Ok personally I don't mind paying $16+ for a 12oz bag of coffee to get the best I can for espresso from top level roasters like Transcend, Social, Cherry Hill ect. It seems refreshingly inexpensive after what I spend on tea

But....my parents have developed a taste for fresh coffee and don't quite have the tolerance for splurging on a drink that I do. They keep trying "premium" grocery store fare like Van Houtte, St City Roasters ect to try and save money but it's often flat and bitter tasting and dad especially doesn't really enjoy it.

I've suggested the $12 and $13 blends from Social as a better alternative...that's closer to their spending tolerance and should still be fresh and tasty. That's still kind of "expensive" but better than Transcend which is Dad's favourite so far.

In the US there's options like 5lb bags of Redbird for under $50 shipped which is significantly less expensive than even Social's cheapest blends....do we have any quality budget options like that in Canada?

I've found Las Chicas Del Cafe....located in Ontario roasts and ships fresh coffee from their fathers farm in Nicaragua for as low as $13 for a full lb...right around Red Bird's price...has anyone tried them?

Mario...we're quite far from Montreal but there is a good Italian grocery in Edmonton...their coffee has been hit or miss but better overall than the regular groceries...have to figure out which brands are freshest and well roasted. They have quite a bit of stuff from old school Canadian roasters but some of it just tastes burnt even its not roasted that dark.

Marc...I'm just looking for Redbird range prices north of the 49th...around $12 for a full pound...I know below that it's commodity coffee territory.

Thank you for the suggestion Louis

What do they mean by Torrefazione Artigianale Granito roast?

thanks Mario...I guess that means it could be almost any roast profile.