Artisans of the roast

A great cup of coffee starts with great beans. As recently as 10 years ago, finding good whole bean coffee usually meant seeking out the little gourmet shops that imported it, finding a Peet's or Illy store -- or having an Italian (or Guatemalan) grandmother who could send a burlap bag of the stuff to you. But lately, a new breed of small, independent microroasters have set up shop in and around the city, and they're paying a kind of attention to coffee that we haven't seen before.

By Amy Scattergood

October 25, 2006