About Us
How did Carolines Coffee Roasters begin?
Caroline Fike bought an existing health food store and beekeeping supply shop in April of 1982. She changed the name from The Honey Center to Caroline’s Honey Spice and Everything Nice. In 1984 her husband Chuck and her youngest son Trace saw a niche market for coffee and bought their first coffee roaster.
As the coffee side of the business grew, the name was changed to Carolines Coffee Roasters. Trace still roasts coffee daily in downtown Grass Valley, and Chuck and Caroline stop in often. The current managers are Trace’s wife Holly, and her sister, Becky Miller. We’re a family run and owned business, committed to bringing you the best coffee in the world!
Carolines History
We’ve worn many hats over the years, and part of our success is the way our business has evolved over time. The original business that Caroline Fike owned sold honey and beekeeping supplies, along with health food, vitamins, bulk items, and coffee. Since then we’ve been a cafe, with hot lunch offerings and sit down service, sold homemade soup mixes, sold whole pies and other bakery items (Caroline has won blue ribbons at the State Fair for her recipes), and offered gift baskets, and gourmet tea and coffee items. As our coffee business grew, we eventually turned into what we are today: a coffee roaster first and foremost.
We bought our first coffee roaster, a Diedrich IR12, in 1984 (www.diedrichroasters.com). Chuck and Trace travelled to Diedrich Manufacturing in Costa Mesa, California, and learned the roasting process under Carl Ernst Diedrich. Their impetus was their inability to get fresh coffee: they and other small businesses had to buy gourmet coffee in such quantities that it would go stale before it was sold. As coffee lovers they were searching for a better product.
We have sold coffee all over the state of California, from Redding to Yosemite and everywhere in between.
In the early days of roasting coffee, Chuck was the roastmaster and Trace was the salesman. Trace logged 70-85,000 miles a year to market our coffee to small grocery stores and businesses around the state. Our key from the beginning has always been the freshness of our product. We were roasting coffee and delivering it the same day, for the ultimate flavor.
Carolines Today
We are an old school coffee roaster. We consider roasting an art, not a science, and we use experience instead of computers to guarantee our consistency. We roast five days a week, and the bulk of the roasting is done on our Diedrich IR24, which we bought in 1998 when we could no longer keep up with our business on the IR12. Currently we roast anywhere from 10-12,000 pounds a month. Our business has become more local as we’ve grown, and you can find us in ten grocery stores within a forty mile radius, and over a hundred different other businesses: restaurants, offices, hotels, and schools.
Where to Taste
Carolines Coffee Roasters
128 S. Auburn St
Grass Valley, CA 95945
530 273-6424
Friar Tuck's Restaurant
111 N. Pine St.
Nevada City, CA 95959
530 265-9094
SPD Market Bakery (GV)
129 McKnight Way
Grass Valley, CA 95945
530 272-5000
SPD Market Bakery (NC)
735 Zion St.
Nevada City, CA 95959
530 265-4596
Cirino's at Main Street
213 W. Main St.
Grass Valley, CA 95945
530 477-6000
Nevada City Classic Cafe
216 Broad St.
Nevada City, CA 95959
530 265-9440
Pepe's Cafe
110 Mill St.
Grass Valley, CA 95945
530 446-6329
Diego's Restaurant
217 Colfax Ave
Grass Valley, CA 95945
530 477-1460
Maria's Mexican Restaurant
226 E. Main St.
Grass Valley, CA 95945
530 274-2040
Where to Buy
Ikeda's
13500 Lincoln Way
Auburn, CA 95603
530 885-4243
Mar-Val's Sierra Market
575 S. Auburn St.
Colfax, CA 95713
530 346-8338
Bonanza Market
321 Broad St.
Nevada City, CA 95959
530 265-5274
Carolines Coffee Roasters
128 S. Auburn St
Grass Valley, CA 95945
530 273-6424
SPD Market (NC)
735 Zion St.
Nevada City, CA 95945
530 265-4596
Raleys
692 Freeman Lane
Grass Valley, CA 95945
530 272-1958
SPD Market (GV)
129 McKnight Way
Grass Valley, CA95945
530 272-5000
Holiday Market (LOP)
21656 Higgins Rd.
Auburn, CA 95602
530 268-3051
Holiday Market (LWW)
11324 Pleasant Valley Rd.
Penn Valley, CA 95946
530 432-0110
El Barrio Mexican Market
309 Neal St.
Grass Valley, CA
530 802-5226
Harmony Ridge Market
18848 State Hwy 20
Nevada City, CA 95959
530 265-0555
Cascade Shores General Store
16552 Pasquale Rd.
Nevada City, CA 95959
530 265-8544
