Idle Hands Roastery: Excellence in Coffee and Transparency
Food
I don’t want to talk too much about myself, but I worked in countless third-wave coffee shops for about seven years. The third-wave movement is defined by sourcing higher quality coffee and providing more payment for coffee farmers. From working at shops that served as an extension for local roasteries to shops that sourced their coffee from across the country, I’ve sampled hundreds, maybe thousands, of coffees — and Idle Hands immediately placed themselves as a favorite of mine from the first time I tried their coffee beans at Loki Coffee. Now that I am a writer and editor, I thought it was my responsibility to dip back into my previous coffee career to shine a light on a roaster that is lifting up Salt Lake’s coffee scene with incredible coffee, sustainability and social impact efforts.
“We know we can sell this coffee for this much, therefore we can pay this producer more than they’re asking.”
Ricky Dyson created Idle Hands alongside Adrian Bradshaw Tezjan and Peter Jones. Dyson and Tezjan are both Australian and were brought to Utah through Campos Coffee, one of Sydney’s premiere third-wave coffee companies. Shortly after Campos’ expansion to the U.S., the brand was acquired by Dutch giant JDE Peet’s, founders of Peet’s Coffee. With that acquisition, the Campos brand pulled back to their original Australian market, leaving Dyson and Tezjan without jobs. Jones, a local barista and friend, pitched them the idea of starting their own roastery with the equipment left by Campos. “I said hell no, multiple times,” says Dyson, “but Pete convinced us that it would be a really good idea. Turns out he [was] correct. It’s been really good.” By November 2021, the three roasters had their secondhand equipment moved into a warehouse and adopted their fingers-crossed logo. “It’s the symbol for good luck. When you find yourself wanting luck, it’s ‘fingers crossed this works out,’” says Dyson.
The Cup of Excellence program became an integral aspect of Idle Hands. Ran by the nonprofit Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE), the Cup of Excellence sources exceptional coffee and auctions them off to roasters. As described by the ACE website: “These auctions have allowed exemplary coffee farmers, whether award winning or not, to realize a greater financial price for their coffees.” Jones recently joined the ACE board earlier this year and serves as an international jury member for the Cup of Excellence, lending his experience toward judging the coffees that are submitted to the program. “The jury from different markets all across the world. So it’s not just me being like, ‘This is the best coffee,’” says Dyson. Idle Hands also participates in the auctions that take place after the final judging, purchasing unique and high-quality coffee that they roast in small batches, which gives the local coffee community the chance to experience award-winning coffee.
“[Our logo is] the symbol for good luck. When you find yourself wanting luck, it’s ‘fingers crossed this works out.’”
Beyond working with national organizations to highlight excellent coffee, Idle Hands works tirelessly to give back to the original coffee growers, an effort that is sorely needed in the national coffee trade. For context, the average price per pound of coffee paid to farmers since 2014 has “plummeted by 70% and now dance[s] around $1 per pound. Every pound a farmer sells, and every cup we drink, pushes a farmer deeper into poverty and despair,” writes Dean Cycon for Trellis. When I ask Dyson about pricing transparency, especially within higher-end coffee he says, “As of 2025, we know our entire value stream, which is pretty cool and special. And don’t get me wrong — we’re really, really privileged. Not everyone has that same opportunity, but it does take a lot of time and investment that we’ve put into knowing our value stream … We know we can sell this coffee for this much, therefore we can pay this producer more than they’re asking.” I cannot stress how rare this is, not only when it comes to smaller coffee roasters, but among all coffee businesses. It’s not often that a company will explore their pricing and choose to give more money back to their supplier.
You can find Idle Hands beans served at Loki Coffee in the 9th South neighborhood, at Harvest in Park City and on their website idlehandsroasting.com.
Read more about local food:
How Chef Peggi Ince-Whiting Brought Sushi Home
Oquirrh Restaurant: Power Couple Cooking
