Fourteener Coffee Club
At a glance
- Roasts inBoulder, CO
- Founded2010
- Founded byVajra Rich and Cara Rich
- CafesBoulder
- VisitorsRoastery not open to visitors
Boxcar Coffee Roasters is one of the beloved local roasters we follow in Colorado: an independent roaster based in Boulder, founded in 2010. Here is what their own pages and public sources say about them, in our words.
Their story
Husband and wife Vajra and Cara Rich started Boxcar in 2010 to build a top-tier roasting company in their hometown of Boulder. Boxcar began as a roastery only, supplying local restaurants and cafes, then opened its first cafe on the quiet east end of Pearl Street in downtown Boulder. Learning to brew at high altitude pushed Vajra to study the science of extraction, which led to the company's own brewing method, the Boilermakr.
In every year of business, Boxcar has bought most of its coffee from Mauricio Salaverria and his team at Divisadero Farms in El Salvador, paying well above the C market or Fair Trade price. The roasting team works on heavily modified vintage Probat drum roasters paired with modern roasting software. The company has grown to about 50 coffee professionals running a cafe, a bakery and a dedicated roastery and training lab that supplies wholesale accounts around the country.
After 15 years, Boxcar says long relationships with wholesale partners, producers and staff who have been there from the start are what have kept it going. Its buying program is built around seasonality so the lineup stays fresh.
What they roast
House blends include Stella (house espresso), Bareknuckle, No.7 and Cherrypicker. Single origins on the list when we checked: Kenya Carson Estate Natural, El Salvador Finca Himalaya, Ethiopia Layo Teraga, Ethiopia Chelbesa Danche and Ethiopia Habtamu Fikadu. Stella is the house espresso. Tatacoa decaf; method not stated on the listing. Offerings change with the seasons, so this is what their own pages listed on 2026-09-27.
Where to drink it
The roastery is by appointment only; the Pearl Street cafe and the Mesa Cafe and Kitchen on South Broadway are open to the public.
- Pearl Cafe: 1825 B Pearl St, Boulder
- Mesa Cafe and Kitchen: 637 S Broadway, Ste R, Boulder
Address
3600 Pearl St, Unit 1, Boulder, CO 80301
Roastery and training lab, visits by appointment only.
Why buying from Boxcar Coffee Roasters matters here
The founders built Boxcar in their hometown of Boulder, starting by roasting for local restaurants and cafes. Boxcar runs a cafe on Pearl Street, the Mesa Cafe and Kitchen with a bakery on South Broadway, and a roastery and training lab on east Pearl Street, all in Boulder. The company employs a team of about 50 people.
Every bag bought from a Boulder roaster pays roasting and cafe wages in Colorado, and the coffee reaches you days after roasting instead of months. That is the reason the club exists. Why local roasters matter.
About this listing
Listed as a local favorite. A listing does not mean Boxcar Coffee Roasters is part of the club.
Are you Boxcar Coffee Roasters? Email roasters@fourteenercoffeeclub.com to correct or remove this page.
More Colorado roasters
- Conscious Coffees, Boulder
- OZO Coffee, Boulder
- Ampersand Coffee Roasters, Boulder