Little Waves Coffee
Six of the 20 single origins in Little Waves' active catalog are anaerobic or otherwise fermented. Nine are washed. Three are natural and one is honey processed. One more falls outside those categories, which means the roaster's range comes as much from what happens at the mill as from what happens in the drum.
Colombia does most of the sourcing work here. Eleven of the 20 singles come from there, Mexico supplies three, and single lots arrive from Burundi, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Panama, Papua New Guinea, and Rwanda. The roastery is based in the South and lists 28 active coffees, 20 of them single origins and eight of them blends.
Prices sit close together at the common weight. A 12 ounce bag runs $20 to $26.25, with a median of $21.75, and one rare lot climbs as high as $84.50. Decaf drinkers get a single option. Anyone reading the catalog looking for a house style will find a medium roast spine with a fermented wing attached to it, and the two halves taste less alike than the shared roast level suggests.
Single Origins
| Name | Roast | Tasting Notes | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pedro Isaías Gonzalez - Natural - Guatemala | Medium | mixed berriescaramelgreen grapedried pineapple | $25.75 |
| Black Condor, Colombia | Medium | grapefruit pulpcaramelpeach | $23.00 |
| Dinkinesh: Worka Chelbessa, Ethiopia | Medium Light | floralbergamotmeyer lemoncitrus | $22.50 |
Blends
| Name | Roast | Tasting Notes | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summer Wine | Medium | tropicalnectarousexpressivelivelycomplexsweetJuicy | $31.50 |
| Positive Pressure | Medium | cherryMadagascar vanillaNutella | $20.00 |
| Jaguar | Medium | cinnamoncaramelfruitstoffeechocolate | $21.50 |
Roast Profile & Flavor Range
Nineteen of the 28 active coffees are roasted to medium. Six land at medium-light, one at light, one at medium-dark, and one goes dark. The catalog clusters hard in the middle. Acidity averages out to medium across the lineup while body runs a step heavier at medium-high, which tracks with a roast plan that mostly stops short of the bright end and leaves some weight in the cup.
Processing is where the variety sits. Washed lots are the largest single group at nine of 20 singles, anaerobic and fermented work accounts for six, and the rest splits between natural, honey, and one experimental method. Origins run heavily Latin American, with Colombia at eleven singles and Mexico at three, and a thinner East African and Pacific tail behind them. At the common 12 ounce weight the working range is $20 to $26.25.
What Little Waves Coffee Coffees Tend to Taste Like
Two flavor families dominate the cup notes. The first is sweet and brown, with caramel appearing four times, chocolate and milk chocolate three times each, and honey and cinnamon sitting behind them. The second is fruit, and it is not the fruit the roast levels alone would predict. Green apple shows up four times, peach three, cherry twice, and the list then turns tropical with kiwi and lychee. Jasmine appears twice on the floral side.
A typical bag reads sweet first and fruity second, with acidity most drinkers would call moderate rather than sharp. The fermented lots push hardest toward the tropical end, where lychee and kiwi live. The chocolate-forward bags are the steadier daily drinkers, and they are the ones that hold up to milk without losing the fruit that runs underneath them.
Why Buy Little Waves Coffee
Range comes from processing: Six of 20 single origins are anaerobic or fermented, so the catalog's variety arrives through the mill rather than the roast. CoffeeByMe matches those lots to drinkers who want fruit forward in the cup.
A narrow price band: Most 12 ounce bags fall between $20 and $26.25 against a $21.75 median, which makes the catalog easy to shop without checking every tag.
Colombia read several ways: Eleven of the 20 singles come from one country, shown across washed and fermented lots alike, the same origin telling a slightly different story each time.
Is Little Waves Coffee Right for You?
Anyone who wants medium-roast sweetness with real fruit behind it will be at home here. The catalog rewards drinkers who like to taste process rather than origin alone, since the fermented lots carry flavors no roast level could produce on its own. Filter brewing gets the most out of them.
Skip it if you drink dark. One coffee in 28 is roasted dark and one more sits at medium-dark, so a habit built on smoke and char has almost nothing to land on. Decaf shoppers get one choice. And an origin list weighted eleven bags toward Colombia leaves the East African shelf thin for anyone shopping that way.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Little Waves Coffee located?
Little Waves Coffee is a specialty coffee roaster based in Durham, NC.
What does Little Waves Coffee specialize in?
Nineteen of the 28 active coffees are roasted to medium. Six land at medium-light, one at light, one at medium-dark, and one goes dark. The catalog clusters hard in the middle.
Where can I buy Little Waves Coffee coffee?
You can browse Little Waves Coffee's coffees on CoffeeByMe and click through to buy directly from the roaster, or visit Little Waves Coffee's own website.
