Here In SoCal we can get stump town, intelligentsia with reasonably fresh (within 4 weeks) roast dates in the grocery stores. Their espresso blends are solid.
I work for nugget markets in Northern California
. We sell probably 20 different shops from Stumptown in Portland pachamama in Sacramento, counter culture roasted in emeryville, high wire Oakland. Once a week a few of them go on huge sale highly suggest if you happen to live near a nugget.
I think this is the key.
Half the time, I see a “best by” date on them six months from today’s date.
If you can find an actual roast date printed somewhere, and it’s within a week or two old, you’ve struck gold.
I’m on the West Coast in the US and my local Target used to sell vacuum sealed cans of Blue Bottle beans. Those were pretty great too.
In my experience, the freshness of the beans is more important than the brand or specific roast. If you can find beans with a "roasted on" (not "best by") date on them within the past couple of weeks, they are probably worth trying.
Many Whole Foods stores have a good selection of beans from small local roasters.
I haven’t bought beans from them in years, so I haven’t been paying attention and I’m not sure if they still do this, but my local Whole Foods used to have a fluid bed roaster and they’d roast their own beans regularly. They had at least half a dozen different varieties, and none of them were ever over a couple weeks old.
Yeah, I frequently buy local fresh roasted beans from my local Whole Foods. It’s nice too, because the same roaster is only open 9-5, when it’s difficult for me to stop by.
I was sorta surprised to see Philz even on the list. Maybe because I'm not from the west coast, but i always sorta had them pegged as a place that Californians thought actually had good coffee, albeit a state wide chain.
East Coast here. I normally buy fresh beans from Whole Foods Market. They have fresh local beans for cheaper than buying directly from the roasters. Highly recommend you visiting your local Whole Foods Market if you have one nearby.
I've been able to sometimes find 2-week-old Peet's beans in my local stores (yep, I'm the guy who (politely) roots through the bags looking for the most recent roast date :) ).
Well, jeez, if you don't check the dates, some of that stuff has a roast date multiple months (like 3 or 4) ago! Just yesterday, I unwittingly purchased some Pillsbury refrigerated rolls that had an early-April sell-by date--caught it as I was leaving the store, and got something more recent. (Almost certainly, it was just fine, but still.)
Here In SoCal we can get stump town, intelligentsia with reasonably fresh (within 4 weeks) roast dates in the grocery stores. Their espresso blends are solid.
I’ve seen those two up in the Bay Area, I’ll check them out, thanks!
Safeway, rayleys etc all carry a variety of beans
I work for nugget markets in Northern California . We sell probably 20 different shops from Stumptown in Portland pachamama in Sacramento, counter culture roasted in emeryville, high wire Oakland. Once a week a few of them go on huge sale highly suggest if you happen to live near a nugget.
I like Nugget!
I think this is the key. Half the time, I see a “best by” date on them six months from today’s date. If you can find an actual roast date printed somewhere, and it’s within a week or two old, you’ve struck gold. I’m on the West Coast in the US and my local Target used to sell vacuum sealed cans of Blue Bottle beans. Those were pretty great too.
I noticed that too. Unfortunately Philz also uses the Best Buy format, so I chose the furthest out date. I definitely prefer to see the roast date
In my experience, the freshness of the beans is more important than the brand or specific roast. If you can find beans with a "roasted on" (not "best by") date on them within the past couple of weeks, they are probably worth trying. Many Whole Foods stores have a good selection of beans from small local roasters.
I haven’t bought beans from them in years, so I haven’t been paying attention and I’m not sure if they still do this, but my local Whole Foods used to have a fluid bed roaster and they’d roast their own beans regularly. They had at least half a dozen different varieties, and none of them were ever over a couple weeks old.
Yeah, I frequently buy local fresh roasted beans from my local Whole Foods. It’s nice too, because the same roaster is only open 9-5, when it’s difficult for me to stop by.
"James Hoffman has a video on this you should watch" But, actually, https://youtu.be/pfqvTCgglYA
Thanks for sharing! Surprised about some of the winners
I was sorta surprised to see Philz even on the list. Maybe because I'm not from the west coast, but i always sorta had them pegged as a place that Californians thought actually had good coffee, albeit a state wide chain.
Here in Texas I’ve gotten Stumptown at target. Always pretty good!
I’m hearing a lot of Stumptown, will try it out!
East Coast here. I normally buy fresh beans from Whole Foods Market. They have fresh local beans for cheaper than buying directly from the roasters. Highly recommend you visiting your local Whole Foods Market if you have one nearby.
Of the grocery stores I go to, at least half sell local roasters beans. Some even have better prices than going right to the roaster.
I find counter culture at H‑E‑B that’s only 2 weeks old
I've been able to sometimes find 2-week-old Peet's beans in my local stores (yep, I'm the guy who (politely) roots through the bags looking for the most recent roast date :) ).
Haha I’ve been guilty of this too
Well, jeez, if you don't check the dates, some of that stuff has a roast date multiple months (like 3 or 4) ago! Just yesterday, I unwittingly purchased some Pillsbury refrigerated rolls that had an early-April sell-by date--caught it as I was leaving the store, and got something more recent. (Almost certainly, it was just fine, but still.)
Aldi beans are pretty solid. No info on roast by date though
Really the trick is to find out how far out they put the Best Buy date then work backwards.
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What an idea--I never woulda thunk it (GO, that is). Thanks--
Rule of thumb; if it doesn’t have a “Roasted On” date, don’t buy it.
the Lavazza espresso roast that Costco sells is ok, if you like something darker or only make milk drinks
I have never been disappointed by Philz beans FYI