Recently I’ve been trying to find my favorite coffee bean. Typically I buy these beans whole and grind them whenever I make myself a coffee. I’m lucky enough to live close to several stores that specialty coffee & tea shops such: Porto Rico Importing Company on Bleecker Street (established in 1907) and Mcnulty’s Tea and Coffee on Christopher Street (established in 1895). From these stores I tried (in no particular order):

  • French Roast Ethiopian Harrar
  • New Orleans Coffee with Chicory
  • Moca Java
  • French Roast Mexican Altura Coatepec
  • French Roast China Yunnan
  • Porto Rico Importing’s Cafe Blend

I also tried a bunch of more commercial brands you can typically find in various supermarkets:

  • Trader Joe’s Medium Roast
  • Trader Joe’s Dark Roast
  • Trader Joe’s Bolivian Blend
  • Kicking Horse Three Sisters
  • Kicking Horse Kick Ass
  • Kicking Horse Grizzly Claw
  • La Colombe Corsica
  • La Colombe Nizza
  • La Colombe Monaco
  • Santo Domingo Coffee
  • Oslo Coffee Odin Espresso Blend

And I tried a few other ones:

  • Kopi Luwak
  • Kismet Coffee Dunewood Roast

So far my absolute favorite beans have been the French Roast Mexican Coatepec, but out of the ones from supermarkets I think the La Colombe Monaco or Kicking Horse Three Sisters or Grizzly Claw. These are good in a Moka Pot but for cold brew which uses a much higher amount of coffee at once I really like the trader joe’s medium roast because it has a good flavor and a good price compared to the others.