Caffe D'arte

Phone: 1-800-999-5334

Fax: 206-763-4665

www.caffedarte.com

Supplier of freshly roasted coffee and espresso.  Espresso roast is lighter than typical American espresso yielding a thick espresso with a sweet reddish-brown crema.  Mauro Cipolla was trained in the fine art of espresso roasting and blending in Italy and has brought this tradition to Seattle.  I recommend the Firenze blend which is prepared in the Northern Italian tradition to be mild, aromatic, sweet and smooth. Robusta is undoubtedly used in his blends.

Solberg and Hansen

Phone: 47 23 03 68 20

Fax: 47 22 19 79 46

post@sh.no

www.sh.no

One of the most descerning coffee buyers in the world and the best source of specialty coffee in Norway. Solberg and Hansen is a leader in the specialty coffee movement. Solberg and Hansen consistently purchases top rated coffees during the major auctions around the world. In the 2001 Guatemala competition S&H purchased the top rated coffee for a record $11 per pound.

Illycaffé

www.illy.com

One of the best designed sites about espresso and coffee science in general.  Dr. Illy and his research team have fused passion and chemistry to create some of the world's best espresso blends.  You can find out where to order Illy espresso by linking to this site. 

Espresso Vivace

www.espressovivace.com/intro.html

David Schomer, owner of Vivace's, is considered by some to be one of the foremost espresso experts in the United States.  His espresso blends have been created in the Italian tradition of light roasts with intense aromatics, sweet, smooth, and complex overtones.  His goal is to attain an espresso ristretto shot that tastes analogous to how it smells.  His book Espresso Coffee: Professional Techniques is a good starting book for espresso preparation.  Techniques that were neglected can be easily be learned or found in these pages.  He also sells a tamper that has interchangeable pistons to fit perfectly into any filter basket, a necessity to attain espresso's true potential. 

Peet's Coffee

Phone: 800-999-2132

www.peets.com

webmail@peets.com

Although Peet's coffee is roasted "deeper" than I typically recommend, I was raised on this coffee and continue to love it.  The meticulous deep roasting process yields a well balanced, smooth, and complex cup of coffee with enormous depth.  Despite the dark roast, the Peet's roasting process yields an extremely aromatic cup. This is a company secret that other chains try to copy by simply roasting dark.  They also have an extensive collection of fine teas and brewing equipment.