Sorellina Coffee is an independent micro-roastery specializing in specialty coffee based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and has been led by founder and owner Lynsey Hayes since 2020. The brand positions itself as a “female-owned & operated” project focused on sourcing micro-lots, experimental processing methods, and strictly transparent partnerships with small-scale growers. The name “Sorellina” means “little sister” in Italian and refers to the brand’s family roots and close working relationship with her brother Andrew.
The roastery’s founding is closely tied to the COVID-19 pandemic, which gave Hayes the time and space to bring her own concept to life. However, she entered the coffee industry via a detour; she originally worked in viticulture, traveled through European vineyards, studied viticulture, and managed vineyards in Canada’s Okanagan Valley. She was introduced to coffee in 2017 when she took on the role of green coffee buyer at the family-owned roastery Roasti Coffee Co. (which her brother Andrew founded with their father Gerry in 2016), where she gained experience with supply chains and direct communication with producers. While Roasti targets the broader wholesale market and more traditional roast profiles, Sorellina has distinguished itself from the outset as an agile, highly specialized venture.
The roastery’s philosophy is based on the systematic application of winemaking techniques to coffee. They emphasize terroir, mineral analysis, and precise sensory deconstruction of flavor. Sorellina focuses on light roasts with the goal of maximizing clarity, sweetness, and acidity without distracting caramelization defects. The offering is divided into three pillars: Tales of Terroir (expressions of terroir), Producer Poetry (the grower’s agronomic decisions), and Innovation (innovative processing methods such as anaerobic fermentation, thermal shocks, or co-fermentation), complemented by the exclusive limited-edition The Brewers Series. The portfolio ranges from affordable washed coffees to ultra-rare lots, and the processing techniques are taken to the absolute pinnacle.
