Quick answer: what Montana roasters offer
Across the 18 Montana roasters we profile, 14 run at least one cafe, 12 name a dark roast, 11 sell a subscription or coffee club, 10 list a decaf, 10 sell a named espresso roast and 8 sell organic coffee. Bozeman is home to 5 of the 18, more than any other town. These are our counts from the roasters' own pages, checked on September 27, 2026.
| What we counted | Roasters, of 18 |
|---|---|
| Run at least one cafe or coffee house | 14 |
| Name a dark roast | 12 |
| Sell a subscription or coffee club | 11 |
| List a decaf | 10 |
| Sell a named espresso roast | 10 |
| Sell organic coffee | 8 |
| Name a light roast | 8 |
| Name light, medium and dark roasts | 6 |
| Say how their decaf is made | 3 |
How we counted
The Roast Local directory lists 57 independent roasters in Montana. We keep a full profile for 18 of them, the ones we have researched in depth, and each profile records what the roaster's own pages say. For this post we went through those 18 records field by field.
A roaster counts only when its own pages say so. If a roaster sells a dark roast but never names one as dark, it does not count as a dark roaster here. So every number above is a floor, not a ceiling, and the 18 are not the whole state.
Where the 18 roast
| Town | Roasters |
|---|---|
| Bozeman | 5: Ghost Town, Treeline, Rockford, Yellowstone, Red Bird |
| Billings | 3: Mazevo, Rock Creek, Revel |
| Missoula | 2: Black Coffee, Drum |
| One each | Butte, Great Falls, Helena, Lolo, Philipsburg, the Shields Valley, Victor, Whitefish |
Every one of the 18 roasts in Billings or west of it. Our Montana coffee by town page covers each region.
Roast levels: dark is the most common, light is close
Twelve of the 18 name a dark roast and eight name a light roast. Six name all three levels: Mazevo, Treeline, Black Coffee, Morning Light, Big Creek and Yellowstone. Red Bird's current list is light roasted Brazilian peaberry, and Drum sorts its Roaster's Choice picks into medium light and medium dark.
Four profiles name no roast level at all: Hunter Bay, Philipsburg, Revel, whose list leans on light and experimental lots, and RamsHead, which specializes in microlots and rare varieties. The glossary pages on light roast and dark roast explain the terms.
Decaf and espresso
Ten roasters list a decaf, but only three say how it is made: Mazevo's Mellow Creek is a Swiss Water decaf, Rockford's Brazil is Mountain Water Process, and RamsHead sells a Colombia sugarcane decaf. The other seven do not name a method on the pages we read. Hunter Bay and Treeline also sell a half caff blend. Our decaf page has more.
Ten sell an espresso roast under its own name, from Hunter Bay's Montanaro to Philipsburg's Draft Horse. RamsHead lists four espressos and Treeline three. Florence, Mazevo and Montana Coffee Traders pour espresso drinks in their cafes without a separately named espresso bean on our profiles.
Organic, trade and the machines
Eight of the 18 sell organic coffee. Two sell nothing else: Black Coffee in Missoula and Firetower in Helena. We did not count Ghost Town: it is a certified organic handler, but its list on our profile names no organic coffee. Our organic coffee in Montana post goes roaster by roaster.
Five describe how they buy beyond organic. Hunter Bay buys direct trade, Montana Coffee Traders has direct to farm partnerships, Florence says it buys directly from growing countries and farmers, RamsHead buys fair trade coffee, and Red Bird says it pays at least fair trade prices and often more.
Five name the roaster they use. Three roast on Lorings: Black Coffee, Revel with a 35 kilo Loring Kestrel, and Montana Coffee Traders, which runs a pair. Treeline roasts on a San Franciscan SF-25 it calls Beulah, and Hunter Bay's newest machine is an Italian STA Impianti.
Old hands and newer shops
Ten of the 18 give a founding year. Four started before 2000: Montana Coffee Traders in 1981, Morning Light in 1988, Hunter Bay in 1991 and Yellowstone in 1998. Four started between 2003 and 2007: Florence, Rock Creek, Ghost Town and Revel. Treeline opened in 2013 and Mazevo in 2016. Two more changed hands: Firetower has had the same owner since 2013, and two couples bought Philipsburg Coffee Roasters in the fall of 2024. Our Montana coffee history tells the longer story.
What the numbers mean for a coffee drinker
Montana roasters cover every roast level, decaf and espresso between them, but no single roaster covers everything. That is the gap the Last Best Coffee Club fills. You set your roast, style and grind, and each box brings a 12 oz bag from a different independent Montana roaster, every 2 or 4 weeks. It costs $16.99 a bag; your first bag is free and you pay $7.99 shipping on that first box. Skip or cancel anytime. The roasters on this page are local favorites we list, and a listing does not mean a roaster is part of the club. Build your plan.
Questions about Montana roasters
Which Montana town has the most coffee roasters?
Among the 18 roasters we profile, Bozeman has the most with five: Ghost Town, Treeline, Rockford, Yellowstone and Red Bird. Billings is next with three.
Which Montana roasters sell light roast coffee?
Eight of our 18 profiles name a light roast: Mazevo, Treeline, Black Coffee, Morning Light, Big Creek, Yellowstone, Red Bird and Firetower. Revel's list also leans light.
How many coffee roasters are in Montana?
The Roast Local directory lists 57 independent roasters in Montana as of September 2026. We keep detailed profiles for 18 of them.
Which Montana roasters use Swiss Water decaf?
Of our 18 profiles, Mazevo is the one that names Swiss Water, for its Mellow Creek decaf. Rockford uses Mountain Water Process and RamsHead a sugarcane decaf.
Sources
- Roast Local, Montana (57 independent roasters, September 2026)
- Every count on this page: our tally of the 18 Montana roaster profiles on this site, each built from the roaster's own pages and checked 2026-09-27. A roaster counts toward a line only when its pages state the fact: a named roast level, a decaf on the list, a named espresso roast, organic coffee, a cafe address, a subscription, a founding year or a roasting machine.
By Joe McRose, Last Best Coffee Club. Updated . Counts computed from our 18 Montana roaster profiles, each built from the roaster's own pages and checked 2026-09-27; the statewide count from the Roast Local directory.