1. Environmental Impact

Quality hospitality means we care for you and care for the earth. In other words, we treat Mother Nature like family. Cause she is. That’s why we only roast organic coffee, compost, and treat our environment with respect.

Helping Our Neighbors

Being a good neighbor means showing up for your community in practical, meaningful ways. We regularly donate used coffee grounds and compost to local gardeners, farmers, and neighbors—anyone who can use it to help things grow.

We also support Area 10 Agency on Aging through the Kroger Community Rewards program, which helps fund their essential services for older adults in our region—just by doing our everyday grocery shopping.

2. Ethical Sourcing

Where coffee comes from matters. That’s why we ethically source our certified organic beans from farmers that love coffee as much as we do. We offer both direct trade and fair trade coffees. What does this mean for you? 

Direct Trade

We’ve built direct, collaborative relationships with farmers in Honduras and El Salvador to ensure environmental, economical, and social sustainability. Because coffee? It’s about relationships.

Fair Trade

We also buy beans from Fair Trade Certified™ coffee growers and cooperatives. This network helps farmers get better prices, keep their kids in school, and protect fragile ecosystems. It’s just one way Needmore Coffee puts our values into your coffee cup.

3. Small-Batch Roasting

Our Roasting Philosophy

Roasting transforms raw, green coffee beans into the flavorful, aromatic coffee you know and love. At Needmore, we roast in small batches at our dedicated Southside roasting facility, using a Diedrich IR12 12-kilo gas drum roaster. This slower, more gentle roasting method gives our team greater control over temperature, color, and aroma throughout the process—ensuring every roast brings out the best in each bean.

Freshness, Not Waste

We typically roast on Mondays and Wednesdays, which allows us to minimize waste and keep our offerings as fresh as possible. While we no longer roast inside the café, the same care and craft that began behind the bar continues just a few miles down the road. You can still taste the difference in every cup.

June 2014

In June 2014, Needmore Coffee started with a woman and a one-pound, electric roaster. Owner Katie Mysliwiec Slavin named her new business after Needmore Elementary School in Springville, Indiana (that’s in northern Lawrence County, about 19 miles south as the crow flies of our roastery today) because of her fond memories of the place she went to school as a child. Those first roasts were mostly sold at the Miller Beach Farmers Market in Gary, IN, and the Valparaiso Farmers Market in Valparaiso, IN. 

September 2014

In September 2014 the business moved to Chesterton, IN and production increased thanks to a three-pound roaster built by Katie’s father, Lee Mysliwiec.

It turned out that people wanted more Needmore Coffee than that roaster could handle.

February 2015

Come February 2015, Katie purchased a brand new three-kilo drum roaster built in Oklahoma City by US Roaster Corp. But installing this new machine meant moving. Again. Thankfully the folks from a local food truck business welcomed having a coffee roaster in their shop. That summer our freshly roasted coffee also began being served at every Saturday at Chesterton’s European Market.

March 2017

It was time to move again. Katie came back to Bloomington and opened Needmore Coffee Bar & Roastery on the East side of town. Now we have more space to roast, brew, and serve our coffee seven days a week. We also have been doing more baking in house, making quiche, scones, coffee cakes, biscotti, and breads. Our space also lets us show off some of our favorite things from Indiana: the coffee bar is built from nearby Hancock Country wood, and our walls feature rotating artwork by local artists.

The COVID Years

Needmore survived the COVID-19 pandemic thanks to the incredible support of our Bloomington community and customers across the country and beyond. You ordered beans, shared kind words, bought gift cards, and kept believing in what we do—even when the world felt uncertain.

We’re still here because of that generosity. And we honor it every day by roasting coffee with care, creating a welcoming space, and offering moments of connection and calm. At Needmore, you’re never just another drink order. You’re part of something real—something rooted in community.

Today

Today, Needmore Coffee Roasters is more than a coffee shop—it’s a hub for connection, creativity, and conscious living.

We roast all our coffee at our dedicated Southside roasting facility, using a 12-kilo Diedrich drum roaster and beans sourced from smallholder farms around the world. Our lively café offers fresh-baked quiche, scones, biscotti, and paninis made with care. The walls serve as a rotating gallery, showcasing the work of Bloomington artists and makers we admire.

Our online store and subscription program allow us to bring freshly roasted beans straight to doorsteps near and far. And through it all, we remain committed to sustainability—from ethical sourcing practices to our composting efforts and community partnerships.

We’re proud to call Bloomington’s East side home—and even prouder to share Needmore coffee with folks everywhere. Whether you stop in for a cup or brew us at home, you’re part of what makes this place special.