Taking Control: Why We Brought Our Roasting In-House

More Control. Better Coffee. A Stronger Mission.

You know, better than anyone, that when you lose control, you introduce risk. You create variables that can’t be accounted for.

At Watch Call Coffee, we were built on this very mindset. Our mission, to support the mental health of correctional workers is too important to leave to chance. The coffee that fuels you on those long shifts isn’t just a beverage; it’s a piece of gear. It’s the first reliable, warm, and grounding moment in a day that promises to be anything but.

And for that reason, we decided “good enough” wasn’t good enough anymore. We knew that to truly deliver the best, most reliable coffee to the men and women who rely on it, we had to take control.

That’s why we are incredibly proud to announce a new chapter for Watch Call Coffee:

We are now roasting and processing 100% of our coffee in-house.

The Problem with “Good Enough”

From the day we started, we partnered with a third-party roaster. They were good. They understood our goals and helped us get off the ground. But as we spoke to more of you, we felt a disconnect. We were one step removed from the final product.

Roasting coffee is a craft. It’s a delicate dance of time, temperature, and airflow. A change of 15 seconds or a few degrees can drastically alter a coffee’s flavor profile. While our partners were skilled, they weren’t us. They weren’t the ones having conversations with officers at 2 AM. They weren’t living and breathing this mission every single day.

We found ourselves wanting to make tiny adjustments, to pull out a specific flavor note, to guarantee that the bag of Captains Coffee you open today tastes exactly like the one you’ll open six months from now. That level of consistency is what you deserve.

When you’re getting ready for a 12-hour shift, you don’t want surprises. You want reliability.

Relying on a third party, no matter how good, meant we were placing a crucial part of our mission in someone else’s hands. It was a variable we couldn’t control.

In your line of work, you eliminate uncontrolled variables. So, we did the same.

Taking Command of the Craft

Bringing our roasting operation in-house as been massive undertaking, for us. It wasn’t just about buying a machine; it was about mastering a new and complex skill set. It was a commitment, in time and resources, to own our craft from start to finish.

Now, we don’t just “sell” coffee. We make it.

We control the “green” coffee we source. We control the roast profile the precise, second-by-second blueprint that dictates how the coffee will taste. We control the airflow in the drum, the temperature curve, and the exact moment the beans are finished. We cup (taste) every single batch to ensure it meets the Watch Call Standard.

This control allows us to do two things:

1. Guarantee Consistency: We can now ensure that every single bag that leaves our facility is exactly as we designed it. No variations. No “close enough.” Just the reliable, consistent coffee you count on.
2. Unlock Potential: Every coffee bean has a story, a unique potential locked inside it. Our new in-house process allows us to experiment, to tweak, and to unlock the absolute best expression of that bean.

This change means we’ve gone from simply providing coffee to becoming true craftsmen of it. The result? The coffee is, quite simply, better. It’s fresher, it’s more nuanced, and it’s roasted with a singular focus: you.

Better Coffee Starts with Better Beans

This new chapter couldn’t just be about the process; it had to be about the product. Hand-in-hand with our move to in-house roasting, we’ve completely overhauled our coffee sourcing.

We are thrilled to introduce our new, single-origin coffee from the Minas Gerais region of Brazil.

Why is this a big deal? “Single-origin” means the coffee doesn’t come from all over the place; it comes from one specific region. In our case, it’s sourced from four incredible farms: Boa Vista, Fazenda Furnas, Mato Cipo, and Apostolo Simao. This coffee is grown at a high elevation (for coffee) and processed naturally, letting the bean develop a deep, rich flavor.

But this new source isn’t just about taste. It’s about values.

This coffee was purchased using Bellwether’s Living Income Pricing benchmark. This is a critical detail. In a world where coffee farmers are often trapped in poverty, this model ensures that the producers who grew these beans were paid a fair, sustainable wage for their incredible work.

When you buy this coffee, you’re not just supporting our mission here at home. You are helping to interrupt poverty for coffee farmers and their families by paying a price that closes the living income gap.

This is a chain of support that starts on a farm in Brazil and ends in the hands of a Correctional Worker in your facility, with every step defined by fairness and respect.

Meet the New Roster: Roasted In-House, For You

With our new beans and our new in-house control, we’ve perfected our three signature roasts. They are the same names you trust, but evolved—better, brighter, and roasted by us. All are available in 16oz bags, as whole bean or ground to your liking.

• Captains Coffee (Dark Roast) This is our flagship, for those who want a strong, steady, and bold cup to cut through the fog of a night shift. We roast this to bring out those deep, grounding flavors.
  • Tasting Notes: Dark Chocolate, Nutmeg, Cocoa, Molasses.
  • The Vibe: It’s the seasoned veteran on your team—reliable, strong, and no-nonsense. It’s the anchor of your morning.
• Guards Grounds (Medium Roast) This is the perfect all-day, all-shift brew. It’s impeccably balanced, smooth, and motivating, without the sharp edges of a darker roast. It’s the cup you can return to all day.
  • Tasting Notes: Caramelized, Cherry, Nutty, Cocoa.
  • The Vibe: This is your dependable partner. It’s got your back, it’s balanced, and it’s always the right call, whether it’s your first cup or your fourth.
• Lieutenants Light (Light Roast) A light roast is where the origin of the bean truly gets to shine. By roasting this coffee lighter, we pull forward the complex, nuanced flavors from its Brazilian soil. It’s bright, clean, and surprisingly complex.
  • Tasting Notes: Honey, Citrus Fruit, Cocoa, Almond.
  • The Vibe: This is that welcome moment of clarity. It’s the sharp, bright focus you need when handling complex paperwork or de-escalating a tense situation.

A Stronger Foundation for the Mission

This all comes back to one thing: The Mission.

We exist for a single reason: to provide support for Correctional Worker Mental Health. A portion of every single sale we make is donated to our partners at Desert Waters, who do the vital work of providing resources and training for corrections staff.

By taking control of our roasting, we aren’t just making better coffee. We are strengthening our business. We are strengthening our foundation. We are making our own process more efficient and more resilient, which in turn makes our support for the mission more powerful and more sustainable.

This move ensures that every single dollar you spend with us is maximized—first, by giving you the highest quality product possible, and second, by flowing directly to the mental health resources our community so desperately needs.

We took control of our coffee for the same reason you take control of your post: because the mission is too important to leave any part of it to chance.

Thank you for standing with us. Thank you for walking that line. We are honored to caffeinate your shift.

Welcome to the new Watch Call Coffee.

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You can check out all our new, in-house roasted coffee, mugs, and coasters right on our website. And remember, every purchase is backed by our secure Stripe payment processor.