee roaster in Chicago; we're focused on being the best.
At CBC Roasters, we've developed our own proprietary roasting protocols based on Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) standards—but we take it to a true artisan level. Every coffee we roast follows a specific profile developed through rigorous testing and cupping sessions. Our team conducts post-roast quality control on every batch—color testing, defect inspection, and quarterly re-cuppings to adjust for crop variations. All our roasters are trained on these exacting protocols, with our lead roaster Isabel demonstrating the highest level of proficiency. This level of care and artisan craftsmanship simply isn't possible with large-scale commercial roasting.
Specialty-Grade Only: Our 83.5+ Commitment
Not all coffee is created equal. The Specialty Coffee Association scores coffee on a 100-point scale, and only coffee scoring 80 or above earns the "specialty-grade" designation. At CBC Roasters, we go further: we only source beans scoring 83.5 or higher.
This commitment means we're sourcing from the top 10% of coffee produced worldwide. These aren't commodity beans—they're exceptional coffees with unique flavor profiles, grown at high altitudes, carefully processed, and meticulously sorted to remove defects. When you buy from CBC Roasters, you're getting coffee that's been evaluated to meet rigorous specialty standards, then roasted using our proprietary artisan protocols—not just marketing claims, but genuine quality from green bean to your cup.
Ethical Sourcing: Relationships Over Transactions
Great coffee starts at the farm, and we believe in building relationships, not just placing orders. We work with carefully vetted specialty coffee importers who share our commitment to fair pricing, sustainability, and traceability. Beyond importers, we've established direct relationships with farms in Guatemala and Colombia, allowing us to ensure farmers receive fair compensation and sustainable practices are followed.
Every origin we offer has a story—the farmers who grew it, the region's unique terroir, the processing method that developed its flavor. We maintain detailed documentation on every coffee we source, and we're always happy to share these stories with our customers. Transparency isn't just a buzzword for us; it's how we operate.
We store 65-100 pounds of each origin in our climate-controlled facility, rotating inventory to ensure we're always working with current-crop beans. Our goal is to move through each origin within six months, aligning with harvest cycles to guarantee you're getting the freshest green coffee before it even touches our roasters.
Meet Our Team: Artisan Expertise
Behind every exceptional cup of CBC Roasters coffee is a team of dedicated coffee professionals who bring expertise, passion, and attention to detail to their craft.
Dave Vergel, founder and president, oversees operations and the overall vision for CBC Roasters. Dave developed CBC Roasters' proprietary roasting protocols based on SCA standards, elevating them to a true artisan level. His passion for specialty coffee and commitment to the Arlington Heights community drives everything we do.
Isabel Lopez, our lead roaster and head barista, demonstrates the highest level of proficiency in our roasting protocols. Isabel oversees our roasting operations, develops our roast profiles, and ensures every batch meets our exacting standards. Her expertise in coffee evaluation and roasting technique is the foundation of our quality.
Daelynn Campos serves as our apprentice roaster and inventory specialist. Daelynn is learning the craft of specialty coffee roasting under Isabel's mentorship, assists with roasting operations, and brings a keen palate to our quality control process. Her attention to detail ensures consistency across every batch.
David J. Vergel, Director of Sales and U.S. Army veteran, leads our sales strategy and builds relationships with wholesale partners throughout the Chicago area. David served in the Army Corps of Engineers, bringing the same discipline, precision, and problem-solving skills to CBC Roasters' growth. His expertise helps cafes, restaurants, and businesses discover how CBC Roasters can elevate their coffee programs.
Laura Vergel, Director of HR and Customer Service, ensures every customer interaction reflects our commitment to excellence. Whether you're reaching out with questions, placing your first order, or visiting our facility, Laura and our customer service team are here to help.
Joe Bozek, Director of Warehousing and Logistics, manages our supply chain, green coffee inventory, and distribution operations. Joe ensures our beans are stored properly, orders are fulfilled efficiently, and deliveries reach customers on time.
Liz Bozek, Warehouse Manager, oversees day-to-day warehouse operations, inventory management, and order fulfillment. Liz's organizational skills keep our operations running smoothly and ensure every order is packed with care.
Together, our team works to ensure your coffee experience is exceptional from order to cup, bringing artisan craftsmanship and genuine care to every bag we roast.
Our Selection: 16+ Origins, 10+ Blends
Variety matters when you're exploring specialty coffee. We maintain over 16 single-origin coffees and 10 specialty blends in rotation, offering one of the most diverse selections of any Chicago-area roaster.
Our single origins span the coffee-growing world—from the bright, citrusy profiles of Ethiopian and Costa Rican beans to the rich, chocolatey notes of Guatemalan and Brazilian coffees. Each origin is roasted to highlight its unique characteristics, whether that's a medium-light roast to showcase floral and fruity notes or a darker roast to develop caramelized sweetness and body.
Our specialty blends are carefully crafted using a wet-blending approach, where we combine compatible green beans and roast them together to create harmonious, complex flavor profiles. Each blend goes through 3-5 test batches and blind cupping sessions before it earns a place in our lineup. We review our blends quarterly to adjust for crop variations, ensuring consistency year-round.
Whether you prefer the bright acidity of a light roast, the balanced sweetness of a medium roast, or the bold richness of a dark roast, we have something for every palate. About 30% of our customers prefer medium-light roasts, 30% prefer medium, and 40% prefer dark—and we're proud to serve all three camps with exceptional options.
Beyond Coffee: Premium Teas
While coffee is our passion, we also offer a curated selection of premium teas—black, green, herbal, and pu-erh varieties. All our teas are sustainably sourced and selected for quality and flavor, providing another way for our customers to enjoy exceptional beverages from CBC Roasters.
Visit Us: An Open-Door Policy
We believe transparency means more than just sharing information—it means opening our doors. Unlike many roasters, we welcome visitors to our Arlington Heights facility to see our roasting process firsthand, meet our team, and learn about specialty coffee.
Visit us at:
541 West Golf Road
Arlington Heights, IL 60005
Hours:
Tuesday – Friday: 12:00 PM – 5:00 PM
(Roasting typically happens 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM)
Stop by to purchase coffee, ask questions, watch us roast, or simply talk coffee with people who share your passion. No appointment necessary—just walk in and say hello. We love sharing our craft with the Chicago coffee community, and there's nothing quite like seeing (and smelling!) fresh coffee being roasted.
Serving Chicago's Coffee Community
From our home base in Arlington Heights, we serve coffee lovers throughout Chicagoland—whether you're ordering online for delivery, visiting us in person, or partnering with us as a wholesale customer. We're proud to be part of Chicago's vibrant specialty coffee scene, and we're committed to raising the bar for what fresh, quality coffee should be.
We also partner with local cafes, restaurants, and businesses throughout the Chicago area, providing wholesale coffee, custom blends, and white-label solutions. Our wholesale partners appreciate our flexibility, consistency, and commitment to freshness—qualities that help their businesses thrive.
What's Next for CBC Roasters
We're always evolving. We're currently exploring a larger facility that will allow us to expand our cafe space, increase production capacity, and continue serving the growing demand for fresh, specialty-grade coffee in the Chicago area. We're also developing new seasonal blends, expanding our K-Cup offerings, and researching eco-friendly packaging alternatives to reduce our environmental impact.
As a family-owned business with deep roots in both the Arlington Heights community and military service, we're committed to the values of excellence, integrity, and service that guide everything we do. But no matter how much we grow, our core values remain unchanged: roast-to-order freshness, specialty-grade quality, ethical sourcing, and genuine connection with our Arlington Heights and Chicago communities.
Join the CBC Roasters Family
Whether you're a longtime specialty coffee enthusiast or just beginning to explore beyond grocery store beans, we invite you to experience the CBC Roasters difference. Order online, visit our Arlington Heights facility, or reach out with questions—we're here to help you discover what truly fresh, specialty-grade coffee tastes like.
Ready to taste the difference? Explore our coffee selection, read our FAQ, or contact us to learn more. We can't wait to share our passion for exceptional coffee with you.
CBC Roasters – Family-owned, veteran-connected specialty coffee roaster in Arlington Heights, proudly serving the greater Chicago area since 2017.