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Bowling Green coffee roaster awarded best in the state by Food & Wine Magazine

Flatlands Coffee on North Main Street was noticed by the magazine for its challenging, lighter, Nordic style.

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — A great jolt, for a local coffee roaster.

Food & Wine Magazine recently awarded Flatlands Coffee on North Main Street in Bowling Green best coffee roaster in Ohio

The magazine gave a shoutout to the roaster's "challenging, lighter Nordic style."

Ben Vollmar explained how his business roasts coffee differently than most.

"If you have a shorter roast or less roast to the bean it maintains more of the natural sucrose," he said. "So it's sweeter, more of the volatile, aromatic compounds and aromatics is 90-something percent of taste. So you're getting more flavors."

Vollmar said the goal is to make each cup as balanced, smooth and naturally-sweet as possible.

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"We're always running tests. We're always testing every batch. Several times to make sure we're honing in our craft, perfecting it and getting a very unique, clean and distinct cup of coffee for the final end consumer," Vollmar said.

Vollmar said he was thrilled and shocked to learn about the honor. 

"It means a lot that the work we're doing is being noticed. it's what we've been working towards all along. We're never fully done perfecting the craft, is the way we are at Flatlands," Vollmar said.

Flatlands didn't enter into a contest. Food & Wine has a team of critics who travel the country, identifying their top picks.

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Flatlands first opened as a café in 2015. The roastery was added in early 2019. You can order beans online or stop by the café Tuesdays through Sundays. Hours vary, so Vollmar says to check the website, Google or Yelp for the latest. 

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