ASFx Senior Member Joined: 12 Sep 2009 Posts: 20 Location: Las Vegas Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Aeropress Grinder: Baratza Vario Drip: Keurig B70
Posted Sun Sep 27, 2009, 1:16am Subject: Coffee roasters in Las Vegas
I've been trying really hard to find a decent cafe in Las Vegas and that didn't work out, so now i'm on a quest to find a local coffee roaster that's still in business.. it seems like Las Vegas is cursed when it comes to coffee..
Here are the four roasters I found while digging around on Google and other various sites... I think only one of them has a working website. I'm going to call them all on monday and see which ones are still alive. I'll report back. I hope at least one is still in business ;)
Coffee Roasters of Las Vegas (closed) 6672 Boulder Hwy, Ste 6 Las Vegas, Clark, Nevada 89122 (702) 435-9338 - DEAD http://www.coffeeroastersoflasvegas.com/ - DEAD
The Whole Bean (closed) 3441 W Sahara Ave Las Vegas, NV 89102 (877) 536-5662 - DEAD http://www.thewholebean.com/ - DEAD
Sweeney's Gourmet Coffee Roasters 3441 West Sahara Avenue Suite B1 Las Vegas, nv 89102-6058 (702) 558-0505 - DEAD
Green Valley Coffee Roasters 2925 E Patrick Lane STE C Las Vegas, NV 89120 (702) 818-5589 - Not roasting coffee anymore "we are a distribution warehouse" http://www.gvcoffee.com/
JasonBrandtLewis Senior Member Joined: 9 Dec 2005 Posts: 6,098 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 Sun Sep 27, 2009, 8:08am Subject: Re: Coffee roasters in Las Vegas
Uh . . . yeah.
From Green Valley Roasters' website:
Experience the difference of fresh roasted coffee. It is a well know fact within the coffee industry that once coffee is roasted, it only stays fresh for about a month. Once the coffee is ground, it goes stale with in just a few days! Regardless of the packaging or the storage method, it just isn’t possible to maintain the freshness that comes from newly roasted coffee.
Yeah. Roasted coffee goes stale in about 15 days; ground coffee goes stale in about 15 minutes.
I understand the desire to find a good café in Vegas. There isn't one. (Best espresso I've ever had in Vegas was at Casa Fuente in the Forum Shops. Odd, I know.)
But I do not understand the need to find a good roaster in Vegas. There are too many great roasters out there who will ship their beans to you the same day they are roasted, and you'll get them within 2-3 days . . . why not do that?
ASFx Senior Member Joined: 12 Sep 2009 Posts: 20 Location: Las Vegas Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Aeropress Grinder: Baratza Vario Drip: Keurig B70
Posted Sun Sep 27, 2009, 11:04am Subject: Re: Coffee roasters in Las Vegas
JasonBrandtLewis Said:
But I do not understand the need to find a good roaster in Vegas. There are too many great roasters out there who will ship their beans to you the same day they are roasted, and you'll get them within 2-3 days . . . why not do that?
The main problem for me is paying so much extra for shipping. I'm unable to meet the minimum purchase to qualify for free shipping in most places because i'd need to buy 5lb of beans or more. I'm the only regular coffee drinker in the house and I can't go through that much within 2 weeks. Also even if I do qualify for extra shipping, I have to pay extra to get it within two days. If I allowed them to use UPS ground, it would take 4-6 days.
Since i'm in Las Vegas, heat is also a factor if I order coffee during the summer. The boxes sit in the back of the hot UPS or Fedex trucks all day during the delivery route, and sometimes it can be up to 120 degrees. I figured if I could find a local roaster, i wouldn't have to deal with these issues.
Paying $9 extra every time I want 2lb of coffee is exactly what i'm trying to avoid by finding a local roaster though.
I'm paying $20 for the 2lb of coffee, then the $9 shipping accounts for nearly 50% of the coffee itself. It's just not efficient for me. Maybe if I had more coffee drinkers in the house, it would make more sense to buy in bulk, but that's not the case.
OK, so $20 + $9 = $29 to get your two pounds shipped. Let's just round everything up and say the coffee costs you $30 for two pounds -- heck, let's say it ends up costing you $40! to get it delivered.
One pound of coffee = 16 ounces = (approx.) 454 grams.
Let's say you pull formulaic shots of 14 grams -- you would get a maximum of 32 shots with a little left over . . . let's say you waste some coffee: call it 30 doubles per pound. $20/lb divided by 30 double shots is 66.667˘ ($0.667) . . .
Your mileage may vary, but 67˘ per double doesn't seem like a lot of money to me for great espresso.
Cheers, Jason
ASFx Said:
I'm paying $20 for the 2lb of coffee, then the $9 shipping accounts for nearly 50% of the coffee itself.
ASFx Senior Member Joined: 12 Sep 2009 Posts: 20 Location: Las Vegas Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Aeropress Grinder: Baratza Vario Drip: Keurig B70
Posted Sun Sep 27, 2009, 2:50pm Subject: Re: Coffee roasters in Las Vegas
67 cents per double is definitely not a lot, but idea of shipping costing me half as much as the coffee is what bothers me no matter how the math is done. I would rather have more of my dollars go towards coffee, not shipping.
Back to the topic of local roasters in Las Vegas though, i'm excited to call them all tomorrow and find out which ones are still in business. I plan on visiting all the ones that are still in business (hopefully it's more than one) then reporting back here.
Personally, I'd rather not have to spend the money either, but . . . .
Just remember: it's about what's in the cup, how it tastes. Given the espresso I've had in Vegas, I just don't have very high hopes for what you'll find.
I hope I'm wrong, but I know what's out there via the net is definitely worth it.
Cheers, Jason
P.S. Real life example: Two pounds from Espresso Vivace ($13.00/lb.) is $26, plus $9.05 USPS. $35.05 for two pounds delivered equals approximately 54.7˘ - 58.4˘. Worth it for me! YMMV.
ASFx Senior Member Joined: 12 Sep 2009 Posts: 20 Location: Las Vegas Expertise: I love coffee
Espresso: Aeropress Grinder: Baratza Vario Drip: Keurig B70
Posted Mon Sep 28, 2009, 10:37am Subject: Re: Coffee roasters in Las Vegas
Well, the situation is pretty grim for local roasters in Las Vegas. ALL of the local roasters in my first post are out of business. Only one had a working phone number and he told me "We are not roasting coffee anymore. We are a distribution warehouse" :(
Posted Mon Sep 28, 2009, 10:55am Subject: Re: Coffee roasters in Las Vegas
I've only been there once, but it seems like the kind of place I wouldn't mind opening the window in all year long. Is buying a Behmor 1600 and roasting your own out of the question?
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