Guided Business Build · Up to 2 Founders · By Application

Launch Your Coffee Roasting Business. Skip the RM100,000 Mistakes.

A guided business-build programme with Tristan Creswick -- 27 years in specialty coffee and founder of the World Espresso Championship. Equipment, workflow, green supply, menu, pricing and launch strategy, built with you and around your budget -- so your roastery opens with a plan that survives contact with reality.

Cottle Coffee Academy, Petaling Jaya · In-person working sessions · Maximum 2 founders per programme

Complete launch roadmap Up to 2 founders included 27 years of industry experience Equipment & supplier network
Programme pricing on application
Every roastery build is different -- scope and investment are quoted after your strategy call.
Starts with a free, no-obligation strategy conversation
Book Your Strategy Call
No obligation · Honest assessment · We will tell you if you are not ready
Limited consultancy capacity -- Tristan personally guides every build, so only a small number of founders are taken on at a time.
27
Years in Specialty Coffee
2
Founders Per Programme
5,500+
Students Trained
WEC
Founded by Your Mentor
The Real Question

A Roastery Fails on Paper Long Before
It Fails in the Market.

Most roasting businesses do not fail because the coffee was bad. They fail because the wrong roaster was bought for the business model, the cost per kilo never worked, the green contract locked in the wrong volumes, or the launch burned the budget before the first wholesale account landed.

Every one of those mistakes is visible -- and avoidable -- before you spend the money. That is what this programme is: a guided build where every major decision gets made with someone who has watched the Malaysian and Australian coffee industries for 27 years.

The programme fee is real money. The mistakes it prevents are bigger money. Wrong equipment alone can cost more than the entire engagement.

Aillio Bullet R1 V2 roaster
What We Build Together

Six Pillars. One Launch-Ready Roastery.

Pillar 01

Business Model & Numbers

Wholesale, retail, cafe-supply, online, or a hybrid -- we stress-test your model with real Malaysian cost structures: green price, yield loss, packaging, labour, and the cost per kilo that decides whether you survive year one.

Pillar 02

Equipment & Workflow

The right roaster for your volume and budget -- not the one a salesperson wants to sell you. Layout, workflow, ventilation, power, and the small equipment decisions that quietly make or break daily production.

Pillar 03

Green Coffee & Suppliers

Importer relationships, sample evaluation, contract volumes, and your opening green menu -- built on supplier connections it takes years to develop alone.

Pillar 04

Product & Menu Strategy

Your launch lineup: signature blends, single origins, price points and packaging -- designed around your target customer and the margins your model needs.

Pillar 05

Sales & First Customers

The wholesale pitch, the cafe meeting, the sample-drop system. A pipeline plan for your first ten accounts -- because a roastery without a sales motion is a very expensive hobby.

Pillar 06

Launch Roadmap

Sequenced, dated, and realistic: what happens in month one, month three, month six. You leave with a plan you can execute -- and a mentor who knows whether it will work.

Who This Is For

For Founders Who Want It Built Right the First Time.

The First-Time Founder

You Have Capital and Intent -- But Not Coffee Industry Experience

The industry looks simple from outside. It is not. Bring your ambition; we bring 27 years of knowing where the bodies are buried.

The Cafe Owner

You Want to Roast Your Own Beans

You already run a venue -- now add roasting without breaking what works. Integration, workflow and the honest maths on whether in-house roasting actually pays for you.

The Wholesale Dreamer

You Want Recurring Revenue From Cafes, Hotels and Offices

Wholesale is a systems business: production, consistency, pipeline, service. Build it as an asset from day one, not a job that owns you.

The Career Changer

You Are Leaving a Career to Build Something Real

We take that seriously -- which is why the first conversation is an honest assessment, including telling you if the timing or model needs rethinking.

How It Works

From First Call to Opening Day.

1

Strategy Call -- Free

A no-obligation conversation about your goals, budget and timeline. You get an honest assessment of your plan -- including the gaps -- whether or not we work together.

2

Scope & Programme Design

If it is a fit, we define the scope: your business model, the decisions that need making, and a programme built around them. Up to 2 founders are included at no extra cost.

3

Working Sessions

In-person build sessions at the academy in Petaling Jaya: numbers, equipment, suppliers, product, sales pipeline. Every session ends with decisions made and actions assigned -- not just discussion.

4

Launch Roadmap & Beyond

You leave with a sequenced launch plan and the relationships to execute it -- equipment, green supply, and the coffee knowledge your product stands on. Graduates can continue into roasting training or mentorship as needed.

Tristan Creswick, Academy Director
Your Guide

Build With Someone Who Has Spent 27 Years Inside the Industry You Are Entering.

Tristan Creswick -- Academy Director & Founder. Tristan has spent 27 years across the Australian and Malaysian coffee industries -- roasting, training, judging, and building the World Espresso Championship from scratch into an international competition. He knows what a coffee business needs to survive because he has built them.

  • 27 years of Australian coffee-industry experience.
  • Founder of the World Espresso Championship and Malaysia Espresso Championship.
  • SCA Authorised Trainer and academy director.
  • Has trained over 5,500 students across barista and roasting programs.
  • Personally guides every business build -- no juniors, no handoffs.
One Honest Note

This Programme Builds the Business.
Roasting Skill Is a Separate Craft.

Some founders will roast personally; others will hire a roaster. If you will roast yourself, pair this programme with our practical pathway -- the 2-Day Fundamentals, the 5-Day Intensive, or the 10-Week Mentorship.

If you will hire, this programme teaches you how to evaluate roasting talent and product quality -- so you are never blind in your own business.

Roasting lab at Cottle Coffee Academy
Questions

Before You Book a Call

How much does the programme cost?
Every build is different, so pricing is quoted after your strategy call -- a cafe adding roasting has a very different scope to a ground-up wholesale roastery. The strategy call is free and carries no obligation either way.
Do I need roasting experience first?
No. This programme is about the business, not the roast. If you will roast personally, we will recommend the right training pathway alongside the build. If you will hire a roaster, we cover how to evaluate talent and product quality.
Why only 2 founders per programme?
Because this is a working engagement, not a seminar. Your numbers, your suppliers, your decisions. Capping it keeps every session about your business -- and two founders can attend together at no extra cost.
What do I actually leave with?
A validated business model with real numbers, an equipment and workflow plan, green supplier relationships, a product and pricing strategy, a first-customers pipeline plan, and a sequenced launch roadmap. Decisions made, not just advice given.
Where do sessions happen?
In person at Cottle Coffee Academy in Petaling Jaya, Greater Kuala Lumpur -- inside a working multi-platform roasting lab, so equipment and workflow decisions are made with the machines in front of you.
What if I am not ready yet?
Then the strategy call will tell you that -- honestly, and with what to fix first. We would rather send you away with a better plan for later than take on a build that is set up to struggle.
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Free Strategy Call · No Obligation

Your Roastery Deserves a Plan
Built by Someone Who Has Done It.

One conversation. An honest assessment of your idea, your budget and your timeline -- from someone with 27 years in the industry. If it is a fit, we build together. If not, you still leave smarter.

Up to 2 founders · In-person in Petaling Jaya · Limited capacity

WhatsApp: +60 12-650 1615 · Cottle Coffee Academy, Petaling Jaya, Greater Kuala Lumpur

Cottle Coffee Academy

Cottle Coffee Academy · Petaling Jaya, Greater Kuala Lumpur · +60 12-650 1615

© 2026 Cottle Coffee Academy. All rights reserved.

Launch Your Roasting Business · By Application · Max 2 founders Book a Strategy Call