How Honorguard coffee is made
Honorguard Coffee is a member of a Coffee Collective run by Temecula Coffee Roasters. Collectively we source, cup, roast and distribute our coffee from Southern California. Every coffee is specialty grade. Your order goes into a roast queue, is usually roasted within 48 hours, ships 1 to 3 days later, and arrives about 7 days from roast.
Step by step
- Sourcing. The coffee is sourced by the collective. The collective and Temecula Coffee Roasters have direct relationships with the farms and co-ops we source from.
- Grading. Every coffee we carry is specialty grade, SCA 80 points or higher.
- Cupping. Coffees are cupped through the collective before they're roasted for you.
- Your order goes into the roast queue. As soon as you place it.
- Roasting. Orders are roasted in the order they're received, usually within 48 hours.
- Tasting. I taste every coffee we offer and rotate through all of them. It's the only coffee I drink regularly.
- Shipping. Your coffee ships 1 to 3 days after roasting.
- Your door. About 7 days from roast.
Why a collective
Well, I'll be straight with you. I spent an absurd amount of my own money figuring out how not to run a coffee company, and one thing I learned is that roasting well at scale takes equipment, space and expertise that a small company like ours doesn't have yet.
Honorguard Coffee is a member of a Coffee Collective run by Temecula Coffee Roasters. Collectively we source, cup, roast and distribute our coffee from Southern California. That lets a small brand like ours compete on expertise, sourcing, quality and price with the large local roasters.
Considering where we started, that's the honest way to do it. I produce at a cost that other lower-quality coffees sell for, and I can do that because the collective gives a company our size access to green coffee, cupping and roasting we couldn't build alone.
Grading and cupping
Every coffee we sell is specialty grade, meaning it scored 80 points or higher on the SCA scale and passed the green-bean defect inspection. If you want the detail on what that involves, the specialty grade page walks through it.
I won't sell coffee I can't stand behind. I can't stand behind drivel and I never will. They're the best coffee I can source, because among many other reasons, it's the only coffee I drink regularly.
We don't publish a cup score for each lot, and I'm not going to make one up. "Specialty grade" is the claim, and it's true for every bag.
Roasting and timing
Nothing sits in a warehouse pre-roasted waiting for you. When you place an order it goes into a roast queue. Orders are roasted in the order received, usually within 48 hours. Your bag ships 1 to 3 days after roasting, and it's in your hands about 7 days from roast, which is right in the window when coffee tastes its best. The roasted to order page explains why that's the goal and not day-one coffee.
There's no roast date printed on our bags, because it doesn't fit Temecula Coffee Roasters' workflow. I'm telling you so you don't go looking for one.
Where the facts on our pages come from
The origin, co-op, altitude, varietal and process on each product page come from the coffee's sourcing information. When we don't have a fact, the page leaves it out instead of guessing. That's why our blends list less than our single origins do: their components change often, so we don't state a green-coffee process for them. None of the coffees we sell right now are flavored; the tasting notes come from the coffee itself.
What we don't do
To be honest about the gaps:
- Roasting isn't in-house yet. It happens through the collective in Southern California.
- We don't print a roast date on the bag. It doesn't fit Temecula Coffee Roasters' workflow.
- We don't publish per-lot cup scores.
- Nothing is roasted ahead for stock. Coffee is roasted to order, in the order received.
I am local. The company is local. And as soon as I'm able, we will roast local. A roasting facility here in the Treasure Valley is the goal as the company grows. Until then, the collective is how a small company like ours sells coffee this good at this price, so I can't complain too much.
A portion of our profits supports mental health programs for veterans, like service dogs. Since 2023 we've donated $2,267.23 (as of 2 Nov 2026).
FAQ
Who roasts Honorguard coffee?
Honorguard Coffee is a member of a Coffee Collective run by Temecula Coffee Roasters. Collectively we source, cup, roast and distribute our coffee from Southern California.
Is Honorguard coffee roasted locally?
Not yet. Roasting happens through the collective in Southern California, and a local roasting facility is the goal as the company grows.
Is every Honorguard coffee specialty grade?
Yes. Every coffee we sell scores 80 points or higher on the SCA scale.
How long from my order to my door?
Usually roasted within 48 hours of your order, shipped 1 to 3 days after roasting, and in your hands about 7 days from roast.
Why isn't there a roast date on the bag?
Because a printed roast date doesn't fit Temecula Coffee Roasters' workflow. Your coffee is roasted after you order it, usually within 48 hours.
Next: pick a coffee below, or subscribe to Venus' Rare Ground for a new single origin every month. Shipping is free on every website order.
Coffees this applies to
Every coffee we sell: Summer's Costa Rica Single Origin, Colombia Single Origin, Lucca's Peru Decaf, Nemo's Bali Single Origin, Cairo's Breakfast Blend, Stubby's Boston Cowboy Blend, Chopper's Zero-Dark Espresso, Venus' Rare Ground.