Searching for the espresso for my cafe - recommendations?

[cremacafe]

(Split from I'm loving my Linea 4AV....even though it's in the garage by moderator)

My girlfriend (who works at a coffee shop) and I had fun conducting experiments today pulling shots of different coffees. She works at a Caribou, so we brought espresso beans from there, plus I have some Black Cat roasted three days ago, some homeroast, and an assortment of whole espresso beans from the grocery/market. All I can say is wow.....what fun......

The shot times, grind settings, crema production, color, taste, aroma.....gheesh, everything is worlds apart.

I had to take the Rocky from a 8 setting (yes, mine is properly zeroed) for the Black Cat to a "0" for the Kroger Private Selection Espresso in order to get a 27 sec extraction. We shared a few good laughs sampling the shots we pulled......what a great way to spend an afternoon with your gal.

Anyone have any other favorite espresso blends they would recommend?? I am still searching for the espresso I'll use at my cafe. I enjoy the Black Cat, but also like the Nizze from La Colombe in Philly. (have yet to try it on the Linea, just had good luck with it on my Micro Casa). I am going to order some Redline from Metropolis to sample....what else do you folks enjoy?

[malachi]

Personal taste...

Blends:
Stumptown Hairbender
Hines Espresso
Doma Vito's Blend
Terroir Daterra Reserve

Single Origin:
Ecco Caffe Brazil Fazenda Cachoeira
Stumptown El Salvador Las Nubitas
Victrola Rwanda Gatera

[HB]

If I were opening a cafe, I would want my roaster either in the same town or within no more than two days ground shipping. You've already mentioned Intelligentsia; I would add Counter Culture Coffee. OK, I'm a little biased because they are local to me, but I honestly believe they're a passionate crew who know their stuff. Two of the best cafes in my area, namely Pheasant Creek Coffee (Geoff) and Shade Tree Coffee (Greg) serve it, as does Murky Coffee in DC. Another east coast roaster that often garners noteworthy praise is Caffe Fresco. Abe speaks very highly of the owner, Tony Sciandra.

One bit of advice I give to high-end espresso equipment shoppers: Your confidence in the vendor should match your confidence in the equipment selection. I believe the same thing applies to roasters, i.e., you are betting a significant part of your business on that relationship. Be confident in the partnership, not just that you enjoyed a couple pounds of sample beans.

[malachi]

Roaster decisions are very serious.

I'd strongly suggest trying to visit your candidates if at all possible. This is a key vendor and critical relationship. Know the people.

Cup the coffees.
Trust your palate.
Check references.
Choose the coffee you like.

[cremacafe]

There are a few local roasters, one of which is my friend, but unfortunately his espresso blends have yet to come together. The other larger roaster has a tendency to roast everything to a Vienna, which hits alot of people's palates as "burnt". (including mine)

That is why I've begun looking for a roaster that is within a 1-2 day shipping area, such as Chicago. I'm probably going to get my regular beans from my friend, since his coffee is very good, and may switch to his espresso if he ever gets it dialed in. I'm using a small local bakery and my friend's coffee (which I hope I didn't discredit him, his SO are quite good). But I want to serve a superior espresso, so it seems as if I need to venture outside of Ohio to find one.

Thanks for the advice, sounds like I need to make some road trips before my doors open....Chicago, New York, here I come.

[cannonfodder]

Visiting a roaster is a wonderful experience. While I was in Chicago for business I went over to Metropolis, I really wanted to hit Intelligentsia but just did not have time. I emailed Tony a week before just to see if I could meet him and get a tour of the place. It was a wonderful experience. I got a good close look at his roaster (he opened up the access panels so I could see the inner workings), discussed the process, beans, origin nuances and roasting profiles (I was just starting to home roast, invaluable information and got me going the right direction). The down side, I realized how clueless I actually was, the more I learn the more I realize how much more there is to learn.

[annp]

I've started to do the same thing - hangin' with the people at Batdorf and Bronson. Today I brought some other locally roasted coffee in and they "cupped" it. Very cool.

I especially liked how experienced coffee people described what I thought was good. Two different people who did not overhear each other described it as "gritty." Neat! It was still good, but different, and it was fun to talk about the different beans that made up this blend (Selva Negra, Monsooned Malabar and a Mystery Bean). Cupping it was a totally different taste experience from making it into espresso.

I'm also a "retail account," which is fun because I get interesting beans roasted that day. Of course the beans I've got today will have to sit around till Saturday...

Ann