Apparently Satterfield's restaurant and Royal Cup Coffee took to heart our recent review of Satterfield's, in which we lamented that about the only blot on an otherwise excellent meal was the very wimpy coffee -- which was rather a surprise considering that many coffee aficionados consider French Press method, which Satterfield's uses, the best way to make coffee. We went back to Satterfield's over the weekend to celebrate Deborah's birthday. Our server was the same as last time, and when it came time for after dinner drinks and dessert, she told us they had fixed the coffee problem. So we gave it a try, and indeed, the coffee was much better -- strong, dark and robust. As we were leaving, the dining room manager even followed us out the door to ask about the coffee. Royal Cup had come out and adjusted the measurements and a couple of other things. So bravo to both companies listening to and responding to customer complaints.

Our dinner was again excellent; a few highlights included the chilled roasted tomato soup; a warm salad of Snows Bend Farm tatsoi and asparagus, which tasted incredibly fresh yet earthy with accents of some small roasted beets and morel mushrooms; possibly the best chicken breast we've ever had; spicy crawfish tagliatele with fat crawfish tails, corn, Duroc bacon, poblano pepper, fava beans and pickled okra; pan roasted venison leg with baby carrots, Honshimeji mushrooms, apricot-raisin chutney and ancho Infused Bittersweet Chocolate; and Deborah's birthday dessert, Coconut Frangipane, a coconut cake with bittersweet chocolate center, soft bitter caramel, and coconut sorbet.

Only a couple of small things that could have been better -- the morels in the salad still had some grit in them; the coconut sorbet was largely melted by the time it got to the table (perhaps because of the time it took to write "Happy Birthday Deborah" in chocolate around the rim); and it was rather warm, with the A/C just not keeping up with the humidity (if you're planning to go in warm weather, plan to dress accordingly.) But the service was very good, wine recommendations were right on target, and we would definitely recommend Satterfield's as one of the city's best restaurants. Executive Chef Haller Magee is one to watch.

A few weeks ago, the folks from Primavera Coffee packed up and went to Atlanta's Octane Coffee Bar & Lounge for its first "Thursday Night Throwdown," a barista competition. Primavera's Brett Burton was the winner, and wife and busines partner Havila took fourth place. Even better, it was documented by a CNN reporter in a photo essay, which you can see online here: www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/04/04/coffee.art/index.html

As the Primaverans explain on their blog, each barista was given three minutes to pour one drink that embodied their skill. The drink was then photographed & projected onto a screen, accompanied by the scores of a panel of blind judges who analyzed the following: 1) Balance & Symmetry 2) Color Infusion & Definition 3) Use of Space 4) Overall Impression. Brett's winning pour was a small rosetta latte.

(Next time we're in Atlanta, we'll definitely be checking out Octane. Brett says it's the best coffee shop in the state, and we love what it says at the top of their web site: "We open early and close late. We're not sure, but we think it has something to do with the coffee.")

Brett and Havilah Burton have been called "coffee missionaries," and it's easy to see why. The two embarked on a six-month pilgrimage through the mountains and farmlands of Guatemala on a 150 CC Yumbo, apprenticing at a coffee shop there before returning to Birmingham with dreams to bring their passion for coffee to the Magic City.

The result is Primavera Coffee Roasters in Cahaba Heights, behind Miss Myra's barbecue, run with the help of Holly Rodricks. When you walk in the door, if you're lucky they're roasting coffee beans in the gleaming black-and-chrome, gas-fired, 15-kilo roaster to your right, with jute sacks full of green coffee beans stacked nearby. Even when they're not roasting, however, the shop is heavenly with the earthy, spicy, fruity, toasty aromas of freshly roasted coffee.

The coffee menu is simple. You can get a cup of French press of any coffee they have in the store, which is a wonderful way to try before you buy. Their incredible La Marzocco espresso machine puts out the best we've ever had, rich and creamy, whether you opt for straight espresso, macchiato, an Americano, cappuccino, latte or mocha. Coffee drinks with milk arrive with a beautiful fern pattern on top. This is coffee as art, for the eyes, for the nose, for the palate.

A small selection of pastries under a glass dome adorns the counter, and they also offer tea and organic chcolate, but make no mistake – Primavera is about coffee. No frou-frou drinks here; no flavored coffees, no frappucinos. If you're looking for sweet syrupy concoctions that bear little resemblance to coffee, head elsewhere.

Primavera sells single-source coffees, so you can fully appreciate the unique qualities of these regional coffees, sometimes from a single plantation. Primavera offers organic, fair trade and shade grown coffees, and their decaf is a chemical-free water process. Descriptions posted with the coffees for sale use words such as smoky, floral, citrus, vanilla tones, velvety finish, hint of dark chocolate, earthy, smooth, delicate, hints of caramel, orange highlights, etc. When I tried one from Ethiopia that Havilah said was full of blueberries, I really could detect a berry tone. Evan had a decaf macchiato that had a rich, toasty caramel flavor. Decaf! (If you've never had a macchiato, it's espresso "marked" with steamed milk – sort of between an espresso and a cappuccino.) The bold coffees are bold without being bitter or burnt-tasting.

Brett, Havilah and Holly are always happy to help you choose a coffee to suit your tastes. If you have time, talk to Brett or Havilah about coffee. Their passion for and knowledge of the topic is as much of a treat as the product they sell. We look forward to attending one of their Saturday "cuppings," where a coffee tasting is elevated to the level of a wine tasting. In fact, Havilah would like to see a local restaurant offer a coffee menu much like they do wine menus, pointing out the qualities of each coffee that make it a perfect match for various desserts.

The Primavera web site (which is informative and entertaining and nearly as worthy of a visit as the coffee shop itself) says it well: "At Primavera, our goal is to purchase, roast, and deliver the finest coffee available. Along the way, we hope to help each of our customers see a clearer picture of the world of working hands from ground to grind. Our coffee will awaken your senses. Our mission is to awaken your sensibilities."

When we were at V. Richard's recently, we were struck by the display featuring locally roasted coffees.

Red Mountain Coffee Roasters, the "first-born child" of O'Henry's Coffees in Homewood, has been around since 1995, but it's strictly a wholesale business. They do custom roasting and blends for numerous coffeehouses, bakeries, specialty markets and restaurants, which generally receive their beans two to 14 hours out of the roaster. While you won't see the name "Red Mountain Roasters" in the retail market, you can buy O'Henry's coffee beans at O'Henry's Coffee locations, online at their web site, and at some retail locations such as Bruno's, Piggly Wiggle, Western and V. Richard's.

Then along came Higher Ground Roasters in nearby Leeds, which sells wholesale, direct on its web site, and through local retail outlets such as V. Richards, Tria Market and even Publix. Higher Ground roasts exclusively Fair Trade, shade grown, organic coffees of specialty grade.

Primavera Coffee Roasters in Cahaba Heights has a retail shop where they sell their precisely brewed coffee as well as coffee beans and related items. They also sell online or by phone, and can be found at V. Richard's. It's the brainchild of Brett and Havilah Burton and their colleague Holly Rodricks. Coffee purists, they don't offer flavored coffees, and want to educate customers about coffee. We recently tried one of their "Cup of Excellence" coffees, and it was amazing. You can read their blog going all the way back to 2004 and 2005 and their time in Guatemala learning first-hand about growing, roasting and brewing coffee before they started the Birmingham roasting business.

One of the newest on the scene, which we also found at V. Richard's, is O'Kafes. Kirk Summers and Erin Isbell started o kafes! (pronounced “oh-kah-FESS”) coffee roasters in 2005 with a mission to bring environmentally-friendly, socially conscious (or “sustainable”) coffee to the central Alabama market. They offer premium Fair Trade coffee from around the globe and are a fixture at the Saturday Pepper Place Market in the summer. In addition to V. Richard's, you'll find O'Kafes at Red Rain in Homewood and Sojourns on 3rd Ave. North, or you can order online. And in a few months, you'll be able to visit their new retail shop and roasting facility in the Martin Biscuit Building at Pepper Place and enjoy freshly prepared coffee drinks as well as buying the beans to take home. They're taking over the current Amani Raha space, and hope to be open in mid-May.

One of the benefits of locally roasted coffee (besides supporting local businesses, which we're all for), is that freshness is key. The Primavera coffee we bought at V. Richard's indicated it had been roasted only a couple of days previously. Contrast that to the Starbucks I bought on sale at the grocery store about the same time in late December, which said "May." I don't know if that meant it had been roasted last May or was supposed to be fresh till next May, but either way, that's hardly what I'd call fresh, when you compare it to what you get locally!