Our Story
George, founder of TEN CAFE ROASTING STUDIO, has always seen coffee as more than a daily ritual. As a father of two young boys and a coffee professional with over two decades of experience, he dreamed of creating a space where exceptional coffees could be shared with care, intention, and respect for their origin.
In 2023, that dream became TEN CAFE ROASTING STUDIO.
Built on a simple philosophy, let each coffee bloom naturally, the studio focuses on carefully sourced small lot coffees that highlight the unique character of their variety, process, and growing region. Through micro roasting, every batch is roasted with the goal of showcasing the flavours and aromas that make each coffee special.
To support his family while pursuing this passion, George balances a full time career alongside the roastery, opening the studio only a few days each month. Every coffee offered is one he genuinely enjoys and is proud to share with the community.
Thank you for being part of the journey and supporting a small independent roastery.
Welcome to TEN CAFE ROASTING STUDIO, where every coffee is given the time and space to bloom.
The Story Behind Our Coffee Prices
People often ask us:
“Why is your beans priced higher than others?”
Let’s break it down.
When you pick up one of our $22 half-pound bags, we’ve paid about $22 per kilo just for the green beans. That’s before adding shipping fees, customs, rent, hydro, packaging, wages, and equipment upkeep (roasters aren’t cheap to maintain!). Then there’s the 20% weight loss during roasting. On top of that, we spend countless hours sample roasting, tasting, and refining each profile, sometimes burning through 10 kilos of trial batches just to find the sweet spot for the coffee.
And remember, we’re a micro-roastery, roasting just 1 kilo at a time, not 10kg - 20kg. We also love to rotate our offering lists often instead of serving the same coffee year-round. That means more sourcing, more tasting, and more development but it also means you get to explore fresh, exciting flavors every season.
Now, here’s the contrast: big chains often pay only $7–$8 per kilo for lower-grade coffee. They keep the same blends year after year, with very little investment in development or innovation. Yet they’ll still charge you $24 for a pound or even just 350g.
For us, green coffee costs for some micro-lot coffees often climb to $40–$45 per kilo. At that level, most specialty coffee roasters would price them at $40–$50 for just 200g. Instead, we cap ours at $38 for 225g because we want more people to experience these exceptional coffees without needing to save them for a “special occasion.”
And sometimes, we go even further: for our Geisha and other limited-lot coffees, we’ve paid up to $150 per kilo. Even then, we keep it at $45 for 100g so you can taste something truly extraordinary without needing a competition judge’s budget.
Behind every bag, there are also the invisible costs: ongoing coffee education, marketing, and the time we spend sharing our passion and answering your questions.
We do it because we’re passionate about coffee, we love what we do, and we want to show our local community what coffee can be: vibrant, complex, and unforgettable. And for those visiting Victoria, we want them to leave knowing that our city has great coffee to offer.
These don’t show up on a receipt, but they’re a huge part of what makes our little roasting studio special.
So, what do you think? Still expensive? or just fair
