Craft Beverage Spotlight: Massachusetts Coffee Roasters

Eric Paley, Secretary of the Executive Office of Economic Development

Charlie Ticotsky, Deputy Director of the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism

You can really get a sense of the vibrancy of a community in a coffee shop. That’s why Massachusetts’ Secretary of Economic Development Eric Paley is on a mission to visit as many coffee shops as humanly possible, and is well on the way to all 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts. Secretary Paley has visited nearly all of the roasters featured below. Much to the delight of his staff, he often brings in locally roasted coffee for the coffeemaker.

Local coffee shops come with a story about what’s special about Massachusetts and you can discover a lot about a community and its people by visiting. Visiting a coffee shop that roasts on site is a special treat for the senses. Read on to discover a sampling of the approximately 125 Massachusetts coffee roasters in every region of the state.

Western Massachusetts Esselon Coffee Roasting Co. in Hadley has been roasting organic and fair trade coffee in small batches since 2006, in an “iconic 1969 Gothot drum roaster.” Visit the café for a “too pretty to drink” latte.

Monsoon Roastery in Springfield is located inside the hip and innovative Urban Food Brood collaborative food hub and café. All their roasting and energy needs are 100% wind-powered and they aim for a zero-waste process, using repurposed materials, composting, and using highly recyclable cans.

No. 6 Depot, located in an 1834 train station in West Stockbridge, is owned by husband-and-wife team Flavio Lichtenthal and Lisa Landry, who spend two to three months a year traveling the world to coffee-growing countries, exploring indigenous methods of planting, agroforestry, and different ways of drying, fermenting, cupping, and roasting.

Circuit Coffee in Westfield offers a variety of house-baked pastries and roasts with a fluid bed roaster, which uses hot air to lift and circulate beans evenly “because every bean is roasted with such care, you taste the coffee’s true character: bright, complex, and alive.”

Central Massachusetts Lost Shoe Brewing and Roasting Company in Marlborough has expanded from a brewery to also roast coffee—customers can visit for a beer or a coffee (try the seasonal latte flight!). For the best of both worlds try Drip, a coffee stout, served on Nitro in the taproom. Don’t miss the frequent events held in the taproom and patio.

Armeno Coffee Roasters in Northborough calls a 1727 mill home. There’s a roast for every coffee drinker, as they offer “Full City,” “Viennese,” “French,” and “Italian” roast levels.

Smokestack Roasters in Lunenberg and Princeton serves up freshly roasted, fairly traded coffees and scratch baked goods including irresistible sourdough loaves.

North of Boston Little Wolf Coffee roasts at its café in Ipswich and has a second location in Boston’s Seaport District. Named after the owners’ Siberian Husky, River, they believe a cup of coffee is “only as good as the company you share it with.”

Kid Dream Coffee Company in Beverly roasts coffee to order and strives to be a place “where you can feel at home, talk to real human beings, and feel like you have the freedom to be yourself.” In addition to coffee, they feature a variety of sweet and savory toasts.

Euphoria Coffee in Chelmsford and Bedford is so passionate about their coffee that they are confident that customers can always find the type of coffee they love if they “are a coffee maniac,” picking their name because they want patrons to feel “excited and happy” after drinking their coffee.

South of Boston SlackTide Coffee in the South Shore towns of Hanover, Kingston, and Marshfield was started by longtime friends out of a garage. To the delight of their regulars, they have added freshly made donuts to the mix.

Ground Floor Coffee in New Bedford is a small batch roastery and café, with tons of options for customers, including more than 30 syrups to choose from. The business strives to be a stepping stone for those new to the workforce; its sister company, Behavioral Connections, provides meaningful employment pathways for individuals on the autism spectrum.

Speedwell Coffee in Plymouth is mainly a wholesale roaster but serves from a coffee cart seasonally. Coffee aficionados can take a tour of the facility or take a barista training class. Speedwell makes a point of sourcing from different countries at different times of year, at the peak of freshness.

Greater Boston George Howell Coffee has four café locations in Greater Boston. Led by legendary coffee pioneer George Howell, the company roasts a wide variety of styles and origins in Acton. They offer educational classes for experienced connoisseurs and beginners alike.

Barismo in Arlington (“lab-style coffeebar” and roastery) and Cambridge (flagship coffeebar and bakery) began as a group of baristas who would meet to taste, experiment, and roast. They are passionate about transparent sourcing and detail, offering full sourcing reports for every coffee they roast.

Yego Coffee in Somerville is named after the Kinyarwanda word for “Yes” – chosen by owners Fatuma and Francois Tuyishime as a Rwandan symbol of possibility and affirmation.

Cape Cod & the Islands Snowy Owl coffee has cafes in Brewster, Chatham, and Sandwich (where the roasting happens), keeping the Cape caffeinated year-round. After dark, The Night Owl serves coffee, as well as beer and wine with live music in Brewster.

At Three Fins Coffee it’s “all about the bean,” both roasting coffee and also crafting chocolate. In West Dennis, there’s a coffeehouse and the coffee roastery, and in Chatham, there’s a coffeehouse and the cacao factory.

Cape Cod Coffee has six coffee shops around Cape Cod, including in Mashpee where they roast the beans and offer roastery tours with a tasting. Local beer and live music are also featured.

Whether you’re looking to fuel up for the day, meet a friend for a cozy chat, pick up a bag of beans to brew at home, or learn about the roasting process through a behind-the-scenes tour, when you’re in Massachusetts, there’s always a coffee roaster nearby. And while you’re there, maybe you’ll learn something new about the community that you’re in!

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Craft Beverage Spotlight: Massachusetts Coffee Roasters

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