Roaste.com: A Website for Coffee Cognoscenti

Three years ago, Frank Lanzkron-Tamarazo traded a 15-year career as a cantor singing prayers in a synagogue for roasting beans at Chazzano, a company he started after a friend suggested he follow his passion. While his Ferndale (Mich.) roastery and cafe have steadily gained traction, Lanzkron-Tamarazo wanted to expand beyond his local market without diminishing the time he had for roasting exotic varietals. He mulled franchising but realized he needed to establish a national brand first.

To boost his profile among coffee cognoscenti, he began selling on the website Roaste.com. The specialty marketplace has some 2,200 coffees from more than 100 vendors and expects an additional 150 roasters by yearend. Lanzkron-Tamarazo says online sales have quadrupled since he first started selling on Roaste in 2008, accounting for about $36,000 a year, roughly 5 percent of Chazzano’s revenue. “I’m not getting the same prices that I get from someone walking in off the street or even with my own website, but the exposure is worth more than I can quantify,” he says.