commonly coffee

Happy Canada Day! It only seemed fitting to celebrate this incredible country that I have the privilege of calling home, by sharing the story of an incredible Canadian specialty coffee roaster!

Maybe it was their packaging that first caught my attention. Or maybe it was their coffee popping off on a number of other accounts I f ollow, but either way I quickly became aware of Sipsrtuck and knew that I had to get my hands on some of the coffee they were roasting. You could say it was love at first sip. Because after getting some, I knew I needed more, and I knew I needed to share their story.

So I reached out to Michael Fenwick and he was all-in to let me share Sipstruck’s story, and here it is on my blog for July as our Coffee Roaster of the Month.

So great to get the chance to connect with you Michael! Help our audience get to know you a bit better… What’s your personal backstory in coffee? How did you get started? What keeps you going in coffee?

First off, Tyler, thanks for having me. I’ve been following Commonly Coffee for a while now, so it’s an honour to be featured, especially in a Canada Day edition alongside so many great Canadian roasters.

My path into coffee wasn’t some grand business plan. I simply became fascinated by specialty coffee and wanted to understand why some coffees were unforgettable while others weren’t.

What started as curiosity quickly became an obsession. The deeper I went, the more fascinated I became by the people behind the coffee; producers, processors, and roasters all working to create something extraordinary.

Eventually, it felt less rewarding to simply drink great coffee than it did to help create those experiences for other people. Sipstruck launched in 2025 as a result of that progression.

What keeps me going today is the pursuit of exceptional coffee. Every once in a while you come across a coffee that completely resets your expectations of what coffee can be. I’m still chasing those moments.

Before we go much further, share with our readers what you’re drinking/enjoying these days when it comes to coffee!

Lately I’ve been drinking a lot of coffees from Colombia and Ethiopia. Those origins continue to produce some of the most exciting coffees I’m tasting.

I’m generally drawn to coffees that are expressive, clean, and memorable. Whether it’s a beautifully structured washed coffee with incredible clarity or a carefully processed natural that pushes flavour boundaries without sacrificing balance, I’m looking for coffees that make me stop and pay attention.

I also have a soft spot for the funkier side of specialty coffee. Clean co-ferments, innovative processing methods, and producers willing to experiment can create some truly unforgettable flavour experiences when they’re executed well. The key word is clean. I want complexity and intensity, but I still want the coffee to taste intentional and refined.

More than anything, I’m interested in coffees that have a clear point of view. The coffees I remember most aren’t necessarily the loudest or most expensive, they’re the ones where you can tell every decision was deliberate, from cultivation and processing all the way through to the final cup.

Right now I’m especially excited by the level of innovation we’re seeing at origin. Every once in a while a coffee comes along that completely resets your expectations, and those are the coffees I’m always chasing.

I am always fascinated in the origin story of how a roaster selects their name, so help our readers to get to know the story behind the choice of yours. Why Sipstruck Coffee? Is there a significance or symbolism about this for you?

The name came from a feeling.

Every coffee lover has had that experience where a cup completely catches them off guard. You take a sip and immediately stop what you’re doing. Maybe it’s sweeter than you expected. Maybe it’s more complex. Maybe it tastes nothing like you thought coffee could taste.

That’s the feeling behind Sipstruck.

In fact, we even created our own definition:

Sipstruck (sip-struhk) — adj. Captivated or deeply moved by an exceptional sip, especially of coffee.

From the beginning, I wanted the company to be built around that feeling rather than around myself. If someone drinks one of our coffees and has that moment where they immediately want another sip because they’re trying to figure out what just happened, we’ve done our job.

Since this article is going live on my site on Canada Day, it only made sense to feature a Canadian roaster this month. Can you share what you love about the specialty coffee culture in Canada, and maybe get a bit more specific and share what you love about the community in the Niagara region.

I think specialty coffee in Canada has matured tremendously over the last decade.

Consumers are more curious than ever. People care about where their coffee comes from, who produced it, how it was processed, and why it tastes the way it does. That’s exciting because it creates space for producers and roasters to focus on quality rather than simply volume.

One thing I appreciate about Canadian coffee culture is that it tends to be collaborative rather than competitive. There’s a genuine willingness among roasters, cafés, importers, and coffee professionals to share knowledge and help move specialty coffee forward.

Closer to home, Niagara has a strong appreciation for craftsmanship. Whether it’s wine, food, beer, or coffee, people here value products that are thoughtfully made. There’s also a real sense of community among local businesses that I appreciate.

Being based in Niagara Falls is something I’m proud of. Most people around the world know Niagara Falls. Fewer know that there’s a growing specialty coffee scene here, and I’m excited to contribute to that in some small way.

I gotta say, having already gotten my hands on some of your coffee, not only is it absolutely incredible but so is your packaging. What was the inspiration for the bold design aspects of your bags? Any significance to the bear and/or octopus on the back? I’d love to hear more about what all went into the design process.

Thank you. The packaging was something I obsessed over from day one.

A lot of specialty coffee packaging tends to look very similar. Clean white bags, muted colours, minimalist typography. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I wanted Sipstruck to be immediately recognizable from across the room.

The overall design philosophy is actually quite similar to how we approach coffee. Be intentional. Be memorable. Don’t blend into the background.

The bear and octopus represent land and sea respectively. Beyond that, I’d rather leave a little mystery. Let’s just say they’re part of a larger story we’re building at Sipstruck. Stay tuned.

From the beginning, I wanted Sipstruck to feel different. The coffee world can sometimes take itself a little too seriously, and I wanted to create a brand that felt approachable, creative, and a little unexpected.

People ask about those illustrations all the time, which tells me they’re doing exactly what they were intended to do: make people curious enough to take a closer look.

At the end of the day, though, the coffee is always the hero. The packaging should make someone curious enough to pick up the bag, but the coffee inside has to justify that attention.

I want to hear more about the coffee you select. You work with some truly remarkable producers, and bring in some spectacular offerings. Share more about not only about how you select the coffees you bring in, but also share about your roasting philosophy as well.

Everything starts with the producer.

I don’t buy coffees because they’re trendy. I buy coffees because they stop me in my tracks on the cupping table.

The producers I work with have often spent years refining their craft, whether that’s through variety selection, processing innovation, or simply relentless attention to detail. Great producers are obsessed with quality long before the coffee reaches me. The least I can do is honour that work through careful sourcing and roasting.

My job isn’t to overshadow that work. It’s to showcase it.

That’s one of the reasons I roast on ROEST equipment. The level of precision and consistency allows me to make deliberate decisions and execute them repeatedly. When you’re working with exceptional coffees, consistency isn’t a luxury, it’s a responsibility.

Roasting-wise, I lean toward lighter profiles that preserve sweetness, clarity, and origin character. I’m not interested in roasting every coffee into the same flavour profile. If a producer has done something special, I want people to taste it.

To me, roasting is less about imposing flavour and more about revealing what’s already there.

I was reading your interview over on the MtPak website and was struck (maybe even Sipstruck)…lol, by a line I read. You said “at Sipstruck we don’t do subtle.” Can you expand on that for me. How does that principle permeate into all that you do?

When I say we don’t do subtle, I’m not talking about intensity for the sake of intensity.

I’m talking about being memorable.

Every coffee we release needs to have a reason to exist. I want coffees that excite me. Coffees that make me want to call someone over and say, “You need to taste this.”

That philosophy influences everything we do. The coffees we source. The way we roast. The packaging. The photography. The way we tell stories about producers.

There are a lot of good coffees in the world. I’m interested in the ones people remember.

You have developed quite the fan base already when it comes to people enjoying your coffee. Share with our readers where you see Sipstruck in a year from now. What about 5 years?

A year from now, I’d like to see Sipstruck continuing to grow while staying true to what got us here in the first place: exceptional coffee and strong producer relationships.

We’re constantly refining our roasting, expanding our offerings, and looking for new ways to connect people with remarkable coffees.

Five years from now, I’d love for Sipstruck to be recognized as one of Canada’s most respected specialty coffee roasters.

Not because we’re the biggest, but because we’re consistently sourcing remarkable coffees, treating producers with respect, and delivering coffees that people genuinely remember.

Coffee is built on trust. Five years from now, I want people to trust that if a coffee carries the Sipstruck name, it’s there because we genuinely believe it’s exceptional.

Thanks so much for sharing your story! Here’s your chance to say anything else you want to. Go for it. Is there anything else our readers need to know?

I think one thing that’s easy to lose sight of in specialty coffee is where all of this begins.

Long before a coffee reaches a roaster, there are producers dedicating years, sometimes generations, to perfecting their craft. They’re taking enormous risks, investing in quality, and continually pushing coffee forward.

As roasters, we’re fortunate to be part of that story.

If there’s one thing I’d encourage readers to do, it’s to stay curious. Try an unfamiliar origin. Learn about the producer behind your coffee. Explore different processing methods. Some of the best coffees I’ve ever tasted came from taking a chance on something I knew very little about.

After all, that’s how this whole journey started for me.

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Contact Info:

web: www.sipstruck.com
instagram: @sipstruckcoffee
email: hello@sipstruck.com

Find their beans: If you’re looking to get your hands on some beans then definitely check out their web-store for what they’re currently roasting.  
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I just wanted to say a huge thanks again to Michael at Sipstruck for being a huge contributor to the specialty coffee community not only in the Niagara Region, but across Canada!

Happy Canada Day and Happy Brewing!
-Tyler