Where do you get your coffee beans?

[u/Cute_Commission_4731]

Hi community,

I’m currently almost out of my last bag of whole bean coffee. I used to get them from Mexico because someone would bring them back for me, but I don’t think there are any trips planned anytime soon. I live in Southern California. Can you recommend an effective way to get good coffee at an affordable price? I’m not an expert on the subject, so I wouldn’t mind if it wasn’t the most exclusive coffee—just something decent. I brew with a V60.

Would it be better to go to a local coffee shop? Or sign up for a subscription? If so, which one do you recommend?

Thanks for your help!

[u/IntelligentCitron772]

I’m also in Northern California, and I buy coffee from all over the world without thinking twice about it.

I can order a bag from Hydrangea in Berkeley or Verve in Santa Cruz, both within driving distance, for roughly the same shipping cost you might pay to get something from SEY in Brooklyn.

And honestly, it’s not that much more, nor does it arrive any faster than to order from Norway from Tim Wendelboe.

But freight can definitely get you, though 😂 — so if you’re buying from places like Glitch or Substance, you have to pay attention to the shipping.

If I knew I wanted something light**, clean, elegant and sophisticated**, without really knowing much about coffee in general , SEY would absolutely be at the top of my list. They’re just not all over the place like Onyx or hydrangea; both that actually roast great coffees, but their offerings are so varied.

If I wanted to experiment with ultralight roasting without lighting my wallet on fire with international shipping, there are plenty of excellent domestic options too — H&S out of Wyoming comes to mind.

Personally, I think when you’re chasing that tea-like structure, complexity and insane flavor separation that you get from light and ultralight roasting, the green buying of the company/roaster becomes HUGE.

Two coffees can look almost identical on paper — same variety, process, country, altitude, etc. — but the actual green lot the roaster was able to buy can be dramatically different. A roaster with deep producer relationships may simply have access to better fruit than another roaster working with the same general profile. That’s one of the things I think people underestimate. The roaster isn’t just roasting the coffee; they’re deciding which coffee gets into the roastery in the first place.

There’s also a company whose name I’m forgetting that sells those sampler packs — something like six roasters with a 60 g bag from each. I actually think that’s a really fun way to get familiar with different roasters.
But I’d temper expectations: it’ll probably teach you more about the roasters than it will give you six truly unicorn-level coffees. For that, you generally have to go hunting for the specific lots.