We’ve worked with roasters and owners that have had huge impacts on the coffee industry – through roasting practices, sourcing practices, and more. But I don’t think we’ve ever worked with a roaster with a more storied coffee history than Kean Coffee, which is owned by Martin Diedrich. To our coffee fans that recognize that family name the answer is yes, that Diedrich.

In the 80s, while his brothers were working to bring the famous Diedrich roaster to the market, Martin pioneered the first American coffeehouse which he called Diedrich Coffee. Being the first of it’s kind, there were many hiccups along the way. There was no inspiration on what a coffeehouse in America might look like. Customers thought a cappuccino was an alcoholic beverage and training people to use something they had never heard of before – an espresso machine – wasn’t easy. Despite the challenges, the coffeehouse soon became a booming success, expanding to over 500 locations worldwide by 2000.

But soon after this explosion of growth, Martin moved back to his roots, creating Kean Coffee and rediscovering his passions of being a micro-roaster. He switched his focus from business to people. He now spends his time investing in his producers and employees and working to perfect each and every roast that has the Kean name on it.

Kean Coffee focuses on reducing waste from farm to cup, giving discounts to customers that bring their own cups, inviting customers to “skip the straw,” donating used burlap sacks and used grounds, and more. The OC Metro named them part of the “Green 15” for their conservation efforts and Earth Resource Foundation named them as a “Zero Waste” business. They regularly donate to local and national conservation groups and donate coffee to many non-profits.