They say "Espresso Nuevo is a Central Italian-type espresso blend designed for the American cafe". What does that mean exactly, designed for the American Cafe? Lighter roasted (it is)? No robusta (who knows)? If there's robusta in it why not mention it? Maybe they're worried it will put off some American cafe coffee drinkers from buying it? Or maybe there isn't any in it?

Beats me. I don't mean to pick on Paradise, I love their Nuevo blend. Just curious.

jpender wrote:Saka has five blends with robusta content at 0%, 20%, 40%, 50%, and 60%. They use an Indian robusta, I believe. I've had some of the 60% robusta Saka variety and it's definitely buzzy. But so smooth and delicious.

My faint of heart comment was referencing:

1. The much higher caffeine content of robusta
2. The much different taste profile for those used to lighter roasts

I quite like Saka, and will be ordering another bag soon as a reference point. Wasn't meant to be taken negatively.

I placed an order on Nicoletta Coffee's Old School roast and boy, it was expensive to get to Canada after the conversion rate.

Thank you all for the suggestions. I'm hoping this thread grows because I feel that Robusta gets a lot of unnecessary hate and instead it should be admired!

Mr. Espresso in Oakland, California has a tasty Neapolitan blend that includes 10-15% high quality robusta. They have a wonderful facility where they have roasters that are two stories high and are fired by oak.

https://mrespresso.com/

How does their Neapolitan blend compare to authentic Italian Neapolitan coffee?

It's an oddity of our world that their coffee costs 30-40% more than the Saka. Mr. Espresso is located about 20 miles from my house versus 6000+ miles to Naples, Italy. While price is not the primary criterion for me when choosing coffee I can't help but wonder: Why buy an emulation of an Italian coffee when you can order the real thing for less?

jpender wrote: It's an oddity of our world that their coffee costs 30-40% more than the Saka. Mr. Espresso is located about 20 miles from my house versus 6000+ miles to Naples, Italy. While price is not the primary criterion for me when choosing coffee I can't help but wonder: Why buy an emulation of an Italian coffee when you can order the real thing for less?

Mr. Espresso's costs $15 per 12 oz bag, which isn't cheap by my standards but a pretty good deal for the quality and taste. My family originated in a town called Corletto Monforte, not that far from Naples, and this type of espresso would fit in very well there. The main reasons I think for buying Mr. E's coffee over stuff roasted in Italy are: 1) It makes a great Southern style espresso; and 2) It's roasted locally (I'm less than 10 minutes away), and is going to be fresher than any coffee that has to be shipped 6400 miles to get here.

I also like their oak fired roasting method, which is supposed to be a less dry heating method than gas and keep more oils in the coffee. I'd say give their coffee a try to see if you like it.

Their prices are in line with other local roasters. But is it going to be fresher than imported coffee? I have bought bags of Mr. Espresso several years ago and as I recall they had a best buy date on them. Who knows when those bags had been roasted?

I do prefer to buy locally. But many specialty food products are simply not made as well domestically as they are overseas, hence my question. I'll just give them a try, can't hurt.

jpender wrote:How does their Neapolitan blend compare to authentic Italian Neapolitan coffee?

It's an oddity of our world that their coffee costs 30-40% more than the Saka. Mr. Espresso is located about 20 miles from my house versus 6000+ miles to Naples, Italy. While price is not the primary criterion for me when choosing coffee I can't help but wonder: Why buy an emulation of an Italian coffee when you can order the real thing for less?

John,

Since you live close to them, why not give them a try? I didn't recommend them casually. Also, when you write, "why buy an emulation of an Italian coffee ..." that's pretty harsh when their founder was a direct immigrant from Italy who decided to offer coffee like he had at home. Does all wine have to be grown in France or it's an emulation?

Of course I will try them. But isn't the point of this forum to learn from others' experiences?

I prefer wine from California. But domestic "gruyere" and Belgian-style ales pale in comparison to the originals. Many other examples, it just depends.

I haven't recently bought beans from Mr. E, so I will have to go there again soon. For several years I've been drinking coffee at a local cafe that uses Mr. E., and I like it quite a lot. Regarding the "best by" date, I plan to ask about that next time I visit Mr. E and hope they'll let me know how that relates to the actual roast date.