Buy The Owner’s Manual

Having spent over 25 years in an industry I care deeply about, I’ve witnessed firsthand how much of our learning has historically happened “on the job.” Like many of my peers, I had to figure things out through trial and error, often with limited access to meaningful resources—especially when it came to the business side of running a roasting operation. That’s why I believe The Owner’s Manual: A Guide to Sustaining a Coffee Roaster is such an essential contribution to our industry.

What Luke has created here is more than just a book—it’s a blueprint. For those of us who love coffee, it’s easy to get caught up in the romance of sourcing, roasting, and sharing beautiful coffees. I’m one of those people. I love traveling to origin, developing relationships with producers, and dialing in roast profiles. But as any seasoned operator knows, running a successful roastery requires far more than just a passion for coffee. It means understanding cash flow, leading a team, navigating hiring and HR, managing inventory, keeping a clean chart of accounts—all while trying to build something that’s financially viable and sustainable in the long run.

Luke brings all of that into focus. With clarity, humility, and a deep understanding of how roasting businesses really operate, he breaks down the core pillars that underpin a healthy company. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to tighten up operations after years in business, this book provides the kind of practical, hard-earned wisdom that’s been missing from our industry for far too long.

I’ve known Luke for years and can speak to his integrity, his operational know-how, and his heart for this work. His insights—shaped by years of experience in roasting, operations, and brand development—are invaluable. If you take this book seriously and apply what’s inside, it has the potential to reshape not just your roastery, but your entire approach to leadership and sustainability in coffee.

A grounded and practical guide for roasters ready to build systems that last. This book offers step-by-step frameworks for sales, operations, and decision-making. Luke has penned a useful guide for anyone trying to move beyond instinct and into structure. It’s not about perfection, but about building not just something that holds up — but something that can grow with you.

Too often, roasters trust their gut more than their calculators. Luke understands this and provides clear, practical guidance for running a successful roasting business.

This isn’t a book about roasting—you already know how to do that. It’s about building and sustaining a roasting company, with a sharp focus on sales and numbers. Through hands-on exercises, Luke helps you navigate the business side, knowing not every roaster has a formal education in it.

What Luke gets right: you are not alone. Roasting is a team effort—it’s about people, and it’s about you.

He doesn’t just give advice—he challenges you to think critically. Leave emotions at the door (hard, since we all love coffee). Drawing from other industries, Luke reminds us that while roasting is about coffee, it’s still a business.

Witty yet demanding, insightful yet practical, Luke pushes you to rethink your approach. By the end, you won’t just roast—you’ll run a thriving roastery.

It’s easy enough for a roaster to find great coffees, but building a sustainable business is a challenge for many. The Owner’s Manual cuts through the noise and gives real, practical advice on how to make a roastery work long-term without sacrificing quality or your core values. Luke's breakdown of pricing, sales, and process optimization is an incredible resource, and it’s refreshing to read a guide like this written specifically for coffee roasters. Even as I build my own business, this book has been a great reminder that sustainability is about creating the right structure to support your goals. If you want your roastery to thrive and need help putting the right systems in place, read this book!

Luke Waite has written a master class in operating a coffee roasting business.  A must read for all specialty coffee professionals. He presents strategic theory as well as functional examples for coffee roasters to understand both what is important and why it is critical to manage.  His use of real data examples will help personalize the information and contextualize it for your business allowing you to learn from others mistakes.

Roasting coffee is simple, but running a roastery? That’s where the real trip begins. Luke is candid, laying it all out for you—the tension, the grind, the beauty of crafting something built to last. This book is essential as it is uplifting.

With the coffee market in the midst of a seismic change this book is a must read for all coffee roastery owners!

Luke does a fantastic job in this book of providing business owners with the reality & resources for what it takes to run a sustainable coffee roastery. Whether or not you are just starting out or have been in the game for years this book provides you the framework to build, evaluate or evolve your coffee roasting business to survive in this new era for the coffee industry.

A timely work on key features of a sustainable and thriving roastery. This book fills the gap for roasters in need of a solid growth plan for their sales and operations.

Coffee roasting or any business, for that matter, can always be looked upon as a child and will always need great parenting, guidance, and TLC. This is such a great resource!

I have worked with Luke at multiple coffee roasting companies through the years and have seen first hand the transformative ability of this methodical approach to doing business. Every specialty coffee company I have been close to struggles to focus on business fundamentals, treating conversations on profit as unfortunate and even vulgar. The guidelines that he gives leave room for you to run your business your own way, but with a respect to these fundamentals. No one is guaranteed success in business, but following these steps will no doubt help you to give it your best.