Fourteener Coffee Club
At a glance
- Roasts inPueblo, CO
- Founded2004
- Founded byMike Hartkop and David Hartkop
- CafesPueblo and Colorado Springs
- VisitorsOpen to the public
Solar Roast Coffee is one of the beloved local roasters we follow in Colorado: an independent roaster based in Pueblo, founded in 2004. Here is what their own pages and public sources say about them, in our words.
Their story
In the summer of 2004 brothers Mike and David Hartkop built their first solar roaster, the Helios I, out of their parents' old satellite dish, 100 plastic mirrors and a broccoli strainer. It roasted about a pound at a time. Mike was an apprenticed roast master and David a special effects artist with an interest in alternative energy. Southern Oregon's short sunny season pushed them to tow their trailer roaster to Pueblo in 2007. They picked Pueblo for its size, low costs, strong sunshine and university, and opened their first coffee shop downtown that year with their parents as the first investors.
The Helios IV, running from early 2008, was 35 feet across and tracked the sun to roast up to 30 pounds per batch. By the end of 2009 the company had over 40 regular wholesale customers in the western states. A 2010 grant from the Pueblo Economic Development Corporation funded the Helios V, which went up on the shop roof in July 2012 and runs on a grid-tied solar panel array. Solar Roast says it operates the world's only commercial solar-powered roaster and burns no fossil fuel to roast.
What they roast
House blends include Hades Blend, Nightmare Before Coffee Blend, USS Pueblo Blend and Willow Springs Blend. Single origins on the list when we checked: Papua New Guinea, Bali, Sipi Falls, Sumatra, Honduras Natural, Costa Rica and India Robusta. Offerings change with the seasons, so this is what their own pages listed on 2026-09-28.
Where to drink it
It runs coffee houses in Pueblo and Colorado Springs.
- Main Street coffee house and bookstore: Main Street, Pueblo
- Northern Avenue: Northern Avenue, Pueblo
- Colorado Springs: Colorado Springs
Address
The roastery's street address is not published.
Why buying from Solar Roast Coffee matters here
The Main Street location in Pueblo combines a coffee house with an independent bookstore. The brothers have hosted art walks at the shop and revived a Buy Pueblo campaign to promote local businesses.
Every bag bought from a Pueblo 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 Solar Roast Coffee is part of the club.
Are you Solar Roast Coffee? Email coffee@fourteenercoffeeclub.com to correct or remove this page.
More Colorado roasters
- 3 Birds Coffee Co., Pueblo
- Mane Brew Coffee, Pueblo
- Story Coffee Company, Colorado Springs
By Joe McRose, Fourteener Coffee Club. Updated . Facts from Solar Roast Coffee's own pages and public sources, read 2026-09-28.