Obscure Coffee Roasters

About Obscure Coffee Roasters

Obscure Coffee Roasters is a Puerto Rican-focused specialty coffee shop and nano-roastery on Melrose Street in Bushwick, founded by Norberto Pena, who grew up in Puerto Rico. Before opening his first brick-and-mortar location in mid-2025, Pena spent approximately three years building the brand through bar takeovers and pop-ups across the city, developing a following among specialty coffee enthusiasts who appreciated his commitment to Latin American producers and rare Puerto Rican beans. The cafe occupies a uniquely unconventional space — it sits inside the entrance of the Bushwick Comedy Club, with a door at the back of the shop leading to the forty-seat comedy theater. There is no external signage beyond a sidewalk sandwich board, and the dark-colored interior reflects Pena's passion for heavy metal music, giving the shop a moody, countercultural aesthetic that is entirely distinctive in the Brooklyn coffee landscape. Pena roasts his own beans, renting time on a Loring S15 Falcon roaster owned by fellow Bushwick company Loveless Coffees, and roasting once or twice per week. The coffee roster is exclusively Latin American — featuring beans from Peru, Mexico, Colombia, and other origins — with Puerto Rican coffee as a central focus whenever it is available. Due to the extreme scarcity of Puerto Rican specialty coffee (demand on the island exceeds supply), it is served only as in-house brews and not sold in bags. Pena sources directly from farms and collectives, with a particular focus on small producers experimenting with creative post-harvest processing techniques. Signature drinks reflect the Puerto Rican heritage: the Coquito Latte is built on the traditional holiday drink coquito — mixed dairy and coconut milks with cinnamon, cloves, and vanilla, with espresso replacing rum — while the Tamarindo Spritz draws inspiration from Puerto Rican piraguas, the island's beloved shaved-ice treats. Obscure Coffee Roasters has been featured in Daily Coffee News, the Brooklyn Eagle, The Infatuation, and Coffee Franchise Hub, and sells roasted beans online at obscure.coffee.