Café Saint-Henri

Café Saint-Henri is a Montreal micro-roaster founded in 2011 in the historic working-class neighbourhood it's named after, and a pioneer of specialty coffee in Quebec. Founder Jean-François Leduc left a legal career for coffee and ran Caffè In Gamba before launching Saint-Henri. He sold the company in 2021 to Sébastien Grenache and a group of investors.

Sourcing is at the heart of the business. More than 80% of its coffee is bought directly from farms, and team members visit producer partners each year to choose lots. It pays a premium of at least twice the so-called fair-trade price, and it also works with private importers and transparent cooperatives. In the roastery, the team tracks green-coffee moisture, ambient conditions and live roast curves, with weekly cupping led by an experienced taster.

The Montreal roasting center includes a small lab used for barista training. Saint-Henri runs several cafes around the city, so a coffee-minded US visitor to Montreal can easily fit one in.