Is your coffee fresh?
The act of brewing coffee is something that can be continuously varied; water temperature, fineness of grind (or lack thereof), origin of coffee beans, brewing method, and all of the contraptions, gizmos, and apparatuses used to control each of these factors are candidates for tweaking. Coffee beans need to be high quality, properly picked and washed, etc…
The Problem. All of these particulars can be in place, but in the end you can still have a horrible cup of coffee if the beans aren’t fresh. As soon as coffee is roasted it begins dying, losing its precious flavor. One of the largest battle that the coffee connoisseur will fight is that of freshness. It’s hard to find a decently fresh bag of coffee at “specialty” stores like Starbucks or Caribou, not to mention a more easily accessible outlet like a grocery store.
Recently, I’m starting to think I’ve found a solution the freshness problem. Aside from home roasting (which I would like to get into) what one needs is a local roaster. This roaster needs to be close enough, inexpensive enough, and the coffee has to be delicious to be economically viable. Enter Whole Foods.
The Solution. There is a Whole Foods on my commuting route to university. Inside they have a coffee bar in which they freshly roast coffee. Here is the kicker: if you come into the store, they will roast any coffee in their inventory for you while you shop in the store. How awesome is that? It’s like a dream come true for me. The coffee tastes great, and if I want I can brew it the very day it was roasted.
The Beans. Their beans are sourced from a company called Allegro Coffee (Whole Foods must have some sort of partnership deal going on). They carry a variety of rotating single origin and blended coffees. They have roasts ranging from light to dark, and their single origins are especially impressive. The prices range from around $9.99 per pound to $13.99 per pound. If it’s a great coffee I would gladly pay this much.
The Prognosis. I doubt that I will buy coffee only from Whole Foods for the rest of my life, but I’m elated that I one of my most convenient and cost saving options for coffee is also one of the best tasting and freshest. Do you have a beloved local coffee roaster? Share your triumphs of freshness in the comments below.
Special thanks to Julie from AMichiganMom.com for telling me about the coffee bar / roaster at Whole Foods.
#1 by Jamie on August 31, 2010 - 10:05 am
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Whole Foods roasts coffee? I thought they just sold coffee from Allegro, and other various coffee companies?
I guess I will be heading down to my local Whole Foods to check this out.
Great article too. Brewing coffee is like an art. It’s taken me time to figure out all the little tweaks to get the best coffee I can make.
#2 by Mike on September 2, 2010 - 7:06 am
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The coffee that they were roasting at the coffee bar is from Allegro, so I guess they have some sort of partnership.
I think that calling coffee brewing an “art” is right on. There are endless ways to do it, and everyone has their own preferences.
#3 by angelle (Lifestyle Design) on August 24, 2011 - 1:31 am
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Wow, i love coffee.. I am a coffee addict, so what ever coffee is that I will not ignore that…LOL
#4 by Jenn on September 19, 2011 - 9:18 am
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I recently moved and there is a Whole Foods in our neighborhood. I visited them for organic groceries but had no idea they freshly roasted coffee. I always buy organic coffee, as we feel the taste is richer and more full-bodied. Now I will have to check this out at Whole Foods, can’t wait to go back and try it.