Our story
From a folding table
to a roastery.
We started as Buenas Coffee with one grinder, one airpot and a folding table at a mall activity centre. The name changed. The table is still in the stockroom.
Why the name changed
Buenas was a greeting. Simbalan is a promise about where the coffee comes from — the uplands and river flats of Agusan, and the people who farm them. Same roaster, same growers, same recipe on the house blend. The only thing we retired is the label.
How we buy
We buy green from three farmer groups, at a price agreed before harvest so the grower is not gambling on a trader's mood in November. We pay on delivery. When a lot cups better than expected, the difference goes back to the group rather than into our margin — it is cheaper than losing a farm to a banana buyer.
How we roast
Five kilos at a time, profiled per lot, rested for two days before bagging. Roast date is stamped on every bag. If a bag has been on our shelf longer than six weeks it goes to the café, not to a customer.
What we are building next
Every bin in the roastery is getting a load cell under it. The shelf weighs itself, the website reads the shelf, and nobody has to count bags on a clipboard at closing time. It is a small thing that removes the single most common reason a small roastery disappoints a customer: selling something it does not actually have.