We often associate coffee with big corporate names like Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts and Sodexo. But let me ask you this: Can you compare Olive Garden’s fare to that of a real Italian restaurant? The same logic applies for coffee.

Laveggio Roasteria is an artisan roaster and espresso bar owned and operated by Mary Ann Magazzi-Young and her husband Coe E. Young. The Roasteria is nestled on 101 Court Street, within view of the Broome County Court Building. What makes Laveggio so unique is that all of its coffee is roasted on site, by hand, using a custom drum roaster. A viewing window in the back of the shop allows you to view the entire roasting process.

Young, Laveggio’s Roast Master, mans the machine, meticulously monitoring the making of each individual roast.

“I use my senses and experience to manage the process, not computerized controls. Unfortunately, a lot of coffee companies use computerized controls in the roasting process nowadays,” Young said. “You wouldn’t want a computer cooking your steak at a fancy restaurant, right? We have the same kind of mentality here. That’s why we make each roast in the traditional artisan style, no computers.”

The story behind Laveggio’s creation is something of a love story and a success story wrapped into one.

“I was a corporate technician before Laveggio,” Young said. “I was working in big cities, travelling 200 days out of the year. And, although I didn’t know it at the time, I was really unhappy. I was a miserable guy. Sure, the corporate life looks good on paper, but I wasn’t doing what I loved. Then I met my wife, Mary Ann. She was a free spirit, she had her own art gallery at the time. She pointed out how miserable the corporate life was making me. So we tried something different. And that’s how we got here.”

By ‘here’ he means creating a successful small business out of almost nothing.

“This building was a run-down frat house when we bought it,” Young said. “The floors were damaged, the ceiling was in really bad shape. We did a lot of work to fix things up.”

Laveggio has a clean, open, friendly atmosphere, with several wooden tables set up around the shop meant for sitting with friends and enjoying the coffee. The Roasteria does not offer Wi-Fi connection, mostly for business reasons.

“We can’t have people coming in and buying the cheapest thing on the menu and sitting here for eight hours,” Young said. “Plus we want them to focus on the coffee, that’s really the whole reason behind this place, is to fully experience the coffee.”

The couple has over nine years of experience in handcrafting and serving specialty coffee and espresso drinks, so they’re extremely knowledgeable about what they serve. That passion, knowledge and dedication are certainly reflected in Laveggio’s coffee.

“A lot of the coffee you normally get is either intentionally burnt or made on unclean equipment,” he explained. “When you mass-produce coffee, you can’t monitor the conditions in the drum very well, and that’s why you get such a bitter taste. Our goal here at Laveggio is to make you coffee that really tastes like nature intended, and that’s why we pay such close attention to every detail during the roasting process.”

Indeed, when it comes to details Laveggio doesn’t mess around.

“I record every single roast I’ve ever made in my logs, the conditions, everything,” Young said. “Then I make sure to taste each batch to make sure it’s up to standard before we serve it to you.”

Laveggio also has strict freshness standards, with no coffee being sold outside a seven-day window. Young also maintains a wordpress blog titled “From the Roasting Room,” in which he posts regular updates, coffee lists and pictures of what’s going on behind the scenes at Laveggio.

Laveggio has a wide selection of coffee and espresso blends that come from all over the world. In addition, they only roast specialty coffee that has been ethically sourced, which means that the coffee farmers are paid a premium for the quality of their product. The premium not only insures the quality of the product, but also helps the farmers and their families pay for living expenses.

Since its opening in 2007, Laveggio has grown in popularity so much that Young is planning to invest in another roasting machine. Although Laveggio is very active in supporting the local community, especially the arts and theater, its quality coffee seems to do most of the networking.

“Most of our new customers heard of us through word of mouth from other customers,” Magazzi-Young said. Lars T., a grad student from Denver, Colo., was more than pleased with Laveggio’s selection.

“This is a gem, Bing people, and as a new grad student in town I am deeply appreciative that Laveggio is brewing and roasting nearby,” he said. “Please support them.”

Laveggio Roasteria stands firmly as the best place in Binghamton to experience coffee the way it was meant to be.