Frequently Asked Questions

A coffee co-packer keeps products traceable by recording every input and process step, so any finished product can be traced back to its green coffee, ingredients, and packaging, and forward to where it shipped. At Cascade, we test, validate, document, and trace up to 20 data points on every roast and capture all quality data in our Quality Windows database. Our trace and recall program ties each product to its production records, and our Technical Services team provides brands with documentation through the entire process.

SQF audits are scored out of 100, and a score of 96 to 100 earns a rating of Excellent, the highest rating SQF gives. Scores of 86 to 95 rate Good, 70 to 85 rate Complies, and anything below 70 fails. SQF is recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative, and many retailers and national brands require it from their co-packers. Cascade has scored in the Excellent range every year since 2019, most recently a 97, and has averaged 97 since 2020.

Cascade has held SQF certification for 11 years and has earned a rating of Excellent for eight straight years, most recently a 97 out of 100. That record comes from a documented system run by our Technical Services team, with HACCP, GMP, food defense, food fraud, and trace and recall programs, PCQI-qualified staff, and lab testing on every finished product. It also comes from the people on the floor, since Cascade trains and certifies employees across every role through our Alchemy Learning Platform and certification programs. The goal on every run is to meet each customer's technical specifications.

At minimum, look for a GFSI-recognized food safety certification such as SQF, along with HACCP and GMP programs and staff qualified as Preventive Controls Qualified Individuals (PCQI) under FSMA. Ask for the co-packer's recent audit scores as well as the certificate itself, and ask how they handle traceability, recalls, food defense, and food fraud. If your product carries claims such as organic or Fair Trade, confirm the co-packer can source and document them. Cascade is SQF certified with a rating of Excellent every year since 2019, runs HACCP, GMP, trace and recall, food defense, and food fraud programs, has PCQI-qualified staff, and sources organic and Fair Trade Certified coffee.

Cascade Coffee has earned an SQF rating of Excellent every year since 2019. Our scores have been 96 in 2019, 98 in 2020, 98 in 2021, 97 in 2022, 97 in 2023, 96 in 2024, 97 in 2025, and 97 in 2026, an average of 97 since 2020. Cascade has held SQF certification for 11 years. SQF rates scores of 96 to 100 as Excellent, its highest rating.

Cascade Coffee is SQF certified, rated Excellent every year since 2019, and runs HACCP and GMP programs with PCQI-qualified staff. We also hold low-acid canned foods authority and maintain programs for trace and recall, food defense, food fraud, chemical clearance, pest control, and customer complaints. Our team includes HACCP-certified staff, SQF practitioners, Q Graders, and green coffee graders. In our lab, we run oxygen and seal testing, grind and color analysis, moisture and water activity testing, caffeine analysis, and sensory analysis on finished products.

Cascade manufactures both private-label and white-label coffee. Private-label coffee is developed to a brand's or retailer's own specifications and sold under their name. White-label coffee starts from one of Cascade's established coffees, available in a range of roasts, and the buyer puts its own name on it. For either, Cascade handles the full program: green coffee sourcing, formulation, roasting, flavoring, grinding, packaging, and distribution, with Creative Services support for packaging design and launch. Because we don't sell a brand of our own, we never compete with the brands we make coffee for.

A coffee co-packer is a manufacturer that roasts and packages coffee for other brands, so a brand can sell coffee without running its own plant. Cascade Coffee works as a full-service co-packer, covering green coffee sourcing and receiving, roasting, grinding, flavoring and functional inclusions, packaging, and warehousing and distribution. Because it all happens under one roof, brands work with one supplier, one quality assurance relationship, and one purchase order across multiple SKUs, and can ship mixed products on a single truck.

Yes. Cascade Coffee roasts, grinds, and packs ground coffee, whole bean coffee, and single-serve cups for other brands in one operation. We run 4 single-serve cup lines with capacity for 215 million cups a year, 9 grinding systems rated at 12,000 pounds per hour, and 8 vertical form fill and seal lines for retail bags. With 65 million pounds of annual roasting capacity behind them, a brand can source its cups, bags, and bulk coffee from one supplier under one quality program. Every finished product goes through lab testing, including oxygen and seal testing.

Cascade runs 4 single-serve cup lines with capacity for 215 million cups a year. We pack single-serve cups in retail cartons of 10, 12, 16, 18, 22, and 24 counts and more, and in bulk packs of 30 to 100. Our purchasing team sources the cups, lidstock, filter paper, and cartons, or you can supply your own. Single-serve runs get oxygen and seal testing in our lab to confirm every cup is sealed and protected for freshness.

Cascade Coffee is both. A co-packer traditionally packages a product to a brand's specifications, and a co-manufacturer also makes the product, often including formulation and development. Cascade does all of it, from developing a new formula in our innovation lab to sourcing, roasting, flavoring, and packaging it at scale. Whether a brand is looking for a coffee co-packer, a contract coffee roaster, or a private-label coffee manufacturer, it's describing the work Cascade does every day.

Cascade Coffee has 65 million pounds of annual roasting capacity and produces more than 2.5 billion servings of coffee a year. The plant runs 6 roasting lines, 9 grinding systems, and 14 automated packaging lines, with capacity for 170 million bags and 215 million single-serve cups a year, plus storage for 2 million pounds of green coffee. That gives us room to take on large national programs and to grow with brands as their volumes increase.

Cascade packs coffee in single-serve cups, frac and portion packs, four corner seal and rear fin seal retail bags, preformed block bottom bags, club packs, and bulk packaging up to 1,000-pound super sacks. We offer more than 25 package sizes from 2 ounces to 5 pounds, and single-serve cups in retail cartons of 10 to 24 counts and bulk packs of 30 to 100. These run on 14 automated packaging lines, including 4 single-serve cup lines, 2 frac pack lines, and 8 vertical form fill and seal lines. If you need a size we don't run yet, we can add it.

Cascade can source green coffee across certifications, origins, and styles, including Fair Trade Certified, Rainforest Alliance Certified, 4C-certified, and organic coffees, Swiss Water Process decaf, single origins, blends, and coffee from women-owned and operated farms. The 4C standard covers social, environmental, and economic practices in coffee production and processing. We buy both Arabica and Robusta. Cascade participates in ethical sourcing audits, and our team includes certified green coffee graders and Q Graders. If it grows in the bean belt, we can source it.

Cascade sources green coffee from 52 countries across the coffee-growing world. Our supply chain team manages green coffee purchasing and plans it against each customer's production forecast, and certified green coffee graders and Q Graders on staff evaluate the coffee we buy. Cascade has storage for up to 2 million pounds of bulk green coffee and runs a 360,000-pound automated green coffee silo system, which helps keep supply steady for long-running programs. We can source green coffee for you, buy off your existing contracts, or roast coffee you supply.

Contract roasters generally handle a brand's green coffee in one of three ways, and Cascade offers all three. We can source and buy green coffee for you through our own supplier relationships, buy off contracts you already hold with importers, or roast green coffee you supply. Packaging works the same way: we can source it, or you can supply it. You can also mix the options, for example supplying a signature single origin while Cascade sources the coffee for your core blends. Whichever route you choose, our supply chain team plans purchasing around your production forecast.

At Cascade, custom formulation follows a set process that starts with your project brief and ends with an approved sample ready for production. Our innovation and sales teams define the goals with you, including flavor profile, roast level, format, and any functional benefits, and a lead technician sources the ingredients and components. The innovation team then builds samples and runs internal cupping and a feedback loop with your team until you approve one. We build samples expecting you to put your own twist on them, so revisions are part of the plan. Once approved, the formula moves into specification, a plant trial, and full lab analysis before launch.

Functional coffee, also called nutraceutical coffee, is coffee blended with ingredients chosen for a benefit beyond flavor and caffeine. Common additions include vitamins, adaptogens like ashwagandha, mushrooms such as lion's mane and reishi, collagen and protein, MCT oil, and focus ingredients like L-theanine. Making it well takes formulation work, because each ingredient has to suit the roast, the flavor, and the format it ships in. Cascade formulates and manufactures functional coffee for other brands at production scale, with an innovation lab, a functional ingredient mixing system, and in-house lab testing.

Yes. Cascade flavors coffee with both liquid and dry flavoring across 4 flavor mixing systems, so we can match the method to the product. Our range covers natural, artificial, and organic flavors, seasonal and limited-time profiles, cocktail-inspired flavors made without alcohol, and organic spices, powders, extracts, and essential oils. We also choose the roast level to fit the flavor, since a lighter roast often lets a delicate flavor come through. If the flavor you want isn't on our menu, our innovation team will develop it with you.

Most new coffee products move from concept to commercial launch at Cascade in about six months, roughly half the 12 months that's typical in the industry. That speed comes from keeping innovation, sourcing, roasting, packaging, and quality under one roof, so a project never waits on handoffs between vendors, and from fully automated production lines. We also aim to get each launch right the first time, and our first-time-right rate on production launches is often above 95%. Your team stays involved at every gate, from the project brief to final sensory approval.

Yes. Cascade Coffee develops and manufactures functional and mushroom coffee for other brands, from formulation through roasting, blending, and packaging. Our innovation team builds each formula from your project brief and sources the ingredients, including functional mushrooms like lion's mane, chaga, and reishi, adaptogens, vitamins, collagen, and MCT oil. Samples go through internal cupping and your feedback until you approve them, then scale up on our functional ingredient mixing system with full lab analysis before launch. Cascade has held an SQF rating of Excellent every year since 2019, and a typical project moves from concept to commercial launch in about six months.

Cascade can add a wide range of functional ingredients to private-label coffee, and our formulation menu changes often. Current options fall into a few groups: vitamins such as B12 and D3, adaptogens and botanicals like ashwagandha and ginseng, functional mushrooms, collagen and protein, MCT and omega-3 oils, and focus ingredients like L-theanine. Any of these can be combined with liquid or dry flavoring, organic spices and powders, and extracts. If the ingredient you have in mind isn't on our menu, our innovation team will research and source it.

Cascade's Creative Services team works alongside your brand from first concept through launch. On the brand side, that includes packaging design, product graphics, and retail sell sheets, along with product storytelling such as blend naming, origin stories, and tasting notes. For your sales team, we create customer presentations, launch materials, and retail assets, and we run sampling programs with innovation kits and sales samples. The team also tracks coffee trends and consumer insights and develops seasonal and limited-time concepts, so your line has new ideas ready when you want them.

Cascade works with emerging and fast-growing brands alongside large national and private-label programs, and smaller teams often rely on us for expertise they don't have in house yet. Our innovation team can develop your formula from a project brief, our supply chain team can source green coffee and packaging for you, and our Creative Services team can help with packaging design, blend naming, sell sheets, and launch materials. Most new products go from concept to commercial launch in about six months. Every program is built around the brand behind it, so the best first step is a conversation about your product and what you're planning.

Cascade prices each program individually, because the cost of a finished coffee depends on choices that vary from brand to brand. The largest factor is usually the green coffee, which moves with the commodity market and changes with origin, grade, and certifications such as organic or Fair Trade. From there, price depends on your roast and grind specifications, any flavors or functional ingredients, the packaging format and materials, and your annual volume and run sizes. Whether Cascade sources your green coffee and packaging, buys off your existing contracts, or runs materials you supply also affects the price. Once we understand your product and forecast, we build pricing and supply terms with you during commercialization.

Cascade Coffee works with three kinds of customers: emerging and fast-growing coffee brands, established national brands, and retailers running private-label coffee programs. We support some of the largest coffee labels in the world. Whatever their size, our partners get the same full-service setup, with sourcing, roasting, flavoring, packaging, and warehousing under one roof, one quality assurance relationship, and one purchase order across multiple SKUs.

Working with Cascade starts with a conversation and a project brief. Our innovation and sales teams work with you to define the product, formats, and goals. A lead technician then takes the project, sources the components, and creates samples, which we cup internally and with your team until you approve one. Next, we build and review specifications with you, finalize pricing, supply terms, and forecasts, and receive a purchase order with a launch date. Before your first shipment, the product goes through a plant trial, full lab analysis, and post-production cupping, and Cascade keeps monitoring quality on every run after launch.

Cascade Coffee combines capabilities that brands often have to piece together from several suppliers. In one operation we source green coffee from 52 countries, develop new products in our innovation lab, flavor with both liquid and dry systems, add functional ingredients and nutraceuticals, and pack in more than 25 package sizes plus single-serve cups. That range lets most products move from concept to launch in about six months, roughly half the industry standard, and it's backed by an SQF rating of Excellent every year since 2019. Because Cascade doesn't sell its own brand, all of that capability goes into your product.

This is a hard question to answer with one number, because every coffee program Cascade makes is custom to the brand behind it. The coffee, the format, any flavors or functional ingredients, the packaging, and your forecast all shape what an order looks like, so a single-serve line comes together differently from retail bags or bulk. Cascade offers more than 25 package sizes from 2 ounces to 5 pounds, plus single-serve cartons in counts from 10 to 24 and up, which gives a lot of room to fit a program to your volume.

Contact us with details about your product and the volume you have in mind, and we'll get back to you.