Vidio wrote:I second the Mare Blanche. I also live near Philly but it does seem difficult to get them to tell you the roast date. I also don't like Nizza but I think that's what they pull in their cafes. But the other one I like quite a bit is Lyon. It's my favorite. If you want organic the Rouge is quite good, but also on the darker side. And darker but fun is the Mario Batali Roma. However this comes in a tin and wonder about roast date. It's really a struggle with them. I've emailed several times to try and get them to list roast date but they seem resistant.

I really like their MB as espresso - it's full and rich, nutty and a bit chocolate-y with no fruit and flowers. I also get and like a bit of the root beer character they describe, but only in espresso. It gets lost in a cap.

I'm the guy who paws through the bags on the shelves at their Ritz and 19th St cafes. Most of their beans have a "best by" date instead of a roast date, and BB is generally 6 weeks or less past roasting when the retail bags are delivered to their shops (suggesting that the beans are at least 2 weeks post roast when they hit the shelves). I've found bags with BB dates as little as 2 weeks out, so I've left empty handed many times.

That's why I started a subscription - they ship fresh beans to subscribers, and the "best by" dates are out 7 to 8 weeks. If you like LC coffees, this is the only way to be sure you'll get fresh beans - and that may be because we're in Philly only a few miles from the roastery. They ship via US Mail, and it's taken as long as 5 days to get our beans after the email shipping notice.

I've never had a decent drink from a La Colombe in Philly, but someone recently made me a good pour over of one of their workshop coffees and it was quite good

Since this thread I've wanted to try the Mare Blanche, but it has been sold out for what seems like quite some time. There is another Haitian Workshop coffee there that I just ordered and will try - does anyone know if they will re-stock MB eventually, or have they shifted to "For Haiti" as a replacement?

Meanwhile, I've really enjoyed the Nizza - sweet milk chocolate and easy and reliable as pourover by V60. Thanks for the recommendation.

thepilgrimsdream wrote:I've never had a decent drink from a La Colombe in Philly, but someone recently made me a good pour over of one of their workshop coffees and it was quite good

I find the LC cafes to be inconsistent from location to location and from shot to shot. I think the "flagship" in the Fishtown section is the most consistently good, but I've had some truly mediocre espresso at both the City Hall and Rittenhouse Square locations. And I've had some truly Starbuckian caps even at the flagship. I don't know if it's an accommodation to long lines, but I've watched baristas steam large pitchers of milk and dole it out into 3 consecutive caps and lattes (of which I got the last one the first and only time I accepted such a drink). Their baristas vary greatly in the skill and concern they demonstrate (which doesn't mean they're not capable of better, but they don't always deliver it).

Still, fresh Nizza makes a wonderful classic espresso when properly ground and prepared. As someone pointed out earlier in this thread, it's actually a fairly light roast for an espresso, yet it's got that chocolate middle and very good mouth feel when made well. And the Mare Blanche is more of the same with an even richer and more interesting body, along with a hint of an interesting taste I can only describe as Dr Peppery.

I've also heard good things (second-hand) about Nizza. It's on my todo list. Probably the one to try first.