Roaster Highlight: Leleka Coffee Roasters w/ Founders Alex & Victoria

Alex and Victoria are the founders of Leleka Coffee Roasters, an online-only specialty roastery based in San Diego. Originally from Ukraine, they bring over 20 years of coffee experience — starting as baristas and progressing through roasting, barista training, and competition — to every bag they produce. Their focus is on coffees that work well across brewing methods and are genuinely enjoyable every day. You can find them at leleka.coffee and on Instagram at @lelekacoffee.

You both grew up around coffee culture in Ukraine before building Leleka here in San Diego. What are some of the biggest differences you've noticed between coffee culture in Ukraine and the U.S.? Also, your expertise crafted through roasting, barista training, and competition is very unique. Can you tell us more about those experiences, and how they've shaped the way you approach coffee at Leleka in San Diego today?

Coffee culture in Ukraine — especially in cities like Kyiv — grew very fast and with a clear focus. There's a lot of attention to quality, equipment, and barista skills. Many coffee shops have small menus and care a lot about how the coffee tastes. Some places are very strict about how they serve coffee. For example, they may not offer sugar, and they won't make an americano by adding hot water to espresso. Instead, they might serve drip coffee instead. In the U.S., and in San Diego, coffee culture is more relaxed and more diverse. Coffee shops are often busy, and the experience is more casual. There is still great quality coffee here, but the approach is different, and people are more open to different styles. Our background — from working as baristas to competing and roasting — taught us discipline and consistency. Competitions helped us understand coffee better. Today at Leleka, we try to keep that quality while making coffee that people can enjoy every day.

What makes a coffee feel like a good fit for Leleka specifically? I know you mention you strive for balance with a "pinch of wilderness", but how does this translate to your sourcing style and preference?

For us, balance is the base. That's how we look at coffee. We choose coffee in two ways. First, coffee that is easy to drink and easy to understand — more classic taste profiles. Second, coffee that we enjoy drinking every day — more fruity and floral, clean in the cup, and sometimes a bit more interesting or different. We also like when a coffee has something a little unexpected, like a unique fruit note, a different process, or a brighter acidity that gives it character but doesn't take over the cup. When sourcing, we try not to go to extremes. We're not looking for the most experimental coffees, but we also don't want anything boring. We want coffee you can drink every day and still enjoy.

When dialing in a new coffee, what are the key variables you're paying the most attention to during roasting? On average, how many iterations does it take before you feel like you've perfected a new roast?

We focus a lot on rate of rise (ROR), development time and balance, and the color and smell of the beans. The goal is to bring out the flavors that are typical for the coffee and make them balanced in the cup. Usually, it takes us 3 to 6 roast tries to feel confident. But in reality, it's never really finished — we keep making small changes as the coffee gets older or conditions change.

San Diego tap water is pretty hard. How much does that factor into your roasting decisions, considering most locals probably brew at home? And do you think having "ideal" coffee water is essential to getting the best out of a given bean?

It's a good question. In real life, most people don't think about water, so we keep that in mind when we roast. We try to develop coffee so they still taste good even if the water isn't perfect.

What's a coffee in your current lineup that you think really shines on filter — and what brew method would you personally recommend for it? How about one that is extra tasty for espresso (minus the obvious FIRA roast) and could you recommend a dose/ratio that works best?

I'm choosing two of our bestsellers. Honduras Guama Dante Organic is great for espresso. Ethiopia Sidamo Shantawene Organic is great for filter coffee. But you can brew both coffees using different methods as well.

Your drip coffee bags stand out, especially the attention to detail in the packaging. What did the R&D process look like when developing that product, and what made you decide to offer it when many roasters don't?

You'd be surprised if you look into how many roasters actually offer drip bags. The main issue with this product is that most American homes don't have a kettle. We found a few co-packing facilities that handle packaging for us. It was not easy to choose a partner for this project. In Ukraine, we could go from idea to finished product in about a week. No emails, no long shipping times between steps. In the U.S., almost every step takes at least a week. That's a big difference between Ukraine and the U.S. Things move much faster in Ukraine. We also tested many recipes and doses. In the end, we decided not to overcomplicate it with things like bloom time or exact seconds between pours. It's just three full pours, that's it. Recipes can get too complicated — it's not a barista competition.

Now that San Diego feels like home, how would you compare the specialty coffee scenes in Kyiv and San Diego? Is there something from Kyiv's coffee culture you'd love to see more of here?

Kyiv's coffee scene is very dense and competitive, with many small focused shops pushing quality forward. I would say it's more coffee-focused. San Diego is more lifestyle-driven, with an emphasis on experience and community, and supporting local small businesses, but business side still matters a lot. One thing we would like to see more here is coffee shops staying open after 6 pm.

Fun Hypothetical: Dream Coffee Shop

Espresso machine?

La Marzocco Linea S EE, 3-group semi-automatic.

Grinders?

Mahlkönig or Mazzer (not sure about exact models yet).

Manual brew?

V60 or Kalita.

Wild card gear?

French press and AeroPress.

Pastries?

European-style pastries with less sugar and a better balance.

Thanks to Alex and Victoria for joining us on the subreddit. Find Leleka Coffee Roasters' current offerings and follow along at leleka.coffee or on Instagram @lelekacoffee.