The Stereo Story

Stereo Coffee Roasters was founded in June 2018, by Geoff Polci, a certified Q grader.  Polci’s journey in coffee spans two decades beginning with roasting locally sourced beans for his restaurant in Costa Rica in 2004. He has since owned and operated several cafés and co-owned another roasting company in Toronto, bringing twelve years of roasting expertise and 20 years of industry experience to Stereo. Under Polci’s guidance, Stereo is dedicated to sourcing the highest quality, sustainable, and traceable coffees from single-farm producers, making coffees produced by women and Indigenous communities, a top priority.

Stereo’s Brazilian coffees come directly from Orange Brown Imports, owned by Andre and Victor—both Brazilians who maintain close relationships with local farmers. For Guatemalan coffees, we partner with Onyx Coffee, led by Edwin Martinez, a third-generation coffee producer from Huehuetenango. Through Onyx and Martinez, Polci has traveled to Guatemala multiple times to connect with producers and gain insights into their processes. Stereo also collaborates with Sammy Demise at Keffa Coffee, who has a direct connection with farmers in Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia. Colombian selections come from Azahar, a company that works closely with farmers in Huila and other regions, offering exceptional pink bourbons, decafs, and community lots. The rest of Stereo’s coffee is sourced through reputable American brokers. More recently, we’ve also begun working with Montreal-based JA Coffee, a highly regarded company dedicated to sourcing top-quality beans from multiple origins.

When it comes to roasting single-origin coffees, we carefully control the development of the coffee, avoiding any unwanted roast flavour. In Stereo’s early days, we worked extensively with Scott Rao to fine-tune our profiles and achieve this balance. Our advanced roast software allows us to maintain the highest level of consistency batch to batch. Even our darkest roast, You Want it Darker—despite its bold roast profile—is meticulously developed to maintain sweetness while preserving flavour elements from origin.

Roasting exceptional coffee is just one part of what we do. Stereo takes great pride in building meaningful relationships with both our wholesale and online customers. Any issues that arise are swiftly addressed through clear communication and attention to detail. Our commitment to customer service has resulted in multiple accolades and an exceptionally high retention rate.

Stereo is committed to fostering community—both in the coffee world and in the arts. This year we collaborated with Toronto record label “We Are Busy Bodies” to design a custom coffee blend to support local musicians. Beyond maintaining close relationships with coffee producers, Polci actively supports education and community building among all workers in the industry, by offering classes, training sessions, and hosting tastings.