Runners up:
2. Adventure Coffee Roasting, 633 N. Jasmine Place, 247-2651, adventurecoffeeroasting.com
3. Caffe Luce, 943 E. University Blvd., No. 191, 207-5504, caffeluce.com
Unclear on the concept: Starbucks, five votes
Best Local Coffee Roaster
Raging Sage
Coffee beans are broken into two categories: arabica and robusta. While a mass-produced Robusta like Folgers will get you through the game, Raging Sage knows that in order to play your best, you must drink the best. They only roast arabica beans. One small in-house roaster, resembling a large popcorn machine, cooks their dozen varieties of coffee every morning. Raw beans go into the roaster; there, they heat and blow around until they start to crackle at between 450 to 480 degrees (the hotter the bean, the darker the roast). Then they're sprayed with water to stop the cooking, bagged and sold. Their beans come from the ripest plants around the equator, and their prices per pound beat Starbucks. Drink local, think global.
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