Coffee Bean Shop: What No One Is Discussing

Five Brooklyn Coffee Bean Shops

If you're a coffee connoisseur, then you will want to visit a coffee bean shop. These shops offer a variety of whole beans from around the world. These stores also offer unique trinkets, kitchenware, and other products.

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

Porto Rico Importing Co.

Veteran coffee retailer specializing international brews and a variety of loose teas

The aroma of freshly roasting beans fills the air once you enter this West Village shop. Open sacks of dark-brown beans are displayed on the shelves alongside jars of sugar as well as coffee-making equipment and tea accessories.

Porto Rico, originally opened in 1907 by Italian immigrant Patsy Albonese. Greenwich Village at the time was witnessing a surge of Italian immigrants, who opened businesses to meet their food needs. Albanese named her shop after the renowned Puerto Rican coffee she imported (and sold) - a beverage so famous at the time that even the Pope was a fan.

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 roasts its own beans and offers wholesale distribution to 350 restaurants in NYC and Brooklyn.

Peter Longo, current owner and president, grew up in the family bakery located on Bleecker Street, where his father ran Porto Rico. He continues to run the shop in a similar manner as his father and grandfather.

Sey Coffee

The shop is located along Grattan Street in Morgantown, Brooklyn's Bushwick neighborhood, Sey Coffee is both a coffee shop and roaster. Tobin Polk, Lance Schnorenberg and their co-founders of 33 years, began roasting coffee in the loft on the fourth floor, just across the street, in the year 2011. They named it Lofted Coffee. Local clients included Greenpoint's Budin, and Soho cart services Peddler and coffee bean shop Peddler.

Sey's preference for buying micro-lots, or coffee bean shop even whole harvests, from single farmers has earned it the respect of New York City coffee enthusiasts. In the past they made a six-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 floated to remove any imperfections. They were then dried on the farm after a 36-hour dry fermentation. The result is a cup that is a little berry and melon.

Sey's focus on holistically improving the quality of life for staff, customers, and growers extends beyond the retail store. It utilizes composts and biodegradable disposables in order to keep waste from the landfills. This helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and also nourish the soil. It also does away with gratuity, which places baristas in the position to help sustain their livelihoods and inspire them to concentrate on their craft.

La Cabra

La Cabra is a modern specialty coffee company that was founded in Aarhus, Denmark in 2012. It began with a tiny store and a dedicated staff. Their innovative and honest approach to providing an outstanding coffee experience has earned them a devoted fan base not just in their hometown but all over the world.

La Carba follows a strict process to find their perfect beans. They scour through hundreds of beans each year in order to select the beans that best meet their standards. They roast them lightly, dialing in their desired flavor profile. This gives the coffees a more vibrant taste and clarity.

The East Village store, which opened in the month of October last year and has been praised by critics for its premium pour-overs, as well as the baked goods, which are overseen by Jared Sexton. He previously worked at Bien Cuit, Dominique Ansel as well as other coffee establishments.

The shop utilizes the La Marzocco Modbar and the cups plates and bowls are crafted by Wurtz ceramics, a father-and son studio located in Horsens. In a recent Q&A interview with Atlanta Coffee Shops, General Manager Ian Walla reveals that La Cabra serves about 250 different coffees a year, and typically has seven or eight coffees available at any given point.

The Roasting Plant Coffee

The Roasting Plant is the only multi-unit retailer of coffee that roasts its own coffee and brews to order, with each cup of coffee roasting and brewed to your specifications in less than a minute. It searches far and far to find the finest, directly sourced specialty beans that offer customers a variety and quality.

Their on-site roaster utilizes fluid bed technology that is a bit different to traditional drum-type machines found in many UK coffee houses. The beans are blown in an enclosed box that is heated and has high-speed air, which is circulated. This keeps the beans in suspension and allows for a consistent roasting rate.

I tried the Sumatran coffee and it was delicious with a velvety mouthfeel. Dark chocolate scent was present. The coffee began to cool while you sipped delicate citrus flavours fruit were evident.

The roasted coffee will then be poured into the Eversys Super-Automatic Brewing Machines and brewed according your preferences in less than a minute. Customers can pick from nine single origins and a variety blends.

Parlor Coffee

In 2012, the company was established in the back of a barbershop with an espresso machine with a single group, Parlor Coffee has become an energizing roastery whose coffees are sold at top cafes, restaurants and home brewers across the city. Parlor is committed to procuring high-quality coffee beans from across the globe Each one has been through a long and difficult journey before it reaches the hands of its roasters.

In their own words the owners "have a relentless passion for craft and believe that good coffee should be accessible to everyone." They accomplish that with their down-to-earth streetscape that is a mix of residential and commercial. Think compost bins, a chalkboard welcome handmade up-cycled items, and low-frills deco.

They roast and brew their own blends and single-origins (there were six at the time I was there) However, they also offer cuppings on Sundays, which are open to the public. Imagine it as a brewery tasting room, where you can taste and smell the ground beans. They vary from earthy to chocolatey (one was almost like tomato!). It's a bit away from the main roads, but well worth the trip.