SEY is a micro-roastery in Brooklyn, New York, working under the line “Drink beautiful coffee”. It sets out to reimagine, technologically and logistically, what the trade has come to know about coffee, and gives itself the freedom to buy whatever coffees it finds inspiring, “no matter how high the cost or how small the lot”. Each coffee carries its harvest year, its producer or washing station and its country in the name.

SEY holds that it is only as good as the raw coffee it buys, and that most of that work is done by the people who grow it. It works with its producing partners to reinvest in what they do at origin and is committed to complete transparency in its practices, so that customers can hold it to account. In Gedeb, Ethiopia, the Halo Hartume site has become central to its work: besides producing its own coffee, it processes cherry from isolated areas nearby. Roasting is treated as a delicate procedure, with roast profiles analysed and refined so that each coffee shows its own character as clearly as possible.

The café sits inside the roastery and was built for “those in need of a little beauty, delicious coffee, and open air”. The roastery hosts public cuppings of the current coffees, open to anyone who wants to taste and talk them through. Laptops are limited on weekdays and not allowed at weekends.

A subscription sends seasonal coffees with raw product information and brewing guidelines, including subscriber-only lots and early releases. SEY also supplies cafés, baristas and chefs, with a wholesale programme that runs from café build-out and equipment to menu development, and looks for partners who back long-term relationships with producers and transparency on price.

Partner cafés

Coffee on the shelf

Photograph: SEY Coffee