Costa Rica - Luis Carlos Picado Montero

Kross Coffee Roasters is a specialty coffee roastery from Crete, founded by brothers Sotos and Stavros Michael, who helped bring third-wave coffee culture to Greece beyond Athens. After years of promoting quality coffee in a market dominated by dark commercial blends, they launched their own café in 2013 and began introducing fruity single origins to local customers, often as their first specialty coffee experience. In 2017, the original café was converted into an in-house roastery and lab, shifting focus toward roasting, quality control, and wholesale partnerships. Their roasting philosophy balances Scandinavian-inspired filter profiles with fuller-bodied blends like the Lighthouse Blend, designed to perform well in Greece’s signature Freddo drinks.