The Story
Chromatic Coffee was founded in October 2012 by Hiver van Geenhoven and partners including Wendy and James Warren, following van Geenhoven’s experience as head roaster at Barefoot Coffee Roasters from 2009 to 2012 . The company opened its doors for the first time with a roastery in a tin shack warehouse on Sunol Street and a beautiful café in Santa Clara . Van Geenhoven describes the decision to start Chromatic as a desire to create something uniquely their own, “the fruit of our own labor” .
Van Geenhoven, who was raised between Marin and Santiago, Chile, learned the coffee trade working as a barista, lab manager, and eventually green coffee buyer at Barefoot Coffee under mentor Andy Newbom, a longtime Bay Area coffee veteran . Their origin story reads like the quintessential Silicon Valley start-up: founders working at leading coffee shops before breaking away to start their own business when they saw an opportunity to bring their skills directly to the public .
At the start of 2018, to meet growing demand, Chromatic moved from its small downtown San Jose roastery to its current location on Lincoln Avenue in the Arts Mercantile Building . The company has been consistently recognized by Metro readers as Silicon Valley’s Best Coffee Roaster , along with being named Metro’s best new roaster in 2013 and Thrillist’s top Bay Area coffee company in 2015 .
Sourcing & Relationships
Chromatic’s sourcing philosophy is grounded in fostering deep, direct relationships with producers, working with partners like Rosalio Ventura at Finca Elizabeth and Hidardo Hernandez at Finca Cascarita who share their commitment to excellence, sustainability, and innovation . These relationships ensure exceptional coffee while providing financial and ecological resilience for growing communities, with Chromatic creating a direct trade network rooted in trust and transparency, paying premiums that support regenerative farming and innovative processes .
The company specializes in micro-lots, processing methods, novel cultivars, and producer direct trade from emerging and traditional origins . Chromatic’s largest supplier is in Brazil, with additional beans sourced from El Salvador, Honduras, Ethiopia, Guatemala, and to a lesser extent, Colombia, Nicaragua, Papua New Guinea, and Rwanda, with van Geenhoven noting “We’re investing in a farmer and his farm” and traveling during harvest to see equipment and calibration .
While their materials may not always be the most eco-friendly, their sustainability focus lies in farm ecology and the financial sustainability of their partnered farmers . Notable projects include coffee from Yemen, involving a Bay Area man with Yemeni roots returning to revitalize a long-lost coffee farm in what many believe is the original birthplace of coffee, resulting in a coffee that was awarded 97 points by Coffee Review and voted the Best Coffee of 2017 .
Roasting Philosophy
Van Geenhoven and co-founder James Warren customized Chromatic’s cast-iron and steel-drum Probat L12 roaster with a fan for continuous roasting, with van Geenhoven’s signature style being to “develop a brown, sugary sweetness in all of my coffees” . Controlling heat is critical, with van Geenhoven measuring the temperature of air coming into the roaster, exiting temperature, and bean temperature throughout the process, using Cropster software to capture and track all variables as close to a recipe as possible given the variability in beans and process .
Van Geenhoven’s origin trips have taught him about processing and specific qualities, influencing his roasting techniques and philosophies to control machinery in ways that bring forth desirable cup qualities and develop the best characteristics unique coffees have to offer . Chromatic showcases light, lively roasts that highlight the natural beauty and complexity in each variety and cultivar they select .
A unique aspect of their philosophy involves water experimentation, bringing an underappreciated variable to the forefront of their coffee program, with van Geenhoven noting they were “ignoring the craziest and most unknown one of all” among variables they tinker with, leading to experiments with different water compositions that yielded really desirable results . Their Radio coffees are roasted to be brewed with “super-low” TDS water at levels more common in Scandinavian cafés, discovering that many roasts from around the world previously thought undesirable were actually well developed when brewed with the water composition available to those places .
What to Try
Holy Mountain stands as their experimental flagship—what started as a wild idea uniting unexpected origins, species, and processes has become a cult favorite after eleven years of development . The current blend features Papua New Guinea Kunjin Wet Process for foundation and complexity, Rosalio Ventura’s Parainema Carbonic Maceration from Honduras (an arabica cultivar carrying robusta genetics for depth and vibrancy), and Napo Payamino Dry Process Robusta from Ecuador . This year’s version hits “louder and deeper than ever” with vanilla-laced pecan pie aromatics, initial citrus and blood orange bursts fading to lemon verbena and kumquat, then shifting to black licorice, dark chocolate, Brazil nuts, and rye-like spice with a thick, velvet-like texture .
Heart’s Delight pays tribute to the Santa Clara Valley’s agricultural past—before Silicon Valley’s rise, this area was known for orchards and fertile soils—carefully crafted to bring forward flavors of cherry, nuts, stone fruit, and compotes that remind of the valley’s farming and craftsmanship roots . Gamut represents their rich espresso offering, providing depth and complexity for traditional espresso preparations .
Throughout the year, Chromatic offers seasonal blends and numerous single origin offerings , including standouts like Parainema Red Honey from Rosalio’s highland farm near the Salvadoran border, and Barolo from longtime producer Moises Hidardo Hernandez in Mercedes, Ocotepeque, Honduras . Visitors to their roastery café get first try on all new coffees and recipes , making it an ideal destination for experiencing their latest innovations and seasonal releases.