Verve Coffee Roasters

In the early 2000s, Colby Barr and Ryan O'Donovan — founders of Verve Coffee — were captivated by the shifts in the specialty coffee industry. They were drawn in by the focus on sourcing and roasting exceptional coffee, sustainability, and building strong producer relationships and they knew they had to be a part of it.

Barr had co-owned a coffee shop in Chico, California, and O'Donovan, after working as a barista there, had experience in roasting, training, and sourcing. The two had known each other in college, and when they reconnected years later, they bonded over a shared love for jazz music and the exciting changes in the coffee world. They initially planned to open in San Francisco or Berkeley, but after doors closed, they settled in Santa Cruz, drawn in by the beauty of the landscape and the surf. In 2006, they moved there and opened Verve on November 19, 2007.

From the beginning, Verve focused on building direct relationships with producers. At the time, direct trade was just beginning to take shape, and Barr and O'Donovan, along with their peers, were learning what it meant to source coffee directly from the farms. The process was new, and though they didn't have all the answers, they embraced the challenge, traveling frequently, building connections with producers, and figuring things out as they went.