Roasteries / Lightwave Coffee
Lightwave Coffee
University Park, Los Angeles, CA
Lightwave Coffee is a Los Angeles specialty roaster founded by Joy Park, who a decade earlier launched Elabrew Coffee — a coffee truck and shops in Santa Monica, Hollywood, and Downtown LA. Seeing "a gap in specialty coffee that could be improved," Park started Lightwave to focus on roasting and wholesale, building custom-curated blends and single origins for cafés, restaurants, and direct customers with an emphasis on consistency: "People drink one or two cups a day, and I want to be that for them." The roastery has placed at the 2024 Good Food Awards (finalist) and the 2022 Golden Bean North America Competition (gold, alternative milks; bronze, espresso and pour-over).
9
coffees
CA
base
Photos
Location
Coffees
9 coffees
A light-medium roast from the Huila Condor Project — 96 independent women coffee growers around Pitalito, Bruselas and Timaná who receive 18-20% above market rate for their coffee. Clean and balanced, with clementine brightness over honey and chocolate; excellent as pour-over, cold brew, or espresso. Source: lightwavecoffee.com.
Clementine, honey, chocolate
A washed decaf from Colombia's Valle del Cauca — a UNESCO World Heritage coffee-growing corridor — decaffeinated using ethyl acetate derived from fermented sugarcane, which removes up to 97% of caffeine while preserving flavor. Bright lemon over toffee and caramel. Source: lightwavecoffee.com.
Lemon, toffee, caramel
An anaerobic-process coffee from Tarrazú producer Luis Eduardo Campos, who hand-picks cherries near peak sugar content (~26 Brix) for a sealed, pressurized fermentation before full sun-drying. Vivid hibiscus, raspberry, and cinnamon. Source: lightwavecoffee.com.
Hibiscus, raspberry, cinnamon
Lightwave's dark-roast sibling to the Starlight Blend — the same Colombia Nariño (washed) and Ethiopia Guji Shakiso (natural) components taken further, for a richer, fuller body without over-roasting: toffee and dark chocolate with a red-grape finish. Source: lightwavecoffee.com.
Toffee, dark chocolate, red grape
A Grade 1 natural-process lot from the Danbi Udo wet mill, owned by Hailu Abebe of Demand Trading PLC, in Ethiopia's Guji Zone — hand-picked cherries sun-dried on raised beds for three to four weeks. Bright and floral: passion fruit, black tea, lavender. Source: lightwavecoffee.com.
Passion fruit, black tea, lavender
A community lot from Cubulco, Baja Verapaz — mostly Achi Mayan smallholders running their own wet mills in the highlands — blended by Genuine Origin's Guatemala City quality-control lab for a consistent cup of dried apricot, white peach and brown sugar. Source: lightwavecoffee.com.
Dried apricot, white peach, brown sugar
From Genuine Origin's La Morena program, launched in 2016 to give women coffee growers direct access to the global supply chain — now over 800 women farmers across Huehuetenango and Baja Verapaz. Grown in remote, frost-free highlands with dark chocolate, pomegranate, and rainier cherry in the cup. Source: lightwavecoffee.com.
Dark chocolate, pomegranate, rainier cherry
An organic washed coffee from Silvestre Vásquez's high-altitude farm and Joel López's four-generation, 67-hectare Los Lesquines farm in western Honduras — rich clay soil and distinct wet/dry seasons give a cup of chocolate almond, honeycrisp apple, and maple syrup. Source: lightwavecoffee.com.
Chocolate almond, honeycrisp apple, maple syrup
Lightwave's house blend, pairing a washed Colombia Nariño lot (24-36hr fermentation, communal patio-dried) with a natural Ethiopia Guji Shakiso lot from the Sawana Washing Station — a velvety, balanced cup of toffee, dark chocolate, and red grape, built for drip, espresso, or cold brew. Source: lightwavecoffee.com.
Toffee, dark chocolate, red grape