About Us

We will use our deep experience in coffee to provide you special coffees.

Founders of Coffee Searer

Rumbling Rock co-founder Dr. Ximena sitting on a research farm

Dr. María Ximena Anleu Gil is a plant biologist in UC Davis where she researches seed plant reproduction. In addition to her scientific work, Ximena serves as the elected vice-president of a union representing 48,000 academic workers at the University of California. Ximena is from Guatemala with coffee trees behind her home. Her grandpa was a coffee farmer. Ximena loves drinking coffee.

A table has 9 sets of 6 cups of coffee for tasting. Peter bends to smell one of the cups.

Dr. Peter Lynagh was a nomadic teenage barista. Peter's expertise exponentially deepened while a master roaster and QC for George Howell. Peter helped develop some of the highest scoring coffees in the world, such as the beans used in winning the World Barista Championship, and other special coffees. Afterwards, Peter improved methods for analyzing plants as a UC Davis Ph.D. and postdoctoral fellow before co-founding Coffee Searer. Peter continues to work on coffee improvement and sustainability.

FAQ

When do you roast? When will my order ship?

For orders received by 9:00pm PST Sunday, we currently roast and ship on Monday. We plan to roast and ship more frequently as the business grows.

Do you have a physical location open to the public?

Not yet.

Why do you roast using pans? Why not machines?

Because of the coffee pans produce. Pan roasting can showcase a coffee’s distinctive origin character while adding body and a subtle seared quality.

Co-founder Peter initially shared the common skepticism toward pan roasting, but changed his mind after trying it himself. We have experience with and access to modern roasting machines, and we respect what drum and fluid-bed roasters can accomplish. We simply believe pan roasting deserves serious consideration on sensory grounds. It is also a living tradition in Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee.

How do you source green coffee?

This is where we are most ambitious but it will take some time to develop. We are focused on supporting small farms in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Guatemala due to the exemplary quality of their coffee, and using an evidence based approach to identifying special stewardship of farms. Co-founder Ximena is working on developing special small coffee gardens in Guatemala, including what will be some of the freshest green coffees in the US. In short: watch this space.

Do you sell flavored coffee?

No. We do not sell flavored, co-fermented, or yeast-inoculated coffees, nor coffees with such flavor profiles.

What is Rumbling Rock?

During our soft opening, we changed our name from Rumbling Rock to Coffee Searer. If you opened an account under Rumbling Rock, your login should still work, and you do not need to change anything.