Our Story

New York roots. North Carolina craft. Family at the heart of every cup.

I’m Adam Ressa, founder of The Roast Father. I roast coffee in Mocksville, North Carolina, with a simple goal: make a cup with character, worth slowing down for and sharing.

Two worlds. One family.

I grew up in rural North Carolina with the best of both worlds: my mother’s quiet Southern roots and my father’s loud, lively New York family. The stories, grit, and energy of the city always stayed with me.

My grandmother grew up on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. My grandfather came from the Bronx—“a place so tough,” he used to say, “they had to put the in front of it.” They met in the Bronx, raised their family, and later moved to Stony Point. My dad eventually headed south to Winston-Salem, where he met my mom.

As a kid, I loved hearing about their New York lives: my grandfather sneaking into the Bronx Zoo to swim, my grandmother running around the neighborhood with her friends. Most of those stories came with a cup of coffee, a game of cards, and plenty of laughter and arguing.

They taught me one thing above all else: family is everything. Period.

It started in Sara’s kitchen.

I didn’t start drinking coffee until college—and at first, it was mostly creamer. As I learned to enjoy it black, I became curious about how coffees from different places could taste so different.

Then a friend introduced me to Sara Pitzer, a former professor, author, and lover of good food, beer, and coffee. She became my “college grandmother.” I baked my first bread in her kitchen, and my wife and I brewed beer for our wedding there.

One day, I asked about a small bag of green coffee beans on her counter. That question led to my first roast. I can still picture Sara on the back porch, pouring beans into a sifter and blowing away the chaff.

Carrying the tradition forward.

My roasting journey took me from an air roaster to Sara’s drum roaster, and eventually to the Bellwether Shop Roaster I use today.

My grandparents and Sara never got to see The Roast Father come to life, but their influence is in everything I do: taking pride in the work, making people feel welcome, and bringing family together over something good.

That’s the spirit behind our coffee—bold, balanced, and memorable. Whether it’s your first cup of the morning or one shared around the table, I want it to be a cup you come back to.

Crafted coffee you can’t refuse.
— Adam Ressa, The Roast Father