Little Waves Coffee Roasters grew out of Cocoa Cinnamon, a café founded in 2010 by Areli Barrera Grodski and Leon Grodski Barrera in the North Carolina mountains before the couple relocated to Durham in 2011. The dedicated roasting arm launched in June 2017 at the Lakewood location, using a Loring S15 Falcon that cuts energy consumption by 80 percent compared to conventional roasters. Little Waves is a Latina led, women forward company that prioritizes sourcing from women producers and farmers of color, maintaining multi year relationships built on fair pricing and mutual investment. In 2022, Roast Magazine named Little Waves its Micro Roaster of the Year, and co founder Areli was selected as a 2025 Sprudge Twenty honoree. The roastery was also featured in the Omnivore Apple TV docuseries, bringing wider attention to its model of equitable specialty coffee.