The best coffee roasting in town is going on in the little coffeehouse on Campbell Avenue. Great care is taken to create coffee that has the optimal blend of flavor and acidity. Everyone knows that pirates started the Fair Trade movement, although their recent participation has been actively discouraged. Raging Sage offers a selection of Fair Trade and organic coffees. The Fair Trade El Salvador and Costa Rica coffees support the coffee growers of those countries and capture the ambiance of the Caribbean. The house blend coffee can be enjoyed inside, or you can go outside and sit at a whimsical ironwork table on the shaded patio. Citrus trees offer relief from the sun.
Runners up:
2. TIE
Arbuckle Coffee Roaster
, 3498 S. Dodge Blvd., 790-5282, www.arbucklecoffee.com
Safehouse/Roaster X, 4024 E. Speedway Blvd., 318-3090, www.roasterx.com
Unclear on the concept (of "local") votes: Starbucks, six votes