Where to get good coffee beans

D

dpandey

Adept
Need help from Coffee geeks. I have recently started brewing coffee and the results have been encouraging. Considering the money I spend at Costa/Starbucks, I am willing to put in the time and money necessary to make good coffee.

There is one problem though. I have not been able to find a good source of coffee beans. I bought a pack from Starbucks but it tasted stale (they are packaged in Seattle and don't show up on Indian shelves until they are a few months old). I tried theindianbean.com but they seem amateurish (their coffee is decent though).

I was wondering if anyone knows good place/website to buy coffee. I am looking for good arabica beans. If I can't find a roasting shop, I will even buy raw beans.

Cheers

PS: I am in east Bangalore.
 
Do you want
a) Green beans
b) Roasted beans that you want to grind at time of brewing
c) ground beans

PS: The reason why you may have felt the coffee stale is because very dark roasts can taste that way
I was in the same boat as you until i realised the trick (for folks used to Dunkin Donuts/Costa) is to use medium roasts
after months of hit & trial , i started using Barista Lavazza - eventually realised it is ridiculous overpriced in India and turns out to be quite expensive in a heavy coffee usage household like mine
eventually settled on mixing 2 parts of CCD light roast (green packs) with 1 part of CCD dark roast (Red pack)

PS: I live in Pune, Bangalore should have better choices - you can try your luck with local suppliers to get you AA or AAA arabica custom roasted and ground

PS: How do you brew your coffee?
 
Thanks sc, right now I am looking for roasted beans. I want to learn roasting, but I am not in a hurry.

I have been experimenting with medium roast. The warm water extraction has been on the sour side (still need to hone my skill) but cold extraction tastes amazing. I wan to try dark roasts next.

Thanks for the Lavazza and CCD recs. I will give them a try. I am hoping to eventually avoid big corporations and find a direct from farm type supplier.

PS: I always assumed the chain stores use dark (they use esspresso machine for extraction).
 
superczar said:
PS: How do you brew your coffee?
Click to expand...

Sorry. Missed this question the first time.

I use manual pour-over with a conical paper filter. I also like cold brewing. Have tried both inside the fridge and at room temperature and prefer the extraction at room temperature (actually I love it).

With an Indian medium roast, my warm water extractions have been too acidic for my taste. I haven't been about to figure out why. I am hoping a dark roast will be more balanced.[DOUBLEPOST=1433266832][/DOUBLEPOST]
Spacescreamer said:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifting-gears/85271-yetiguide-coffee-3.html
Click to expand...

These guys are talking about nescafe and milk and sugar :)
 
Last edited:
dpandey said:
With an Indian medium roast, my warm water extractions have been too acidic for my taste. I haven't been about to figure out why. I am hoping a dark roast will be more balanced.
Click to expand...
while purists swear by paper filter, i would strongly recommend getting a pump espresso

In any case, i suggest try going hot extract with this - http://www.lavazza.in/in/at-home/blends/qualita-rossa.html
followed by
http://www.lavazza.in/in/at-home/blends/caffe-espresso.html
Although once again, a good pump extractor is essential for people who want a quick and hassle free result
I personally use this : http://www.amazon.in/Oster-BVSTEN6601R-049-1050-Watt-Prima-Espresso/dp/B00H34OHIM
The automated foamer is a good to have for non espresso drinkers + times when you want a shot topped with some foam

Saeco makes some good machines as well - If in case you just want to give one a try at a lower cost , Croma too stocks some in-house branded pump machines
Also, stay away from the steam extractors - They come rather cheap but ruin a good bean with their scalding temp extracts
 
Cool, another coffee guy.

I have observed all local coffee shop (typically south indian shops) beans although cheap, hit a typical flavor wall as such and no amount of subtlety in technique can change that. Also most beans are roast to hell and left non airtight containers so no real flavor will be left. They are reasonable for cold brew/ milk drinks.

That brings us to the online sites, they are undoubtedly pricier than the "kumardhara" or coffee board beans, but are still within reason, bluetokai has a couple of varities that actually have berry/fruity notes, indianbean and flying squirrel are also options. They have a roast schedule, and ship the beans as soon as they roast it. So you are guaranteed fresh roasted beans.

If you are looking at international beans - beansnbrews is the only option (apart for starbucks) right now. The beans are very pricey (but justifiably so) A properly brewed yirgacheffe is a berry explosion of awesomeness.

My brewing methods are V60,Aeropress,French Press,Moka Pot, Cold brew, and occasionally turkish. I am currently in search of someone to bring back a lido 2/3 from the us :D
 
dpandey said:
These guys are talking about nescafe and milk and sugar :)
Click to expand...

Read the whole thing. iirc, The thread has in it somewhere from where to procure the beans, (this guy talks about Delhi places to source), how and how much to roast, and finally about storing as well.

I do not have the exact post's link, but it should be in that thread somewhere.
 
I'm from KRPuram, Bangalore..
I usually visit Kothas coffee in shivajinagar to get beans checked and ground to my liking..
using moka pot and planning to order sunflame sf721 (15 bar) espresso.
there is one more coffee supplier near my house.. but need to try them yet..
Interestingly I saw raw beans at him.. so probably can control the roast as well...
 
Thanks guys. Really appreciate your responses. I guess I will try the blue tokai next. I had looked at the flying squirrel website and the funny names they give to coffees doesn't inspire confidence.

There is a Kalmane shop close by, so I will check them out too.

soggy316 said:
My brewing methods are V60,Aeropress,French Press,Moka Pot, Cold brew, and occasionally turkish. I am currently in search of someone to bring back a lido 2/3 from the us
Click to expand...

Wow :) Only tried the V60 and cold brewing so far. I have the Hario mini mill and it works great for small amounts of coffee. But sometimes I have to grind twice to get the right amount. Lido looks nice.

superczar said:
while purists swear by paper filter, i would strongly recommend getting a pump espresso
Click to expand...

Thanks superczar. I will try the Esspresso after some time. I have recently bought the whole Hario set for V60 and want to experiment with it for a while.[DOUBLEPOST=1433308454][/DOUBLEPOST]
soggy316 said:
If you are looking at international beans - beansnbrews is the only option (apart for starbucks) right now. The beans are very pricey (but justifiably so) A properly brewed yirgacheffe is a berry explosion of awesomeness.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip. Starbucks was a disappointment. The coffees they stock are old (packed in Seattle and imported to India). I will give beansnbrew a try sometime.
 
Last edited:
soggy316 said:
I'd reccomend eithe the Nanchammai Estate or the Kaladavepuura PSD - they both have nice berry/fruity flavour especially when made with v60
Click to expand...

I ordered a pack of Monsoon Malabar (Bibi farms, kerala) today morning. Will queue these up for next order.
 
Last edited:
dpandey said:
I ordered a pack of Monsoon Malabar (Bibi farms, kerala) today morning. Will queue these up for next order.
Click to expand...
Cool, I just got the same one this week :) Although they are not mentioning any spice notes - the last MM I had was brilliantly spicy (it was 350/ 100 grams though)
 
Last edited:
Bought a kitchen scale. Takes the guesswork out of coffee/water proportions.

I was wondering what coffee/water proportion you guys use for drip brew. Most web sites mention a proportion of 1:15 or 1:16. However, whenever I do anything higher than 1:12, the coffee turns out thin (no body). I tried grinding the coffee finer but it becomes more bitter than I like. Am I doing something wrong or is my taste different?

I am using v60 pour over system and my coffees are mostly dark roasts (~2nd crack).

2015-06-13-0025.jpg
 
Last edited:
Whatever happened to good old fashioned filter coffee ? leave it in the still, it percolates over hours, boil some milk and mix.

Starbucks cant compete with this.
 
dpandey said:
Bought a kitchen scale. Takes the guesswork out of coffee/water proportions.

I was wondering what coffee/water proportion you guys use for drip brew. Most web sites mention a proportion of 1:15 or 1:16. However, whenever I do anything higher than 1:12, the coffee turns out thin (no body). I tried grinding the coffee finer but it becomes more bitter than I like. Am I doing something wrong or is my taste different?

I am using v60 pour over system and my coffees are mostly dark roasts (~2nd crack).

View attachment 57811
Click to expand...

What is your brew time? aim for 2-2.30 regardless of number of cups, grind size adjusted accordingly. I use coffee/water ratio of ~1:16 to 1:20 and it comes out fine. Also what pouring technique do you use? Bitterness = over extraction = coffee sitting too long in hot water = too fine a grind (for the V60). Try coarsening the grind a little, also if you make it too coarse, the coffee will taste sour.

Brewing methods with paper/cloth filters tend to be brighter with less body and mouthfeel. The cheapest way to get both those is a french press (you can get one for ~600 from CCD). But you need to have a really perfect grind for maximizing the capability of the FP.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top