The scoop
Our story
A family-owned business in Tucson, Arizona, and a citywide destination for coffee and tea lovers since 1998.
Family-owned since 1998
Raging Sage Coffee Roasters is a family-owned business in Tucson, Arizona. The cafe and roasting business was opened in 1998 by Roger and Julie Sliker and their two daughters, and has become a citywide destination for coffee and tea lovers throughout Tucson.
Our goal was to create a business that sells a sustainable product in a warm, welcoming space that fosters community. Our selection of coffee is varied, and our guidelines for selecting beans have been central from the beginning. We believe coffee grown in an environmentally responsible way, that protects birds from losing their habitat through shade growing and protects the health of farm workers, is not a choice but a responsibility.
Located at Grant and Campbell, Raging Sage has long been a stronghold of the Campbell Avenue community. We were central to creating the Campbell Avenue Business Partnership, bringing together businesses up and down the avenue with common goals and a unified voice. It’s that sense of responsibility to Tucson’s environment and community, alongside excellent, award-winning coffee, that shapes who we are.
Coffee, tea and baked goods, made with care
We’re dedicated to the experience that comes with coffee of the highest quality. We also keep a unique selection of teas and a reputation for baked goods, made right on the premises and sold fresh. Our customers call to ask what’s hot and just out of the oven, all the time.
Beans are purchased green from our buyer in San Francisco, who travels personally to coffee farms around the world and selects the highest-quality beans. Small samples are roasted in roughly eighth-pound batches and taste-tested by our roastmaster, who orders the coffee one bag at a time to keep the quality high and the selection varied.
Our beans are roasted in small batches to the temperatures that bring out the best in each variety. Our blends have won first place in nearly every competition since we opened, and Raging Sage has taken home nearly every top coffee prize in Tucson, including best cafe, best espresso and best blend.
We care, maybe a little too much
It’s simple. We care about our product so much that we passed up a fancy roaster for the front of the store, opting instead for one that looks like it was made in someone’s garage. Actually, it was: by Mike Sivetz, an MIT alumnus who spent over fifty years perfecting coffee-roasting techniques.
Plus, we do it because we love it. Our interest in coffee, our wish to give our customers comfort, and our dedication to quality drive us forward, day after day at the storefront.
It starts at the front door
The Raging Sage community begins at our cafe. From our employees and customers to our suppliers and neighboring businesses, Raging Sage thrives because of the people who come through our front door on Campbell Avenue. Our annual Thanksgiving Benefit Breakfast has raised funds for the Tucson Community Food Bank, Doctors Without Borders, Save the Children and other causes.
Local artists, musicians, writers and interesting people make up our clientele; it’s a great place to start a conversation. Our non-smoking patio under the orange trees is a fine place to bring friends and family, and your canine pals are welcome on a leash. Our employees are trained, courteous and stay with us. They are the backbone of our organization.
