Metric Coffee

2021 W Fulton, Chicago, IL

The Story

Founded in 2013, Metric Coffee is a collaborative effort between Darko Arandjelovic (owner of Caffe Streets) and Xavier Alexander (former Roasting Manager at Intelligentsia) in order to create a shared vision for quality coffee and service. 
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The inspiration behind the name Metric was twofold. We liked that the technical definition of the word, "a system or standard of measurement," is a thread that runs through every aspect of life. We utilize Metrics every day in order to navigate the world around us. Additionally, our 1960s German Probat roaster, the beating heart of our business, came to us with nuts and bolts in Metric units. Refurbishing and customizing this machine from the ground up required us to make conversions and work within a different system from the familiar. Thus it seemed fitting to name our coffee company with the concept of Metric in mind.
All of our coffees are roasted on this self-restored '61 Probat UG 15. Working with this vintage, built-to-last machine produces exceptionally well balanced, sweet, and clean coffees. We are thankful to work with our beans on one of these rare and sought after old roasters. For us, it represents the perfect meeting of old world method and modern technology. The story of Metric is still being written. We started with just two people and have grown into a small solid staff united by our common passion. With a growing fleet of fantastic wholesale partners and cafe/training center in full swing, we are constantly growing and eagerly embracing what is next for us and our industry.