Equator Coffee, Eugene

At a glance

• Roasts inEugene, OR
• Founded1991
• Founded byGreg Roberts

Equator Coffee is one of the beloved local roasters we follow in Oregon: an independent roaster based in Eugene, founded in 1991. Here is what their own pages and public sources say about them, in our words.

Their story

Greg Roberts opened the business in 1991 at age 42, buying six bags of green coffee and an electric roaster that did five pounds in 15 minutes. Before coffee he wrote about fly fishing and played fiddle. A 1987 job reviving a fly-tying co-op in Guatemala introduced him to Huehuetenango coffee. Roasting runs on a Sivetz fluid bed roaster, built up the road in Corvallis, in batches of up to 33 pounds.

As a student Greg thumbed rides across Mexico and lived for a year in Peru's rainforest; later, magazines including Outdoor Life, Sports Afield and Fly Fisherman ran his fishing articles. In 1989 he took a job managing sales across a region for a big Northwest coffee company; after that firm was sold and cut staff, he struck out on his own. Demand soon outgrew the first small roaster, and he moved to a propane-fired machine that holds a quarter bag, about 33 pounds.

The strong air flow of the fluid bed machine lifts the beans and blows out chaff and dust, which the company says costs it more weight loss than other roasters.

What they roast

Roast levels run Italian Roast and French Roast. House blends include Breakfast Blend, Tsunami, Cafe Quetzal, Firebird Blend and Casablanca. Single origins on the list when we checked: Colombia Organic Tolima, Mexico, Sumatra, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Ethiopia Sidama and Tanzania Peaberry. Espresso: Espresso (organic blend). Decaf: Espresso Decaf and Night and Day Decaf. Offerings change with the seasons, so this is what their own pages listed on 2026-09-28.

Address

134 Grimes St, #3, Eugene, OR 97402
Roasting warehouse on Eugene's industrial west side.

Why buying from Equator Coffee matters here

The name comes from the fact that all coffee grows near the equator, and the logo borrows a 1935 Colombian airmail stamp. Customers range from restaurants, espresso drive-ups and natural food stores to walk-in coffee bars and even print shops and tropical fish stores. Outside work, Greg has played swing fiddle with a band called the Texas Toasters and still works at the roastery five or six days a week.

Every bag bought from a Eugene roaster pays roasting and cafe wages in Oregon, and the coffee reaches you days after roasting instead of months. That is the reason the club exists. Why local roasters matter.

About this listing

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