When I have something nice like the Pig Iron Kochere, I sometimes wonder if I pick on Toronto roasters too much. Yesterday I had a shot of Pig Iron Ethiopian Guji. It was smoky and bitter. Reaffirmed my belief about the consistency of their quality.

I'm not going to name names because that would serve no purpose, but i've picked up bags at different locations 2 and even 3 weeks off the roast date. Is it me or is that a bit too much? 2 weeks is not so bad but i don't blow through 350 grams of coffee in 2 days. Takes me a week, so by the end i'm looking at 3-4 weeks off roast which seems much.

To be fair, we have a huge selection in Montreal of Canadian and US roasters. I was told my some owners that they face the same issues we have ordering US stuff in terms of cost and more importantly, shipping time. Might explain the dates we see on theses bags...

coffeestork wrote:When I have something nice like the Pig Iron Kochere, I sometimes wonder if I pick on Toronto roasters too much. Yesterday I had a shot of Pig Iron Ethiopian Guji. It was smoky and bitter. Reaffirmed my belief about the consistency of their quality.

I had a bag of Pig Iron's Steel Wheel espresso blend a number of months back, but couldn't get it to pull to my liking. Although, I was grinding with my Vario at the time. I've since purchased a K10PB, so I'm wondering if I'd get better results grinding Steel Wheel with a conical.

I pulled some Sense Appeal GN blend today at home. It turned out nicely.

The Stumptown that people are picking up here - what are the roast dates like? I've ordered direct and had it shipped to a US address but it still ends up being a few days post.

Same question for the stuff from Boxcar....what are the dates?

I've recently rediscovered BC Classic. And I love the Sidama Ardi from Social. The nice thing about Social is the fast free shipping with a $25 order.

FWIW I've also had good experience ordering from Square Mile. Sad that we can get beans shipped from the UK quicker than from some places within Canada!

mixedup wrote: FWIW I've also had good experience ordering from Square Mile. Sad that we can get beans shipped from the UK quicker than from some places within Canada!

I'm still waiting for last Monday's order to arrive. I know it's for the best since I won't be tempted to pull shots while the coffee is too fresh. My only order from a BC roaster came in 5 business days.

Was your order roasted and shipped on Sep 1?

I can't say I understand how roasters set up their shipping charges; it is cheaper to send a bag of Epic to my house than accross the river to Windsor, but a bag from Phil & Sebastian would cost $38 to ship to my house as opposed to $15 to Windsor.

I looked up a few roasters and it's kind of hit or miss. Heart ships cheap to US addresses as well as Canadian addresses, Ritual only ships within the US, and Madcap will ship a bag to my house for $5 or $15 to Windsor.

I work with a lot of Canadians, and we find ways to bypass these sometimes crazy shipping costs.

For me my main roasters are:

http://www.transcendcoffee.ca/ - the best, very well done light roasts with developed sweetness and aroma.

http://www.fratellocoffee.com/ - big variety, tends to roast a little bit darker than Transcend. Most of the SOs work as espresso

http://www.barzula.com/new/ tastes like good Italian imports but is roasted in Ontario

From Montana to Ontario. After a long journey, I got these in the mail on Thursday.

So far, I'd say Jeff knows how to craft a very well-balanced cup. Unlike some Third-wave offerings these days, no eye twitching, lip smacking, off the chart sourness. Pulled some nice ristrettos already.

I ordered from Square Mile on Sunday evening (our time)....normally this would roast/ship Monday and would arrive by Friday, but I just got the shipping notice. Not the same experience this time around (may have roasted/shipped Wednesday?).