Kumquat Coffee

AJ Kim was headed to dental school until a Q-grader class with instructor Miran Oh redirected him into coffee, and in 2018 he and Scott Sohn turned a Highland Park juice bar into Kumquat by hand, with no budget for contractors. Kim has since logged fifty trips abroad to build direct relationships with farmers in Ethiopia, Ecuador, Panama, and Colombia.

• Tasting flights
• Bean browsing
• A focused coffee break

Rotating roasters

Kumquat is a multi-roaster shop. The founders now also roast under their own sister label, Loquat Coffee, part of the shared QUAT umbrella, and the shelf carries Loquat alongside a rotating cast of guest roasters. In stock as of 2026-07-21: Loquat Coffee, Sey (Brooklyn), Ceremony Coffee, FELT Coffee, LOT61, and Proud Mary, with rotation from Ditta Artigianale, Moving Coffee, Edison Coffee, Simple Kaffa, Camber, and Rose Coffee Roasters. Heart Roasters is not on the current shelf. Kim built many of these relationships directly, including about fifty trips to origin in Ethiopia, Ecuador, Panama, and Colombia.

A multi-roaster with a short attention span by design, rotating bags from top roasters worldwide alongside garden-direct Asian teas.

Precise, unhurried brewing: the pour-over and the rotating selections are built for someone who intends to taste carefully.

The Highland Park shop is a converted juice bar, built out by Kim and Sohn themselves on a tight budget, and it still reads that way - a small, bright room with a bungalow feel, sunlight through big windows, light wood surfaces, and white walls. The barista bar takes up most of the floor, seating is a mix of small tables, bar stools, and a communal table in back, with a bit of bench seating outside on a limited patio. Nothing about the room performs for a camera; the shelves of beans, filters, and brewing gear are there because customers actually buy them.

• minimalist
• bungalow
• bright
• compact counter
• neighborhood