 What are espresso coffee beans?
Actually, there is really no such thing as an espresso coffee bean
per se. "Espresso" refers to the method of making the coffee, not
to the bean itself. However, many coffee roasters market
particular roasts as "espresso roast", using beans that have qualities
that are conducive to the production of crema. Many think of an
espresso roast as being dark, but this is also not necessarily the case.
The main thing to look for in a roast that is going to be used for
making coffee using the "espresso method" is that it generates good
crema. Other than that, you need to find a blend that appeals to
your personal taste, be it a light, medium, or dark roast.
How I Improved My Espresso Coffee and Saved Money by Buying Quality
Espresso Beans Online
I personally prefer to buy my espresso coffee beans online not only
for convenience and price, but also because it gives me access to
specialty bean roasters. Over the years I have purchased online
from various sources, including
Green
Mountain Coffee Roasters,
Peet's Coffee,
Sovrana Store,
and more recently
Cafe Maison
and
Espresso Vivace Roasteria. I have found them all to be
reliable. Of course, Sovrana, Cafe Maison, and Vivace are much
smaller than GMCR and Peet's, but they lack nothing when it comes to
service and quality. Sovrana always had my order on my front porch
within 2 days, but I guess they have an advantage in that they are
located close to where I live. They actually are not coffee
roasters, but resellers of the Italian brand known as "Lavazza".
 Cafe
Maison provides more of a personal touch. They roast their own
beans, and your order comes with a label attached to the bag that says
"Roasted for..." with your name inserted. The packaging is plain
clear plastic (at least in the case of the 5lb bags I always have in my
order), but who cares when their roasts are superb in my point of view.
Each of their 3 espresso roasts make great crema. At the time of
writing, if your order is over $75 and you live in the lower 48 United
States, you qualify for free UPS ground shipping. I always take
this option as my typical order is for 10lb of coffee which just tips
the $75 scale. If you do take this option, though, bear in mind
that it may take up to a week for your coffee to arrive, so plan ahead;
you don't want to run out, right!
Another great roaster I happened upon recently is
Espresso Vivace Roasteria based in
Seattle. While visiting Seattle recently, I was given a bag of
their Vita espresso roast, and it
 was exquisite in flavor and crema
production. I just ordered 3lb of beans from them, including the
Vita roast and their other espresso roast called "dolce". I must
say that both are good, but that my personal preference is for "vita".
Of course there are many other options available out there.
Illy always gets
rave reviews, but I personally think you have to pay too much for the
brand in that case. Cafe Maison actually advertises as making
roasts that taste just like Illy's. Right now for my favorite
online coffee bean retailer, it's a toss up between
Cafe Maison and
Espresso Vivace
Roasteria. Both roast excellent espresso beans and offer great
service and reasonable pricing. Please note that I have absolutely no
affiliation with Cafe Maison nor Espresso Vivace other than as a
satisfied customer of both.
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