Corey Russell opened Santa Barbara Roasting Company 26 years ago with a deep commitment to providing the highest quality coffee from all over the world in tandem with incredible customer service. Corey then decided to roast his own coffee in small batches of 50 pounds or less, a process customers get to see as they sip their cups inside the cafe. Trendy coffee houses have proliferated all over Santa Barbara in recent years, but RoCo remains our most legendary.
I first met Corey in 1997, when the business expanded into wholesale and he helped me open the coffee shop I co-owned in Summerland. He was so generous with his vast knowledge of coffee. When I reached out to him to answer the Proust Questionnaire, he told me he’s uninteresting. Well, I beg to differ.
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