THE COFFEE JOURNAL · COFFEE & LOCAL CULTURE
Quebec City micro-roasters: an independent scene asserting itself
April 2026 · 4 min · Carrera Café · The Coffee Journal
Ten years ago, buying a specialty coffee roasted locally in Quebec City was quite a niche endeavor. We knew a few addresses, made detours, and considered ourselves lucky to find what we were looking for. Today, the situation has changed quite radically. Quebec City has developed a lively, diverse, and ambitious micro-roasting scene. And for coffee lovers, this is very good news.
This phenomenon is not unique to Quebec City. The third wave coffee movement, which places the origin of the bean, the quality of roasting, and the precision of extraction at the center of the experience, has touched all major North American cities over the past decade. But Quebec City has developed its own version of this scene, with its local characteristics, inspiring producers, and an increasingly curious and demanding clientele.
What local roasting changes
Local roasting is primarily a matter of freshness. Ideally, coffee is consumed within two to four weeks after roasting. Beyond that, the aromas begin to fade, the complexity decreases, and what was exceptional in a single-origin bean is flattened by time. Large industrial roasters, which produce in mass and distribute on a large scale, cannot guarantee this freshness. Local micro-roasters roast to order, in small batches, and deliver within days.
For Carrera Café, this culture of freshness and local quality is fundamental. Every bean that arrives in our Petit Champlain space has been carefully selected, and the recent roasting guarantees a cup that fully expresses what the bean has to offer.
Discover our selection of specialty coffees
Beans selected from passionate micro-roasters, available at Carrera Café in Petit Champlain in Quebec City.
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Comments (1)
Specialty Green Coffee: Farm-Direct from Brazil (100% Arabic)
Hello Carrera Café,
My name is Gustavo, and it is a pleasure to connect with you.
I am a professional passionate about specialty coffee and about building partnerships focused on high quality and producer appreciation. For many years, we have maintained direct and transparent relationships with producers and their families, allowing us to build long-term partnerships based on trust and mutual respect.
The farms are located in regions of Minas Gerais and Bahia that are still relatively undiscovered in the international market. The combination of high altitudes and careful, dedicated manual processing contributes to a wide diversity of sensory profiles and consistently high quality.
Our mission is to increase the visibility of specialty coffees from these regions while also empowering small-scale, women-led, and family producers. All of this is aligned with best practices in sustainability and traceability within a farm-direct model.
For the upcoming season, we will have a wider range of specialty coffees available, including Specialty Coffee scoring up to 84 points (Good Cup and Fine Cup) as well as Micro Lots ranging from 84.5 to 90 points.
This could be a valuable opportunity for your roastery/company, and it would be a pleasure to introduce our coffees from:
• Serra da Canastra (South of Minas Gerais)
• Volcanic Region (South of Minas Gerais)
• Caparaó (border of Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo)
• Dos Gerais (North of Minas Gerais)
• Chapada Diamantina (Bahia)
• Cerrado (Minas Gerais)
• Alta Mogiana (border of Minas Gerais and São Paulo)
Please let me know if you would be interested in discussing our coffees and work further. I would be happy to share detailed profiles and arrange sample shipments.
Obrigado / Best regards / Saludos,
Gustavo Rodrigues Barbosa
Founder
Mobile Phone: +55 35 98877-9744