After 40 years, Alta Organic Coffee founder passes her legacy to a new generation

Brown, compostable bags of Alta Organic Coffee’s dark roast beans have been a mainstay at Santa Cruz County grocery stories for four decades, and its simple packaging stands out next to the flashy graphics of newer brands. The single-origin coffees are identified with straightforward black print, while the blends boast eclectic hand-drawn art and family photographs. 

On the Davenport Blend, the shadow of a tall male surfer holds hands with a little girl walking toward a sunlit beach break. That girl is Lilly Spooner, founder Patti Spooner’s granddaughter, and she’s all grown up now. This year, Patti officially passed ownership of her 40-year-old coffee company to Lilly, now 26, and 29-year-old Melia Spooner, who calls Patti her “honorary grandmother.” 

As the two young women steer Alta into its next phase of life, Melia and Lilly aim to maintain the small-batch roastery’s commitment to organic ingredients and a preference for darker roasts, while modernizing the company with regular events, food service and online subscriptions. 

Patti Spooner is thrilled that her life’s work will stay in the family. “It’s epic,” she said. “I didn’t have to teach them very many things because they already know it. They’ve grown up with it. They’re not starting from the beginning.”

Melia is technically Lilly’s half-aunt, but just three years apart. The two were raised as sisters, and both consider their “Nana’s” legacy coffee company part of their heritage. 

Growing up in Davenport, Lilly remembers going after school to the roastery, where her parents and uncle worked off and on. “Alta has always been a place where I could find family and a sense of home,” she said. But if someone asked her five years ago if she was going to take over the business, she said her answer probably would have been “no,” partly, she admitted, from youthful defiance. 

“Now that’s it’s happening, I think, yes, I was always going to do this,” said Lilly, who studied sustainable food systems at Humboldt State University. “It all clicked into place, and it was the right time for us to do this together.” 

Melia started her career in veterinary medicine, but decided a few years ago that it wasn’t for her. When Patti’s retirement seemed imminent and she and Lilly discussed the real possibility of finally taking over Alta, the company’s commitment to quality, community spirit and family focus made the decision easy.

“It’s a lot of pressure and responsibility, but it’s also such a gift,” said Melia. “Nana has already put her entire life’s work into this, and to be deemed worthy to carry that on is a huge honor.” 

Patti founded Alta — named after her mother — in 1987, and moved the roastery to Davenport in the early 1990s. In 2013, Alta opened a shop in an industrial area in Santa Cruz’s Westside neighborhood, across the street from the Wrigley Building. The boutique coffee company roasts about 3,000 pounds of coffee per month, 33 pounds at a time, on a vintage Sivetz air roaster that Patti purchased more than 30 years ago. Lilly, who has taken over as head roaster, said the hot air levitates the beans as they roast, resulting in a smoother flavor and an even toast. 

Because of the roaster’s small size, someone at Alta roasts coffee daily. “Sometimes when customers buy a bag, it’s still warm,” said Lilly.  

Alta is the only certified organic coffee company in the county, and has maintained its certification for more than two decades. At $1,800 per year, the certification is expensive, plus organic beans are typically 20 to 40% more than non-organic, but environmental consciousness is core to the brand’s ethos. 

In recent years, political and weather-related crises have caused historic shortages of beans, but Alta has managed to maintain its inventory thanks to a strong relationship with its importer, Royal Coffee. 

Lilly and Melia have had to make some substitutions. Alta’s espresso blend is usually made with lighter, nuttier and currently heavily tariffed beans from Brazil, so they’re blending in more robust Peruvian coffee. But in general, Alta’s small size makes it relatively nimble for sourcing swings. It regularly produces 10 single-origin coffees, four blends and a decaf. 

All of the roasts at Alta are dark roasts, considered by many coffee drinkers to be an old-school style as trends have leaned lighter and more acidic over the past decade. Melia affectionately describes the single-origin Sumatra, one of its most popular coffees, as “a really classic diner coffee.” She said she loves it “because its low acidity makes it palatable to a lot of people.”

Lilly said she prefers richer and earthier flavors in coffee. “We don’t do anything that’s considered light, because that’s what Nana has been doing, and we’ve only just stepped into these shoes. There’s the potential for change,” said Lilly. Alta purchased natural beans from Ethiopia, dried rather than washed after they’re picked so the taste is fruitier, and the result is a smooth, well-rounded medium roast with notes of blueberries and milk chocolate. 

While the coffee recipes might not change, the new owners would like to bring more activity to Alta’s Westside coffeehouse. Once mainly a site for roasting and packaging coffee for retail and grocery stores throughout the region, the walk-up café part of the business has grown, thanks to the lively mix of businesses and galleries across the street, the Saturday farmers market and nearby rail trail. 

Alta recently received a permit for indoor seating, and Lilly and Melia plan to convert a front office space into an area with chairs and tables. The coffee shop already hosts pop-ups for lunch on Fridays, and Lilly said she wants to form more food partnerships in the future. 

Both Lilly and Melia said it’s meaningful to have mentorship and experience from Patti as they transition Alta into its next phase of life. “It makes me feel connected to what came before me, and roots me in my own place, too,” said Lilly. “When you know who your family is, you can know more who you are.”

Patti’s hopes for her company are simple: “I’d like to see it grow, and spread the word about the importance of organic coffee.” 

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