Carmel-by-the-Sea is a town of coffee-lovers, the community supporting five coffee shops on Ocean Avenue alone. There are few places you can go in town where coffee isn’t more than a few blocks away. Venture into the Barnyard, the Crossroads or into Carmel Valley, and you will find even more. Carmel-by-the-Sea has been a hub of coffee culture for years, and continues to support the only shop in town that roasts its own beans on-site: Carmel Coffee House and Roasting Company.

Tucked into an alley between between San Carlos and Dolores, the Carmel Coffee House has been roasting its own beans for 30 years, and coffee can be smelled all the way down the street on roasting days.

Manager Linda Perry has worked in the shop for 17 years and is the only employee who can operate the large, red and brass coffee bean roaster that sits in the corner of the coffee shop. The machine has been there since the shop opened 30 years ago, and emits rich-smelling smoke as shiny brown beans pour into a basin to be cooled.

“It’s the freshest you can get, and the best,” Perry says. “It’s right there, you get it fresh every day.”

The Coffee House buys organic beans from all over the world, including Sumatra, Colombia, Hawaii, Peru, Honduras, and Jamaica. They roasts a number of different blends that are sold by bag, and roast both a dark French and a light roast called “Ocean Avenue” that are brewed and sold both hot and cold. According to Perry, the fresh roasted beans are a large part of why the Coffee House is so popular, and why it has developed such a devoted local clientele.

Contributed by A. Fosler-Brazil