Coffee Bean Shop: What's No One Is Talking About

Five Brooklyn Coffee Bean Shops

If you're a coffee connoisseur You'll want to check out a coffee bean shop. These shops sell a range of whole beans from around the globe. They also have unique trinkets and kitchenware.

Some of these shops offer subscriptions to their coffee beans. Others sell the beans in bulk at their retail locations.

Porto Rico Importing Co.

Veteran coffee seller specializing in international brews as well as a range of loose teas

When you step into this traditional West Village shop, the aroma of freshly roasting beans fills the air. The shelves are filled with jars and sacks of dark brown beans, with coffee shop-making equipment, tea accessories and sugar.

In 1907, the first time it was opened, Porto Rico was founded by Italian immigrants Patsy Albanese. Greenwich Village at the time was witnessing an influx of Italian immigrants, who set up businesses to cater to their culinary needs. Albanese named the shop after the popular Puerto Rican Coffee she imported and sold - a drink that was so well-known in the present, that even the Pope would drink it.

Today, Porto Rico sells 130 varieties of beans from around the world at three locations in New York City including their Bleecker Street location, Essex Market and online. Porto Rico also roasts its own beans and provides wholesale distribution to 350 restaurants in NYC and Brooklyn.

Peter Longo, the current owner and president of the business was raised above his family's bakery located on Bleecker Street where his father operated Porto Rico. The owner continues to run the business in the same way like his father and grandfather.

Sey Coffee

Sey Coffee, a coffee roaster and shop, is located along Grattan Street, in Morgantown. This neighborhood in Brooklyn's Bushwick district is located on Grattan Street. Tobin Polk, Lance Schnorenberg and their 33-year-old co-founders started roasting coffee in an apartment on the fourth floor just across the street in 2011. They called it Lofted Coffee. Local clients included Greenpoint's Budin and Soho cart services Peddler and Peddler.

Sey's reliance on micro-lots -- or even whole harvests from a single farmer has been praised by highly discerning New York City coffee aficionados. In the past they made a 6-bag micro-lot purchase of Danilo Dones Sitio Catucai 785 from Brazil's Espirito Santo region. The beans were picked at their peak ripeness and then steamed to eliminate any imperfections. They were then dried on the farm after a 36-hour dry fermentation. The result is a blend with hints of berry lemongrass, and melon.

Sey's mission extends beyond the shop to improve the overall health of staff and farmers, as well as customers. It uses composts and biodegradable disposables to keep waste out of the landfills. This helps reduce greenhouse gases as well as nourish the soil. It also reduces gratuity. This lets baristas concentrate on their craft and support their livelihoods.

La Cabra

La Cabra, a modern specialty coffee company, was established in Aarhus in Denmark in 2012. It began with a tiny store and a team of dedicated employees. Their innovative and honest method of providing an exceptional coffee experience has earned them a loyal following, not just in their own town and across the globe.

La Carba follows a strict procedure to identify their ideal beans. They search through hundreds of lots each year in order to select the beans that best meet their standards. They then roast them very light, adjusting the desired flavor profile. This results in clearer and more vibrant taste.

The East Village store, which opened in October last year was praised for its high-quality pour overs as well as its baked goods, coffee bean shop overseen by Jared Sexton. He previously worked at Bien Cuit, Dominique Ansel and various coffee houses.

The shop uses a La Marzocco modbar and the plates and cups are designed specifically for Wurtz ceramics in Horsens, the son and father studio. In a recent interview, Atlanta Coffee Shops General Manager Ian Walla revealed that La Cabra serves 250 different coffees a yea and typically has seven or eight coffees available at any one time.

The Roasting Plant Coffee

The Roasting Plant is the only multi-unit coffee retailer which roasts on-site and brews to order with each cup of coffee being roasted and brewed according to your preferences in less than a minute. It searches the world for the highest quality specialty beans that are directly sourced to give customers the option of the option of choice and quality.

The roaster they have on site is a fluid bed machine, that is distinct from the traditional drum machines commonly found in UK coffee shops. The beans are blown around a heated box by high-velocity air which keeps the beans suspended and allows roasting to happen in a steady manner as they move through the machine.

I tried the Sumatran Coffee and it was incredibly rich and velvety with a smooth taste. Dark chocolate was evident from the aroma. As you sip the coffee you could smell subtle citrus fruit aromas.

The roasted coffee is then whisked to the store's Eversys brewing machines that are super-automatic and can be you can have your coffee brewed to your specifications in just a few minutes. Customers can pick from nine single origins and a variety blends.

Parlor Coffee

Parlor Coffee was founded in 2012 behind a barbershop, with a single espresso machine. It has since developed into a burgeoning coffee roastery, with beans that can be found in a variety of great cafes restaurants, cafes, and home brewers across the city. Parlor is dedicated to sourcing high-quality beans from all over the world, each of which has had to endure a lengthy journey before it reaches the hands of its roasters.

The owners, who self-described as "passionate about their craft and believe that great coffee should accessible to everyone," have created a space that is down-to earth and filled with chalkboards. There are compost bins, recycled handmade products, and a minimalist interior.

They roast their own blends (there were six when I was there) and single-origins, but they also have cuppings on Sundays, which are accessible to the public. Imagine it as a brewery tasting area where you can smell and taste the beans as they are roasted. They vary from earthy to chocolatey (one was similar to tomato!). They're away from the main roads, but it's worth the trip.