Counter Culture Coffee - Specialty Coffee Roaster | Unpacking Coffee [Skip to content](#main-content) [ ](https://unpacking.coffee)[ ![Unpacking Coffee Logo](/images/cuppin-logo.svg) Unpacking Coffee ](https://unpacking.coffee/dashboard) [ Coffees ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees) [ Cuppings ](https://unpacking.coffee/cuppings) [ Recipes ](https://unpacking.coffee/recipes) [ Log in ](https://unpacking.coffee/login) [ ](https://unpacking.coffee/login "Log in") [ Register ](https://unpacking.coffee/register) [ ](https://unpacking.coffee/register "Register") [ Roasters ](https://unpacking.coffee/roasters) Counter Culture Coffee Counter Culture Coffee ====================== Durham, North Carolina-based roaster founded in 1995, pioneering direct trade and transparency. Known for their commitment to education, sustainability, and quality. Watch Episode Read Transcript - [ Counter Culture Coffee ](https://counterculturecoffee.com/) - [ Counter Culture Coffee Instagram ](https://instagram.com/counterculturecoffee/) - [ Counter Culture Coffee Twitter ](https://twitter.com/counter_culture) - [ La Marzocco Café Roasters in Residence ](https://unpacking.coffee/tag/la-marzocco-cafe-roaster-in-residence/) ![Counter Culture Coffee](/storage/roaster-profiles/46/featured.jpg) HELLO Ray: I'm Ray. Kandace: I'm Kandace. Ray: Welcome to Season 2 of Unpacking Coffee! This week ... Kandace: Counter Culture. Ray: Counter Culture was founded in 1995 making then probably one of the earliest of the third wave coffee companies. Kandace: They've really been leading the way in coffee for a long time. They started having public cuppings all the way back in 2002. They were focusing on ... Like you said, education or making coffee super accessible or being really transparent. That's been part of their mission from the very beginning. Year after year they're just continuing to build on that and it's pretty amazing. Ray: I wish I had worn my hoodie. This just looks very plain. Kandace: Go put your hoodie on. Ray: No it's okay. Kandace: That was your reaction to that whole thing about sustainability? Ray: We also got to chat with Scott Callender. Scott: Hi, I'm Scott Callender. I work for La Marzocco and I head up the home business for La Marzocco. We are in the La Marzocco café and show room in Seattle Center. We invite roasters from around the world to come in here, reinvent the space, reinvent the menu and they will develop a coffee service that will last for one month here in the café as popup. We have right now a very special guest with us here at the café. It is Counter Culture Coffee and they are from Durham, North Carolina. They're doing some really special stuff right now. Kandace: From the beginning, they've had a commitment to sustainability. Ray: That's right. Kandace: Which they're one of the first bird friendly coffees. Ray: Mm-hmm (affirmative) They have a program they call Counter Intelligence. Kandace: Shut up. Ray: It's true. Kandace: That's awesome. Ray: It's awesome. Kandace: I didn't even see anything about that. Ray: This is their standard packaging with a nice roast date sticker. Kandace: Seriously. They have some really nice ... These nice little 4 ouncers. Ray: Bio-trade bag here. Actually, we went up to Seattle this past week to visit the La Marzocco. Kandace: It's their café in KEXP, the new space. Erin: Kennith spoke to Erin McCarthy about, he was the world brewing champion in 2013, is that right? Kandace: He was the first North American to win that title. Ray: Nice. Kandace: Yeah. Ray: Kind of an expert, and in fact, he brewed ... Kandace: Kind of knows everything about coffee so. Erin: My name is Erin McCarthy. I work for Counter Culture Coffee out of New York City as a tech. I won the 2013 world brewers cup championship so I started out as a barista, and then kind of got into the competition circuit for three years. Kandace: You were the first American to win? Erin: It's true, yeah. Yeah. https://youtu.be/zUjqXkMUpi4 Kandace: What I thought was really interesting about this is that, so Erin is a barista right now during September, during part of September, at the La Marzocco space. Erin has a couple flights and they're really interesting. Erin: I tried to kind of make it a little journey if you will. Erin: The Geisha variety is an heirloom variety from Ethiopia so the seed that Moisés and Marysabel, the producers planted is the same variety that can be found in Ethiopia and have been found for hundreds of years. The SL28, the SL stands for Scot Laboratories and that was created in a lab with the purposes of higher production and resistance to disease for Kenya. So, what’s really neat about that is it’s one of the most popular varieties grown in Kenya so when you taste this coffee, it tastes like you’re drinking a Kenyan coffee which is super neat…to also separate that idea of a taste of place and layer it. Variety can also taste a certain way. Kandace: I’m excited about it. Erin: It was my pleasure. Kandace: Counter Culture Coffee. Ray: Of Durham, North Carolina. Hey, we’re back! Thanks to Rachel Classi and Erin McCarthy from Counter Culture for sending us beautiful coffee, talking to us, and allowing us to tell their story. And to Scott Callender and all the fine folks at KEXP for allowing us into their gorgeous space. Watch the Show https://vimeo.com/183387322 HELLO Ray: I'm Ray. Kandace: I'm Kandace. Ray: Welcome to Season 2 of Unpacking Coffee! This week ... Kandace: Counter Culture. Ray: Counter Culture was founded in 1995 making then probably one of the earliest of the third wave coffee companies. Kandace: They've really been leading the way in coffee for a long time. They started having public cuppings all the way back in 2002. They were focusing on ... Like you said, education or making coffee super accessible or being really transparent. That's been part of their mission from the very beginning. Year after year they're just continuing to build on that and it's pretty amazing. Ray: I wish I had worn my hoodie. This just looks very plain. Kandace: Go put your hoodie on. Ray: No it's okay. Kandace: That was your reaction to that whole thing about sustainability? Ray: We also got to chat with Scott Callender. Scott: Hi, I'm Scott Callender. I work for La Marzocco and I head up the home business for La Marzocco. We are in the La Marzocco café and show room in Seattle Center. We invite roasters from around the world to come in here, reinvent the space, reinvent the menu and they will develop a coffee service that will last for one month here in the café as popup. We have right now a very special guest with us here at the café. It is Counter Culture Coffee and they are from Durham, North Carolina. They're doing some really special stuff right now. Kandace: From the beginning, they've had a commitment to sustainability. Ray: That's right. Kandace: Which they're one of the first bird friendly coffees. Ray: Mm-hmm (affirmative) They have a program they call Counter Intelligence. Kandace: Shut up. Ray: It's true. Kandace: That's awesome. Ray: It's awesome. Kandace: I didn't even see anything about that. Ray: This is their standard packaging with a nice roast date sticker. Kandace: Seriously. They have some really nice ... These nice little 4 ouncers. Ray: Bio-trade bag here. Actually, we went up to Seattle this past week to visit the La Marzocco. Kandace: It's their café in KEXP, the new space. Erin: Kennith spoke to Erin McCarthy about, he was the world brewing champion in 2013, is that right? Kandace: He was the first North American to win that title. Ray: Nice. Kandace: Yeah. Ray: Kind of an expert, and in fact, he brewed ... Kandace: Kind of knows everything about coffee so. Erin: My name is Erin McCarthy. I work for Counter Culture Coffee out of New York City as a tech. I won the 2013 world brewers cup championship so I started out as a barista, and then kind of got into the competition circuit for three years. Kandace: You were the first American to win? Erin: It's true, yeah. Yeah. https://youtu.be/zUjqXkMUpi4 Kandace: What I thought was really interesting about this is that, so Erin is a barista right now during September, during part of September, at the La Marzocco space. Erin has a couple flights and they're really interesting. Erin: I tried to kind of make it a little journey if you will. Erin: The Geisha variety is an heirloom variety from Ethiopia so the seed that Moisés and Marysabel, the producers planted is the same variety that can be found in Ethiopia and have been found for hundreds of years. The SL28, the SL stands for Scot Laboratories and that was created in a lab with the purposes of higher production and resistance to disease for Kenya. So, what’s really neat about that is it’s one of the most popular varieties grown in Kenya so when you taste this coffee, it tastes like you’re drinking a Kenyan coffee which is super neat…to also separate that idea of a taste of place and layer it. Variety can also taste a certain way. Kandace: I’m excited about it. Erin: It was my pleasure. Kandace: Counter Culture Coffee. Ray: Of Durham, North Carolina. Hey, we’re back! Thanks to Rachel Classi and Erin McCarthy from Counter Culture for sending us beautiful coffee, talking to us, and allowing us to tell their story. And to Scott Callender and all the fine folks at KEXP for allowing us into their gorgeous space. Watch the Show https://vimeo.com/183387322 No coffee offerings have been added for this roaster yet. Log In to Cup Log in to your account Enter your email and password to continue Email address Password Remember me Cancel Log in Need an account? [Sign up](https://unpacking.coffee/register) Log In to Cup Log in to your account Enter your email and password to continue Email address Password Remember me Cancel Log in Need an account? [Sign up](https://unpacking.coffee/register) 0 Coffee Offerings 0 Total Cuppings Added 11 months ago Use filters or recent searches to refine your results. Press Esc to close. Filters 12 showing Users 0 Coffees 0 Roasters 0 Recipes 0 Explore featured coffees Start typing to search across the entire database. [ ### [ Elite Coffee ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/152-elite-coffee) by [ unknown ](https://unpacking.coffee/roasters/275-unknown) First noted May 13, 2026 Last tasted May 13, 2026 1 cupping [ milk chocolate ](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/33 "milk chocolate") [ stone fruit ](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/125 "stone fruit") [ roasted nuts ](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/215 "roasted nuts") ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/152-elite-coffee) [ ### [ Florida Weather ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/151-florida-weather) by [ Mythos Coffee ](https://unpacking.coffee/roasters/274-mythos-coffee) Process Anaerobic Natural, Natural Blend Colombia and Ethiopia First noted May 13, 2026 Last tasted May 13, 2026 1 cupping [ orange ](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/17 "orange") [ sun-dried raisin ](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/214 "sun-dried raisin") [ milk chocolate ](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/33 "milk chocolate") ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/151-florida-weather) [ ### [ Tanzania Peaberry ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/150-tanzania-peaberry) by [ Knowledge Perk Coffee Company ](https://unpacking.coffee/roasters/273-knowledge-perk-coffee-company) Certifications Rainforest Alliance Process Washed Country Tanzania Region Northern Tanzania First noted May 13, 2026 Last tasted May 13, 2026 1 cupping [ apple ](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/1 "apple") [ lime ](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/19 "lime") [ allspice ](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/213 "allspice") ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/150-tanzania-peaberry) [ ### [ Colombia Nariño ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/149-colombia-narino) by [ DOMA Coffee Roasting Company ](https://unpacking.coffee/roasters/268-doma-coffee-roasting-company) Certifications Organic Process Washed Varieties Colombia, Castillo, Caturra Country Colombia Region Nariño Harvest 2025 Source La Jacoba (smallholder Farmer Association) First noted May 12, 2026 Last tasted May 12, 2026 1 cupping [ chamomile ](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/127 "chamomile") [ golden pear ](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/211 "golden pear") [ maple syrup ](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/26 "maple syrup") ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/149-colombia-narino) [ ### [ Limited Ethiopia Natural ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/148-limited-ethiopia-natural) by [ Council Oak Coffee Roasters ](https://unpacking.coffee/roasters/266-council-oak-coffee-roasters) Process Natural Varieties Wild Heirloom Ethiopia Arabica Cultivars Country Ethiopia First noted May 12, 2026 Last tasted May 12, 2026 1 cupping [ nectarine ](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/126 "nectarine") [ berry ](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/109 "berry") [ floral ](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/105 "floral") ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/148-limited-ethiopia-natural) [ ### [ Santa Elena Geisha (IYKYK) ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/147-santa-elena-geisha-iykyk) by [ Three Oaks Roasting Co ](https://unpacking.coffee/roasters/263-three-oaks-roasting-co) First noted May 12, 2026 Last tasted May 12, 2026 1 cupping [ mandarin orange ](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/142 "mandarin orange") [ lavender ](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/57 "lavender") [ strawberry ](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/7 "strawberry") [ lemongrass ](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/106 "lemongrass") [ cane sugar ](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/29 "cane sugar") ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/147-santa-elena-geisha-iykyk) [ ### [ Colombia Huila, Santa Maria ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/146-colombia-huila-santa-maria) by [ Boonton Coffee Company ](https://unpacking.coffee/roasters/261-boonton-coffee-company) Process Washed Varieties Castillo, Caturra Country Colombia Region Huila Elevation 1500-1600m Harvest 2025 First noted May 12, 2026 Last tasted May 12, 2026 1 cupping [ honey ](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/22 "honey") [ apricot ](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/4 "apricot") [ pear ](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/2 "pear") ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/146-colombia-huila-santa-maria) [ ### [ Costa Rica Hellen Mora ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/145-costa-rica-hellen-mora) by [ HAYB ](https://unpacking.coffee/roasters/262-hayb) Process Natural Varieties Geisha Country Costa Rica Region Tarrazú Elevation 1800-1900m First noted May 12, 2026 Last tasted May 12, 2026 1 cupping [ cherry ](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/5 "cherry") [ strawberry ](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/7 "strawberry") ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/145-costa-rica-hellen-mora) [ ### [ Centenario - Edwin Martinez, Guatemala ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/144-centenario-edwin-martinez-guatemala) by [ Torque Coffee ](https://unpacking.coffee/roasters/259-torque-coffee) Process Washed Varieties Red Bourbon Country Guatemala Region Huehuetenango Elevation 1600 - 1900m Harvest 2025 Source Edwin Martinez, Finca Vista Hermoa First noted May 11, 2026 Last tasted May 11, 2026 2 cuppings [ lemon ](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/18 "lemon") [ floral ](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/105 "floral") [ milk chocolate ](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/33 "milk chocolate") [ sweet ](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/171 "sweet") [ lingering finish ](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/209 "lingering finish") ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/144-centenario-edwin-martinez-guatemala) [ ### [ Finca El Mirador Washed Sidra ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/143-finca-el-mirador-washed-sidra) by [ Chuck's Roast Coffee ](https://unpacking.coffee/roasters/258-chucks-roast-coffee) Process Washed Varieties Bourbon Sidra Country Colombia Region Huila Source Finca El Mirador First noted May 11, 2026 Last tasted May 11, 2026 1 cupping ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/143-finca-el-mirador-washed-sidra) [ ### [ Bolivia, Caranavi ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/142-bolivia-caranavi) by [ Mother Tongue Coffee ](https://unpacking.coffee/roasters/257-mother-tongue-coffee) Source Illimani Mountain First noted May 11, 2026 Last tasted May 11, 2026 1 cupping [ caramel ](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/23 "caramel") [ nougat ](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/31 "nougat") [ milk chocolate ](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/33 "milk chocolate") [ honey ](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/22 "honey") ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/142-bolivia-caranavi) [ ### [ Kenya Nyawira AA ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/141-kenya-nyawira-aa) by [ Heart Coffee Roasters ](https://unpacking.coffee/roasters/47-heart-coffee-roasters) Process Washed Varieties SL28, SL34 Country Kenya Region Embu Elevation 1400m First noted May 11, 2026 Last tasted May 11, 2026 1 cupping [ black currant ](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/207 "black currant") [ rose hips ](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/208 "rose hips") [ molasses ](https://unpacking.coffee/flavors/25 "molasses") ](https://unpacking.coffee/coffees/141-kenya-nyawira-aa)