Marleyisdead wrote:Coava, Ristretto and Heart in Portland are very, very good. Cafe Brioso in Columbus, OH is also top of the class.

And a 2nd on Heart.

Regarding the Canada list:
1. I was not aware that Cafe Artigiano was a roaster. They told me they buy their roasts from Intelligentsia.
2. Phil and Sebastian (Calgary) are worthy additions to the list. https://www.philsebastian.com/

Love barefoot coffee roasters in santa clara. Fell in love with their dominion SO and dark horse blend. Also loved a v60 brewed dominion yirgacheffe.

innermusic wrote:Regarding the Canada list:
1. I was not aware that Cafe Artigiano was a roaster. They told me they buy their roasts from Intelligentsia.
2. Phil and Sebastian (Calgary) are worthy additions to the list. https://www.philsebastian.com/

Caffè Artigiano used to get their coffee from 49th Parallel, but as you pointed out it is now roasted by Intelligentsia. Still, they are unique blends, and Caffè Artigiano is the only source, so it seems reasonable to list them in this thread.

I want to try Phil & Sebastian, but their coffee is too expensive after shipping, IMO. It's $26.55/lb for their Ethiopia SO espresso when ordering 2lbs, and that's by slooooow Canada Post Expedited that will take a week to get to me. I can order 2lbs of Epic from 49th Parallel and have it at my door the next day by UPS for the same price.

the_trystero wrote:And a 2nd on Heart.

and a 3rd!

Last weeks self guided tour of favorite haunts...and "cafes I've needed to try" in PDX led me finally to
Heart. Having a shot of one of their SO's earlier in the day at Barista, Alberta location, I thought
what better time to head over to Burnside and try them out. The short story is I headed home with
a bag of their "Stereo" blend.

An admitted (commited?) Guat-a-holic, this blend hits the mark. Not surprising, though, with a perennial favorite in finca Maravilla...its coupled with an El Salvador bourbon called "El Borbollon". Stereo is a good
moniker, as this is more like a duet of SO's, than a full rounded blend.

No fancy packaging, labelling, or pr work here, just some expertly roasted beans from a vintage
Probat. Fresh roasted Tuesdays and Fridays, they also have flat $5 shipping. I've been needing to
share this since that fantastic shot...here

Delta Cafe Italian Roast

Espresso Italian Roast with KONA

Traditional Italian Espresso -this blend was developed cross-cupping green samples brought from Italy. Medium / Balance, complexity, fruit.

Age : 14+
Temp : 192-4°F
Dose : Normal
Ratio : 75-125%

Pulled as above elicits a jammy Syrah / 50% cacao with Licorice, Tobacco that is outstanding.

Excellent in milk, quite dark relative to comfort blends.

If you like a dark roast then you should try Deep Cello's Nostromo, which is located in Portland, Ore. When I order it , it usually takes 3 days from there to here in NC.

+1 on Nostromo as a really nice blend. Deep Cello in general is getting good press here and on other sites, and for good reason I think.

I've run through three pounds or so over the past four weeks, getting to know it better, and found it very flexible and forgiving, and handling age well. Deep Cello recommends you wait about four-five days from roast with Nostromo, but to me it behaves better after resting for 7-8 days.

I tried some shots at 202F this morning at 13 days, and it was a big dark chocolate, but with good acid balance and positively un-bitter. It did not seem to be going downhill from 8-10 days in any way. Also - and nice for such a dark roast - it's been grinding very fluffy and clump-free, and you should find it easy to distribute evenly with or without WDT.

This is very well selected, blended and roasted. Deep Cello's Bossa makes a brighter espresso, whereas Black Tie (a great name) will be more sophisticated with an elegant side showing better, I think, in pour-over or perhaps a lever-machine shot (I really need to try that). Back to Nostromo though, it's not the blend if you enjoy splitting hairs about whether the citrus is lemon zest versus lemon-shred Scotch marmalade, but if you are called to make lattes, Nostromo is very well suited to milk, even bringing satisfying flavors through high milk ratios.

It's well worth checking the Deep Cello site and trying their samples - very generous quantites, I believe about 1/3 pound now so you'll have enough to dial it in pretty well and still have some left to drink. They're only $5 each including shipping. Deep Cello's flat-rate $3.95 shipping per order is a bargain anyway.

Another great roaster is Orca Bay Coffee Company in Everson, Washington.

The espresso blend is fantastic and easy to "dial in". I bring the Guatemala (Heuheu Tenango region) Finca Vista Hermosa to work, my coworkers really noticed the difference, great drip coffee for sure.

They've been mentioned in another thread but haven't found there way to the list yet. Minneapolis's Dogwood Coffee has an excellent espresso, (surprisingly named) Dogwood Espresso, along with some very tasty other offerings.

Highly recommended.

http://www.dogwoodcoffee.com/