Founded in 1993 in their family’s converted barn in the Village of Corrales, New Mexico, the Langers have led New Mexico’s exciting coffee industry with professional, progressive, high-quality Specialty coffee sourcing and roasting.
Albuquerque, New Mexico: During the month of November, Red Rock Roasters is holding a Thirty Days of Giveaways to celebrate their Thirty Year Anniversary. Coffee and merchandise will be awarded every day through November to thirty participants whose names will be randomly drawn from amongst folks who tag posts to their Instagram or Facebook stories. The qualifying posts will be tagged #ThirtyYearsOfRedRockRoasters.
Red Rock Roasters was the first NM coffee roaster to be Fair Trade certified, and they remain one of only two Organic-certified roasters in the state.
“When we started our company in 1993, there were only a handful of espresso machines in the whole state,” says Nancy Langer, who co-founded the roastery with her husband, David Lagner.
“Starbucks was years away from opening its first store here, and most New Mexicans were drinking filter drip coffee, either at home or at sit-down breakfast restaurants. The coffee culture was very different then, especially because concepts like specific coffee origin or different roast levels were not part of the language of coffee consumers. In that regard, we were pioneers, selling single-origin Specialty coffees, providing coffee and barista education to New Mexico restaurateurs, and promoting Specialty coffee in central New Mexico.”
This thirty year marker showcases Red Rock Roasters as a business worth celebrating. It has withstood multiple recessions, a total saturation of the national and local Specialty coffee market, a shift from brick and mortar to internet sales and marketing, and a global pandemic. Ever the family business, the Langers continued to operate it throughout life’s stages—college, retirement, illness, the death of our long-time business partner Ben D. Cohen, the birth of a third generation.
Rachel Langer, second generation roaster, does a lot of the day-to-day roastery management, and attributes a lot of what they’ve accomplished to their employees. “Our gifted employees, who help us keep the dream going, are icing on the cake,” she says. It’s worth noting that the relationship is reciprocal – Red Rock Roasters has always prioritized providing living wages and benefits, above the state standard. Sustainability is a huge part of their culture, and it’s not just about how the coffee is grown and sourced (although that’s a big part of it); it has everything to do with local work conditions and a deep appreciation of everyone’s hard work. Their median wage is 134% of MIT’s living wage for Albuquerque.
Other sustainability first that Red Rock Roasters has brought to New Mexico include their certification as a CarbonFree roasting plant. They are a woman-owned small business, that sources coffee from many woman-owned coffee farms. Long-time supporters of the Café Femenino Foundation, Red Rock Roasters has provided grant funding to their producers’ co-ops for income diversification and education.
And back to the 30th Anniversary – as Rachel points out “It’s time to celebrate our customers, who stick with us year after year! So tag #ThirtyYearsOfRedRockRoasters on your social posts, and get ready for giveaways throughout November!