There are not that many of them
The Roast Local directory lists 47 independent roasters in Montana. Spread across a state this size, that is a roastery in a farmhouse south of Whitefish, one in a rebuilt garage in Victor, one on Last Chance Gulch in Helena, a handful in Bozeman, Missoula and Billings. Most of them are small, and every one of them depends on Montanans choosing their bag over one trucked in from out of state.
That is the whole argument in one line: the coffee you buy decides which of these roasteries is still roasting in five years.
The wages stay in town
Florence Coffee Company started as a single coffee stand in Florence in 2003, run by one of the founders herself. It now runs 23 shops across western Montana, from Bigfork and Whitefish down the Bitterroot to Hamilton and Corvallis, plus Missoula, Helena, Butte and Great Falls, and roasts all of its coffee in Butte. Ghost Town in Bozeman supplies cafes, restaurants, grocers, offices and hotels around town and trains their baristas. Revel in Billings supplies local cafes, offices and schools.
Those are Montana paychecks, and they exist because the coffee sells here first. Hunter Bay roasts in Lolo and drives its coffee to its Missoula cafe three times a week. RamsHead is a family working together in a roastery in the Shields Valley north of Livingston. Big Creek roasts in Victor and pours in a 1904 building on Main Street in Hamilton that once held a county law library.
Fresher coffee, shorter road
Coffee tastes best in the weeks after it is roasted. A bag from a Montana roaster reaches a Montana kitchen in days. A bag from a national brand may sit in a distribution center before it starts the drive. The club's first promise, roasted and shipped within 3 days, exists so that the bag in your box is as fresh as one bought over the counter.
Rockford in downtown Bozeman roasts every coffee it serves in house and bakes its pastries each morning. Drum runs a bakery inside each of its Missoula cafes. Roasters like these are built around freshness, and buying from them means you get it too.
You can put a name to the bag
Montana Coffee Traders has roasted south of Whitefish since 1981 in an old farmhouse with a chuck wagon out front, and runs a Tuesday morning roast tour by reservation. Philipsburg Coffee Roasters roasts on West Broadway inside Granite Gathering Grounds, where the roast names pay tribute to ranching in the Flint Creek Valley. Yellowstone Coffee Roasters has roasted in Bozeman since 1998, with blends named Big Timber and Big Sky Lift.
When the roaster is a family down the road, the coffee has a story you can check. Black Coffee Roasting Company in Missoula sources only certified organic coffee and says so on the bag. Morning Light has roasted in Great Falls since 1989 and runs its cafe at the roastery. Each of those is a door you can walk up to.
Roasters give back when they can afford to
Since 2003 Florence Coffee has given gift cards, coffee and merchandise to thousands of nonprofits, fundraisers and community events. Morning Light works with the Shriners and supports schools in central Montana. Revel makes branded coffee that schools and groups sell for fundraising. Yellowstone's Free Range seasonal coffee supports the Western Sustainability Exchange.
Every one of those is paid for by bags sold. A roaster that loses its local customers loses the room to give first.
What the club does about it
Last Best Coffee Club sends a 12 oz bag from a different independent Montana roaster in every box. The roaster roasts it to order and ships it in their own bag, with our packing slip naming the roaster, their shop and what to taste for. Over a year you drink your way across the state, and each roaster is paid for the coffee they roast.
The roasters on this site are shown because we like them, not because they are partners. If one of them becomes your favorite, buy from them directly next time.
Find the roaster nearest you
Every Montana roaster we follow has its own page with its story, its coffees and its address: Bozeman, Missoula, Billings, Helena, Great Falls, Whitefish, Butte, Lolo, Victor, Philipsburg and the Shields Valley. Start on the Montana roasters list.