Upper Left Roasters

Brand profile

Upper Left Roasters builds its identity around the neighborhood café rather than separating roasting from hospitality. Katherine Harris opened the Ladd’s Addition space in 2015 as a community hub, pairing a curated food menu with small-batch coffee roasted at the café each day. That local focus carries into names like Ladd’s, its neighborhood blend, while the coffee list moves comfortably between familiar standards and more exploratory releases. The range includes espresso and dark-roast staples alongside single-origin and seasonal coffees from Ethiopia, Peru, Guatemala, Mexico, and Rwanda. Flavor descriptions stay direct and specific: chocolate, cherry, and orange zest for the café espresso; stone fruit, white grape, and honey graham for a washed Rwandan lot. The brand also treats wholesale as hands-on café work, offering barista training, technical support, equipment guidance, menu development, and layout consultation. The result is a roaster shaped as much by service and place as by the bag.