Buy Your Beans From These Philly Coffee Roasters

There's no better way to ensure you're getting the freshest cup of coffee than buying beans that've been roasted right around the corner. Here's your guide to all the best places to find custom blends, single origin roasts, and everything in between.

Coffee roasting at Càphê Roasters | photo by Tina Huynh

For the truly caffeinated among us, a steady supply of beans is an absolute essential. And while, yes, there are many big brands of beans available at grocery stores in the city, freshly roasted beans are truly a world apart. Whether you want a single-origin bag or a more darkly roasted espresso blend, there’s something for everyone at the city’s best roasters.

Càphê Roasters 
Càphê’s coffee is sourced from Southeast Asia and roasted specifically to be brewed in a Vietnamese phin, though it’s delicious in a pourover as well. Find them at pop-ups or at retail location across the city.

Elixr Coffee
Elixr runs a wide variety of coffees, from their Beekeeper Espresso which is great for those who prefer a darker roast paired with milk, to their single-origin bags like the Juan Felipe Restrepo from Colombia, which is a lighter roast with strong strawberry and red fruit notes.

 

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ReAnimator Coffee Roasters
A subscription is a good way to avoid the terrible experience of stumbling out of bed only to realize you’re out of beans. ReAnimator’s is highly adaptable, with options for blends, delivery schedules, and shipment sizes.

Philly Fair Trade Roasters
Look closely and you’ll see that Philly Fair Trade’s beans are used by tons of Philly restaurants. Buy them for yourself at Fante’s, Whole Foods, Rittenhouse Market, and many more.

 

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Old City Coffee
Old City Coffee’s been roasting for 35 friggin’ years — well before the third-wave coffee boom of the early ’00s. Expertise comes with time, and at this point, they’ve got plenty of both under their belt.

Rival Bros.
Rival Bros. is one of a handful of spots where you can buy not just twelve or sixteen ounce bags, but also a big five pound bag that will keep you caffeinated for … quite a while.

 

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Herman’s Coffee Roasters
They’ve got the single origins, the custom blends, the fancy stuff. But in a landscape that can skew a little pretentious, Herman’s also has something called Diner Coffee, and rest assured, it’s nothing like any of the sludge served in your typical diner (though, flavor-wise, it does evoke the same ease and comfort you’d expect from a cup at, say, the Oregon Diner).

Peddler Coffee Roasting 
Peddler roasts in very, very small quantities, so you can be sure that their single-origin beans will be perfectly roasted and super fresh.

Backyard Beans
Look for Backyard Beans, a home-project-turned-actual-roastery, at the Lansdale and Ambler farmer’s markets, as well as at retail locations across the city.

 

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Vibrant Coffee Philadelphia
Vibrant roasts and ships their beans every Wednesday, so the coffee arrives fresh no matter when you order, which keeps it tasting, yes, vibrant.

Ultimo Coffee
Several of their coffees, including their Ardi Organic Ethiopian, were recognized by the 2020 Good Food Awards.