Roastlab is a young Czech specialty coffee roaster based in Plzeň. It focuses on specialty coffee, emphasizing flavor, origin, and consistency. They describe themselves as “more than just a roaster.” For them, coffee isn’t just about caffeine—it’s about ritual, a moment of peace, and an endless story of flavors. Roastlab’s goal is to create a moment when there’s no need to rush: just you and your cup of coffee.
Roastlab’s
story doesn’t begin in the Czech Republic, but in Worcester, UK, where founders Viktorie and Martin were studying at the university. It was there that they discovered the world of specialty coffee thanks to the local roastery, Method Coffee Roasters, whose owners became their mentors. At Method, Viktorie worked her way up from brewing coffee to quality control and eventually to roasting itself. Martin started out in distribution and gradually immersed himself in cupping and brewing filter coffee, particularly with the Aeropress. After returning to the Czech Republic, they began sharing their coffee with family and friends and eventually decided to take it further. That’s how Roastlab was born.
For Roastlab, coffee is a bit of a science. Behind every roast and recipe lies a series of experiments and tests, which is why they roast in smaller batches and quality always takes precedence over quantity. They’re selective when choosing green coffee: they look for specific flavor profiles and interesting processing methods, ranging from nutty and chocolatey notes to wild, fruity, and “funky” coffees. They source green beans from renowned suppliers such as Falcon Coffees, Cafe Imports, and Sucafina. What sets them apart is that they don’t strictly categorize coffees as “espresso” or “filter.” They’re happy to recommend how they think a coffee will shine, but they leave the final decision up to the customer and their personal taste.
Roastlab is a newcomer to the market, so it’s still building its collection of competition trophies. However, it ensures quality in other ways. It selects only beans with high cupping scores for its lineup and fine-tunes the roasting down to the last detail.
