best coffee/espresso

[glenn]

But anyway, do you know of good sites which rate coffee beans themselves?

eGullet.com

Ok, this topic is of much interest to me, so can we come up with a list.  Question though, would a separate list be necessary for espresso or do you use the same bean for both?  Anyway, my vote goes to graffeo dark (used with a french press) as my favorite so far.  [then again, I haven't tried that many so called quality beans.] I'm curious about anyone's experience with the lighter blend as I've never tried it.

[bigbear]

I assume your talking about roasted beans.

[jaybee]

I am going to try some of the lighter blends in an expresso machine once get mine fixed.  I've only used dark roast.  I'm curious to see how the Meinl beans will work.  My favorite blend of all time, alas is no more.  It was Pasqua's Six Country Blend. I never made a cup that didn't please me.  Mark Zuckerman, the founder of Pasqua's is a friend, and he got a company in San Francisco (Capricorn Coffees) to make up a "Six Country Blend.  It is close to Pasqua's but lacks the last bit of winey sweetness that I loved.  I'm playing around with adding some other beans to it to see if I can get that flavor note added.  Work in progress.

[rockefeller666]

jaybee--

pasqua coffee of the chain that was absorbed by starbucks?  that was great coffee. I really liked their coffee.  

Personally, my favorite coffee is still Peet's.  I've never tried Graffeo, though I think that's definitely next on my list when I return to SF.  I've tried multiple, expensive Kona blends when I was out in Hawaii, but I was not impressed at all.  Surprisingly, Agata & Valentina on 79th & 1st has great french roast that's very reasonable: $5.99/lb.  It's actually really good.

[phaelon56]

Hey... anyone want to go in on some Meinl with me? I'd like a bag each of their espresso blend and also one for regular coffee but on two bags the shipping adds way too much money. I think best shipping price per bag results from buying about six total.

For an espresso blend I'm now totally sold on the Perugia blend from Torrefazione Italia. They're at www.titalia.com  - have a few cafes here and there but none in the NYC area. Highly rated and I've tried it out somewhere but not in my own machine is the Cafe Vivace blend from David Schomer at Cafe Vivace in Seattle. It's truly excellent but I have fallen in love with the Perugia and choose to remain monogamous for now.

[Steve Klc]

My current ranking is 1. Graffeo dark mostly 2. the Perugia blend Owen mentioned ocassionally and 3. Illy in an absolute pinch.  Only for espresso in my Sylvia/Rocky setup.

When I travel I bring along a baggie of coarsely ground Graffeo dark and a small French press.

Owen--I asked you this on the rival NY board coffee thread, but since you posted the Torrefazione stuff here, I'll ask this of you here as well--how long have you used the Perugia and have you noticed any decline since they sold out?

Do you have a link for information about David Schomer?

[abagail]

I used Torrefazione Perugia until recently. I just moved from near Seattle  where I was able to get it from several sources, including my local supermarket, to southeast Florida. Havn't found a new favorite here yet, so have resorted to Starbuck's. Thanks for the Torrefazione website.

[phaelon56]

Cafe Vivace link -

http://www.espressovivace.com/for_home.html

It ain't cheap but I know it's good. I'm originally from Syracuse NY and my hometown espresso fave is "Freedom of Espresso" (ask me and I'll tell you the truly hilarious story of how they came up with that name). I'm pretty sure they use Vivace beans for their roasting because I know their supplier is Seattle based and when I was traveling to Seattle for the first time, the one recommendation they had for espresso in that town was Cafe Vivace.

Prices are pretty good at Torrefazione - three 12 oz bags totaled only $27.95 with shipping (no tax).  Vivace is a tad steep but their low price on green beans is tempting me to get a home roaster (oh boy... here we go again).  I can't comment on any change or decline in Torrefazione Perugia as I just discovered it two months ago.  Where do I get the Graffeo? - my interest has been aroused...

[Steve Klc]

I get it from them directly--800.222.6250--two 1 pound bags of whole bean at a time, sent next day or two day air, with shipping $34.80

Please post about your home roasting experiments Owen.

[glenn]

Today was day 2 trying the Meinl, King Hadhramaut, the premium blend.  I use a french press.  It was pretty mild, which I like, and flavorful.  Nothing extraordinary though, but the jury's still out.  I need to experiment a little bit.

[Holly Moore]

My favorite, both for coffee and espresso is La Colombe, sold out of Philadelphia.  I believe some NYC restaurants use La Colombe.

Here's the link to their site:  La Colombe Coffee

They ship, but it may be available in local gourmet stores.

[tsquare]

Graffeo - are you all talking about the sweetest little place in North Beach, San Francisco? The best way to get it is to go to the store itself - a pilgrimage. I hadn't been for around 15 years, and when I stumbled in again, it was every bit as good as I remembered!

[jaybee]

Today was day 2 trying the Meinl, King Hadhramaut, the premium blend.  I use a french press.  It was pretty mild, which I like, and flavorful.  Nothing extraordinary though, but the jury's still out.  I need to experiment a little bit.

Glenn, amazing I could write the same post!  I made a 30 oz. using the Bodum Santos Vacuum pot.  The result was a pleasant but suprisingly mild (possibly, bland) cup.  I expected a much stronger, assertive coffee.  I wonder how this will taste as expresso?  So far I could not say it's worth the "trip".

[glenn]

owen, re the price of Meinl -- my cost for 4 bags (500g) was just over $11/bag, which includes shipping.  Not bad.  When you go to checkout, you get a credit for VAT if you don't live in a EU country.

jaybee -- day 3 on the meinl and the verdict is in.  this time you took the words (word, actually) out of my mouth -- bland. Perhaps it's unfair for me to be judging at this point -- I've been drinking graffeo dark for 2 weeks (1st time trying graffeo).  The graffeo is strong and has quite a kick to it, quite the opposite of the meinl.  I generally like to switch between mild and strong coffees, but I find myself craving the graffeo after a few days of being w/o it.  I'm curious to learn what your experience is with the meinl as espresso, though it seems much to mild for that purpose.

Anyone care to express a vote for their favorite mild coffee?

[jaybee]

jaybee -- day 3 on the meinl and the verdict is in.  this time you took the words (word, actually) out of my mouth -- bland.

Ditto for me.  This time I used the Press and made sure the coffee to water ratio was just right.  Result, pleasant but rather bland coffee.  Tomorrow I'll try the Meinl President blend and see what happens.