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ROASTe claims to have become the largest online marketplace for gourmet coffee and related products. Featuring the largest selection of award-winning coffees anywhere, a hybrid of user-generated reviews and intuitive search, an archive of exclusive coffee-themed articles and blogs from experts, and social features like user profiles and messaging, ROASTe has created a dynamic coffee community and the Web's central destination for coffee shopping.

Founded by three coffee-loving friends, who just couldn't get a decent cup of coffee anywhere else, ROASTe brings together the world's best specialty coffees for the first time. Scott Lush, Eyal Rosen and Tzahi Fridman were tired of the bitter brews from big coffee chains and unhappy with the superior-yet-inconsistent selections at indie coffee shops. Quality beans could be found online, but no single Web site had a big enough selection -- coffees from the hundreds of micro-roasters that have opened up shop over the last 10 years.

"Why wasn't there a single place to explore all this stuff we wanted to try -- from the gourmet beans to the high-end home brewing equipment to the accessories and everything in between? Where was the Amazon or Zappo's for gourmet coffee? ROASTe answers that call," says co-founder Scott Lush.

Coffee-lovers finally have a way to try a never-ending queue of new coffees -- perfectly matched to their individual tastes -- allowing them to discover the perfect cup they can brew at home. High-quality beans are shipped fresh from the roaster, delivered right to the customer's door.

To prevent customers from feeling overwhelmed by the choice, an emphasis was placed on providing ease of selection. Intuitive search tools help narrow coffee selection according to type, roast level, grind, geographic region, certification, price, taste notes and brand. Customer ratings are used to quickly show users the most popular offerings among their customized search results. Peer reviews from fellow coffee aficionados provide an additional layer of invaluable feedback, helping customers purchase coffee they're most likely to enjoy. ROASTe is the Internet's first Web site to offer user reviews for micro-roasted coffee.

Recognizing coffee-enthusiasts' demand to read insightful content from coffee experts, ROASTe also houses a deep archive of original articles, exclusive-to-the-Web book excerpts and blog posts that not only entertain customers, but also connect them to coffees they're likely to enjoy. Contributors include authors of books about coffee, micro-roasters, owners of coffee-related businesses and other coffee experts.

A vibrant community of coffee-lovers thrives on the site, thanks to the integration of social media functionality. Users are encouraged to create coffee profiles, upload photos of themselves and their brewing equipment, and communicate with private messages.

With sales of gourmet coffee for the home doubling in the last 10 years to just under $4 billion, and the number of U.S. micro-roasters soaring, ROASTe aims to serve the needs of the growing ranks of America's coffee-enthusiasts. For more information, visit www.roaste.com.