East Coast Roast Coffee

Call ahead. East Coast Roast is Richard's one-man operation on Saratoga Boulevard in Island Park, and it works the way a one-man operation should: you let him know you are coming, he meets you at the facility, and you leave knowing more about your beans than you did when you walked in. He will give you a walk-through of the roaster. He will explain origins and roast profiles. He will meet on short notice when he can swing it. The hands-on customer education is the whole point of the shop, and the customers who keep coming back are the ones who wanted that in the first place. The bean list covers the home brewer's expected ground. Colombian for the pour over crowd. Costa Rican and Kenyan single origins for the people who want to taste origin clearly. Brazilian as an espresso-friendly base, which doubles as a daily drinker. Morse Code is the house espresso blend, named like a roaster who wanted the name to mean something. There is no cafe here. No drop-in counter, no pastry case, no laptop table. The trade-off for that is direct contact with the person who roasted what is in your bag, which is a thing most home brewers say they want and few shops let them have. If you are willing to call first, this is exactly the shop you said you wanted. If you wanted to walk in cold, order a cappuccino, and leave, the address is not built for that visit. The Colombian goes home for the pour over. The Morse Code goes home for the espresso machine.