Sump Coffee is a coffee roaster in Tower Grove South, St. Louis.
Sump roasts light, precise single-origin coffee that built a national following, now produced at an Old North roastery with retail and tasting on site.
Tip: The light roasts are best brewed as filter; ask which lots are freshest off the roaster. Bags travel and keep well.
Address: 3700 S Jefferson Ave, St. Louis, MO 63118
Blueprint is a roaster known for clean, precise coffee, supplying its Loop, Watson and Washington cafes from a design-forward operation in the Delmar Loop.
Tip: Each cafe pours the day's filter on the bar; ask the barista to walk you through the rotating single origins.
Sources from: Ethiopia, Colombia, Guatemala
How they serve: Filter, Espresso, Whole bean retail
Northwest roasts on site at its Central West End cafe, a long-running operation that supplies local accounts and pours its own coffee at a busy patio counter.
Tip: The patio is the prize on warm mornings; ask which single origin came off the roaster most recently.
Sources from: Ethiopia, Colombia, Sumatra
How they serve: Espresso, Filter, Whole bean retail
Brothers Patrick and Spencer Clapp roast ethically sourced beans, many from their native Honduras, at this South City micro-roastery near Cherokee Street.
Tip: Ask after the Honduran lots the brothers source directly. The cafe is compact, so it is more a buy-and-go than a work session.
Sources from: Honduras, Colombia, Ethiopia
How they serve: Espresso, Filter, Whole bean retail
Comet roasts in small batches and pairs the coffee with an in-house micro-bakery at two cafes near Forest Park's south edge. The pastry case rivals the cup.
Tip: Pastries sell out by midday, so come early. Two cafes pour the same roasts, on Shaw and on Oakland.
Sources from: Ethiopia, Colombia, Kenya
How they serve: Espresso, Filter, Whole bean retail
A privately owned roastery and cafe on The Hill, Shaw's roasts in house using green coffees from the three major growing regions among the Italian groceries.
Tip: Pair a cortado with a stroll through the Hill's groceries. Roasts rotate, so ask what is fresh.
Sources from: Ethiopia, Colombia, Sumatra
How they serve: Espresso, Filter, Whole bean retail
The Larson family roasts in house and runs a full breakfast kitchen at this Maplewood cafe, a community hub that does coffee and a meal equally well.
Tip: It works as a full breakfast spot as well as a roaster; the biscuits and breakfast bowls are the orders.
Sources from: Colombia, Ethiopia, Brazil
How they serve: Espresso, Filter, Whole bean retail
