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Whole Foods just moved in

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Discussions > Espresso > blends > Whole Foods just...

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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, 8:49am
Subject: Re: Whole Foods just moved in

Hi Stuart,

Yes, I believe that will be the case here as well. I called a few of the roasters and had a good conversation with one: Green Street. I cannot comment about his abilities as a roaster, but he is enthusiastic and seems knowledgeable. He is planning to showcase his coffees at the local wholefoods soon - I think I will wait until then to try it.

Still drinking Red Bird, and loving it, and First line's MidMorning roast which we also really like.

Chris

Stuart Said:

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.

Posted April 1, 2012 link

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, 8:52am
Subject: Re: Whole Foods just moved in

Hi Tony,

Good advice - thanks. I have been trying some of your suggestions with some success. I agree that the coffee managers are responsive - after all, they will get my business and the business of anyone I refer.

TonyVan Said:

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.

Posted April 1, 2012 link

Chris

gbastiani
Senior Member

Joined: 18 Dec 2008
Posts: 253
Location: North Carolina
Expertise: I live coffee

Espresso: QM Andreja Premium
Grinder: Cimbali Junior
Drip: Crusinart

Posted Thu Apr 5, 2012, 6:13pm Subject: Re: Whole Foods just moved in

Hey Chris the answer is no to both. No I don't have left over beans and no coffee Saturday morning. It did arrive Saturday afternoon so I was able to have some espresso Saturday night, two doubles in fact. I liked their Blue Jaguar but I like the Red Bird a little better so I got two pounds in my last order. Can't beat the price and amount seems like all of the other roaster just offer 12 oz bags. The only other one that I order from do offer a upgrade from a 12 oz bag to a 1 lb bag but then it's 4.00 more and they are Deep Cello. I see by your profile you live in Wilmington, I live about 25 miles from the other Wilmington..............NC......... :^)

Gery Bastiani

naimnut
Senior Member

Joined: 13 Jul 2011
Posts: 66
Location: Seattle area
Expertise: I live coffee

Espresso: Expobar Brewtus II
Grinder: Baratza Vario
Drip: Braun Aeromaster

Posted Fri Apr 6, 2012, 9:32am Subject: Re: Whole Foods just moved in

The local WF in our area carries a fairly large variety of locally roasted coffees, many of which carry a "roasted on" date. Additionally, they do have bins of coffee which include a potentially confusing "bin filled on" date. I mention this because initially I was confused and before reading and then pondering what this meant I mistook it for a sign of being fresh roasted. Yes, it's sorta fresh roasted, just not nearly as fresh as those with the roast date on the bag. Having said that, when I asked an employee about this, who happened to be working in the adjacent coffee kiosk, he invited me to take some home for free to try it and handed me a sticker that allowed me to take it through the checkout stand at no cost. He even let me fill the bag myself and I could have taken as much as I wanted. Frankly, this was a very generous thing to do, and they ended up on the losing side of the transaction as I never want to drink that particular coffee again. Well, maybe I'm being too harsh... Anyway, my experience is that the WF pays attention to freshness and tends to deal locally. With a little trial and error you may be able to find a worthwhile coffee through them. I still prefer to buy directly from my local roasters, though.

gbastiani
Senior Member

Joined: 18 Dec 2008
Posts: 253
Location: North Carolina
Expertise: I live coffee

Espresso: QM Andreja Premium
Grinder: Cimbali Junior
Drip: Crusinart

Posted Fri Apr 6, 2012, 5:54pm Subject: Re: Whole Foods just moved in

Whole Foods stores must be a West coast thing, haven't seen any in the south / southeast. But we do have our Piggly Wiggly's in the south.

Gery Bastiani

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 Fri Apr 6, 2012, 8:54pm Subject: Re: Whole Foods just moved in

Their headquarters is in a whole 'nother country, actually -- Austin, TX. There's a location in Birmingham, Alabama; there are a few in Florida but I know that's not "the South," four in Atlanta (again, not The South), two in Marietta, one in Duluth, GA; one each in Baton Rouge, Metairie, and New Orleans; several in North Carolina; a couple in South Carolina; four in Tennessee; and a few in Virginia. I was disappointed when I moved to Texas. No Piggly-Wigglys down here. I haven't seen other supermarkets embrace the concept of specialty coffee at all -- beyond the horrid bins of who-knows-what flavored with anisette and rosewater. But availability of specialty coffee in a supermarket is a Good Thing, right? (my local has coffee from a SCAA-accredited roaster, but the bags they place in the supermarket have Best By, not Roasted On imprinting. And they're not my favorite.) After bouncing around to some SO roasts, some coffees never really meant for espresso, and some blends that didn't quite make it, I've gone back to Cuvee Coffee's Spicewood 71 blend. This is good, good stuff; if a bit on the "comfort" side of the aisle rather than the "adventure" side. The Handsome Coffee "Scout's Honor" espresso blend is good, don't get me wrong, but at least as I was extracting it the shots were kind of on the BRIGHT side. Not balanced. (I didn't try a 22g ristretto at 205F -- that might be tasty, but the Italians would argue it's not espresso. It's also not feasible with the baskets available to me.) Cuvee's Spicewood 71 is, for me, a good balance between comforting dark/sweet flavors and citrusy up-front attention-getters. Their site says "Sweet melon fades into toffee and caramel with an orange citrus balancing a malt chocolate body" -- I get the citrus, the caramel and the chocolate, but maybe not the melon. (how does "toffee" differ from "caramel," anyway?)

ccolton
Senior Member

Joined: 23 Jan 2012
Posts: 132
Location: Wilmington DE
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: Bezzera BZ07
Grinder: Le 'lit PL53

Posted Tue Apr 10, 2012, 9:24am
Subject: Re: Whole Foods just moved in

Hi Gery,

My Wilmington is okay, but I prefer yours! My wife, two kids and two dogs, spent a couple of weeks just off the ICW aboard our boat on a long-term cruise several years ago - we loved it there. At some point, we plan to move South or South and East. We love the eastern shore of MD, but also love VA, NC and SC.

gbastiani Said:

I see by your profile you live in Wilmington, I live about 25 miles from the other Wilmington..............NC......... :^)

Posted April 5, 2012 link

Thanks for your reply.

Chris

ccolton
Senior Member

Joined: 23 Jan 2012
Posts: 132
Location: Wilmington DE
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: Bezzera BZ07
Grinder: Le 'lit PL53

Posted Tue Apr 10, 2012, 9:31am
Subject: Re: Whole Foods just moved in

naimnut Said:

The local WF in our area carries a fairly large variety of locally roasted coffees, many of which carry a "roasted on" date.

Posted April 6, 2012 link

Same here, naimnut. I just hate wasting money when I have so many great recommendations from members of this site.

naimnut Said:

Additionally, they do have bins of coffee which include a potentially confusing "bin filled on" date. I mention this because initially I *was* confused and before reading and then pondering what this meant I mistook it for a sign of being fresh roasted. Yes, it's sorta fresh roasted, just not nearly as fresh as those with the roast date on the bag.

Having said that, when I asked an employee about this, who happened to be working in the adjacent coffee kiosk, he invited me to take some home for free to try it and handed me a sticker that allowed me to take it through the checkout stand at no cost. He even let me fill the bag myself and I could have taken as much as I wanted. Frankly, this was a very generous thing to do, and they ended up on the losing side of the transaction as I never want to drink that particular coffee again. Well, maybe I'm being too harsh...

Posted April 6, 2012 link

I was confused as well by that, and like you, took some home (although I paid!) and have since thrown out the rest.

naimnut Said:

Anyway, my experience is that the WF pays attention to freshness and tends to deal locally. With a little trial and error you may be able to find a worthwhile coffee through them.

I still prefer to buy directly from my local roasters, though.

Posted April 6, 2012 link

I am with you - if by local you mean the internet!

Thanks for your reply.

Chris

ccolton
Senior Member

Joined: 23 Jan 2012
Posts: 132
Location: Wilmington DE
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: Bezzera BZ07
Grinder: Le 'lit PL53

Posted Tue Apr 10, 2012, 9:39am
Subject: Re: Whole Foods just moved in

Hi Stuart,

Stuart Said:

" -- I get the citrus, the caramel and the chocolate, but maybe not the melon. (how does "toffee" differ from "caramel," anyway?)

Posted April 6, 2012 link

First, I have no idea! I know what I like and can taste differences in coffees but could never describe them the way they are described by the roaster. I could also not be a wine maker - again, I know what I like, but...

Anyway, I find, that in general, I like to grind a little finer, add a little more coffee and take a lot longer to extract a shot - maybe 19 grams over about 40 seconds for the one I am drinking now - first line's mid morning. It's mild if extracted in the 27 second range. Still mild the way I extract, but deeper and very tasty!

Thanks for replying.

Chris

gbastiani
Senior Member

Joined: 18 Dec 2008
Posts: 253
Location: North Carolina
Expertise: I live coffee

Espresso: QM Andreja Premium
Grinder: Cimbali Junior
Drip: Crusinart

Posted Tue Apr 10, 2012, 4:07pm Subject: Re: Whole Foods just moved in

Just saw on the news today that a Whole Foods is being built here in Wilmington, NC. will have to see what they will carry if there isn't anything good I'll just stick with Red Bird, CCC, Deep Cello. The bad thing about buying at the store then I'll have to pay sales tax and it's 8% here. Yesterday I had to go to the grocery store and bought some stuff and got sticker shock. Milk is the same price as gas.

Gery Bastiani

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