ccolton Senior Member Joined: 23 Jan 2012 Posts: 132 Location: Wilmington DE Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Bezzera BZ07 Grinder: Le 'lit PL53
Posted Fri Mar 30, 2012, 5:24am Subject: Whole Foods just moved in
Hi All,
I visited the new Whole Foods store this week to see what coffees they carry: a few had roast dates and a few had close-by use by dates. Does anyone know these names: Lacolmbe Torrefaction; Garden Valley Farms;The Coffee Scoop; Chesapeake Bay Roasting Company?
JasonBrandtLewis Senior Member Joined: 9 Dec 2005 Posts: 6,099 Location: Berkeley, CA Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Elektra T1 - La Valentina -... Grinder: Mahlkönig K30 Vario -... Vac Pot: Yama 5-cup Drip: CCD, Chemex Roaster: No, no, not another...
Posted Fri Mar 30, 2012, 7:11am Subject: Re: Whole Foods just moved in
Chris, I haven't heard of any of these brands, but the short version is simple: avoid anything with a "Use By" or "Best By" date. If you insist on buying store-bought coffee, regardless of whether it's from Whole Foods, the corner grocer, or Wal-Mart, make sure there is a "Roasted On" date on the bag . . . and never buy from a bin!
ccolton Senior Member Joined: 23 Jan 2012 Posts: 132 Location: Wilmington DE Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Bezzera BZ07 Grinder: Le 'lit PL53
Posted Fri Mar 30, 2012, 12:13pm Subject: Re: Whole Foods just moved in
Hi Jason,
Good advice, as usual.
Right now I am drinking Red Bird decaf and espresso and I love both. The wholefoods that opened up is carrying local brands, some of which have "roasted dates" and some do not. One that I did not mention was Green Street, which had a roast date. They are located in Philly so I will try to visit them. If I do, I will report back.
No, I don't care about buying locally, just checking out the new store to see what they have.
mitch236 Senior Member Joined: 7 Nov 2003 Posts: 64 Location: Delray Beach Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Linea Single Group (PID,... Grinder: Mazzer Robur E
Posted Fri Mar 30, 2012, 12:52pm Subject: Re: Whole Foods just moved in
La Colombe is local to Philly. I've been there and it was ok, not great but I've heard they are trying to improve.
Aside from that, I would only consider buying beans if they had roast dates that were within a week. I never trust "use by" dates as that's meaningless.
Posted Fri Mar 30, 2012, 3:05pm Subject: Re: Whole Foods just moved in
Hey Chris, I too like Red Bird in fact I ordered two pounds on Monday and was following the USPS tracking service and they are lost. It went from Clarksburg, WV yesterday to Warrendale, PA today. Its going NORTH instead of SOUTH to North Carolina no wonder the USPS is in such trouble...... :^) they need better compasses or GPS.
ccolton Senior Member Joined: 23 Jan 2012 Posts: 132 Location: Wilmington DE Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Bezzera BZ07 Grinder: Le 'lit PL53
Posted Sat Mar 31, 2012, 3:41am Subject: Re: Whole Foods just moved in
Hi Mitch - thanks. I will avoid La Combe based upon your advice. I should also mention that I called about the roast dates not being available and the conversation was not what I expected - along the lines of, we do post it, it's the use-by date. Not very helpful.
Hi Gery, I hope you still have some coffee leftover from a previous order! A Saturday morning without coffee is even worse than a weekday morning. I think my next order to Jeff will include Blue Jaguar. Funny, now that I have turned to the "Dark Side," according to Jason in a previous note, an apt comment, two things have happened: coffee I thought was good, *$, is no longer palatable, and I now want to keep trying new coffees! I think I have developed some kind of addiction.
Stuart Senior Member Joined: 9 Feb 2012 Posts: 113 Location: TX Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Breville Dual Boiler Grinder: Baratza Vario Roaster: Air Crazy popper
Posted Sun Apr 1, 2012, 12:11pm Subject: Re: Whole Foods just moved in
The Whole Foods near me has one brand that includes roast dates. I bought some to show my support for this practice. Unfortunately, it was not one of the better coffees I've had this year. I think WF tries to partner with local roasters, but so far most of the unfamiliar stuff still has an expiration (or "best by") date, not a roasted-on date.
TonyVan Senior Member Joined: 24 May 2010 Posts: 269 Location: Pacific Northwest Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: GS/3, La Pavoni Grinder: Macap M7K, Rocky Drip: Kone
Posted Sun Apr 1, 2012, 4:16pm Subject: Re: Whole Foods just moved in
You can also call the local roaster and ask how they determine their "best-by" dates. Most roasters will tell you the truth and you can simply subtract back to the roasting date.
You can also check with the coffee manager at the store you're considering. You'll likely be told, for example, that XYZ Coffee always comes in on Thursday and is roasted the previous day (usually a coffee manager is happy whenever customers care enough to ask, and I've never run into an evasive or dishonest one.) Then you can check the shelf knowing when the freshest ones came in. Local roasters with serious views about quality will often collect any unsold product from previous deliveries - but those who do that are also the ones most likely to date the roast instead of stamp a BB date.
ccolton Senior Member Joined: 23 Jan 2012 Posts: 132 Location: Wilmington DE Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Bezzera BZ07 Grinder: Le 'lit PL53
Posted Thu Apr 5, 2012, 8:42am Subject: Re: Whole Foods just moved in
Ha! You did indeed - I just didn't know how dark the dark side was! I thought I could at least still drink *$ and the like under dire circumstances; e.g., while traveling. Well....I cannot! Now, I am not blaming you for this change, after all, you're just the messenger, but..
All kidding aside, I wonder why there aren't more coffee houses that serve good espresso.
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