Hope this is ok to post this here.

I got a quick call today from a relatively new but good friend. His wife is the manager of a small coffee shop in a small town close to Charlotte, NC. They now have the opportunity to purchase this shop and are in the process. They have been to my home a handful of times and seemed to really enjoy my coffee. Mostly Americanos from well known roasters mentioned on this site. Anyway, he has asked me for a list of wholesale roasters he could contact for samples or info for said shop. I'm very flattered but buying roasted beans for home consumption is a lot different than for a shop, especially one I am not affiliated with.

They have been using beans from a roaster in the Raleigh area that shall remain nameless. They are obviously looking for something better. They have on occasion bought me samples that IMO were over roasted and ashy. Of course this shop probably sells mostly large flavored milk drinks. I've never been there but my children have (it's in another town). I don't know what direction this shop will take if sold to them, but I would like to see them using something not shiny with oil and more "specialty". They use 5-10 lbs. of beans for espresso and 5-10 lbs. of beans for drip per week. I think they are looking for a little bit better beans but still at a good price. I don't know of any other services that they will need from a supplier. I guess they are looking for someone close to this area so as to get quick deliveries, but in this day and age, I get deliveries from the west coast almost as fast as the east coast. Other than the roasters I buy from, the first thing that popped into my mind was Fortuna Enterprises in Greensboro, NC that I remembered Dan has mentioned here. I don't know the quality of their beans though. Perhaps others here from the triangle area can help? I'm sure y'all have many questions that I probably can't answer but can pass them along to this couple. He is an engineer that has expressed interest in building a roaster, so who knows where this will end...

Sorry for the long post and thanks ahead for any comments or suggestions.

I'm no expert, but if I were in their shoes, I'd go Passion House, Metropolis, or Counter Culture.

Intelly is another obvious choice, but lately, I've been finding myself disappointed with their stuff.

There's a guy operating out of Lowe's headquarters in Mooresville. The name of the company is Sky Mountain Roaster. He roasts on a USRC roaster - it's a very nice operation. I can't tell you how good his coffee - never tried it. But I met the guy. My son, who works at Lowes HQ introduced me to him knowing I'd be interested as I roast at home. He was a very nice guy and I suspect he'd be delighted to have a call from you and let you sample his wares.

Thanks for your suggestions so far. I was beginning to wonder if I was going to get any.

UltramaticOrange wrote:I'm no expert, but if I were in their shoes, I'd go Passion House, Metropolis, or Counter Culture.

I've added Passion House to the list. The others were already on it.

bean2friends wrote:The name of the company is Sky Mountain Roaster.

Interesting! I like the "out of the box" suggestion. I will pass it along.

If you can afford Counter Culture go with them. If you can't, there are 2 roasters in the Raleigh area that I respect besides Counter Culture. Try contacting Joe Bland and Raleigh Coffee Company and Andrew at Torch Roasters. I've sample their stuff and it's all very good at a little lower price that what you will pay for Counter Culture. The rest of the roasters in the Triangle area are not that good, regardless of what their marketing tells you.

I run a cafe in Raleigh and use Counter Culture...my 2 cents.

Nuprin,

Thanks so much for the great info. This couple and soon to be new owners are coming to my house next Saturday for my daughters graduation party and we will discuss this.