I had no idea that Nestle bought them. I was buying from local, independent roasters previously but found that it’s easier to be on a subscription service vs having one more errand to run on the weekends when I have time to track down things.
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Yeah, I wanted to mention it, just in case, because I know many people are still not aware. And if they were aware, they would choose to get their coffee elsewhere.
Here are three of my favorite independent coffee roasters in SoCal. They all offer online ordering and will ship the beans to your door.
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Aquarela | Brazilian specialty, farm-direct, microroasted coffees
https://www.splacoffee.com/shop
Free delivery! -
The Boy & The Bear | Colombian coffees
https://theboyandthebear.com/collections/coffee -
The Conservatory | All kinds of coffee & tea
https://the-conservatory-for-coffee-tea-cocoa.myshopify.com/collections/all-coffees
I don’t use subscription services because I can’t get through the beans fast enough, but I am sure someone can recommend a good source.
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In addition to the great options above, Trinity CBC, Arcade, Unity, and Go Get Em are all good LA-adjacent roasters who offer subscription services.
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I live solo and I go through 1 bag of beans every 2 weeks. That’s just making one very large cup a day in my Bialetti Moka. I haven’t checked out Aquarela or Boy and Bear previously, but I will do since I tend to prefer south/Central American coffee. THX!!
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That must be a BIG Moka pot! 
I have a 3-cup Moka pot that has been my weapon of choice recently.
Those roasters have excellent options! Options that are consistent with traditional profiles, but also other options with more modern profiles (e.g. more acidic, lighter roast, different process methods) too!
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hehe-- it’s a 9 cup pot. I pour it into one of those XL Starbucks mugs. I usually drink about 3/4 of it and that’s my coffee for the day. I really like the smooth/slightly richer mouth-feel of coffee from the Moka and it’s stronger than drip, but more like a really good cup of coffee compared to an espresso.
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Warrior. I would say Cafe de L’ambre is a destination-worthy place in Tokyo, as much for the experience as for the decades-old coffees. It is an eccentric, bohemian coffee shop oddly located in Tokyo’s counterpart to Beverly Hills (Ginza). Barrel-aged coffee sounds interesting! Will have to try that. I’ve had barrel aged chocolate — it worked.
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If you guys can get on the subscription list Trystero Coffee is great. I was a member several years ago but let it lapse when I moved and still regret it. They sell their beans at Spoke Bicycle Cafe and Highland Park brewery once in a while.
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I’ve only had an espresso God shot twice in my life and both times were at Portola coffee. I’ve being around trying to recreate that experience at different places, but I’ve yet to experience it again. At the time, I think Portola was using a $15,000 custom Slayer espresso machine, so maybe it was more the machine and not the beans, or most definitely the skills of the barista. I don’t know if they have it anymore.
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ok-- I finally got around to cancelling my Blue Bottle subscription and I just signed up with Trade Coffee to try them out for a couple of months. Price seems fair for single origin (a bit less than Blue Bottle and FREE shipping) and they sell beans from a variety of small roasters. My 1st bag is coming from Dune Coffee Roasters in Santa Barbara and is a bag of beans from Honduras.
They actually have a little questionnaire that you fill out initially (your brewing method, add-on in your cup, flavor preferences, etc) to help them pick beans that match what you like a little more accurately vs sending everybody the same beans from the same roaster. I feel better to not have the Nestle connection, so thanks again for the heads up. I’ll let you know how this works out!
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not driveable per se, but certainly worth the ~$40 shipping cost, any of the beans from Diego Bermudez roasted by Manhattan (Manhattan Coffee Roasters, dayglow sometimes carries their beans). it seems like every other coffee these days is some fancy process anaerobic blahblah, but Diego has taken it to a whole other level experimenting with different types of yeast. it’s wildly different than anything else i’ve tasted; the listed tasting notes are literally there - you don’t have to do any mental work to halfway imagine them - but it’s also probably not an everyday-type coffee. i’ve only had the beans as roasted by Manhattan, and they’re all far better as espresso than filter, but stereoscope also roasts some Diego beans (the two they have from Colombia)
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Haha, I love how keying in on anaerobic fermentation is blahblah, but keying in on different yeasts cool. Yeasts are the catalyst of fermentation. I think experimentation with yeasts is awesome. I also think experimenting with allowing air into the ferment (aerobic), not allowing air in (anaerobic), the length of fermentation, etc is all exciting. No need to look down one’s nose at anaerobic experimentation…
no shade for anaerobic at all! diego is also using a complex fermentation process post-yeast, but i find all the different fermentation processes to be inscrutable in terms of specific types of processes produce specific features in flavor profile, whereas if the difference between two different beans is just the yeast, i can get my head around that and more directly appreciate the impact of that specific variable…
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ok. Right on. I have not seen any coffees that highlight the different yeasts used in fermentation, so I am definitely interested in these Diego beans. In sake production, the use of different yeasts usually express themselves most in the aroma. Is it the same for coffee?
EDIT: also, Aquarela has a coffee from Brazilian fermentation specialist Luiz Paulo right now. Here he is talking about fermentation and yeast:
https://www.instagram.com/p/COdsGC-BtsE/
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I had a chemex pour of this coffee from Aquarela this afternoon! It rules. Really interesting full-bodied chocolate fudge, with a hit of that sort of fruity acid on the backside. Fun stuff, need to go back and try the other two specialty beans they have right now.
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These beans are very floral and fruity not in a good way. There is an odd off putting flavor in the coffee I can’t detect. Roasted last week of December so they’re not old. I’ve had other MT beans and they’ve been good to great. We bought a different bag of beans to cut the taste and it’s been tolerable. This is what us beer nerds would call a drain pour.
that sounds like a weird combo of beans (as far as origin) Ethiopia, Columbia AND Guatemala.
I did not notice the different regions but that is an odd combo. Maybe that’s contributing to the not good aroma and taste?
Possibly. I tend to favor Central/South American beans and not sure I’d want to mix them up with African beans. I didn’t know that Modern Times even made coffee…lol… just beer.
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ok-- I’m on my 3rd bag of coffee from Trade and I’ve been happy so far. My current bag is an espresso blend of Peru, Brazil, and Ethiopia beans from Temple roasters in Sacremento…so I guess blending from different continents is a thing…lol. It’s very smooth, creamy and balanced. My previous bag was from Novo in Denver and the beans were from Panama…so far I’ve liked everything they’ve sent me.
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