*List of retailers updated March 16, 2012. Stay tuned for a few more being announced soon!

To introduce what I hope will be a new series appearing every Monday, Playing Favourites, I have chosen what is a relatively new favourite in a category that will always be on top of my list, coffee. Coastal Coffee Company coffee, to be precise.

This local company is owned by a childhood friend, Ben, who was raised in the tradition of organic farming, so it was only natural for him to find a passion that incorporated those values.

Meet Ben and his wife Bri:

A few years in the making, Coastal Coffee Company started with a popcorn popper and some green beans, in Ben’s garage in a small town on the coast of Lake Huron in Ontario. Friends and family began to ask Ben to roast batches for them, and so Ben began producing bags of locally-roasted beans.

Today, Ben has a small but beautiful roasting machine that he imported, not without aggravation, from Turkey, and a new shed in his backyard pretty much completely devoted to roasting coffee beans.

I have stopped buying coffee roasted anywhere else, partly because I believe it’s important to buy local, but mostly because Ben’s coffee is delicious!

This is what I drank today:

In the last year, Coastal Coffee Co. has begun to sell beans in several nearby towns (Goderich, Exeter, Clinton, Grand Bend, Bayfield, etc.), in locally-owned stores and at farmer’s markets. You can find these tasty beans at the following locations:

• Bayfield: Zehr’s Country Markets (Hwy. 21 south), Bayfield Berry Farm (Orchard Line), Foodland
• Clinton: Tasty Treats & Treasures
• Dashwood: Hayter’s Farm Retail Store (Hwy. 81)
• Exeter: Jennard Cheese, Farmer’s Market (seasonal), Hansen’s Independent Grocer
• Forest: Farmer’s Market (seasonal)
• Goderich: Rader’s Homestyle Market (Suncoast Mall), NEW! Cravings (on the Square)
• Grand Bend: The Garden Gate (Hwy. 21), Back Door Deli (Main Street), Farmer’s Market (seasonal)
• Parkhill: Foodland
• St. Mary’s: Farmer’s Market (seasonal)
• Zurich: Jerry Rader’s (Zurich-Hensall Rd.)

And, you can enjoy delicious food and Coastal Coffee in your cup at Eddington’s of Exeter restaurant.

If you’re a coffee-drinker, consider giving up over-processed, pre-ground, imported cheap coffee in exchange for fair-trade or direct-trade organic, locally-roasted beans. They’re better for you, better for our community, and better for coffee growers.

Learn more about the “Fair Trade” certification and why it’s important: http://www.5min.com/Video/Learn-About-Fair-Trade-Coffee-517049684

“Like” Coastal Coffee Company on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Coastal-Coffee-Company-Roasted-on-Ontarios-West-Coast/180368545350175

For more information or to make a custom order, email Ben at coastalcoffeecompany@gmail.com.