Coffee has come a long way in the ocean state.
From just a handful of family-owned roasters sold in grocery stores (looking at you, Mills Coffee Roasting!) to more than a dozen specialty brands of all scales and varieties, the state’s coffee culture has bloomed since its early days. Whether you’re looking for fair-trade, small-batch, slow-roasted, decaf, flavored or just a good old cup o’ joe, chances are you’ll find your style at one of Rhode Island’s locally owned coffee roasters.
But there’s one roaster that’s had our hearts since the mid-’80s, when hipsters haunted the College Hill Bookstore and WBRU still played over the airwaves. Coffee Exchange opened on Providence’s Wickenden Street in 1984, back when “specialty coffee roaster” was unheard-of in the local parlance and the drive-thru was a daily ritual for most of us…