How does the club choose roasters?
A roaster has to pass three tests: it is independent, it roasts in Montana, and it was operating when we last checked. Then we look at what it roasts, because the plan builder needs light, medium and dark roasts, single origins, blends, espresso and decaf across the rotation.
- Independent. An owner-run roastery, not a national brand's plant.
- Roasts in Montana. The coffee has to be roasted in the state, not only sold here. Florence Coffee Company has roasted all of its coffee in Butte since 2023. Big Creek pours in Hamilton but roasts in Victor, and that roastery is the one that counts.
- Operating when checked. We check each roaster's own site and public listings, and date the check. When we checked our starting list in September 2026, two names showed no sign of still roasting, so they are not listed.
The Roast Local directory lists 47 independent roasters in Montana (September 2026). That is the pool we start from.
What a listing means
Every roaster on our roasters page is a local favorite that we chose to write about. A listing does not mean the roaster is part of the club, and it is not a deal or an agreement of any kind. We write the pages so people searching for a Montana roaster find its story, its coffees and where to buy it.
If one of them becomes your favorite, buy from them directly. That is the point of supporting local roasters: a bag from Black Coffee on East Spruce in Missoula or Rock Creek on North Broadway in Billings keeps a Montana roastery roasting.
What stays in the roaster's hands
A roaster that sells through the club sets its own wholesale price. The roaster roasts to order and ships in its own bag and packaging. We add a packing slip that names the roaster and their shop, tells their story and lists what to taste for.
The promises we make to you
These hold for every box, whichever roaster roasts it:
- Roasted and shipped within 3 days.
- Free replacement if a bag disappoints.
- A reminder email 3 days before each box.
- Your ratings steer the next bag.
How your ratings steer the next bag
You rate each bag, and we use those ratings when we choose your next roaster and coffee, inside the roast and style you set. A dark roast you loved pushes the next pick toward coffees like it. A bag that missed gets replaced free, and it steers the next pick away from that kind of coffee.
Your roast and style settings stay yours. Ratings choose within them; they never switch a decaf drinker to regular.
Editorial policy
Joe McRose writes the roaster pages. Each one is built from the roaster's own public pages first, then public sources such as the Roast Local directory and local press. We put the facts in our own words and quote no more than a short phrase.
- Every page carries the date its facts were checked. Coffee lists change with the season, so a coffee named on a page is what the roaster sold on that date.
- Once we have a contact at the roastery, we send the page to the roaster to check.
- We do not post star ratings or scores, and we do not guess. A fact we cannot source stays off the page.
Corrections and removals
A roaster that wants its page corrected or removed can email roasters@lastbestcoffeeclub.com. Tell us the page and what is wrong, and we fix it or take it down. Readers who spot a mistake can write to the same address.