I live north of Charlotte NC and looking to see what coffee other people in the area are buying for making espresso. Either something you can find locally in the Charlotte/north Charlotte area or something you have found reasonably priced to ship and still receive fresh coffee.

I grew up in Charlotte, and I visit family there often.

I can't speak to what Charlottean home baristas are making at home as I no longer live there, but I know of a few good cafes/roasters. Hex is good. So is Undercurrent. Brakeman's is good. Not Just Coffee is serviceable, but doesn't wow. Central is ok, but not as good as the first three mentioned. Has a nice vibe though.

There are probably others too that may be good, but those are the good places that I've been to personally on my regular visits.

I'm in Asheville. Big fan of Hatchet coffee in Boone

I've ordered Jade Espresso (medium to medium-dark roast) from Magnolia Coffee Co and Firebird Espresso (medium-light roast) from Charlotte Coffee Co. Both were highly rated on coffeereview.com (yeah, I know... ), reasonably priced, and enjoyable.

Queen City Grounds in uptown is by far my favorite coffee shop in the Charlotte area - they roast in house and do a good job at it. Night flyer roast works is their roasting brand, and they sell in store and I believe online.

Trade and Lore located in Salud is another really cool coffee shop, but not sure what beans they use.

Other good beans are Summit, Enderly, Mello Coffee Roasters, Villain and Farmers First.

Depending on how far north you are there is decent coffee up towards Hunterville/Cornelis Mooresville/Davidson. In terms of local roasters, I say try them all. Supporting local business never bad. We all have such varied taste. For Me, Fresh is Big and sometimes hard to find We have several shops and fun and interesting points of view. My Favorite Coffee is "Natural" by Black White Coffee out of Wake Forest NC and they mail. But I bounce around with most of the local roasters to share the love

That's exactly where I am located. Right in Cornelius. The only local ones I know are Sky Mountain and Summit.

My vote for Charlotte area is Summit. If you have not been to the shop in Davidson, or explored the "city" itself, you are missing out. Ever since Steph Curry graduated, I think there has been a little extra life and publicity to the area, for better or worse.

Another nice spot is WaterBean Coffee in Huntersville, also in Cornelius and Charlotte. They have a nice cafe, and roast small batch. It is quite expensive, but worth it.

I am in Raleigh, and there is some good local stuff around, but not sure what makes it out to Charlotte from here (and fresh). If you want a pilgrimage, Black Mountain Coffee Roasters, a bit east of Asheville, is my favorite spot to pick up beans when I am over there.