Hidden Gems: Meet Sarah Lambeth of Pretty Coffee Roasting

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Lambeth.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Originally from South Alabama, I moved to New Orleans in 2015 to chase a job in specialty coffee. Started working in coffee shortly after leaving college & got a job at a shop down the street in Mobile, AL. After traveling to ATL to train with Counter Culture Coffee. I started competing in latte art competitions in New Orleans, after a few months of networking I was offered a job and made the jump to move for the love of coffee. The job was Spitfire Coffee in the French Quarter. After working my way around town, as a barista, manager, coffee roaster then eventually green buyer and head roaster. I started Pretty Coffee in 2019 after experiencing burnout working for men at my final coffee roasting job, We are based in New Orleans, woman owned and operated, and focused on women produced and managed coffee offerings. My first business was a ( still open ) permanent coffee pop-up called Whatever Coffee started in 2018. The pop up was a place to display, serve and share coffees I was roasting the way I wanted them to be served. I have been working consistently in the coffee industry since 2011 & have competed in brewers cup and cup tasters events. I have participated in judging at the national level for barista competitions and teach SCA courses at Royal Coffee in NJ. Also Certified Q Grader !

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Being a stubborn woman in a male dominated field makes for no easy road. Struggles include judgement over my physical capabilities. Coffee roasting is very physically demanding job, moving large sacks of coffee, lifting multiple heavy batches overhead. Maintenance on machinery & working with a mostly male network many times I was basically invisible. The fact that I refused to be overlooked for my initial roasting job purely based on my skill set was not well received but ultimately paid off ( for myself and the employer )

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Pretty Coffee is a woman owned coffee roaster in New Orleans, LA. We started as a passion for coffee and also a desire to be seen and taken seriously in a male dominated field. While we reserve majority of our menu for women produced and managed coffees we also like to bring in coffees ( single varieties or interesting processes ) for palate driven experiences. Pretty Coffee works with 3 direct relationships that have been established through networking over the years, we also have many non-direct relationships that are many years in length now. We are known for a simple style of roasting that is intended to unlock the beauty of the green coffee itself. We are merely there to highlight the coffee, and the true art is the curation of our menu choices. As of 2026 we have also started offering our brewed ice coffee in cans, to make our coffees accessible to-go without compromising quality.

If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
Purely being hard headed and never quitting. A true stubborn southern woman.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/prettycoffeeroasting