I am fairly new to this and I have a coffee shop in Bel Air where I can purchase fresh beans. I am pretty sure they buy from Baltimore Coffee & Tea Company, since the blend is labeled "Espresso Milano." This is their description of the blend:

A careful blending of Costa Rican Tarazzu, Fancy Santos, Tanzania Peaberry & Ethiopian Harrar gives this blend incredible flavor with rich caramel crema.

I have two questions:

1. Are there any other Maryland HB or CG'rs out there, and if so, where do you get your coffee?
2. I am interested to see what others have to say about this blend. Does it look like something you would drink?

Also, for the other newbies out there, what everyone here says about grinding fresh beans just before brewing, they are not exaggerating. The beans I buy from the shop are roasted on Tuesday and delivered Wednesday morning. I usually buy a half pound a week. We did some entertaining this weekend, and I ran out. Before I could get some more, I figured I would see if I could really tell a difference. I used some "Espresso Roast" beans I bought from the grocery store a while back. I use that for drip coffee sometimes. Here's how it went.

There was absolutely no crema...no surprise there. There was a very distinct burnt taste. When I added the milk for a cappuccino, it tasted like I added milk to an ashtray and drank it.

I plan to try some of the other roasters that distribute online, such as Intelligentsia, Paradise, etc.

I am in Silver Spring, MD and I travel to the Pentagon City Costco where they roast right in front of me and hand me the 40 ounce bag for $8. I typically make only cappy's although I have, on occassion, tried a simple double shot from these beans. They are good but not great. You can buy green beans there but I believe it is the same price and is only available in 30 lb boxes.

I treat myself to Black Cat (Intelligentsia Coffee) every couple of months and other roasters who advertise on this site.

Murky Coffee uses beans from Counter Culture Coffee in NC and both the beans and Murky's drinks are very, very good. He sells those beans but only in-store AFAIK.

I'll make you a deal - you bring me $8 worth of beans from the cafe you frequent and I'll bring you 40 oz of fresh roasted Costco Beans - we'll meet halfway at a convenient bar in B-more.

Eric S.
erics@erols.com

I am in Lutherville and used to get 'spro from Jay, but it was not available consistently. I now mail order (i.e., Paradise and Code Brown) and am waiting for some hairbender from Stumptown. Sometimes I get Baltimore Coffee and Tea, but I prefer to experiment. I also prefer a lighter roast and Baltimore Coffee and Tea roasts dark.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot....Caffe Pronto in Annapolis is very good and received high marks for their espresso from Ken Davids. Caffe Pronto also has a few places in Baltimore that they sell beans to and has mail order as well. Vincent is very conscientious about supplying a great product. He is also involved in Cup of Excellence activities.

I hope this isn't breaking the rules, but I am a local small batch roaster. For people in DC, I deliver the same day I roast. People who live in the close-by suburbs can arrange for pick up from my house in Petworth. I use high-quality single origin, usually single estate, beans and focus on light and medium roasts.

Joel
http://www.freshofftheroast.com

Anyone ever try Zekes Coffee/Roastery?

Mayorga has several shops in the DC Metro area but my experience with them was not that great. They do not date their bags and the answer i got when i asked about the roast date was cryptic at best. I never got a great shot out of the beans i tried but it was when i first bought my silvia so the blame could be aimed at me

Typically i order my beans online. Couter Culture, Intelligestsia, Klatch, Sweet Marias, Cafe Fresco. All great beans and all come within 2 days (USPS Priority ftw).

wayneo wrote:Anyone ever try Zekes Coffee/Roastery?

For a nice bean blend from Zekes, visit Pitango Gelato in Fells Point - http://www.pitangogelato.com/ and buy a bag of Zekes' beans that they use in their shop. It is a custom blend for Pitango and is better than other offerings at Zekes.

Hi All,
I hear that Zekes has great coffee.
However, and this is coming from a confessed newbie the espresso offerings are not my favorite.
I bought a pound of "Shot Tower" and it was rather bland.
I then bought a pound of "Gunpowder" and its a very dark roast and for me its too dark.
I am comparing this against a bag of "Black Cat" that I purchased.
God Bless 'em, I wish 'em well but I will not be buying another bag of espresso from 'em.