Liz Clayton

You've already jumped from Folger's to Starbucks. What's next? These Third-Wave coffee roasters devote near-religious levels of obsession to their beans, and the payoff is right there in the cup.

These days, the best coffee beans come in bags that list a lot more than "dark roast." Here's how to tell if those "semi-washed" "Bourbon" beans "grown at 2,000 feet" are right for you.