Great Coffee houses/Roasters (Non-Gigantic Chain)

That was me....thanks !

Couldn't find your post

I was doing a bit of research (to see how others brewed) so thanks for that! It is interesting how many use a press. And now it has come full circle with the comeback of the drip (chemex, hario, etc.).

That is interesting. My old roommate used to have a nice espresso machine, which I would use from time to time as well.

I have a Stove Top Espresso Bialetti but I don't use it that often.

Intelligentsia is offering their Panama Geisha coffee beans online again, pretty pricey but if you are a coffee freak this is a great cup of joe!

Yikes! $60 a pound! It must be good!

My partner ordered me some (1/2 pound) along with our regular beans ! I am looking forward to trying it !

Edit: Tastes fruity, bright, clean and smooth. If you don't enjoy medium roasts then this might not be for you! YMMV

I just returned from Seattle. I went to Uptown Espresso on Westlake with my wife. It is the home of the "Velvet Foam". (Yes, it sounds like a cheesy seventies porn star.) The company's url is velvetfoam.com. The latte's were great. There are some locations around Seattle according to their promo materials. It was a nice change from the omnipresent Schulzbux and it's sibling Seattle's Best.

However, the go-to coffee in our home is Peet's Whole Bean Sulawesi-Kalosi. Peet's is not a giant chain to me. There are no stores in my East Coast locale. Nary a grocery store carries it. We mail order it. The UPS man always thanks me. He says the truck smells great.

Anyone else on here a SCAA Q Grader ?

Can I put in a kind word for Aikane Kona coffee?

This is a small family farm that produces very limited crops of hand-picked, Hawaiian sun-dried nectar of the gods:
http://www.aikanekonacoffee.com/index.html

Polly's in Long Beach Ca roasts their coffee everyday in their store. After dialy consumption at home from their beans i can tell you there is a huge difference between beans roasted within the last 2 weeks and beans roasted longer thatn that.
check them out
http://www.pollys.com/

I get my coffee from a guy who owns his own roasting company out in Cali. He is part of the coffee forums and met him on another (Subaru) forum. Nate @ West Coast Roasting is the man. Good selection, roasts to order, and ships it USPS Priority so it gets to me fresh [enough]!

http://www.wcrcompany.com/

I just wanted to add, for everyone ever in Maine, I second LaLaLa's post, Rooster Brothers is nothing short of amazing.

Everytime I am up in Maine I buy a pound and am sad when it runs out.

Has anyone ever ordered from them online? I may try once this one runs out.

http://roosterbrother.com/

New one for me = local goods out of Orcas Island. So freaking good and they have decaf.

we have ordered on line. I love them. I routed myself through Ellsworth on my way to Bar Harbor for the MDI Marathon. Loaded up on coffee and roasted almonds. So freaking good.

I had to stop there for christmas, to buy my dad some of the sausages, because he has issues with a lot of even specialty ones, but the first time they actually went upstairs and checked the recipe for me.

Chocolate, Coffee, Cheese, Bread, Wine, Sausages, and Great Selections of Cooking Spices/Sauces.

On my most recent venture to Seattle I went to Espresso Vivace Roasteria across the street from REI. Wow. The Espresso Vita made a great latte.

Recent forays have included stops at Coava Coffee, Stumptown, Victrola, Blue Bottle. Coava is a recent favorite !