I've never been to Ethiopia, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Kenya, Burundi, Costa Rica, or any other country the coffee I consume is produced. Nor have I been to the majority of coffee roasters that roast the beans from these countries. With the exception of local roasters like Intelligentsia and Metric Coffee.
There's a wide open field of options to find great coffee out there. Hopefully, this list will be map out the terrain.
Black and White
Location: North Carolina
Want to be on the more adventurous side? Black and White's experimental processed coffees always offer fascinating results. Their tasting notes on the bags range from gummy bears to pixie stix.
If you feel like getting something to start out, I'd point you in the direction of their Anaerobic Washed process coffees as they are consistently delicious.
One such coffee I've been drinking from them is their Wilder Lasso Lemon Gesha. The coffee cherries first go through anaerobic fermentation. It is submerged in mucilege for 200 hours before being pulped. Second, the coffee is re-fermented in the sun with indigenous lemon peel for 18 days. Adding a resulting taste of limeade to the coffee.
Coffee Circulor
Location: Norway
This was the first roaster I ordered from outside the country because of all the hype I heard. At first I was overwhelmed because of how diverse and large their selection was. When I received the order, they did something I never had another roaster do- they included a couple of samples (20g each) of coffees to try out.
Corvus Coffee
Location: Denver, Colorado
Their exotic and reserve coffees are always a treat if you save up enough to get one. Their standard offerings have sometimes underwhelmed.
Heart
Location: Portland, Oregon
A coffee I tried for the first time was one of their Ethiopian lots and it delighted me with its tropical fruitiness.
Ilse
Location: North Canaan, Connecticut
Out of the coffee roasters I've tried in New England, Ilse is hands down the best. I currently have a Colombian Gesha from them thas has jammy sweetness and flavors of limeade.
Intelligentsia
Location: Chicago, Illinois and California
My journey into the whole coffee scene starts here. Their coffee quality has taken a bit of a hit in recent years compared to others on this list. It's still a shop I find myself in once a week to see what they are up to.
Metric
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Their coffees I would rate slightly higher than Intelligentsia even though I've had less from them. They have one shop/roastery in Chicago compared to Intelligentsia's 4 locations. Making it harder to sample from them. It's entirely worth it every time I make the trip though.
Onyx
Location: Arkansas
A popular roaster whose baristas have competed in World Barista Championships. Word around the campfire is Onyx isn't the same Onyx of a few years ago, when they would produce stunning lot after stunning lot. Now it's a roaster who I will check in on occasionally to see what's brewin'.
Passenger
Location: Lancaster, Pennsylvania
My favorite coffee roaster. I have yet to have a bad or even okay cup from them. The quality ranges from good to excellent. What makes them unique is they freeze many of their previous years coffee beans. As a result, their selection is bigger than most roasters on this list. Except Manhattan.
Sey
Location: Brooklyn, New York
A roaster whose coffee is best enjoyed 2 weeks from the roast date. They will even recommend this to you on their boxes. I've only had one coffee from Sey- a washed Ethiopia- but it blew me away.
Mistobox
A subscription service I've been a part of for the past few years gives me coffee from around the country every few weeks. They can sometimes send me a mediocre coffee, but for the most part, their curating has been on point.
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