Hello caffeine junkies Here is my current existential dilemma. In the world of infinite coffee possibilities, so many specialty coffee,choices,things to try ,how do you guys went about choosing your go to,daily drive beans,the stuff that powers your day,the one you always get back to after sampling some crazy guatemalan honey processed light roast ,or India monsoon beans.
Was a price a factor? After all good coffee ain't chip this days,do you order online from guy that roast it to order? Or from your local town roaster? How long did it took you to find THE BEANS you now love?

Thanks so much for sharing your journey for the holy grail.

Don't have a daily driver but the beans I always end up having for cappuccinos and random relaxed espresso is what some would call a "comfort blend". What I mean now is that I can pull it to different target characteristics (fruity or chocolatey) just by changing grind and temperature. Makes it a great all-rounder.

I'm not a daily driver person either. I have certain roast levels and flavor profiles I tend to enjoy more and some that I tend to dislike.

The reality is, there is no such thing as forever beans. They change every year since coffee is seasonal. Most roasters aren't 100% consistent either. The best thing you can do is try a wide variety and narrow down what you enjoy the most. If you are just starting off then do yourself a favor and try as many as you can so you have some foundational knowledge to go off of.

This is a very easy one for me. My wife, when at a class at our local "Y", over heard a conversation between 2-women discussing coffee, one of whom's husband was the owner of 3-cafés and a roastery and just happened to be a neighbour on our street 5-houses down. Being into coffee ourselves, she asked if we could try their coffee. We have been drinking it now for probably 7-years and happen to prefer it to virtually all other coffees we've tried.

I blend for myself 2-g of their Sumatran & 16.5g of El Salvador Noir for an 18-½g dose. For my wife I blend 3g of El Salvador Noir with 15-½g of Colombian SWP decaf.

Here's the link to the Café that is local, since you're in Montreal:

http://cafeplantation.com/index.php?sl=en

YMMV

I do have a daily driver. The one coffee that I almost always have on hand is Saka Top Selection (see the various Saka threads). It's a coffee I can trust every day that will be very enjoyable. I like my first coffee of the day (Americano) to be a slam dunk winner as I don't feel like having to dial in, or experiment, first thing in the morning. My second cup (Americano) is where I experiment with another coffee. My third and final is usually a capp or latte with something that I think pairs well for a milk drink, if not the Saka.

Apart from the taste, a bonus for Saka is that it is relatively cheap and relatively fresh (especially for an imported Italian coffee), depending on timing of placing an order.

Chef1978 wrote:Hello caffeine junkies Here is my current existential dilemma. In the world of infinite coffee possibilities, so many specialty coffee,choices,things to try ,how do you guys went about choosing your go to,daily drive beans,the stuff that powers your day,the one you always get back to after sampling some crazy guatemalan honey processed light roast ,or India monsoon beans.
Was a price a factor? After all good coffee ain't chip this days,do you order online from guy that roast it to order? Or from your local town roaster? How long did it took you to find THE BEANS you now love?

Thanks so much for sharing your journey for the holy grail.

I home-roast so I chose my daily driver based on the producer consistently growing and supplying high-quality green coffee for many years. High quality is in terms of both green coffee grading results and taste. Price is not a factor, only quality. https://aidabatlleselection.com/

I also drink decaf daily. Here it is usually not possible to get farm-level coffee, so I rely on the green coffee importer's judgement. https://royalcoffee.com/product-categor ... _tag=decaf

If I didn't home-roast, then I would get a subscription from a roaster. I used to get a subscription for the winter months. In Canada, https://www.roguewavecoffee.ca/ for lighter roasts, and https://baroccocoffee.com/ for traditional Italian roasts. (I may be the only person on the forum that prefers local Italian-émigré roasters to Saka .) There are other Canadian roasters that I'd like to try like https://www.hatchcrafted.com/ in the GTA and https://www.rabbitholeroasters.com/ in Montreal, but I haven't had the opportunity.

Regardless, I'd say to try local roasters first, especially in a large market like Montreal. You're bound to find something that you like.

I like to try different stuff pretty regularly, but usually have a roast that's my go-to, though it rotates from time to time - maybe it'll be my home base for a year or two, before moving on to something else. One requirement is that it has to be fairly consistent and have have a relatively high floor - the worst bag should still be pretty enjoyable, while the best bags are great. Availability is important, as well, which is why my go-to is often locally roasted. Value is another factor - I'm okay with the occasional splurge, but I'm not looking to regularly spend 30 bucks a week on beans.

Anyway, my home base beans usually account for 50% or so of my consumption. Usually, after two or three weeks of it, I'll feel like venturing out in to something different. The more disappointed that I am with my experimentation, the more quickly I'll head back. If I find something else that I really enjoy, and that's a decent value, I might buy two or three bags in succession. If they're all pretty solid, it might supplant the other stuff and become my new go-to for a while.

Local is great if it's available. I order from US roasters monthly, and usually get a couple kg of a medium to medium-light comfort blend, and another pound or two of something lighter and rarer for occasional treats. I rarely order the same beans two months in a row, but some I go back to over time. It's mostly a question of taste, but cost can play a factor. $80-100 for 5 pounds is usual for the daily driver.

Thank you guys ,so happy to see how everyone is choosing their caffeine fix!

BaristaBoy E61 wrote:This is a very easy one for me. My wife, when at a class at our local "Y", over heard a conversation between 2-women discussing coffee, one of whom's husband was the owner of 3-cafés and a roastery and just happened to be a neighbour on our street 5-houses down. Being into coffee ourselves, she asked if we could try their coffee. We have been drinking it now for probably 7-years and happen to prefer it to virtually all other coffees we've tried.

I blend for myself 2-g of their Sumatran & 16.5g of El Salvador Noir for an 18-½g dose. For my wife I blend 3g of El Salvador Noir with 15-½g of Colombian SWP decaf.

Here's the link to the Café that is local, since you're in Montreal:

http://cafeplantation.com/index.php?sl=en

YMMV

I'm heading to Pierrefonds next week to see family. Im thinking about trying this out. Ty for posting.

baldheadracing wrote:I home-roast so I chose my daily driver based on the producer consistently growing and supplying high-quality green coffee for many years. High quality is in terms of both green coffee grading results and taste. Price is not a factor, only quality. https://aidabatlleselection.com/

Ty for posting about where you get your greens!


Also +1 for hatch crafted!