“There is good quality [coffee] in the South. There are no regional brands that identify with all the cities that are seeing so much revitalization right now,” Emma Chevalier, Revelator Coffee’s Creative Director, tells Eater.com. So Revelator’s owners Chevalier, Elizabeth Pogue, and Josh Owen, have opened stores in Birmingham, New Orleans, Atlanta, Chattanooga, and Nashville and are working on more. Their Chattanooga store is discussed in the current issue of Barista Magazine, which describes the store are a contrasting offering to the “homey familiarity” of other Southern coffee options.
You ever tried home roasting, Phil? You really should. You’ll never buy boutique coffee again.
I haven’t bought boutique coffee in a long time anyway–I’m too poor–but I’ve thought about home roasting. A store owner in Colorado Springs told me about it years ago, so I’m under the impression I can make some wonderful coffee on my stove top or in my oven with a little applied knowledge. I haven’t looked into the cost yet.
The really good air roasters start at around $140. You can go cheaper than that (as low as $20), but the entire process gets exponentially more messy and bothersome. As far as the beans go, you should be able to get good stuff for about $9 a pound (shipping included) from Sweet Marias. Green coffee beans will stay fresh for a couple months.
For $9 I can get a couple of 3-pound cans of Folgers. If that’s not strong enough I can add a spoonful of Nescafe.
Is that a special sale on Folgers? I thought they were usually $6-7 for a large can.