Coffee hound sniffing again

Hi all,

I'm hunting for new and interesting single-source, whole, hard bean coffees (no flavored versions, please) of the highest quality. While I am a loyal Peets customer of twenty years, I know there are other good buyers and roasters too. What do you buy ?

Hi all,

I'm hunting for new and interesting single-source, whole, hard bean coffees (no flavored versions, please) of the highest quality. While I am a loyal Peets customer of twenty years, I know there are other good buyers and roasters too. What do you buy ?

I am a long-time Peet's customer, too, Jeff (I was present at the opening of the Walnut Square store) but can strongly recommend the coffee of Intelligentsia in Chicago, too. Not cheap, but very worthwhile.

http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com

Mark Lipton

For roasted coffee this place is worth a try

http://terroircoffee.com/

I have been buying from Sweet Marias -- buying green beans is rather cheap even for the very special stuff. I am still on the learning curve as far as roasting goes and I am afraid that my final results are not quite on a par with my "regular" stuff which is either from Gevalia or store bought whole bean Colombian from Starbucks. Getting a decent roast at home is not too hard if you can pick up one of those air-blower popcorn poppers. The website is almost TOO informative, but you can certainly learn all about home coffee roasting there, and get some very interesting green coffee beans as well.

http://www.sweetmarias.com/

Matching the coffees I am drinking today with the best coffees I can remember from a few decades back, I feel that something is missing. My neighbor feels the same way and wonders if it is something about our senses declining with age. I have a feeling that it has more to do with the crazy popularity of coffees like Kona and JBM which has made it hard to get the unadulterated stuff. With no worldwide AOC system it can be very hard to know what you are buying.

FWIW this is also true with Scotch -- Glenlivet in particular tastes almost nothing like what it did 20 years ago.

Frank

Hi all,

I'm hunting for new and interesting single-source, whole, hard bean coffees (no flavored versions, please) of the highest quality. While I am a loyal Peets customer of twenty years, I know there are other good buyers and roasters too. What do you buy ?

I am a long-time Peet's customer, too, Jeff (I was present at the opening of the Walnut Square store) but can strongly recommend the coffee of Intelligentsia in Chicago, too. Not cheap, but very worthwhile.

http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com

Mark Lipton

I was present when there was just one store - in Berkeley where I lived. And when Mr. Peet was still alive. Bought a pound a week.

Favorite bean sources include:

Counter Culture Coffee https://www.counterculturecoffee.com/index.php

Paradise Roasters http://www.paradiseroasters.com/

Stumptown http://stumptowncoffee.com/

Intelligentsia http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com/

PTs http://www.ptscoffee.com/

Ecco http://www.eccocaffe.com/catalog/index.php

Mark,
Thanks for the tip. You may have guessed that the recent changes in Peets style (first around 2000, then in 2006) has spurred me to seek new sources. Peets daily roasting at the new factory now seems to yield a milder roast as well as delay in getting fresh beans, not sure why. The success of deep roasting is a bit incomplete compared to the old days, and some bean quality is questionable to me now as well. I used their Kenya and Guatemala as my daily drinkers for many years and the change in character is not slight; the Major Dickason's blend also became wholly unrecognizable to me anymore and I miss that signature aromatic spiciness.

Frank,
I'll look into Marias, thanks. You know, I tried home roasting and gave it up. I didn't come close in quality to what I expected, and it seemed the equipment to move upmarket (up-quality ?) was a bit dear. Good luck. Your Scotch analogy reminds me how much I miss the bold Talisker 8 year old.

Chef,
Hey, very cool. I shopped there too when in town, but we bought mostly via telephone order with another couple in SoCal.

Greg,
Thanks, and ummm, that's quite a list. Anything special that you really like from these sources ? It's a big world ...

This is where we get ours: http://www.piscataquacoffee.com/index.cfm Great stuff!

[Jenise]

Jeff, we're in coffee heaven up here with a veritable cornucopia of great local roasters like Moka Joe and Tony's who keep me from ever having to resort to the Starbucks and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf stuff I had no local alternative to when I lived in Southern California. But even then, I get bored easily and prefer to open something new or different often, or have a choice on hand, so for variety I interchange local favorites with coffees I order in from elsewhere. (Btw, I too think Major Dickason's has changed for the worst.) My three favorites:

Graffeo Coffee, Beverly Hills, the medium blend (a mix of medium and dark roast beans)
the New Guinea Peaberry, a very spicy/wine-y bean, from Moore's Coffee Co in Ventura
Caffe D'Arte in Seattle, the house blend, one of the few coffees in this world that actually tastes exactly like it smells, and one that supports my desire for stronger, richer coffee but without more acid

What I really like about these roasters, especially Counter Culture, is that they buy small lots. If you buy beans from them and return to buy beans 6 months later, you probably won't be able to buy the same beans, they will have moved onto new lots. There is always something new, new source, new harvest etc. In that regard, it reminds me more of the differences in wines from year to year than beans you get from most roasters.

Of the ones I listed, I would recommend starting with Counter Culture. Recently, I have been pulling espresso shots, and have been using their Toscana. I really like this bean for espresso, balanced and rich chocolate flavors with no sourness or bitterness and produces a very nice crema.

I also am fond of central and south american beans and have been pleased by a few different versions of the La Golondrina over the years (if you like the brightness and complexity that is often found in a good columbian). I would recommend that you match your taste to their descriptions and choose a couple of beans that appeal to you.

If you have a good brewing system, the CCC beans will be worth the price.

I have not purchased from them in a few years but I always had great luck with Riley's coffee in Illinois.

http://www.rileys-coffee.com/

Thanks to everyone for such enthusiastic response.

Jenise,
Thanks, I'll try Moore's first (the local thing). I like a good NG Peaberry.

Greg,
I think small lots can be a key too. Thanks, I'll sniff around CC.

Carl,
Looking right now. Thanks, I mean it !

Dave,
Cool, I'll have to swing by next trip out to STL. Their site reminds me of a great local coffee house in Solvang, The Bulldog Cafe.

I'll look into Marias, thanks. You know, I tried home roasting and gave it up. I didn't come close in quality to what I expected, and it seemed the equipment to move upmarket (up-quality ?) was a bit dear.

Home roaster designs are getting better. The differences between two machines can be substantial. For the past few years I have been using a Gene Cafe http://www.sweetmarias.com/prod.genecafe.shtml and I love it. While the $500 price tag is high the quality is much better than the FreshRoast I used prior. The roast is easier to control and the longer roast time seems to result in a more even roast and greater body. I use the machine 2-3 times a week normally but during the holidays will roast 2-3 times a day without problems. If you prefer a darker roast maybe home roasting is not for you but since I do a lot of roasting to the city or city+ level I feel that I get better results at home than I can find commercially where I am located.

The other way I justify the price tag for the roaster is that I do not have an expensive coffee maker instead using a cheap coffee press. I like the press better anyway and between the roster and the press I have significant control over the product I put in the cup.