There are plenty of places to get a cup of coffee in Boulder Creek, but there’s a new opportunity to enjoy a cuppa in the comfort of your own home. Enter Gold Dot Roasting, an up-and-coming coffee roaster that’s just five months old and is already providing a variety of beans and roasts for the coffee connoisseur.
Founded by Mitra Mostofi and Rocky Lewycky, Gold Dot came into existence in late 2025 thanks to a holiday gift of a kitchen gadget.
“I have a friend who is a chef, and each year he gets me a different item to use in my kitchen. A couple of years ago I received a home roaster, and I got heavily into it. I began roasting beans, and Mitra and I were really excited by the freshness and flavor of the coffee we created,” said Lewycky, a contemporary artist, studio potter and ceramics instructor.
After the beans are roasted, they need a few days to off-gas; that process removes acidic bitter compounds from the beans, resulting in a smoother and more flavorful cup. Since Lewycky has been working with pottery for 30 years—he runs the ceramics program at DeAnza College—he allowed his beans to off-gas in some of his ceramic bowls, and Gold Dot Roasting was born.
Each order of beans is shipped in a handmade ceramic vessel created by Lewycky himself, and his signature of a simple gold dot is placed on the bottom of each.
“I felt that my signature on the bottom of a piece degraded it, so I experimented with different approaches and finally landed on a gold dot,” Lewycky said. “So there is one 23-karat gold leaf dot on each of my vessels, and that’s been my signature for the last 20 years.”
Both the ceramic container and beans are seasonally based, so customers will receive the freshest bean profiles within a ceramic creation that represents the time of year.
“Bringing in the change of seasons and having that reflect in the product keeps us in tune with our values of celebrating life and physical experiences that we treasure,” Mostofi said. “We can become desensitized to things that are routine in our lives, so we appreciate the chance to keep things fresh in this way.”
Right now, Lewycky and Mostofi are the only two members of the Gold Dot team, and together they manage every part of the business, from slip casting to selecting glazes for the vessels.
“We both have full-time jobs, so this is an avocation done out of love and passion for the process,” said Lewycky, who added that doors are opening easily as a result of this project. “The people we’re meeting and the contributions we’re receiving from others has really generated some wonderful opportunities for us.”
Lewycky, who together with Mostofi, has taken coffee roasting courses from CoffeeMind, a Denmark-based coffee roasting academy.
“Mitra and I are in it together and it’s been a lovely experience that doesn’t feel like work—it’s been a gift and a pleasure,” he said.
The pair obtain their beans from Sweet Maria’s in Oakland, a purveyor of international coffees.
“We are excited to share what we do with others. We have a good yin and yang, and we enjoy bringing this experience to those who want to participate in it,” said Mostofi.
Interested in amping up your morning cup? Visit golddotroasting.com for more information.
