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West Chicago, Illinois, Illinois · Specialty Coffee Brand Deep Dive

Modest Coffee

Editorial sacred-geometry artwork for Modest Coffee; not a documentary photograph
IndependentRoasts its own coffeeSourcing: Origin / region level
TagsModest CoffeeIllinois coffee roastersEl SalvadorHondurasUgandaKenyaGuatemalaBrazilIndependentOrigin / region levelRoasts in-house
Visit Modest Coffee's site

Modest Coffee is a Chicago-area roaster dedicated to simplifying the specialty coffee experience for home brewers. Founded as a passion project by a husband-and-wife team, the company focuses on roasting high-quality, ethically sourced single-origin beans to order. They aim to make specialty coffee accessible by offering a curated, rotating selection without the exclusionary attitude often found in the industry.

Ownership
Modest Coffee is an independent, family-owned business founded by Marcus and Jenni Contaldo.
Founded
2013
Roasting
Reported to roast in-house.
What it's known for
The brand is known for making specialty single-origin coffee approachable and affordable by removing the 'snobbery' often associated with the industry. They are recognized for their rotating selection of ethically sourced beans and their commitment to transparent, direct-to-consumer sales.
Sourcing countries
El Salvador · Honduras · Uganda · Kenya · Guatemala · Brazil
Farm-level sourcing
Modest Coffee sources beans that can be traced back to the families, regions, and farms that produced them. They work with small farmers and often purchase entire crops, rotating their offerings seasonally. While they emphasize traceability to the farm level, their public-facing product listings typically identify the coffee by country and region.
Notable coffees
  • — El Salvador - Ahuachapan
  • — Honduras - Copan
  • — Uganda - Mount Elgon
  • — Kenya - Nyeri
  • — DECAF Guatemala - Sierra Madre
In the news

Recent news and media coverage about Modest Coffee, as documented by outside outlets. We link to the original reporting and do not rewrite or endorse it.

Sources used in this deep dive
Research disclosure — this profile was compiled from public online sources on 2026-10-19. This company overview is not a tasting review. Original tasting reviews are labeled separately when they exist. Ownership, roasting and sourcing details are attributed to documented sources. While the brand emphasizes ethical sourcing and traceability, I could not verify specific farm names for every current offering beyond the country and regional identifiers provided on their website.

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