Sprouts Nationwide Launch, James Beard House, and NYC Coffee Catering | Light vs Dark Roast Caffeine Explained

Oval Coffee Roasters Journal · February 2026

By Christopher Alspach, Co-Founder and Director of Coffee, Oval Coffee Roasters

February in New York has felt like winter used to. The kind that makes the air sharp, the sidewalks loud, and the walk from your bed to your front door feel like a test of character. Coffee consumption seems to rise in direct proportion to wind chill. There may not be hard data on that, but we have eyes.

To quote Seinfeld, “coffee understands the brutality of going from your bed to your life.” It does. It meets you there without complaint.

We’re writing with a few updates from Oval Coffee Roasters, including our February Sprouts rollout, coffee catering moments in New York City, and the second installment in our coffee education series.

Back at Sprouts

Oval Coffee Roasters whole bean coffee display at Sprouts Farmers Market during the February nationwide rollout.

We’re back at Sprouts for the month of February, now in more than 460 stores nationwide. All three of our whole bean blends are on shelf, and available on Instacart as well if you prefer to have it arrive at your door.

This time, we’ve had the opportunity to do it with a custom display built specifically for the coffee aisle, which makes the whole thing feel properly placed. Sprouts has been a strong partner for us, and it’s a real pleasure to see the full lineup represented at scale.

If you’re shopping there this month, keep an eye out for Oval in the coffee aisle, including Bowling Green Women-Grown Whole Bean Coffee, The Natural Whole Bean Coffee, and Riverside Half Caff Whole Bean Coffee.

Oval at the James Beard House

Oval Coffee Roasters serving coffee during a private gathering at the James Beard House in Manhattan.

We served Oval coffee at the James Beard House this past January as part of a private gathering by our longtime partner Resident Hospitality.

The West Village townhouse is where James Beard lived and cooked, and where much of modern American food culture took shape. One of the most iconic locations in the NYC food world. It felt genuinely special to be there.

See more from the evening here: Oval Coffee Roasters at James Beard House.

For hospitality partners, private gatherings, brand activations, and corporate events, Oval Coffee Roasters offers thoughtful coffee catering in New York City, from polished drop-off drip coffee service to tailored on-site barista and coffee experiences across NYC and the Tri-State area.

Pampered Chef Activation

Oval Coffee Roasters coffee service at a Pampered Chef activation in Manhattan.

We recently partnered with Pampered Chef for a special event at One Manhattan Square and were proud to represent Oval by brewing our Bowling Green Blend on their Deluxe Coffee Machine.

It was a pleasure to serve attendees in that setting, showcasing how thoughtfully sourced and roasted coffee can shine across different brewing formats. We always enjoy stepping into new environments and seeing how people respond when a well-made cup meets the right moment.

INKEY Event

Elevated Oval Coffee Roasters catering setup during an INKEY event in the Meatpacking District.

We also partnered with INKEY for a special event in the Meatpacking District, which gave us the opportunity to refine our coffee service to match a beautifully styled setting, complete with florals from Takata Nursery.

It was a thoughtful collaboration and a good reminder that coffee service can meet the tone of the room without overpowering it. If you need an especially elevated setup for a special event, we would be glad to help shape it.

Coffee Question #2

What has more caffeine: light roast or dark roast?

Short answer:
Measured by weight, light roast and dark roast coffee contain essentially the same amount of caffeine.

This is the question we hear more than almost any other. It feels like there should be a clear winner. Dark roast tastes heavier, louder, more forceful. Light roast feels alert, precise, a little tense. Reasonable people land on opposite sides and remain certain.

The truth is less dramatic. Caffeine is stable through roasting. Roasting darker changes flavor, moisture, density, and physical structure, but it does not meaningfully burn caffeine away.

Dark roast beans expand and lose moisture, becoming larger and lighter. Light roast beans remain denser and more compact. This matters because many people measure coffee by volume, not by weight. A scoop of dark roast contains fewer beans than a scoop of light roast, which can make dark roast seem lower in caffeine.

Measured by weight, there is no meaningful caffeine difference. If you want consistency, measure your coffee by weight rather than by scoop.

A Few Sidenotes

Light and dark roast are not simply two ends of a quality spectrum. They are different experiences entirely. Liking one over the other just means that, at that moment, one feels better than the other.

We don’t currently offer a dark roast in our retail lineup, but we’ve long believed in the style. We roast a special dark blend for Ando Patisserie and recommend stopping in for a pastry and an Oval espresso.

Explore the Lineup

Oval Coffee Roasters is roasted in Hunts Point in The Bronx and available online, through select retailers, specialty grocery partners, hospitality programs, office coffee service, wholesale partnerships, and coffee catering across NYC and the Tri-State area.

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