Drive up North High Street, two blocks past T&J Supermarket and the Forbes gas station, and look for the little yellow-and-green sign at No. 967. Behind it sits a pale yellow house with a string of pennants across the roofline, a maroon awning that reads “Fair Trade & Organic Coffees,” and, most mornings, a sidewalk board announcing “Coffeeshop Now Open Until 12 Noon.”
That is One World Coffee Roasters, the small-batch roastery and café that has quietly become one of East Haven’s best-reviewed coffee stops, with a 4.8-star average across 95 Google reviews. Many neighbors have driven past it for years. Here is who roasts the coffee, what is on the board, what regulars say and the parts of the property most first-timers never find.
Eric, Christine and a dream that started in the back of the building
One World is the work of founders Eric Ciolino and Christine Ucich. According to the café’s own history, the pair first opened One World Wellness, a Taoist yoga and breath meditation center, in the back of the building in 2015. From there, they “began their dream of creating a community gathering place with good energy, great coffee and relaxing outdoor spaces like a tea garden patio and a labyrinth for walking meditation.”
State business records list One World Coffee & Tea, LLC as an active Connecticut company at 967 North High Street, first registered on Feb. 7, 2007, so the coffee side of the business goes back nearly two decades.
Eric is the owner and chief roaster, and he is a local. “I’ve lived in the New Haven area my entire life, and I believe that coffee is a very special thing,” he writes on the company’s About page. “It brings people from different walks of life together, it nurtures big ideas … it can even change lives.”
Why it is called One World
The name comes from the farms. Eric writes that one of his greatest passions is visiting as many coffee-growing regions as he can, and that he has traveled to coffee farms in Nicaragua, Brazil, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Panama, “not just to find the finest beans the world over, but to intimately understand the ‘journey of coffee’ from bean to cup.”
“I want to meet the people and see the creatures and ecosystems I’m connected to, and responsible for, as a roaster,” he writes. “It puts everything into perspective, and it’s inspired our name — One World.”
The company says it sources fairly traded and sustainable beans “to the greatest extent possible.” On its Community Blends page, One World explains that it got into this partly because “fair trade and organic coffee wasn’t readily available in our area and we wanted to change that and make it affordable to all who wanted it.”
Sponsored Partner
The East Haven Courier may be paid a small commission on partner offers at no cost to you.
Roasted right here, in small batches
The beans are roasted on site on a silver Diedrich drum roaster, and visitors often mention the smell before anything else. The roastery’s approach, in its own words, is “to develop each one with an optimal roast and flavor profile.” Bags are sold by the pound, and the lineup on the website’s local-order page reads like a passport: Brazil, light and dark roast Colombia, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Sumatra, Rwanda, Ecuador and a Mexico decaf, plus house blends.
Some well-known names drink it, too. Yale Hospitality executive chef Dave Kuzma is quoted on One World’s site saying “the beans are not only fair-trade but women-produced right in Huehuetenango. We’re getting rave reviews from students every day!” New England Brewing Co. brewer Sebastian D’Agostino is quoted praising that the coffee is “so small batch—that we could request specifically what we wanted down to the roast.”
Eric also teaches the craft. One World has run a weekend Coffee Roasters Training Program at the roastery, aimed at coffee professionals who are new to roasting or self-taught and want a formal curriculum, covering roaster operation and safety, the mechanics of roasting and roast evaluation.
Inside the café
The café itself is small and bright, with a granite-topped espresso bar, chalkboards and shelves of bagged coffee. One World calls it a coffeehouse and espresso bar, and the hanging sign out front lists the hours: Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to noon, and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. It is a morning place, so plan on going early.
What to order
Prices below come from the menu board posted on One World’s website, with two prices for the two cup sizes. Prices can change, so check the board when you get there.
A cup of the house blend. The simplest order is the best introduction: house blend drip runs $2.50 or $3, with a seasonal drip at $3 or $3.50. The café’s signature roast is the Worldly Blend, a medium-dark.
A macchiato or a straight espresso. A single or double shot is $2.50 or $3.50, and a macchiato is $3 or $3.50. The house espresso is the Black Kat Espresso blend.
A specialty latte. The board lists six for $4 or $4.50: Almond Joy (chocolate, coconut, almond), Cherry Blossom (almond, black cherry), Midnight Mocha (78% dark chocolate), Cinnamon Dolce (caramel, cinnamon), Cherry Cordial (white chocolate, cherry) and Spiced Mocha (cinnamon, chocolate), with a nonsweet cocoa option. A Radiant Chai with black tea, ginger and spices is $4.50 or $5.
Cold brew. Cold brew is $3.50 or $4, and One World even sells a Cacao Breeze Cold Brew blend by the pound for making it at home.
Something from the pastry case. The café sources baked goods from local markets and bakeries and rotates them, so muffins, biscotti and loaves change from week to week.
A pound to take home. Bags are 1 pound, with most single origins and blends running $17.95 to $20 on the website. This time of year, look for the Harvest Blend, which the shop lists for October and November, before the Holiday Spice blend arrives in December.
What locals say
Reviewers keep coming back to the people behind the counter.
“The owner is one of the kindest and most welcoming people you’ll meet, and that warmth is reflected throughout the entire atmosphere of this coffee sanctuary,” Victoria wrote. “Whether you’re ordering a latte, espresso, or a simple black coffee, you’re getting exceptional quality at a great price.”
“Best coffee I have ever had!! The staff is extremely welcoming and the prices are great. Definitely recommend this place over Starbucks & Dunkin :)” Courtney wrote.
Jennifer, visiting for a weekend, wrote that “The iced latte and coffee were very good!” and that “Paul was great and helpful with directions to somewhere we needed to go.” She was honest about one miss, too: the cinnamon bread “tasted a bit dry when we ate it.”
Then there is Cheryl, who found One World during the pandemic. “I began ordering from One World during COVID. It was a comfort to have good coffee when all else was wild! They deliver locally and we were isolating,” she wrote. “Now more than 5 years later, a move to a new town and still..I ordered this morning when I realized I might not make it through the weekend. My coffee was delivered today.”
The owner replies to reviews, too. “It’s reviews like this that make running a café so worthwhile,” the reply to Victoria reads.
The part most people miss: the garden, the labyrinth and the studio
Walk past the café and the property opens up. There is an Asian-style tea garden patio with benches and a stone water basin, and a labyrinth for walking meditation beside a fire pit ringed with log seats. On a nice morning, take your cup outside.
In the back is the One World Wellness studio, entered through a side door across from the garden patio. It teaches SunDo, a yoga and meditation practice from Korea that mixes postures, stretching, breathwork and meditation. The website lists a Saturday 7:15 a.m. intermediate drop-in class for $20 and a Beginner’s 3-Class series on Thursday evenings for $45; check the site for the current schedule before you go.
Coffee for the office, the shower or the doorstep
One World offers free local delivery in much of New Haven County, with a 2-pound minimum. It also does catering: a “Just Joe” To-Go coffee box that serves 12 is $21, and “The Works” box with cups, milk and sugar is $28 (order at least a day ahead, pickup only). Full-service coffee catering with setup starts at $3.50 per person plus a $20 setup fee, and the company sells wholesale to offices and restaurants.
If you go
- Where: One World Coffee Roasters, 967 N. High St., East Haven, two blocks north of T&J Supermarket
- Hours (posted): Monday to Friday 7 a.m. to noon; Saturday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Order ahead or get beans delivered: oneworldroasters.com
- Don’t miss: The tea garden patio out back on a sunny morning
More from our Sponsored Partners
Sponsored Partner
The East Haven Courier may be paid a small commission on partner offers at no cost to you.
Want East Haven news in your inbox? The East Haven Courier newsletter is coming soon. Email news@easthavencourier.com with “Newsletter” in the subject line to get on the list.
Got a tip? Email news@easthavencourier.com
