James Parrish and Colin Curtin co founded Rhetoric Coffee in 2016 in Berkeley, California, starting on a small Probat at Bay Area CoRoasters before upgrading to a Loring S35 Kestrel. Parrish, a former Blue Bottle barista and co founder of Alchemy Collective, brings a deep background in specialty coffee, while Curtin came from web development with a longstanding dream of entering the industry. Their signature approach is what they call melange roasting: splitting a single coffee into two roast levels, one highlighting acidity and the other sugar development, then blending them to create a perceptibly sweeter, more complex cup. Sourcing runs through Coffee Shrub's Farm Gate program, with prices negotiated directly with farmers at well above Fair Trade minimums. Every bag features screen printed artwork by commissioned comic book artists and illustrators, with a licensing model that lets each artist retain ownership of their work.