Do Visit Your Local Coffee Roasters

[novasurf]

Well, in my case, not too local. I never miss a chance to visit and hang with the best of the best coffee roasters when I travel, whether it is coffee related or not. In some cases, facilities offer public tours, some don't. Do your homework first. Here's who I've visited this year:

Groundworks Coffee - Los Angeles, CA

Wow. Went to their retail shop first and had some AMAZING cups pulled from a Clover machine. Got to spend a good deal of time with the owner and their roasting facility. Immaculate. A great set up, very good coffee and fantastic employees to boot. Superior espresso shots.

Intelligensia Coffee - Chicago, Ill

Super cool. A great tour with the roasters, because the rest of the staff was attending the SCAA convention. The roasting facility offers public tours on the weekends. Get your geek on and get over there. Clover shots and some really nice tea too! Vintage roasters, top flight staff and great tips for us while we were in Chicago. Don’t miss it.

Gilles Coffee - Brooklyn, NY

I’m not sure if you can top over 100 years in the business. But that is what Gilles is all about. The team, the facility are some of the very best in the business. And a real impressive array of top flight coffees.

Graffeo Roasting Company - Beverly Hills, CA

Simply a great place to buy freshly roasted coffee in Los Angeles. They use a fluid bed roaster which I got to see in operation. Very clean and very basic. The coffee is very good. They do not sell coffee by the cup, you buy your bags in the store. Their one and only blend is a mélange of beans from Colombia, Costa Rica and New Guinea. If you are in LA and don’t pick up a pound, you’ve missed something very special.

[ghostrider]

It's hard enough to find a decent coffee shop in this area, much less a coffee roaster. Do you have any sources for locating local roasters?

[novasurf]

A lot closer than you think, PM sent.

[SmokenScotch]

I Frequent Bucks County Coffee Company. They have an excellent selection, usually almost everything at one time or another.

It will do until I finally get to roasting my own..

http://www.buckscountycoffee.com/

[novasurf]

Adding The Roasterie to my list shortly.
Recon almost complete.
Brick and mortar is not too far away for us.

[yourchoice]

I'm fortunate enough to have a "micro-roaster" 10 minutes from my house (10 minutes is close when you live in suburban S. Jersey). Anyone nearby, this place is pretty darn good (Mullica Hill, NJ).

Crescent Moon - Clicky

EDIT: FWIW the Kenya AA is one of my favorites from there. I didn't realize they did on-line ordering (I'm 10 minutes away, why would I have looked? ) If anyone is inclined to order from them, I find their coffees very good, and their reputation/customer service just as good. Again, of course, I've never ordered on-line from them, but I can't imagine they would handle that end of their business any differently.

[novasurf]

I know Ron very well. I'd suggest you go no where else for your bean. Unless you move up North a bit.

[Mark C]

Might be a good idea to start a list of local roasters and sticky it?

There are two major players in the Baltimore area, Baltimore Coffee & Tea (http://www.baltcoffee.com/catalog/) and Caffe Pronto (http://www.caffepronto.com/).

If you've ever been to a Baltimore-area coffee shop, chances are they served BCT roasts. In my opinion, Caffe Pronto is a bit better, though not as widely distributed. BCT isn't bad, certainly better than Starbucks and grocery store coffee, but not quite as good as CP. On the other hand, if you want flavored coffee, BCT is your best bet and has a huge selection.

Also check out the CoffeeGeek regional forums @ http://www.caffepronto.com/, they'll be able to point you towards a local roaster, if one exists.

[muziq]

I'll jump in here...would love some input. I frequent Texas Coffee Traders, only local roaster I know fairly well. R.C. is a hoot and a nice guy. Ever visited and/or done business with 'em? Many of the better local coffeehouses get their blends from TCT.

[novasurf]

Just spent the day with the folks at the Roasterie in Kansas City. I still smell like roasted coffee....smells like home. Great folks, great coffee selection and a TON of experience. My recon is almost complete, and I know for sure that I'm clearly where i need to be.

[monsoon]

Originally Posted by novasurf

Just spent the day with the folks at the Roasterie in Kansas City. I still smell like roasted coffee....smells like home. Great folks, great coffee selection and a TON of experience. My recon is almost complete, and I know for sure that I'm clearly where i need to be.

I love driving downtown when they are roasting ... You can smell it for blocks and blocks.

A small roaster here in the KC area, is "Dunns" south of KC on Metcalf Ave. Good stuff !!!!

[Mister Moo]

Originally Posted by monsoon

I love driving downtown when they are roasting ... You can smell it for blocks and blocks.

A small roaster here in the KC area, is "Dunns" south of KC on Metcalf Ave. Good stuff !!!!

I used to fly regularly into the old airport across the river from downtown (and the big 'un up the road, too) at night then drive over to the downtown KC Hyatt. I always went right past what I think was a Folgers roasting plant - the late night smell filled the downtown and it was too wonderful for words.

[physiognomy]

Bumping this thread to add a local Denver shop that roasts some fine beans... Kaladi Bro's is right next to DU & sports a mixed clientele of locals & academics/students who are escaping the generic slop served up at 'coffee carts' all over campus. While I don't have a great deal of knowledge about their roasting, they use a single pass fluidized bed fresh air roaster (quite the mouth full) & produce some very good coffee. I need to get over there more often...

[n3uka]

Thanks for bumping it. Made me google and find that I am near 2 roasters.

Mayorga Imports in Rockville, MD
Cobblestone Coffee Roastery in Crownsville, MD

I will have to visit both soon

[burninator]

Got a local shop here that roasts in-house. Pretty decent, as far as this noob's concerned.

Ogeechee River Coffee Company