10 Things We Hate About Coffee Bean Shop

Five Brooklyn Coffee Bean Shops

If you're a coffee connoisseur You'll want to visit the coffee shop. These shops offer a variety of whole beans from all over the world. They also sell unique kitchenware and trinkets.

Some of these shops offer subscriptions to their coffee beans. Some shops offer these in large quantities.

Porto Rico Importing Co.

Veteran coffee seller specializing in international brews, as well as a variety of loose teas

The scent of freshly roasting beans fills the air when you walk into this West Village shop. Open bags of dark-brown beans line the shelves, along with sugar jars, coffee-making equipment as well as tea accessories.

Porto Rico, originally opened in 1907 by Italian immigrants Patsy Albonese. At the time, Greenwich Village was seeing an increasing number of Italian immigrants who established businesses to serve their culinary needs. Albanese named the shop after the popular Puerto Rican Coffee she imported and sold - a drink that was so popular that at the time, even the Pope would drink it.

Porto Rico offers 130 different varieties of beans, which includes beans from all over the world, at three locations, including Bleecker Street, Essex Market, and online. Porto Rico roasts their own beans and offers wholesale distribution to 350 restaurants in NYC, Brooklyn and Brooklyn.

Peter Longo, the current president and owner of the business was raised on the top floor of his family's bakery located on Bleecker Street where his father operated Porto Rico. He continues to run the shop in the same way as his father and grandfather.

Sey Coffee

Sey Coffee, a coffee shop and roaster is located on Grattan Street, in Morgantown. This Brooklyn neighborhood, in the Bushwick district is situated on Grattan Street. Co-founders Tobin Polk and Lance Schnorenberg, both 33 started roasting in the fourth-floor loft around the corner at their new location in 2011 under the name Lofted Coffee (with local clients including Greenpoint's Budin and Soho cart service Peddler).

Sey's preference for buying micro-lots, and even whole harvests from single farmers has earned him the respect of New York City coffee enthusiasts. In the past, Sey bought a six-bag micro lot of Danilo Dones Sitio Catucai from Brazil's Espirito-Santo region. The beans were picked when they were ripe and then floated to eliminate any imperfections. They were then dried on the farm after a 36-hour dry fermentation. The result is a cup with hints of berry, lemongrass, and melon.

Sey's goal of holistically improving the well-being of employees, customers and growers extends beyond the shop. It makes use of biodegradable plastics and composts, keeping waste out of landfills and turning it into substances that reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions and feed the soil. It also does away with gratuity, which puts the baristas in a position to sustain their livelihoods and encourage them to focus on their craft.

La Cabra

La Cabra is a modern specialty coffee business that was founded in Aarhus, Denmark in 2012. They began with a small shop and a dedicated team. Their honest and innovative approach to providing a superior coffee experience has earned them a devoted fan base not just in their home town but all over the world.

La Carba has a rigorous process for finding their perfect beans, searching through hundreds of different varieties every year to locate the ones that fit their ideals. They roast them light, adjusting the desired flavor profile. This gives the coffees a more vibrant flavor and clarity.

The East Village store, which opened in October last year was praised for its excellent pour overs, as well as the baked goods, overseen and managed by Jared Sexton. He previously worked at Bien Cuit, Dominique Ansel and other coffee establishments.

The shop is equipped with a La Marzocco Modbar and the cups plates and bowls are designed by Wurtz ceramics, a father/son studio located in Horsens. In  speciality coffee beans , Atlanta Coffee Shops General Manager Ian Walla revealed that La Cabra serves 250 different coffees per day, and has usually seven or eight varieties available at any one time.

The Roasting Plant Coffee

The Roasting Plant, a multi-unit retailer of coffee, roasts and brews the coffee on site. Each cup is brewed and roasted according to your specifications in less than one second. It scour the globe for the finest specialty beans that are directly sourced to give customers the option of choices and high-quality.

Their onsite roaster is a fluid bed device, that is distinct from the classic drum machines used in UK coffee shops. The beans are blown in a heated container with high-speed and circulating air. This keeps the beans suspended and allows for a consistent roasting rate.

I tried the Sumatran coffee and it was delicious with a smooth mouthfeel, dark chocolate from the fragrance was evident and the coffee began to cool as you sipped the coffee. The subtle scents of citrus fruit were evident.

The coffee that has been roasted will be taken to the store's Eversys Super-Automatic brewing Machines and brewed according your specifications within less than a minute. Customers can choose from nine single origins as well as different blends.

Parlor Coffee

Parlor Coffee was founded in 2012 behind a barbershop, with a single espresso machine. It has since evolved into a bustling coffee roastery, with beans that can be found in great cafes restaurants, cafes, and home brewers all over the city. Parlor is committed to sourcing top-quality beans from around the globe, each of which has had to endure a lengthy journey before it reaches the roasters.

The owners, who are self-described as "passionate about their craft and believe that a good cup of coffee should accessible to everyone," have created a place that is a bit more grounded with chalkboards, compost bins, up-cycled hand-made products, and low-frills decor.

They roast their own blends (there were six when I was there) and single-origins, however they also hold cuppings on Sundays that are open to the general public. Imagine it as a tasting area where you can smell and taste the ground beans. They vary from earthy to chocolaty (one was almost like tomato!). It's a little off the beaten path but worth the journey.