Roasteries / Prodigal Coffee
Prodigal Coffee
Boulder, Colorado, United States
Boulder, Colorado specialty roastery founded by Scott Rao — a 30-year coffee veteran as cafe owner, roaster, consultant, and author of The Coffee Roaster's Companion and Coffee Roasting: Best Practices — alongside Mark Benedetto, a trained chef turned Q-Grader who founded Last Stand Coffee in San Francisco. Prodigal roasts small, fast-rotating lots of fruit-forward single origins, sourced largely through subscriber-first releases, and ships nationally with no public café — local pickup is by appointment only.
17
coffees
United States
base
Location
Prodigal Coffee — Roastery
2500 47th St Ste 10, Boulder, CO 80301, United StatesMon–Fri 9:00 AM–4:00 PM, Sat–Sun Closed
Coffees
17 coffees
Prodigal's flagship blend, crafted week to week from their limited headline coffees rather than beans bought specifically to blend — combining washed and natural/honey-processed lots for a fruity, bright, balanced everyday cup.
Fruity, bright, balanced
A new-to-Prodigal farm, Finca Las Buchanas, in Honduras. Punchy cherry and orange flavors with creamy, soft persimmon.
Cherry, orange, persimmon
Named for the washing station where it was processed. Complex, leading with apricot, grape, and a black tea finish, with mandarin orange, pomegranate, pineapple, and lemon in various tastings.
Apricot, grape, black tea finish
Chelbesa One roasted a touch darker than the filter profile — makes fantastic straight shots and Americanos.
Apricot, grape, black tea — darker roast for espresso
An ultra-limited washed geisha. Refined, elegant peach and fennel with delicate florality, a touch of raspberry, and a zippy pineapple/lemon combo. Producer: Hermes Ulises Cerón.
Peach, fennel, raspberry, pineapple/lemon
Ripe peach, cranberry, lush red wine, and the signature Kenyan "bigness."
Ripe peach, cranberry, red wine
A classic washed Ethiopian — florals, citrus, stone fruit, and a hint of anise spice. Balanced, drink-all-day cup.
Florals, citrus, stone fruit, anise
Roasted for Prodigal's monthly subscribers and now released as a small rested reserve. Big, ripe apricot coupled with a touch of pineapple and jasmine-like florals. Producer: Habtamu Fikadu Aga / Kuri Mountain Coffee.
Apricot, pineapple, jasmine
Jorge Rojas may hold the record for most-featured-producer on the Prodigal menu. His barely-processed 16-hour washed geisha features fresh, tart raspberry, raisin sweetness, and a creamy body.
Raspberry, raisin, creamy
From Finca La Mata De Guadua. Peach, raspberry, and raisin, with a hint of tropical fruit in the finish.
Peach, raspberry, raisin, tropical fruit finish
Prodigal's signature milk-drink espresso blend — a clean, soft Colombian caturra as the base, blended with a rotating second component for a bit of sparkle.
Clean, soft, optimized for milk drinks
A single-farm natural Ethiopian from West Arsi — blueberry-forward, very clean, well-fruited, and aromatic.
Blueberry, lemon, grape
Nensebo G1 roasted a touch darker than the filter profile — makes fantastic straight shots and Americanos.
Blueberry, lemon, grape — darker roast for espresso
Submitted to Cup of Excellence and placed 2nd in the Traditional category. Ripe apricot, green grape, and melon.
Apricot, green grape, melon
Kenyan-variety SL-28 grown in Colombia. Very clean, with cherry, mandarin orange and grape, and a bit of red wine in the finish.
Cherry, mandarin orange, grape, red wine finish
A super clean, washed chiroso from Huila — red plum, orange, and raisin with remarkable depth.
Red plum, orange, raisin
A first-timer sampler set: fresh roasts of Boulder Blend and Milk Blend plus smaller packs of various rotating headline single-origin coffees.
Sampler of Boulder Blend, Milk Blend, and rotating headline coffees