February sits right in the heart of winter: a month that invites slower mornings, warmer cups, and coffees that offer both comfort and curiosity. It also follows one of the most energising moments in the coffee calendar: our first major event of the year, the Danish Coffee Festival in Copenhagen, where it was inspiring to see so many people coming together to celebrate quality, craft, and community.
This month, we’re delighted to feature Sandbox Coffee from Göttingen, Germany, a young roastery built around play, experimentation, and thoughtful sourcing. Sandbox approach coffee with curiosity and openness, exploring new ideas while staying grounded in relationships and shared learning. In the interview below, they share how this philosophy shapes their roasting, how they select coffees, and why community sits at the centre of what they do.
Your name evokes play, creativity, and exploration, like a sandbox. How does this philosophy shape your approach to roasting?
We’d say it shows up in the experiments we have coming up for people to try. Things like rehydrated coffees, or harvest comparisons where we froze some of last year’s harvest and want to compare it with this year’s. Beyond specific projects, it’s really about staying curious and trying to learn every day.
At the beginning, we chose coffees that we already knew and loved from other roasters. Nowadays, we’re trying to showcase other people’s projects, or at least we’re trying to. It’s often people we’ve met, or people who reached out to us, where there’s more behind the coffee than just high quality.
How do you balance experimentation with consistency when developing roast profiles?
When a coffee arrives, we usually try many different roasts. Once we’ve found a profile we’re happy with, our Stronghold S8X really helps us maintain consistency.
Sandbox has collaborated with creatives like Viola Beuscher on coffee cups. How important is collaboration outside coffee to your brand identity?
We definitely love that part. It’s so much fun getting together with people to be creative. There’s a lot we can learn from other industries, and it helps us think outside the box.
Community is a big part of your ethos. In what ways do you engage your local Göttingen community or the broader coffee community in Germany and beyond?
We host a cupping on the first Friday of every month. It’s been amazing to see people start bringing coffees they want to share, and now it’s become a place to taste and discuss coffees from different roasters. Outside of Germany, we’ll be at World of Coffee in Brussels this year, as well as Amsterdam and Paris Coffee Festival, brewing coffees for people.
For someone new to specialty coffee, how would you guide them to explore and appreciate the different flavour profiles in your offerings?
We’ve started offering a tasting experience in our showroom that’s all about contrast, for example, a washed coffee next to a natural Ethiopian, or a Brazil next to a funky Colombian. We really enjoy showing contrasts between coffees and the complexity they bring.
February's Selection
Las Perlitas Pink Bourbon
Origin: Huila region, Colombia
Process / Altitude / Variety: Washed | High-altitude | Pink Bourbon
Producer: Las Perlitas, a renowned Colombian farm celebrated for sustainable practices, meticulous hand-picking, and attention to varietal uniqueness.
Tasting Profile: Bright, floral, and juicy. Expect notes of grape juice, tropical flowers, and subtle citrus with a smooth, clean finish.
Story: This rare Pink Bourbon varietal develops its signature color and flavor through careful cultivation at high altitude. Washed processing highlights clarity and balance, creating a refined, expressive coffee that reflects both the region and the farm’s precision.
Buko Hambela Natural Heirloom
Origin: Buko Hambela, Guji, Ethiopia
Process / Altitude / Variety: Natural | 1,900–2,250 masl | Heirloom
Producer: Buko Hambela, a community-driven farm in Ethiopia’s Guji region, known for high-altitude cultivation, careful sun-drying, and rich, complex flavor development.
Tasting Profile: Sweet and floral, with notes of red berries, gentle acidity, and a layered, balanced sweetness.
Story: Grown at high altitude and naturally processed on raised beds, this Heirloom coffee absorbs the fruit’s sugars slowly, producing a coffee with vivid fruit character, depth, and a clean structure. Perfect for those who enjoy exploring intricate flavors and the diversity of Ethiopian varietals.
Jorge Rojas Honey Red Bourbon
Origin: Planadas, Tolima, Colombia
Process / Altitude / Variety: Honey | 1,850 masl | Red Bourbon
Producer: Jorge Elías Rojas, a fourth-generation Colombian coffee farmer, cultivating Red Bourbon and other specialty varieties at Finca El Jardín with a strong focus on innovation, precision fermentation, and sustainable farming.
Tasting Profile: Sweet and complex, with notes of caramel, red berries, and refined acidity. Silky mouthfeel with layered flavors that highlight both the varietal and the highland terroir.
Story: The honey process leaves part of the mucilage on the beans during drying, enhancing body and fruit-forward sweetness while keeping a clean cup profile. This method, combined with Jorge’s careful cultivation, produces a balanced, expressive coffee that’s perfect for those who enjoy sweetness, clarity, and a distinct Colombian character in every sip.
