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Throughout this piece, I urge people to talk to coffee professionals
and other hobbyists, to try the famous espresso blends and cafés,
and even to home roast, cup and blend for themselves. Ten years ago this
would have been virtually impossible; five years ago, difficult. But
since then the coffee Internet has exploded. It has put coffee
enthusiasts from all around the world in touch with each other,
circulated new knowledge more widely and more rapidly than ever before,
and created a market large enough so several Internet vendors
specializing in coffee related wares can make a living and provide us
with a dizzying selection of state of the art items. The Internet has
created a golden age for hobbyists in general, and for coffee hobbyists
in particular.
There are thousands of coffee related sites. Here is a very short
list of some of the major ones, as well as some of my favorites,
organized by type.
Information and Review Sites
Newsgroups and Forums
- Alt.coffee:
the first Internet coffee hangout. web access via Google
- CoffeeGeek
Forums: Only a few years old, but closing fast.
- Home-Barista.com Forums:
New kid on the block, but worth checking out (especially if you wish to
comment on or offer corrections for this article).
Roasters and cafés
- Riley's
Coffee and Fudge: Barry Jarrett, the owner, is the first pro who
took notice of people talking coffee on the Internet. So Riley's is
hereby named the official café/roaster of the
Coffee-Internet. Also, June's fudges are so good, they might
start an Internet of their own
- Intelligentsia:
In my hometown, Chicago. Great coffee, great people
- Gillies:
New York's Don Schoenholt is one of the founders of specialty coffee,
and a great supporter of coffee enthusiasts
- Dallis
Brothers: Gillies NYC competitors, also terrific people
- Gimme Coffee:
There's good coffee descriptions, there's bad coffee descriptions, then
there's Gimme's descriptions. But the educational material is solid
enough for a banker
- Counter
Culture Coffee: Real espresso in the Old South? You bet. Another
great supporter of us enthusiasts
- Hines Public
Market: Seattle Haut café. Seattle is the center of North
American coffee culture
- Zoka:
More Seattle
- Café
Victrola: More Seattle
- Caffé
D'Arte: You guessed it
- Espresso
Vivace: Last but not least Seattle. There's lot's more, but I'm
tired of typing Seattle
- Stumptown:
In Portland; one of the best in North America
- Supreme
Bean: LA's roaster to the stars; nevertheless, their espresso
blends are great.
Home Roasting and Green Coffee
- Sweet Maria's:
Not just a vendor; but the Free University of home roasting too.
- Coffee Bean
Corral: Russ sits on a Hawaian porch sipping coffees. The ones that
fit, he sells.
- Coffee
Wholesalers: Chuck is a roaster who sells some of his stock green,
and occasionally makes neat gizmos for home roasters
- Coffee
Project: James' list is available to home roasters
- Green
Coffee Coop: 5lb minimum lots at coop prices, vetted by Bob Yellin,
the best amateur cupper I know.
Internet Coffee Equipment Vendors
Personal Websites and Blogs
- Bread, Coffee,
Yoga, and Chocolate: if there's a role model for coffee
enthusiasts, it's Fortune
- Espresso! My
Espresso: The ultimate love story: boy meets espresso machine ...
But seriously, Randy's site has tons of solid info on everything an
espresso lover wants to know
- God Shot:
Chris Tacy's blog. He is a "3rd wave" barista: a
taster, a roaster, and an officer of the Barista Guild of America.
Professional Associations
- SCAA: Specialty
Coffee Association of America. The industry group for real coffee. Join
as a consumer-member
- NCA:
National Coffee Association. The enemy. Industry group for Folgers,
etc.
- Barista
Guild of America: A new association formed by enthusiastic and
knowledgeable professional baristas
- Roasters
Guild: The association for professional craft roasters.
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