Our History
Wild Card Roasters was founded in San Rafael, California, in 2007, but the coffee experience behind the company began decades earlier.
Our history is rooted in the San Francisco Bay Area coffee community and in the knowledge, craftsmanship, and experience that Master Coffee Roaster John Weaver developed during his 27-year career at Peet’s Coffee.
A Coffee Roasting Heritage
John Weaver began his coffee career at Peet’s Coffee in 1980. From 1980 through 1984, he worked side by side with Alfred Peet and Sal Bonavita, learning the craft of hand-roasting coffee and hand-blending tea directly from two pioneers of specialty coffee and tea.
John continued his career at Peet’s as Master Coffee Roaster, remaining with the company through 2007, a 27-year career devoted to developing his expertise in green coffee selection, roasting, blending, cupping, and tea tasting.
During those years, John evaluated thousands of green coffee samples and developed an extensive understanding of how origin, green coffee quality, processing, blending, and roast development influence the finished cup.
Wild Card Roasters
In 2007, John left Peet’s Coffee and joined Renée Brown, Michael Brown, and Bryce Inouye to establish Wild Card Roasters and Weaver’s Coffee & Tea in San Rafael, California.
The four founders brought together complementary experience in coffee roasting, retail, international business, brand development, operations, sales, marketing, ecommerce, technology, sourcing, and manufacturing.
John brought decades of coffee and tea expertise. Renée brought entrepreneurship, operations, sales, marketing, ecommerce, and digital innovation. Michael brought extensive international retail, franchise development, and technology experience. Bryce brought international brand development, licensing, sourcing, and Asia-Pacific business experience.
Together, they created a company built around both the craft of exceptional coffee and the experience required to build and operate enduring brands.
Weaver’s Coffee & Tea
Wild Card Roasters is the parent company of Weaver’s Coffee & Tea, our flagship consumer coffee and tea brand.
Since 2007, Weaver’s Coffee & Tea has carried forward the coffee roasting experience at the foundation of Wild Card Roasters. Our coffees are roasted in San Rafael, California, with an emphasis on craftsmanship, quality, consistency, and flavor.
The Weaver’s collection includes signature blends, single-origin coffees, espresso, decaffeinated coffees, and medium, medium-dark, and dark roast coffees, along with a selection of premium teas.
Continuing the Craft
Coffee has changed considerably since John Weaver first stepped into a roastery in 1980. The fundamentals behind exceptional coffee have not.
Quality green coffee matters. Roasting experience matters. Tasting matters. Consistency matters.
Today, Wild Card Roasters combines that traditional hands-on approach to coffee with modern ecommerce, technology, data, and artificial intelligence to support the continued development of Weaver’s Coffee & Tea.
More than four decades after John first began roasting coffee, we remain committed to the same fundamental goal: understand the coffee, respect the craft, and create an exceptional cup.