• MSNBC/Reuters, Wednesday, August 18, 2010 9:22 AM

F. Gavina & Sons, a little-known Los Angeles coffee roaster, has risen from modest beginnings serving Cuban and other ethnic markets to become a supplier to companies such as McDonald's and Costco. Now it wants to take on the likes of Starbucks and Peet's on the premium shelves in supermarkets, Lisa Baertlein reports.

The seller of brands such as Don Francisco's and Cafe La Llave has introduced Don Francisco's Family Reserve line in Southern California and is planning to go national. "Once you taste good coffee, you don't go back," says president Pedro Gavina, comparing the coffee market with the increasing sophistication of U.S. wine consumers.

Packaged Facts projects U.S. coffee market growth of more than 25% between 2009 and 2014, and demand for upscale coffee may outpace that. The Specialty Coffee Association of America says sales of upscale coffee are growing at about 5 to 6% a year.

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