I know there are several roasters across the States that sells their beans by 12-16oz. Since I'm still a novice, I'm looking for some help [coming from personal opinion] to limit down to one or two roasters to try. I only have some experience with Klatch's WBC.
I'm seeking a blend of beans [don't really know if its have to be single original or not] that will give me a nice volume of crema, full body, and finish with a nice sweet or chocolate favor. Not so much citrus, or tangy spice added if possible.

Appreciate the help.

-S
PS-Although I'm in CA, I have no problem ordering from other States. And for my setup, I know that will be ask, I'm using Mazzer SJ and soon to have S1VII. Thus, I want to test it out with some quality beans. Thanks again.

You're in the South Bay?

Head over to Barefoot Coffee Bar in Santa Clara. They used to roast on-site, but looks like they moved the roastery to a different location.

You'll avoid shipping costs by buying locally, and their coffee is superb -- to this day, some of the best espresso I've ever had was served up in their shop. Spending 5 minutes in the shop you can tell the baristas really care. And last I was there a year or two ago, you still got a free drink (or espresso, or whatever) when you buy a pound of coffee!

Here is a good list of roasters that you should check out.

I can highly recommend Intelligentsia's Black Cat Espresso having just finished a pound of it myself. It has the nice chocolates you're looking for and it also reduces the risk of bad coffee as a variable in the early stages of perfecting your barista technique.

Best of luck!

jamori wrote:You're in the South Bay?

That's the problem with the term "South Bay." Just as there are several Charlestons in the US, or Oaklands for that matter, there are two areas of California known as "the South Bay." The first -- the only you're thinking of is the southern end o the San Francisco Bay, most noticeably San Jose. Simon lives in the other South Bay -- on the coast below Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), specifically Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, and parts of Torrance.

He's nearly 400 miles away from Barefoot. OTOH, he's less than 20 miles away from Intelligentsia in Venice . . .

Thanks for the clearification, Jason.
I went to Intelligentsia one month ago and tried their espresso as well. Just not my cup of "espresso" per sa.
Thus, I'm still looking for more recommendation.
Oh, I also saw your posting on the list of baristas at the other forums. Just not sure about randomly pick one. Hoping to seek advise at the forums. Much appreciate.

SimonSoCal wrote:Just not sure about randomly pick one.

Simon, that's actually the best way . . . after all, you have YOUR taste buds in your mouth, and I have mine; what I may think is great espresso, you may think is -- well, i not horrid, then at least not in your style (and vice versa).

SimonSoCal wrote:I went to Intelligentsia one month ago and tried their espresso as well. Just not my cup of "espresso" per sa (sic). Thus, I'm still looking for more recommendation.

Help us: what was it about Intelligentsia that you did not like? What, if anything, did you like about it? Did you have "Black Cat," their "standard" espresso, or one of the single origin (SO) coffees? Was it as a straight shot, or in a milk drink?

Cheers,
Jason

Hi Simon, you may enjoy this: Redline Espresso
I brought some home yesterday when I had a shot at BaristaPDX...and the package is a full pound.

We've had good luck ordering from Caffe Fresco. You can get 3 x 12oz bags for $5 shipping, so I've been able to try most of their 'suggested espresso' and have enjoyed everything so far. I'd say that Ambrosia and Black Hand are my top 2, followed by Flossies and the Brazil Daterra. All of the blends are fairly forgiving, and let me play around a little bit. Plus they've all aged very nicely, with the best flavors starting around day 5, and going out to day 12, and sometimes longer.

I'm also a big fan of Terrior, and Barismo, both of which have some very nice traditional blends, and some more interesting blends to experiment with. I can get both locally, so I'm not sure what shipping is like.

The current iteration of Black Cat has some snap to it, and doesn't really qualify as a comfort food blend anymore; Klatch's WBC is fruit bomb. Pulling these well requires a good home set up, and their level of acidity is not to everyone's taste.

Red Line is more laid back this year, and may fit your bill. Gimme Coffee's Leftist, and Counterculture's Toscano may also work. These are all heavy bodied, and mostly chocolate tasting blends that are forgiving enough to work well on a wide range of home espresso set ups.

Simon,

I'm in the Northern SouthBay of California and like to visit Red Berry Coffee Bar in San Jose because they carry three great coffee roaster's beans, Barefoot, Ritual, and Ecco.

From your post, I think you'd be pleased with Ecco Caffè's espresso blends, the ones that I get at Red Berry are always full bodied and have nice chocolate notes, and they roast to emphasize the bass notes instead of the more citrus notes you can get from other roasters.

I haven't bought their beans to try at home, and haven't really mail ordered any roasted beans (I stick to greens, mostly), but of these three, Ecco would really fit the bill (they're high up on the Home-Barista list of roasters too).

p.s. They sell 'em by the pound.