The Story
Equator Coffees was founded in 1995 by Helen Russell and Brooke McDonnell, partners in life and business, who started roasting coffee in a garage in Marin County, working closely with Northern California restaurants, cafes, and businesses that shared their belief that coffee could be better. The company emerged from the founders’ experience running coffee carts in the Bay Area, where their desire to understand their products led them to seek transparency from suppliers who couldn’t—or wouldn’t—provide details about coffee origins or sourcing practices.
Practices that have now become commonplace for people and planet-aware businesses were second nature to Helen and Brooke in the 90s. Equator helped pioneer the direct trade model, becoming an early adopter of Fair Trade certification in 1999.
In 2011, we became the very first coffee roaster in California to be certified as a B Corporation, marking a pivotal moment in our dedication to sustainable business practices. The company has since evolved from its garage beginnings into a recognized industry leader with twelve California cafes and a national wholesale business.
LGBT-owned Equator Coffees & Teas was recently named 2016 National Small Business of the Year. The San Rafael-based business previously was honored as being the 2016 California Small Business of the Year, making the coffee company the first LGBT-owned business—certified as an LGBTBE by the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce—to receive the awards. Beyond accolades, Equator has maintained its commitment to innovation and excellence, awarded Macro Roaster of the Year by Roast Magazine and establishing groundbreaking projects like their own experimental coffee farm in Panama.
Sourcing & Relationships
Our philosophy of traceability and transparency in sourcing coffee here at Equator goes back to the very beginning of our story. Just after her first trip Guatemala to study coffee production with the Chipicay Cooperative in the late 90’s, our co-founder Brooke McDonnell helped to establish Equator Coffees as an early partner of Fair Trade USA. Their innovative model of responsible business and conscious consumerism helped to shape they way in which we’ve sourced coffee for almost 30 years. The company now sources coffee from over 50 producers and co-ops in 20 countries , with some of our longest standing partnerships include Hacienda La Esmeralda in Panama, Koperasi Ketiara in Sumatra, and El Injerto in Guatemala.
We believe in fostering longstanding direct trade relationships with farms, cooperatives, and exporters that align with our values of sustainable farming practices and fair worker compensation.
At Equator Coffees, we exclusively purchase specialty coffee and frequently pay an additional premium to ensure that we are sourcing the best of the best and sufficiently investing back into our talented producer partners and their communities. The company’s approach extends beyond purchasing to active partnership— Equator founders Helen and Brooke partnered with world-renowned coffee expert Willem Boot to found Finca Sophia, an experimental coffee farm in Volcán, Panama. Finca Sophia went on to win 1st place in the Best of Panama in the Washed Gesha category in 2017 and again in 2020, when the farm took home the Panama Cup. Finca Sophia’s coffees have set records at auction multiple times, and received a rare 98 point score from Coffee Review in 2020.
We pay a premium for every Equator coffee that carries the Fair Trade Certified label. That extra money goes directly to the producers at the farm, and they decide how to spend it. This democratic approach ensures that a democratically elected committee of Fair Trade workers decides how the funds will be used , supporting everything from healthcare programs to equipment improvements. The company also offers the industry’s first commercially available Regenerative Organic Certified® coffees, demonstrating their commitment to farming practices that build soil health and combat climate change.
Roasting Philosophy
Equator was an early adapter of Loring Smart Roast technology. Their roasting facility houses the fourth Loring K35 Kestrel ever built as well as a newer Loring Peregrine S70. This technological choice reflects both practical and philosophical considerations. Equator has been using a Loring roaster since 2007; among the first roasters to adopt the new technology. Attracted to its energy efficiency, ease of use, and consistency, we installed a second, larger Loring in 2018. The two machines combined have drastically reduced Equator’s natural gas consumption, which has helped us achieve our environmental sustainability goals.
By investing in energy-efficient Loring Smart Roasters, we reduce our natural gas usage by 80% compared to traditional drum roasters. We roast 50 hours per week, 3 batches per hour, which means that how we roast matters. An early adopter of Loring Smart Roast technology, we’re able to roast high volumes while maintaining consistency and reducing our environmental impact by keeping hundreds of thousands of pounds of CO2 out of the environment each year.
They roast 50 hours per week and produce over 800,000 kilograms (over one million pounds) of roasted coffee per year as of 2023. According to their 2022 and 2023 Impact Reports, they have reduced their carbon emissions by 80% per batch compared to using traditional drum roasters. The 2023 report also notes that their two Loring machines keep 261,495 pounds of CO2 out of the environment each year.
When roasting coffee in such high quantities for distribution in multiple locations, batch consistency is very important. Working with Loring’s convection-style roasting technology allows Equator a high level of control over the consistency of their coffees, maintaining their high standards for customer satisfaction. The company’s roasting approach prioritizes highlighting each coffee’s unique characteristics through careful profile development, ensuring that their commitment to quality extends from green coffee sourcing through to the finished product.
What to Try
Tigerwalk Espresso $18.50 represents Equator’s flagship espresso offering. Equator’s flagship espresso was designed to highlight sweet, fruit forward flavors found in its component coffees. The foundation of the blend is a rich, silky and balanced coffee from Colombia’s La Cristalina, a farm dedicated to social, economic, and environmental sustainability. A fully washed coffee from Kenya adds elements of brightness and fruit flavors. Finally, a dry process coffee from Brazil rounds out the blend by adding depth, body, and flavors of berry and nut. Together, these three coffees create a well-balanced, creamy espresso with a broad range of delicate fruit flavors.
Brooke and Helen embarked on a partnership with Michelin Star chef Thomas Keller, developing his signature French Laundry Blend. Decades later, Equator has developed blends for all of Chef Keller’s restaurants, including TK Espresso, Per Se Blend and Bouchon Bakery Blend.
The French Laundry Blend centers on an exceptional coffee from Kayon Mountain Estate in Southern Guji, Ethiopia. The first is a vibrant, citrusy coffee from Kenya, which beautifully enhances the blend and contributes to its delicate acidity. The second is a coffee from Colombia, which adds depth with rich flavors of baking spices and bittersweet chocolate. Combined with the perfect degree of roast, these coffees create a wonderfully balanced blend, ideal for enjoyment in the restaurants of one of the world’s best chefs.
For those interested in exploring Equator’s innovation, Equator offers seasonal ROC® single origin coffees as well as a year-round ROC® blend , representing the industry’s first commercially available Regenerative Organic Certified® coffee. Equator celebrated 30 years of making coffee a force for good by introducing Anniversary Blend in March of 2025. The blend was quickly awarded 93 pts by Coffee Review.
Every artisan blend is crafted by our expert roasters to create perfectly balanced flavor profiles, enhancing each component for a well-rounded cup.