Similar to the wine movement of the past decade, crafting quality coffee has become something of an art for many producers, creating what is often known as “third wave” coffee. Instead of vineyards, fermentation and barrel aging, these craft coffee producers have coffee farms, roast styles and brewing.

The “third wave” movement takes the artisan process to heart with beans often sourced directly and exclusively from small farmers that the roasters have direct relationships with. While each roaster crafts something unique, these coffees are generally a lighter roast, with the goal of coaxing out the natural flavor of the bean versus the charred flavor from it burning.

Most of the beans are also "micro-batched," which means they’re roasted to order in small production roasters. Roasters often use high-tech equipment to measure the beans’ size, density, temperature and aroma to achieve the best possible results.

Want to catch your coffee wave? Check out some of these local artisan roasters:

Ritual Coffee Roasters: From sourcing to roasting to brewing, Ritual crafts a process for each bean that ensures all the intrinsic flavors are brought to life. This roast uses all single origin coffees sourced by roasters who have direct relationships with their farmers and travel to the source, working hand-in-hand with them to identify the best beans. Ritual is roasted fresh in San Francisco with complex flavors crafted to perfection.

Temple Coffee Roasters: Roasted fresh in Sacramento, Temple Coffee is created through farm-to-cup sourcing, which means working directly with farmers without a middleman. Their director of coffee travels the world searching for the very best beans, and they have a unique return-to-origin philosophy with a particular focus on social, economic and environmental impact as well as a heavy emphasis on community and supporting coffee farmers.

Verve Coffee Roasters: While one of Ritual’s top priorities is perfecting the coffee experience and Temple focuses heavily on the social and environmental aspect, Verve sits right in the middle of both. This roaster has a “Farmlevel à Streetlevel” initiative which is meant to connect people on the farms with coffee consumers. Located in Santa Cruz, their company culture has generally chiller vibe perfect for the happy medium.