US Brand Directory
San Antonio, Texas · Specialty Coffee Brand Deep Dive
Merit Coffee Co.
IndependentRoasts its own coffeeSourcing: Origin / region level
TagsMerit Coffee Co.Central AmericaSouth AmericaAfricaIndependentOrigin / region levelRoasts in-house
Visit Merit Coffee Co.'s site Merit Coffee is a prominent Texas-based specialty coffee roaster and retailer that operates a growing network of community-focused cafes. The company is vertically integrated, managing its own direct sourcing, in-house roasting on Probat equipment, and retail service. They are recognized for their commitment to coffee education and maintaining a high standard of hospitality across their locations.
Ownership
Merit Coffee is an independent, family-owned company founded by Robby Grubbs and Bill Ellis. It originally operated under the name Local Coffee before rebranding to Merit Coffee in 2017 to align with its roasting operations.
Founded
2009
Roasting
Roasts its own coffee.
What it's known for
Merit is known for its professional-grade coffee education, high-quality sourcing, and its role as a major specialty roaster with a significant retail footprint across Texas cities including San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas.
Sourcing countries
Central America · South America · Africa
Farm-level sourcing
The brand emphasizes direct relationships with farmers and travels to origin to source its coffee. While they highlight specific regions and washing stations for their single-origin offerings, they do not consistently publish the specific farm or farmer names for every coffee in their catalog.
Notable coffees
- — Burundi Kibingo
- — Camino de Oro
- — Bekele Belachew
- — Saddle Up
Sources used in this deep dive
- https://meritcoffee.com
- https://meritcoffee.com/pages/our-story-1
- https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/merit-coffee-announces-expansion-into-houston-with-three-new-cafe-locations-302798528.html
- https://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/c/2025-business-of-the-year-awards/41435/merit-coffee-company.html
- https://www.austinchronicle.com/food/merit-coffee-moves-to-town-12098423/
Research disclosure — this profile was compiled from public online sources on 2026-09-29. It is not a review: we have not tasted this brand's coffee. Ownership, roasting and sourcing claims belong to the brand and its published materials. While the brand emphasizes direct sourcing, I could not verify a comprehensive list of every specific farm or producer currently under contract.