Since 2003 the java division of Ann Arbor’s best known community of businesses has roasted and sold its coffees to wholesale buyers, but as of late November, the Zingerman’s Coffee Co. is open to the public at its new retail space at 3723 Plaza Dr.

The space, located in an industrial park a few doors down from Zingerman’s Bakehouse and Creamery, offers three espressos daily and a variety of coffees from around the world served via seven different brewing methods, including French press, Japanese ice drip, and even Vietnamese style. For those so inclined, the shop also offers equipment for home brewing.

In short, it’s a coffee nerd’s paradise, and company co-founder and managing partner Allen Leibowitz couldn’t be happier.

“I’ve been making my own espresso at home for 20 years,” he says. “I’ve waited a long time to have a setup like this.”

Leibowitz, who himself could be considered the coffee nerd’s coffee nerd, brings a high level of passion to the enterprise. He visits coffee farms around the world, hand-selects only those beans that meet his standards, roasts and tastes samples until he finds the qualities he wants, and develops blends with flavor profiles he is proud to serve.

“There are over 1,900 flavor components in coffee that we know of,” he says. “It’s probably the most complex beverage in the world.”

As if that weren’t enough, Leibowitz also designed the barista workspace himself, implementing his ideas for improving efficiency and quality in both workflow and use of ingredients. And he’s the chief bean roaster as well: Patrons can even watch him at work through a large window that looks onto the roastery.

The new facility also includes a side room complete with sample roasters for use in coffee tasting and evaluation as well as barista training. But one of the things that most excites Allen Leibowitz is the water filtration system installed in the back room. The system is custom calibrated to produce water with only those minerals most conducive to coffee brewing.

“98.5 percent of coffee is water, so the quality of your water plays a large role in the flavor of your coffee,” he says. “Yet I don’t know many other places that use a system like this.”

Leibowitz is supported in his mania by Zingerman’s Deli co-founders and owners Paul Saginaw and Ari Weinzweig as well as his co-managing partner Steve Mangigian, who has helped boost the wholesale business in recent years.

Your correspondent, unversed in the ways of coffee, received such an education during his visit he has a new appreciation for the art and science behind the beverage, Heck, I might even try drinking some. But until I take that step, Zingerman's Coffee Co. also offers for sale bottles of Coca-Cola imported from Mexico, where they still use real, actual sugar. That's pretty awesome, too.

David Bardallis is a freelance writer and editor, blogger, bon vivant, and man about town. Visit his Web site, DavidBardallis.com, to engage his services or read his latest.