About Us
Coffee with a strong passion and connected relationships.
Our Story
Forte Legato began with a guy who needed good coffee and couldn't find it. Nick Peñaloza was working global shifts while finishing his MBA, and coffee was what kept him going. Most of it tasted bitter and burnt. When he complained one too many times, his wife told him to do something about it. So he did. He ordered his first bag of green coffee from Sweet Maria's in Oakland and roasted it at home.
More than 13 years later, that home experiment has grown into a craft roastery with wholesale partners across the Carolinas and coffee shipped to subscribers' doors. The goal hasn't changed: coffee that's bold in character and smooth to drink, made by people who know where it came from.
Why "Forte Legato"
The name comes from two musical terms. Forte means loud and strong, and legato means smooth and connected. Every coffee we roast aims for both: big, clear flavor that drinks smoothly, and a supply chain that connects the farmer to your cup.
Relationships First
Our More Than Fair approach is simple. We shorten the chain between the farm and the roaster so that more of the value reaches the people who grow the coffee.
Our longest-running example is in Cameroon. There we work with Matti Foncha and the farmers of the Boyo cooperative, and their coffee has become a staple of our espresso and batch brew. We buy from the same people season after season because the relationship makes the coffee better, and it makes us better roasters.
That idea of connection extends to our home in the Carolinas, where our coffee is poured by local cafés and businesses we're proud to partner with.
Award-Winning, and Still Learning
Competition keeps us honest. It puts our coffee on a table next to the best roasters in the world and makes us better at what we do.
2026 · Golden Bean The Americas (Denver)
- 🥈 Silver, Automatic Espresso: La Piragua Anaerobic Natural (Huila, Colombia)
- 🥉 Bronze, Filter: Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Anaerobic Natural. This is last year's coffee, roasted lighter on a new profile to bring out its fruit.
- 🥉 Bronze, K-Cup: Cypher Blend, made from a 2024 Colombian, last year's Ethiopian and a natural Brazil.
2025 · Golden Bean The Americas
- 🥉 Bronze, Espresso: Bravura Blend, our signature espresso
- 🥉 Bronze, Pour-over: Colombian Anaerobic Natural from Villa de Don Juan, Gómez Collazos
In 2026 Nick also served as a judge, and our results qualified Forte Legato for the Golden Bean World Championships in New Orleans in April 2027.
Come Taste It
Shop our coffees, start a subscription or ask about wholesale. We'd love to connect.