Jags Head
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Jags Head Coffee is a Charlotte, North Carolina-based roasting company and importer that operates as a vertically integrated, family-owned business. By managing the entire supply chain from their ancestral farms in the Apaneca-Ilamatepec mountain range of El Salvador to their roasting facility in the United States, they provide a direct "farm-to-cup" experience that emphasizes transparency and control over the quality of their specialty Arabica coffee.
Jags Head Coffee is a specialty coffee roaster and importer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, defined by its vertical integration. The company serves as the bridge between the Trigueros family’s multi-generational coffee estates in El Salvador and the U.S. specialty coffee market. The business was formally established in 2016, marking a strategic shift for the family to move beyond primary production and take direct control of the roasting and distribution phases of their coffee supply chain.
The company’s agricultural roots are located in the Apaneca-Ilamatepec mountain range, specifically within the Los Naranjos region. The farming operations are overseen by Tomas Trigueros II, a third-generation producer, while the roasting and sales operations in Charlotte are managed by his children—Tomas III, Andres, and Diego—who represent the fourth generation of the family in the coffee industry. This lineage is central to the company's identity, as they leverage over a century of collective experience in coffee cultivation.
Their sourcing philosophy is rooted in the "farm-to-cup" model, which allows the company to maintain oversight of the coffee from the moment of harvest to the final roast. The family grows a variety of Arabica cultivars, including Bourbon (Red, Orange, Pink, and Dwarf), Pacamara, Caturra, Gesha, and SL28. Because they own the farms, they personally approve the selection of beans before they are exported to their North Carolina facility, where they are roasted in small batches.
In practice, this model functions by centralizing the milling and processing decisions under the same family leadership that handles the roasting. By controlling the processing methods at the farm level, they aim to maximize the cup quality before the green coffee is shipped to Charlotte. This structure is intended to provide a high level of transparency, as the roasters are intimately familiar with the specific conditions and handling of the coffee they process.
Beyond their own roasting operations, Jags Head Coffee functions as an importer of green specialty coffee from the Apaneca-Ilamatepec region. They provide wholesale services to restaurants and cafes, offering custom roasting, training, and consulting. Their presence in the local Charlotte market includes a roastery and cafe operations, and they have established partnerships with other regional coffee businesses that utilize their roasted beans for espresso and drip coffee programs.
The company’s commitment to quality is framed by the specific geography of their farms, which are situated at high altitudes, typically ranging from 1,250 to 1,850 meters above sea level. By maintaining this direct link between the volcanic slopes of El Salvador and their North Carolina roastery, Jags Head Coffee positions itself as a producer-roaster that prioritizes the traceability of their product for the end consumer.