In one paragraph, how would you describe Queen City to Trade customers?

Queen City is a Denver-based specialty coffee roaster built around the belief that great coffee is built, not bought. Since 2016, we've focused on sourcing exceptional coffees through long-term producer relationships, roasting them with intention, and creating welcoming spaces where people can connect over a great cup. From our Denver roastery, we source and roast coffees that are served in our cafés, shipped to customers nationwide, and shared with wholesale partners throughout the region. Recently recognized among North America's 100 Best Coffee Shops, we're committed to staying closely connected to the people and places behind the coffee and sharing coffees that are approachable, memorable, and full of character.

At Trade, we’re all about origin stories. How did Queen City begin?

Queen City was founded in 2016 by brothers Eric, Scott, and Luke Byington. Before starting the company, we spent years living and working in Africa, where we developed a deep appreciation for the power of relationships, hospitality, and cross-cultural connection. Those experiences shaped the foundation of Queen City and continue to influence how we approach coffee today. What began as a small family business was built on the belief that coffee can connect people across cultures, geographies, and experiences. As we've grown over the past decade, we've remained committed to that same relationship-based approach, both at origin and within the communities we serve.

What’s your philosophy when it comes to sourcing and roasting coffee?

We start by sourcing coffees through long-term relationships with producers, cooperatives, and trusted partners who share our commitment to quality, transparency, and sustainability. Most of these partnerships span multiple years, allowing us to grow alongside producers and develop a deeper understanding of the people and places behind each coffee. When it comes to roasting, our philosophy is simple: every coffee should taste like itself. Rather than imposing a particular roasting style, we strive to highlight the characteristics that make each coffee unique. In practice, that often means roasting on the lighter side to emphasize sweetness, clarity, and vibrant fruit character while maintaining balance and approachability in the cup.

Your visual identity really stands out. What inspired the branding and design behind Queen City? And what went into developing your new look?

We're a Colorado-based company, but we've never wanted to rely on the usual outdoorsy, campy clichés. So as we approached our rebrand, we drew inspiration from the landscapes, cultures, and sense of adventure that connects Colorado to many of the coffee-growing regions we work in around the world. The idea that coffee is ultimately a product of place guided the entire process. We wanted to build a visual identity that celebrates both where we come from and the origins of the coffees we source, while creating something that feels earthy, grounded, and connected to the mountains, valleys, and landscapes that shape great coffee.

We know relationships are at the heart of what you do. How does that show up in your daily operations or long-term mission? How does that manifest across different parts of the coffee industry (e.g. producers, other coffee professionals, your shops, and your local community)?

Relationships are the foundation of everything we do. At origin, that means investing in long-term partnerships with producers and returning year after year to support their work. One origin project in particular that we're excited about is our ongoing blockchain traceability work with longtime partners like Carlos Pola in El Salvador and Catratcha Coffee in Honduras, which helps create greater transparency around how value moves through the supply chain and how coffee purchases support producing communities. Those same values extend beyond origin, where we've been fortunate to build friendships with incredible coffee professionals around the world, and we love to highlight their work. Through our Homies on Bar series, we've had friends like NOMAD from Barcelona and Dark Arts Japan from Hayama share their coffees and stories with our community in Denver through cafe takeovers. At our cafes we also regularly host fundraisers, tastings, educational events, and community gatherings that bring people together around a shared love of coffee. Coffee is ultimately about people, and we try to make decisions that strengthen those connections wherever we can.

Looking ahead, what’s exciting you most this year—new coffees, projects, collaborations, or goals?

Obviously, the rebrand is super exciting, but what has us even more fired up is continuing to deepen our sourcing relationships and share more producer-focused coffees than ever before. Part of the rebrand was creating packaging specifically for nano lots and other limited releases, which allows us to work more closely with producers to showcase exceptional small lots that might otherwise never make it to the U.S. market. Through these releases, we'll be featuring coffees from friends like Victor Bermúdez in Colombia, Allan Campos in Costa Rica, and Carlos Pola in El Salvador, giving customers a direct window into the unique varieties, processing methods, and experimentation happening on their farms. In some cases, these coffees are so limited, and our relationships so direct, that we're literally air freighting them from the dry mill straight to our roastery in Denver. For us, it's an opportunity to strengthen relationships at origin while sharing some of the most exciting and distinctive coffees we've ever offered.

Founding Team Q&A
First, tell us a little about yourselves—whatever you’d like to share.

We're three brothers who grew up here in Colorado and love the mountain life. Fishing, camping, skiing, hiking; you can usually find us outside. You're also catching us in the middle of the World Cup, so we have to mention our love for soccer. It's the world's sport, just like coffee is the world's drink, and we love watching and playing the game almost as much as we love coffee... maybe more??

What are three things you love most about running a roasting business?

Great question, because honestly, it can be a bit of a love/hate relationship sometimes. Coffee is a challenging industry, but the professional rewards and life experiences have made it more than worth it. First, we love the chance to build lasting friendships with coffee professionals from around the world, whether that's producers, exporters, baristas, or fellow roastery owners. Second, we feel incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to be active and influential members of our local community here in Denver. And third, of course, is the endless supply of amazing coffee! It's a pretty good tradeoff.

We have to ask: how do you make coffee at home?

Funnily enough, most days we're drinking our first cup at the roastery. But on the weekends, if we're actually hanging out at home, Eric is usually acting classy with his Chemex, Scott is nerding out with his Fellow Aiden coffee maker, and Luke is probably just running down to one of the Queen City shops for a cappuccino.

For someone discovering Queen City for the first time, which coffee would you recommend—and why?

Tough question! That's like asking a parent who their favorite kid is. If we have to pick, we'd probably recommend our Rwanda Muhari Natural. It's a coffee that tells a deeper story about who we are and where we've come from. The coffee is sourced through Gihanga Coffee in Rwanda, a company we helped establish nearly a decade ago alongside our friends Kevin Nkunzimana and Audace Ngabonziza. We've known Kevin and Ngabo longer than Queen City has existed, and seeing them thrive with their export company brings us so much joy. Not only is the coffee incredibly delicious, but it also represents something we believe deeply: that long-term relationships, mutual trust, and investing in people ultimately lead to better coffee for everyone involved.