Yeah, I've wondered the same. Actually not that long ago I ordered three bags of the same coffee and two of the three were not as good as "normal." Even more bizarre was that I'm pretty sure they were all roasted on the same date too, though I cant recall for certain. Regardless, I think the smaller the scale of the operation the more variability, but even the best are going to fluctuate some. The green beans, I'm sure, are checked for quality, but sampling only gets you so far. I expect the roasting can have the occasional hiccup, though it's only a guess, and probably the least common cause of variation. Then of course there's the fact that beans are seasonal and I believe most of these roasters are sourcing beans differenr to rotate through to maintain the flavor profile of the 'original' as best they can...

Oh well. Like some wines are better from one year to the next, some coffee is too... it's what keeps it from getting boring right? :p

FYI, JB recommends 19g in to 38g out over 30ish seconds at 92C for their K2 when you try it.

Jeremy

For awhile now I have been buying Lavazza Super Crema off Amazon.ca and really enjoy it for espresso and milk coffees. I use 17.2g of beans for a double shot at 25 seconds. I've tried a few others but always seem to come back to the Super Crema.

I've mentioned them before, but I highly recommend Hale Coffee in Toronto. I personally by 5 lb. bags at a time.

https://www.halecoffee.com/

Interesting, I havent seen them before. The price for a 5 lb. bag shipped looks decent.
Do you use their espresso, and do you have any more to say about it?

About three years ago I had tried basically every Toronto roaster looking for an excellent espresso that also made good drip coffee (which my wife likes in the morning). I didn't find one, although I did enjoy lots of good espresso along the way. One day my wife mentioned that there was a new cafe around the corner called Crosstown so I went in. Crosstown was one of the cafes owned by Hale Coffee. Boom I found the espresso that I was looking for. Eventually that cafe was sold to new owners so I began to source my coffee directly from Hale's new (and awesome, just limited parking as everywhere) location near Dupont and Lansdowne. I have since gotten to know the head roaster and he even gave me a fantastic tour of the roastery. Once I got my Bianca I began to explore their lighter roasts as well which I enjoy for espresso (not so much for drip although interesting).

The fact that their coffee is more than reasonably priced is just icing on the cake.

Probably more than you were expecting as a response by that's my story with Hale Coffee. I cannot recommend them enough.

thm655321 wrote: Boom I found the espresso that I was looking for.

I began to explore their lighter roasts as well which I enjoy for espresso (not so much for drip although interesting).

The fact that their coffee is more than reasonably priced is just icing on the cake.

No, haha, tell me more! This is actually awesome, because while I've always been an espresso drinker (usually small milk drinks, but also americanos), my wife usually drinks drip. Fortunately, she's not picky about it, so whatever I'm using for espresso is what she uses too.. but if there's a great option for both out there, that's even better. I've started drinking more drip now myself at work so I've been experimenting with my almost-super-aligned Vario with steel burrs, but I might start playing with it for espresso too.

I assume from your post you're drinking their standard espresso blend.. I've already got 5lbs in the cart.. haha. What do you like about it? Have you dialed in a brew recipe, or do you know what theirs is? What other beans from there are your favorites?

Cheers,
Jeremy

Just adding a few more Canadian roasters to the list.

Eleven Speed here in Victoria: https://www.elevenspeedcoffee.ca/ Pretty small operation, but I have really enjoyed their Podium Espresso!

Milano in Vancouver: https://www.milanocoffee.ca/ I used to live up the road from them and damn I miss their coffee. The Miscela Royale when they have it is ooh *fans self*

mwynne wrote:Milano in Vancouver: https://www.milanocoffee.ca/ I used to live up the road from them and damn I miss their coffee. The Miscela Royale when they have it is ooh *fans self*

I've heard excellent things about Milano but they do not offer any form of free shipping so it is quite expensive. I may still try it sometime.

Come out west, 10/10 recommend visiting them.