Pilot Coffee Roasters x noissue

Pilot Coffee Roasters’ mission has always been to realize coffee’s potential. Since their founding in 2009 under a different name, up until the rebrand to their current name, Pilot Coffee Roasters, in 2013, they have consistently shown dedication to the art of coffee—from sourcing and roasting to crafting and serving. They never miss.

Direct trade has always been the Pilot Coffee way. By nourishing relationships with coffee producers and their respective communities over the years, they’re able to offer a wide range of uniquely delicious coffee creations and stay true to their values. Now with a number of shops across Ontario, an online store, and retail partners, getting your hands on some premium coffee has never been easier.

The presentation in which you serve coffee can be just as essential as its preparation. Pilot Coffee, known for their commitment to sustainability, doesn’t compromise in their packaging. To ensure that the packaging they use for their coffee genuinely reflects their values, they partnered with noissue in the creation of their coffee bags.

Read below to learn more about Pilot Coffee Roasters!

Tell us a bit about your brand!

Pilot Coffee Roasters started in May 2009, originally named Te Aro, with Andy Wilkin and Jessie Holmes opening the doors in Toronto’s Leslieville neighbourhood. Today, we're a 16 year old coffee company with cafes across Toronto, Waterloo and Oakville.

A lot has changed since 2009 but the core of what we do is the same: making great coffee and working with great people. For many people, Pilot is their gateway into specialty coffee and we hope to share our passion with them in a way that is approachable.

We work with our direct trade partners closely, which has inspired our roasting philosophy. Our approach is simple: we roast the coffee to the sweetest point because we want to honor the coffee producers’ hard work. Through our relationships with our coffee producers we know just how much love and care goes into the process of getting a bean ready to roast.

Tell us about your packaging, how you’re using it, and the importance of it for your brand.

We worked with noissue for our latest limited edition coffee: Black Moon. We wanted something unique for this special bean, which represented our decade-long partnership with coffee producer Francisco Mena at Sumava de Lourdes.

The yellow glow is a tie back to our main brand colour and a play on the glow of a full moon. We always try to present our limited edition coffees in a manner that is compelling and stands out from our core coffee blends yet is still recognizable as Pilot Coffee Roasters.

What made noissue a good fit for your packaging?

noissue aligns with our brand in so many ways - from sustainability and design, to people and relationships. It helps that everything noissue does looks and feels great.

Where are you finding inspiration for Pilot Coffee Roasters and in life at the moment?

We’re inspired by so many things, how people move through the world, the conversations we have on a daily basis with our roasters, baristas, customers, coffee producers and collaborators.

Small, honest moments spark so many of the ideas that shape our work. We like translating emotion, memory, or atmosphere into something visual or tactile.