Verve is a new one for me, any preference for one of the two espressos offered?

Philg wrote:I don't know if it's great coffee, but I like it and they often get good reviews at coffeereview.com :

The Roasterie (theroasterie.com/ (Kansas)) for drip.

I can buy Roasterie coffee freshly roasted in stores here in Kansas City as well as PT's. I enjoy both, though I do feel like the general quality of PT's is a notch or two higher. I do have a lot of trouble pulling espresso shots that are as well rounded from Roasterie blends. That said, I'm now drinking an excellent blend called Don Quixote from the Roasterie as drip and french press and it is superb.

woodchuck wrote:A goodly list Jason. I don't get to many of these roasters but I would certainly second the motion for:

Counter Culture Coffee, Durham, NC (Aficionado still my favorite)
Intelligentsia Coffee, Chicago, IL (Black cat - better again)
PT's Coffee, Topeka, KS ( a great Sidamo SO espresso)

I'd also add

Caffe Fresco, Port Griffith, PA (love their Ambrosia)
49th Parallel Coffee Roasters, Vancouver, BC (check out their Epic espresso)

Cheers

Ian

as 49th parallel is one of my favorites, I've taken your advice and just ordered a few caffe fresco beans...

http://www.musetti.it/

I know it sounds sacrilegious, but I've been using commercially-roasted Italian beans for some time now. These come in 250g one-way bags ("best before..."), but if properly sealed they taste good when opened, and if stored in the freezer. How good? You'd need to judge for yourself, but I am really surprised by the flavor, body, aroma.

That's exactly why I didn't include them . . .

Sweet Maria's wrote:In the time we have offered roasted coffee, our weekly selection became quite popular. The only problem was that it became too popular! Our primary focus is to offer green coffee and home roasters. With our subscription service in particular, we were becoming a regular roasted coffee source. We love roasting, but we want to do this in our own way, for each roast session to highlight unique differences in our greater green coffee offerings.

So . . .

I agree. . .

I don't consider Sweet Maria's when deciding who to order roasted coffee from.

How they offer roasted coffee is very cool. Two offerings, comparing/contrasting origin, roast level, processing etc etc. . . And what Tom is doing with the Workshops is great. Im behind it all the way.

But, I don't want to work around a companys schedule for when they're going to roast*. I want to order when I need coffee, and have it roasted and sent out within a day from when I order, and get to me no later then 4days off the roast. I also want more to choose from.

I order from SweetMaria's frequently, usually 2, sometimes 3 times a month. . . They're my main source for greens. But for roasted coffee, I look elsewhere.

*meaning "we're roasting 2weeks from now, on this day.." If a roaster, roasts every other day, thats different.

Let's see. I have tried three espressos from Counter Culture. All were good but Aficionado was my favorite. Hard to distinguish if it was coffee or chocolate. Next I tried Black Cat but it didn't do anything for me. Must be the way I pulled it because everyone else loves it. However I won't try it again. Just opened some Ambrosia from Caffe Fresco and have had about six drinks from it. I am having a difficult time getting the grind right. Either it's too fast or too slow. However it is good but the depth of flavor is on the short side in my opinion. About a 6 on a 10 scale for me so far. The best for me is Metropolis Redline. I need to order some and time when the Ambrosia runs out. I think I am going to stick to Redline.

Thanks to everyone for the coffee information.

Not that you're doing this, but -- just for the sake of thorough discussion . . .

Nik wrote:Next I tried Black Cat but it didn't do anything for me. Must be the way I pulled it because everyone else loves it.

Don't let that concern you. We all have our own tastes and preferences (to state the obvious), and no one size fits all. I happen to keep going back to Vivace's Dolce blend, in the way you go back to Redline (which I also really enjoy), and yet many people here dismiss it . . .

My personal pattern is to get beans from Vivace (and grab some Blue Bottle or Ritual if I mis-judge my re-order/ETA for delivery), and then "journey" here and there from time-to-time . . . for instance: Metropolis, Klatch, Terroir, and so on -- but I keep coming back to Vivace.

Cheers,
Jason

Jason,

Which Blue Bottle espresso do you recommend? I had some here in L.A. at a book store in Venice that served the 17 th St Blend but it was a bit bright for my preferences. But, still I'd like to try one of their others.

Anyone a fan of Caffe D'arte? They're on my list of places to try. Love these threads that open my eyes to different roasters to try!