Everyday espresso blends available in Boston area

[parallax]

Hi all,

I recently purchased a Saeco Vienna Deluxe at a discount (fully automatic) and I'm very happy with it. I'm trying to find the right coffee to buy for an everyday cup. I've gone through a few Trader Joe's tins and I find them to be unsatisfying but cheap, and I've gone through a few bags of Terroir coffee and I find that to be really excellent but too expensive.

Can somebody suggest an everyday coffee available in the Boston area that makes a good cup? I would prefer coffee with a good body and maybe some spice. Gewurztramineresque maybe?

[fac10]

My everyday bean is Whole Foods Allegro Espresso Bel Canto. It's not world class, but it's not bad and it's roasted right in the store, so you can usually get it from the bin within day or two of the roast date.

Other than WF, I have been unable so far to find any local source of in-house roasted beans, and Terroir -- aside from being pricey -- is hit or miss as to roast dates in most places that sell it. The best bets for finding fresh Terroir are Simon's Coffee Shop in Cambridge or Velouria Espresso in JP. Aside from the beans, these two places serve the best espresso in the area, and Velouria also has a Clover.

[blrsmith]

You might try Atomic Cafe in Beverly or Marblehead. Their Cosmopolitan and Intensi Espresso blends, locally roasted, are good Northern and Southern Italian blends, respectively. However, I find the Rocketeer blend to be the best to start with. Their coffee is also available at local Whole Foods and other markets.

[miniwarmth]

I agree with fac10: You should definitely try the roasts from Terroir (http://www.terroircoffee.com/) - in Acton, MA. They do mail order/web order and also sell at a number of the better coffee shops(Simons, True Grounds, etc) as well as at Whole Foods. I prefer them to most any other whole bean espresso roast in the area. I prefer the lighter, Northern Italian style for espresso and the Southern for milk based drinks. i find that when ordering directly from them I usually get batches w/i 1 day of roasting.

[Richard]

The best bets for finding fresh Terroir . . .

. . . are directly from Terroir. Order online early enough in the day, they will likely ship that same day, and since we're in the Boston area, we have it the following day via UPS ground, typically one or two days postroast.

[gabriel]

...I prefer the lighter, Northern Italian style for espresso and the Southern for milk based drinks. ...

I used to think so myself, but recently had a chance to try cappuccino made with a Yirgacheffe Northen Italian roast at Simon's and it was such a pleasure to drink, soft and sweet just the way god meant for cappuccino to be

/gabi

[fac10]

. . . are directly from Terroir. Order online early enough in the day, they will likely ship that same day, and since we're in the Boston area, we have it the following day via UPS ground, typically one or two days postroast.

I'm enjoying a cappuccino made with Daterra Northern Italian as I type this, but like the OP, I consider it a special treat rather than an everyday staple -- and that's at the regular $18/lb price, let alone $28/lb shipped.

I know many people on this forum do use mail-order specialty roasters exclusively for their "everyday" supply, and consider it money well spent, but the OP's question was posed with cost savings in mind.

[parallax]

Thanks guys. I'll definitely try Allegro and Atomic Cafe.

Thanks for the tip on Velouria Espresso, I'll have to make it down there. I tried a Clover-made coffee in Manhattan (Cafe Grumpy) and it was the most memorable cup of coffee I've ever had.

[Richard]

. . . and that's at the regular $18/lb price, let alone $28/lb shipped. . . . the OP's question was posed with cost savings in mind.

My response was specifically to someone (handle forgotten -- edited to add: Oh! that was you! ) who was commenting about sources for Terroir coffees, not to the OP. As for savings, Terroir uses flat-rate shipping; yes, order one package and the $5 shipping makes it an expensive 12oz of coffee, but ordering 4 or 5 pounds at a time makes that $5 shipping trivial. And any reasonable shipping costs far less these days than starting your car and driving anywhere.

I usually order 3 to 5 pounds per order. When it arrives, I promptly break each bag down into 6oz portions, each in an airtight seal, and freeze it. Each 6oz portion (whether for drip or espresso) is brought to room temperature before opening (no condensation), is never refrozen, and is always consumed within two to three days. The coffee can come out of the freezer a couple of months later and brew as though within a few days of roasting.

[bsalinas]

I am a big fan of the coffees that Atomic roast. Simon's Coffee Shop has recently (since December) started selling them in Cambridge. Simon typically has a variety of Atomic which are only a few days after roast.

If I remember correctly, the Atomic coffees are about the same price as the Whole Foods brand (Atomic is about $9-10 for 12 ounces for most coffees).

Incidentally, are there others in the Boston area who would be interested in organizing a "coffee buying club" to split the cost of shipping? I'd be down for a pound or 2 each week (and could find a few friends to commit to something similar to that). We could then make an order each week, and meet up at a local coffee shop to distribute it and talk coffee.