What was your Pandemic hobby? Mine was becoming nerd-Ishly self-reliant for my twice a day iced…read morecoffee habit. After purchasing some additional equipment to supplement my home Cold Brew set up, I was able to cold brew and make home pour overs that I flash chill in a ColdWave Beverage Chiller. When you home brew, you need roasted coffee beans. Since I was largely homebound in the early Pandemic days, I was motivated to buy the best coffee beans from US roasters who ship to my house in CT. JBC from Madison, Wisconsin is one of the roasters that appeared on multiple best US roaster lists. In addition, JBC is one of the roasters that regularly submits its coffees to "Coffee Review", which performs blind taste reviews, scores coffees and reports the scores on its website. Especially within its normal price range, JBC is one of the highest scoring US roasters that I've noticed. That's why JBC is the roaster I order from most frequently. My orders in the past two months have included coffees from Kenya, Ethiopia, Columbia and the Indonesia island of Sumatra. "Coffee Review" rated five of the six JBC coffees I ordered as 94 or 95, which fall in the Top Rated Category. I suspect the other hasn't been rated yet but will score similarly. Many of the other roasters that routinely score this high charge much higher prices than JBC. In this regard, JBC's cost for 12 ounce bags of whole beans in my recent order ranged from, prior to the 10% discount, $18 to $20.50. At these prices, I actually save money home brewing high end coffee instead of getting whatever the local drive-thrus are selling. I can't speak highly enough of JBC's customer service. My recent order is representative. Over the July 4th Weekend, I ordered three bags so I could receive a 10% holiday discount and free shipping. JBC fresh roasted the coffee on 7/6 and shipped my order that day. I received a tracking number, but I know not to worry with ever-reliable JBC. It was waiting in my mailbox for me on 7/8 - high-end coffee, two days after it was roasted. Not to bury the lead, JBC's coffee is routinely fresh and outstanding. Their flavor notes listed on their website and bags are right on. If you home grind and brew, I highly recommend JBC.

Been ordering from JBC for 2+ years usually three bags at a time to take advantage of their free…read moreshipping (if orders are 3+ bags). First heard of roaster through Coffee Review where they consistently have highly rated coffees. They say coffee(s) ship within days of roast date although the roast date is not labeled. Wish they would date but since I strictly do pour overs the CO2 gassing out volume leads me to believe them. Highly recommend you try their whole bean coffee out. They roast med/light

I am a snob. I admit it. The Washington-Oregon I-5 Coffee Zone sets a high bar that the rest of the…read moreUS cannot possibly meet. Sorry-not-sorry, we rule, deal with it. So how did a Seattle or Portland quality coffee shop end up in Crystal Lake? I don't know and I don't care. This place is the real deal. Good product, good baristas, some innovative twists (think ube white chocolate mocha as one of the current specials), this place would perform well up and down the I-5 corridor. They are LGBTQ+ friendly. That's not necessarily common in this area, so kudos to them. Again, a good fit along much of the I-5 corridor. But, of course, I can't take them back home. At least I have a quality coffee stop nearby when visiting family here. Thanks, sis, for introducing me to this place.

I stopped by for a chai whilst in Crystal Lake. It was a nice surprise that they have a drive…read morethrough, which is a huge help when driving around with a small child. Their chai is seriously good. To some extent I wish they were closer so I could have a taste a bit more often--but I'm not driving up to Palatine (which is the closest location). But... they're kind of expensive so maybe I wouldn't visit that often anyway. Or the large is, anyway--it was $9 for a large chai. And it was a weird price jump, because the price of a small to medium is a 65 cent increase, and from medium to large is almost $1.50... that seems very odd. Anyway, while the chai was great, I'll probably try somewhere else to save a bit of money next time.

I first came here for a coffee tasting session with Alex last summer, and that was a great…read moreexperience. Alex is super knowledgeable about coffee and clearly puts a lot of thought into what he does and how he does it. It's been really nice to be able to order coffee beans and have them delivered since we're so close to the store, but going there is easy too - convenient location and plenty of parking. The coffee itself has been solid - I am not a black coffee drinker, but my partner is, and he has consistently enjoyed the coffee he's gotten there. On our last visit to the shop, Alex told us about the other location they own, Maple Leaf Coffee House in St. Charles - we're hoping to check that out soon!

Maple Leaf Coffee Roasters is a great, fresh option in the Roselle area. They have a variety of…read morebean options for light, medium, dark roasts and even sell decaf beans. The bags come is 12oz and 16oz options but one can also preorder a large format of beans for pick up. When I visited, the owner Alex was there and he could not be nicer! He made some great recommendations based on my preferences and offers items in bean or grounded formats. I purchased the Costa Rica Marigold option based on the notes listed. He gave me beans that had been roasted that day! The beans are high quality but not has flavor forward as I'm used to. Either way, pricing was very fair and seems to always have all options in stock.

The store is clean, the owner is nice, and the coffee is great. I appreciate knowing there is a…read moreVeteran-owned coffee shop in my neighborhood. I saw their ads on Facebook, walked in, and the owner, Sal, poured me a free and very large cup of coffee. I bought HOOAH because the name is hilarious. Sal ground the coffee for me. I think between the flavor, the hospitality, and the "artwork" on the walls, I am a customer for life. Thanks, Gun Barrel Coffee for a great coffee experience.

Seems like a solid roaster here in Geneva. I have tried their espresso roast and it is solid. Hard…read moreto find that. These are good guys as well.

I first tried Rusty Dog Coffee at Valentia Coffee. The sign near the sugar stand suggests trying…read moreless sugar or cream than you are used to in order to truly taste the coffee. As someone who often used both of those things (and had enough "burnt" Starbucks to assume I hated all dark roasts), I was skeptical. But I did it! As it turns out, dark roast can be smooth and delicious- and it really doesn't need anything! I've been ordering Rusty Dog ever since (and laughed when I asked after the particularly good coffee at Sofra and discovered it was a Rusty Dog blend). I would also like to add that the customer service is excellent. After making an order and receiving 1 whole-bean bag (I don't own a grinder and couldn't use it), I emailed and received an answer and remedy - at night! - within minutes. Incredible!

Best coffee ever! Don't just be Short Sighted.....DRINK Short Sighted Blend! One of the smoothest…read moreroasts I've ever had. Not only Madison's finest, but it should be the official Wisconsin State Coffee! Pssssst...Vice Grip is also a mind melding experience!

While visiting my son in Madison, WI I tried this coffee and it has become my favorite! I love the…read morebusiness model and their coffee is delicious! My favorite is Electric Monkey. I use it for my home expresso, lattes, and cappuccinos! I also, love that I can order online, since I live in MI. Their service is fast and the beans are always fresh!

This is the best coffee! I buy whole bean. It's delicious. It's organic, shade grown, and they…read morepay the coffee growers a fair wage. People complaining about the price of coffee shipped are insane! The shipping is included in the price.

We love Gost Coffee! Wonderful staff and wonderful ambiance! Can't say enough good things about…read morethis place!

Checked out this coffee shop that has a pretty cool science fiction theme and is chill. Gost is one…read moreof the unexpectedly good finds in New Lenox. It has a pretty strange location that makes it seem out of place. Just don't judge it until you go in. The prices are pretty okay for being coffee that's local and independently owned. Basically the coffee is the main thing of course. It's got kind of a small selection but they only make the best stuff. There's the basics like the lattes and a few of the specialties too. Actually can be good to not be too complicated. It's about $5 to get a specialty coffee, which isn't that bad to be honest. Also has bags of coffee beans to go. The last time in here I got the Cinnamon Toast Crunch Latte. Like drinking cereal. They also have a few pastries. It's about $2 for a croissant. The Vegan Curved Croissant is one of these. Fluffy and still has a buttery flavor. There's also a few breakfast sandwiches. Finding it can be complicated. It's located in a building on Schoolhouse Road. There's also a pizza place in the same location so after going here you can go there.

I love Kindred Coffee Roasters!! I've been here multiple times. It's such a cute little coffee shop…read morein West Chicago, perfect for getting work done, catching up with friends, or playing one of their board games. I ordered a pancake breakfast latte, and it definitely resembles pancakes! It was delicious. The quality and attention to detail at Kindred is clear, and you can tell they truly care about what they do and have a genuine passion for coffee. I also tried their hummus toast and it was really good! I'd love to try more of their food items in the future.

A friend and I stopped in on a weekday morning and throughout our time there the place was…read moreconsistently busy. I was impressed to see the staff members keeping up with the hustle and bustle. I'd consider the space small/moderate-ish. There are 2 different areas to sit at and my guess is at max capacity it's ~40 people. Their coffee menu is pretty standard when compared to other coffee shops. 1 item that stood out to me was the mocha latte. They label it as 'the most amazing mocha latte' which naturally made me want to try it. This is not my usual coffee order, I typically get a chai or a matcha so kudos for reeling me in with the fun verbiage lol. They don't offer almond milk but thankfully they do have oat so I got that instead. They aren't kidding about it being the most amazing mocha latte.. it was REAL good. It was rich, creamy and oh so delicious. I also loved the latte art. For food I got a blueberry muffin and enjoyed it. I liked that it had different textures throughout, the crumble and the smoothness of the muffin itself. It is also generous with the amount of blueberries in it. If you're looking for a breakfast sandwich or really any hot breakfast items.. sadly you won't get it here, but the muffins make up for it!

great place, my uncles friend Steven works there. he is the best at making what ever you need, form…read morechai to matcha to just a regular coffee its allways good, nice little spot outside to sit and drink your beverage. speedy and nice employees. always clean. if i could give a 6 just for the chai i would.

This place gave me New York coffee shop vibe, but in the snooty way. Is their coffee good, yes. Was…read morethe wait long, yes. Were the staff friendly...not really. This place is giving, no nonsense, here's your coffee - get it and go with a premium price. I would say their location is prime - being the only coffee shop inside garver feed mill, so they will always have a steady stream of people, plus orders online, which added to the wait. Was it worth it - to have a coffee while strolling, I suppose. Any time else, not really.