Welcome to the second annual “State of the Bean” newsletter, which gives me a chance to look back on our coffee program, and share what’s coming in the future. Last year's just went out to newsletter subscribers, but we thought we'd put this one on our main site.
Crunching the Numbers
This year we roasted more coffee than ever. We cranked out over 20,000 pounds through one drum roaster down on the docks in Red Hook. Of that volume, 7,500 pounds were purchased from producers we have a direct relationship with. The rest came from importers that bring vital expertise, and sustainable initiatives to their sourcing practices.
We roasted coffee from 14 different countries this year.
As you can see, about half of our coffee came from Ethiopia or Colombia. Our contracts with Colombia come from our rich relationship with Unblended Coffee. You can read more about their focus on young producers in Colombia at our blog post here. Our contracts from Ethiopia make up our seasonal favorites: Hamasho and Chelbasa One (plus our Lo-Fi Decaf).
Our Brazil usage this year was MUCH lower than usual due to the high tariff that was put on Brazilian coffee for a few months this year. The coffee from Honduras was sourced through our partners at Finca Terrerito.
I roasted and bagged 20,886 pounds of coffee in total. This is how that broke down by type:
- 11,460 for single origins
- 8,006 for blends (Holiday + 8-Track)
- 695 pounds for decaf
- 725 pounds for our premium Hi-Fi series.
New Partnerships
We started two new partnerships with green coffee providers this year. First and foremost is a new partnership with Higa Coffee, an importing company founded by Kenny Ntwali with a unique focus on Rwandan coffee. Ntwali was born in Rwanda and went to college in the US. He returned to his home country out of a desire to give back to his country. He’s sourced some really incredible coffee. We purchased some bags from Kilimbi Washing Station, the first washing station in the country to produce specialty natural-processed coffee. It’s on the shelves right now, and it really is an incredible coffee.
Our second new partnership may have produced our most unique coffee yet. This year we purchased a small volume from 96b Coffee Company in Vietnam. This company serves as a producer and a roaster based in Vietnam. They focus often on robusta coffees, but they spent the last decade working on a little known species of coffee called Liberica. This is a totally different species of coffee with a completely different flavor profile. 96B worked for years to produce a high quality liberica lot, experimenting with different fermentation techniques until they got it exactly right.
We released their 96B Liberica Project this year, and we are so pleased with the result. It is truly unlike anything we’ve ever had, and it’s been cool to share it with the community.
Challenges
Every coffee roaster you know and love had a stressful 2025. Prices skyrocketed. Tariffs turned on and off. A coffee importer recently told me over lunch that she felt like she was “just a finance bro now.” It has been… a lot. Send them love, warmth, hugs, prayers, or whatever you can offer on this cold January.
That said, in November the government announced a broad exemption for coffee from import duties, and the whole industry breathed a collective sigh of relief.
It’s important to note that tariffs are only a small piece of the story. As I discussed in last year’s wrap up, a ton of coffee producing countries have faced increasingly disruptive weather patterns. Our partners in Honduras experienced a shortened harvest window that drove up energy and day labor costs. Brazil and Vietnam had a drought that led to crop failures and lower than projected yields. All the while demand for coffee grows year after year.
We’re hoping for a quieter 2026. The year of tariffs is over, but we do expect challenges to carry on.
What's Next?
In some ways, our coffee program has become a well oiled machine. We have more and more returning favorites every year. These are not just one hit wonders for us. Purchasing from the same producers year after year gives them a reliable source of business. Plus, many of these have become seasonal favorites for you, our customers. In 2026, you can look forward to seeing these back on our shelves:
- Development Lot from Unblended Coffee
- Sebastian Ramirez’s Peach Co-Ferment
- Hamasho from Ethiopia
- Chelbasa One from Ethiopia
- Agua Fria from Honduras
- Acacia Hills from Tanzania
- Kilimbi Washing Station from Rwanda
We’ll also be offering a new Haitian coffee, different from last year’s Haitian Blue, but a really incredible coffee from the same importer. More on that in a blog post this February.
Blends
As our brand grows, I hope to expand our blend offerings this year. Blends are tricky for me sometimes, because in many ways I prefer showcasing the work of one particular producer. That said, this year’s Holiday Blend showed me that there is a ton of potential in blending unique coffees to create something new.
We’re going to start testing out new blends, and hopefully create a few more curated experiences. 8-Track already serves as an excellent house/espresso blend. It’s designed to be easygoing, pull a great shot, or brew a super accessible and rich pot of coffee. We want to see if we can create blends for more specific purposes. I have ideas to develop a “funky” blend for those who want something with brighter notes. I want to create a super dark roast blend for people who love dark, rich roasts, but still want the depth of flavor that specialty coffee can offer.
More blends may mean fewer single origins on the shelves, but don’t let that scare you! However our coffee is packaged, know that it is sourced and roasted with only the highest quality in mind.
Conclusion
In summary, I think next year is going to look a lot like this one! Despite the challenges, we are really pleased with the coffee we’re offering, and we don’t want to rock the boat. As always, we’re always on the lookout for something new. We stumbled on the Liberica coffee by surprise, and we expect that there will be more surprises through the year.
Be on the lookout for new blends and new partnerships. If you want more frequent updates, keep an eye on our blog, and make sure to subscribe to our newsletter. It’s not spammy. It’s a monthly-ish email blast with updates, interesting stories, and a few subscriber-only discounts.
Roasting coffee for Solid State is an absolute dream come true. Thank you all for lining up out the door every weekend, and for many, many kind words that I cherish.
