Carmel Mountain’s Mostra Coffee is celebrating a huge win today. The local roaster was just named 2020 Roaster of the Year by Roast Magazine. This is the first time a San Diego-based roastery has won the competition since 2012, when Bird Rock Coffee Rosters was given the coveted award.

Open to the thousands of micro coffee roasters in North America who roast less than 100,000 pounds of coffee per year, the competition involves a comprehensive application that details everything from company culture to sustainable business practices, with coffee from three finalists then cupped and judged.

Founded in 2013 by four Filipino-American friends — Jelynn Malone, Beverly Magtanong, Sam Magtanong, and Mike Arquines — Mostra was initially developed to bring awareness to specialty coffee from the Philippines and support more coffee production in the region. The company works directly with the Sitio Belis farm in the Northern Philippines to source beans for one of its single origin coffees. Their heritage is also reflected in the menu offered at its cafe that opened last year in Carmel Mountain.

Featuring an open bar set-up, with San Diego’s only MAVAM espresso machine that’s built under the counter for a low-profile look, Mostra’s cafe also serves specialty drinks including the Bibingka Creme Brulee Latte inspired by a classic Filipino dessert as well as cold brew steeped with fresh coconut or mixed with homemade banana milk.

Malone and Arquines tell Eater that the Roaster of the Year award has ignited the company’s expansion plans, which involve increasing its production and wholesale accounts in addition to growing its presence in San Diego. Mostra Coffee has signed a lease in the 4S Commons Town Center, where it will be replacing the former Coffee & Tea Leaf with craft coffee. Due this December, the cafe will serve a larger selection of food plus beer and wine. Since its inception, the roastery has been collaborating with local breweries, often partnering on coffee beers including the popular Xocoveza Mocha Stout from Stone Brewing Company.

Taking a cue from breweries, Mostra also offers a membership program that includes exclusive event invites, coffee discounts, and select beers from its brewery partners. It’s also launching a new subscription service that will send members regular shipments of coffee.

The company, which will be featured in a video showing on Alaska Airlines during the months of December and January, will celebrate its seventh anniversary in early 2020 with the debut of a new product they’ve been developing — a high-quality instant coffee designed for convenience and travel.