Mostly, I get my beans from Sweet Maria's and from the Green Coffee Buying Club. But I have used local sources, aside from City Bean, who, at less than a mile from my place, are darn convenient (plus they have a pretty good Brazil Natural that they don't list on the site which they use as a base for their house espresso roast and I've convinced them to sell me as greens). I've gotten beans locally from a number of places. I list them here by order of closeness to my mid-city location.
Ethiopian Markets on Fairfax: Never been able to find exact origins of the various beans that they sell, but 2-5 lb bags of greens are available in several of the little Ethiopian markets that dot Fairfax between Olympic and Whitworth. Not going to be Idido Valley, but they've been generally decent.
Ti-Georges' Haitian Restaurant: Glendale Blvd. between Court and Temple - Georges' family owns a coffee farm on Haiti. He roasts the beans in house and sells greens if you ask nicely. Not your cheapest choice, but good quality. They're much like other Caribbean island beans - on the mellow side. Make a nice drip pot or a softening note in an espresso blend.
Supreme Bean in North Hollywood: Great beans, well sourced, not cheap, as their business is roasting for others, not selling greens. But they have very good, occasionally excellent greens. Worth getting to know.
Jones Coffee: Raymond Ave. in Pasadena. Jones is a great coffee resource. Chuck Jones' family has owned a coffee plantation in Guatemala for several generations and his grandfather used to work with Alfred Peet. Decent assortment of greens (once again, not the cheapest, as green sales are not his reason for existence), and the occasional classes he does there are well worth while. I've done the Intro to Cupping and Home Barista classes there and learned a lot. I wish he'd start doing more advanced cupping classes and a roasting class.
I'm sure there are others, but these are the ones I've used.
farmroast Senior Member Joined: 13 Jul 2006 Posts: 1,417 Location: Amherst MA. Expertise: I like coffee
Espresso: Oly:Cremina,Maxi. MCAL... Grinder: Majors, Dienes Vac Pot: Hellem10 Drip: CCD, and more Roaster: 1kg. DreamRoast
Posted Sun Dec 11, 2011, 10:02am Subject: Re: best prices for green
I buy most of my beans from SM. I really appreciate their business model. There are no better advocates for home roasting than Tom, Maria and crew. I'm willing to support their direct trade approach as well as their beyond comparison education efforts. For overall value they can't be beat IMO. I do occasionally buy an interesting lot offered by other vendors but not to merely save a couple bucks. I do also appreciate the efforts of the Green Coffee Buying Club. A great group who deeply care about coffee and the amateur coffee community. They also support coffee farmers through Coffee Kids and did a nice collection this fall for a co-op mill in Guatemala that was heavily damaged in a storm.
ladius Senior Member Joined: 5 Jul 2009 Posts: 12 Location: LA Expertise: I like coffee
Espresso: Pasquini Livia 90 semi Grinder: Mazzer Super Jolly
Posted Sun Dec 11, 2011, 10:48pm Subject: Re: best prices for green
Awesome info, thanks! I'll check those places out.
I go to Jones Coffee in Pasadena a few times a month and took their barista class and learned a lot, love that place. Yeah, if they offered a roasting class, I would absolutely go.
GVDub Said:
Mostly, I get my beans from Sweet Maria's and from the Green Coffee Buying Club. But I have used local sources, aside from City Bean, who, at less than a mile from my place, are darn convenient (plus they have a pretty good Brazil Natural that they don't list on the site which they use as a base for their house espresso roast and I've convinced them to sell me as greens). I've gotten beans locally from a number of places. I list them here by order of closeness to my mid-city location.
Ethiopian Markets on Fairfax: Never been able to find exact origins of the various beans that they sell, but 2-5 lb bags of greens are available in several of the little Ethiopian markets that dot Fairfax between Olympic and Whitworth. Not going to be Idido Valley, but they've been generally decent.
Ti-Georges' Haitian Restaurant: Glendale Blvd. between Court and Temple - Georges' family owns a coffee farm on Haiti. He roasts the beans in house and sells greens if you ask nicely. Not your cheapest choice, but good quality. They're much like other Caribbean island beans - on the mellow side. Make a nice drip pot or a softening note in an espresso blend.
Supreme Bean in North Hollywood: Great beans, well sourced, not cheap, as their business is roasting for others, not selling greens. But they have very good, occasionally excellent greens. Worth getting to know.
Jones Coffee: Raymond Ave. in Pasadena. Jones is a great coffee resource. Chuck Jones' family has owned a coffee plantation in Guatemala for several generations and his grandfather used to work with Alfred Peet. Decent assortment of greens (once again, not the cheapest, as green sales are not his reason for existence), and the occasional classes he does there are well worth while. I've done the Intro to Cupping and Home Barista classes there and learned a lot. I wish he'd start doing more advanced cupping classes and a roasting class.
I'm sure there are others, but these are the ones I've used.
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