Our Story
Horizonte Coffee Roasters
Our Origin.
It started with a bike race and ended with a fascination with coffee and a search for new horizons. When Christoph Sauser found himself in Colombia for the first time, it was to race in a multi-day mountain bike event. The riding turned out to be sublime, but the local coffee culture was even better.
Like almost all cyclists, Sauser enjoys a good coffee. Unlike most cyclists, he was prepared to go to great lengths to get one.
Back home in Switzerland, the rich coffee heritage which Christoph had glimpsed in Colombia started to tug at his imagination. He bought a second-hand coffee machine and embarked on that personal mission (so familiar to coffee devotees everywhere) of creating the perfect espresso. But it was only when he faced a crossroads in his professional life that Christoph realised how far his passion for coffee had already taken him.
Driven by curiosity and inspired by that first encounter with Colombian coffee, Christoph was by now so caught up in the timeless seasons and daily rituals of coffee production and brewing that it felt natural to step away from a corporate job offer and to instead start joining the dots of a global coffee community.
To wonder what lies beyond the daily grind is to let the eye stray to the horizon. For those who restlessly seek something new and meaningful in life, the horizon is both an ever-receding limit and a compass by which to steer. The horizon is also a line that bends and ultimately connects worlds within our world.
Horizonte Coffee Roasters closes the circle that binds the coffee drinker to the coffee grower. It is a way of illuminating the hidden depths and layers of a coffee culture, of exploring the subtle qualities and flavours that influence your favourite roast.
From our coffee roastery in Switzerland, instead of suppliers and consumers we see coffee farmers and coffee lovers, partners whose investments of time, energy and money are mutually beneficial. Through direct trade and telling each other’s stories, Horizonte Coffee Roasters aims to collapse the distance between cultures and to offer the freedom of being responsible for the effect your decisions have on others.
Horizonte coffee is crafted for your pleasure.
We’d love to have you on our journey.
Christoph Sauser
Founder and manager of Horizonte Coffee Roasters.
Christoph Sauser’s journey to founding Horizonte Coffee Roasters followed a winding mountain trail rather than a predictable tarred road. As one of the world’s most decorated mountain bikers, Sauser’s 20-year professional career included highlights such as an Olympic bronze medal, two World Cup series titles, four world championships and five Cape Epic triumphs.
But, for Christoph, riding was always about more than just racing. A cycling lifestyle meant not only speed and endurance but also the allure of adventure, fresh routes and destinations to discover, and new people to meet. That’s why his garage is stacked with a dozen bikes for exploring every possible terrain, from tarmac and gravel to singletrack and snow.
Sauser’s path from professional cyclist to coffee professional has been driven by the same curiosity and commitment to perfection. Drinking coffee is just one (incredibly pleasurable) part of a much bigger and richer culture of coffee. Horizonte Coffee Roasters is about experiencing and tasting it all.
Anastasia Oleksiuk
Meet Nastia: From Ukraine to Leysin, One Cup at a Time!
In Switzerland, we're often sheltered from the serious events happening in the world. But that doesn't mean we don't care. We do, deeply, and we try to have a positive impact wherever we can. That's why we work with small farmers in Colombia, Brazil, Ethiopia and other countries across Africa and Asia. It's why we follow a production process with minimal waste. And it's one of the reasons Horizonte Coffee is now working with a very talented Ukrainian coffee connoisseur, Anastasia Oleksiuk, or Nastia, as everyone calls her. We're pleased to introduce her to you.
Nastia, together with her boyfriend Denys, who helps her out at our events.
Nastia has spent more than six years in the coffee industry as a barista and workshop leader. Today she’s learning how to roast, she helps with production at our roastery in Leysin and operates the coffee van at events. Discover Nastia's journey and her love of coffee, and the beautiful latte art you may have seen her serve at events.
Where are you from, and what was your life like before you came to Switzerland?
I'm from Ukraine. Before moving to Switzerland, I had a very active life and had been working in the coffee industry for more than six years. I studied tourism and hospitality, and later coffee became my main professional field.
I worked as a barista, organised coffee workshops and taught other people about coffee. I also spent some time teaching bartending-related subjects at university.
I had many plans and was very busy with work in Kyiv. But because of the war, my life changed, and my partner and I moved to Switzerland.
Why Switzerland?
At first, the most important thing for us was simply to find a safe place. Switzerland gave us the opportunity to start a new chapter: to find work, learn a new language and gradually become part of a new community.
When we moved to Leysin, I really fell in love with the place. There's amazing nature, mountains, a lot of peace and quiet, and at the same time an interesting community with people from many different countries. Now Leysin really feels like home.
Why coffee?
Coffee has always been much more than just a drink for me. I love the combination of science, creativity and working with people. There's always something new to learn, about origin, processing, roasting, extraction and flavour.
And I really enjoy the moment when you prepare a cup for someone and see that they truly enjoy it. That's what has kept me working with coffee for so many years.
Your latte art is beautiful. How did you learn it?
A lot of practice! In more than six years, I've made a lot of cups of coffee. Latte art takes patience and very good milk-steaming skills, so I'm still practising and trying to improve. I like that it lets you be creative, but the result depends so much on technique and precision.
How did you discover Horizonte, and what made you contact Christoph?
When I moved to Switzerland, I started looking for good coffee. That mattered to me because I was used to paying close attention to taste and quality.
Even before I moved to Leysin, I had tried Horizonte coffee at a café in Vevey, and it caught my attention. What surprised me most was finding out that the roastery was right here in Leysin. A small mountain town with its own specialty coffee roastery! I found that really interesting. So I learned more about Horizonte and eventually contacted Christoph, first to work as a volunteer. I wanted to keep working with coffee while finding my place here in Switzerland.
What do you do at Horizonte?
My work is very diverse, and that's exactly what I like about it. I help with roasting, packing and preparing orders, working at coffee events and making coffee as a barista, and I also help a little with social media.
I especially enjoy roasting. It's a new side of coffee for me, although it's something I'd been curious about for a long time. Before, I mostly worked with already roasted coffee and preparing drinks. Now I can see the whole process, from green beans to the final cup.
I also like that no two days are the same. And knowing that Christoph personally visits the coffee farms is very inspiring. I hope that one day I'll have the chance to see that part of the coffee world for myself.
What do you like to do when you're not working?
I love nature and the mountains, so I often go for walks around Leysin. I also like playing chess and trying new coffees, which Denys, my partner, usually prepares for me at home!
Where do you see yourself in the years to come?
I don't really like planning too far ahead. The last few years have shown me how much things can change.
But I definitely want to keep growing in the coffee industry. I'd like to deepen my knowledge of specialty coffee, earn professional certifications, learn more about roasting and sensory skills, and go back to teaching and running workshops once my French is better. Over time, I'd like to develop my own area of specialisation. After all, I'm doing something I really love.
In ten years, I simply hope I can look back and see that I kept growing, kept doing what I love, and built a happy, stable life in Switzerland.
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Next time you visit us at an event, look out for Nastia behind the machine, and ask her for a heart, a tulip or a rosetta. Welcome to the Horizonte family, Nastia!
