I stand corrected, but still, I doubt this supply could sustain the demand from the full European market? I also have my doubts on whether the climates on offer in Spain/The canaries are ideal, given coffee’s quite particular climate demands.
Local roasters is the way! I can get world class specialty coffee beans in countless roasting profiles just buying nationwide. Market stuff is shit once you try it.
I’ll go one step further. Buy green beans from an importer and fresh roast them yourself. You can roast in an oven, or buy something like the SR540 or SR800. Best coffee of your life and you will learn to appreciate and fine tune everything to your tastes.
The key to great coffee is buying good beans. Personal taste is subjective, but I go crazy for ethiopian. Kenya and Burundi are also frequently very good. Jamaican Blue Mountain is very good, but not worth the price except as a small treat. Kona is trash. Sumatra is just meh to ok. Colombian Supremo is ok, and the price is fair for what you get.
You will learn how med and dark roast pre-ground coffee from the supermarket is trash. Once you taste great coffee, you can’t go back. You know what you’re missing.
I absolutely agree but will caution against going down the rabbit hole of amazing coffee.
I get locally roasted beans and grind them myself. I WFH so I can take a 15 minute break often to get a lovely cup of caffeine. The offset is getting coffee from anywhere else makes me sad at my cup. Tears don’t help the flavor at all.
I feel like buying freshly roasted from local roasters and grinding it yourself gets you most of the way there, getting good equipment to roast yourself is both costly, hard and a bit inconvenient.
The locally roasted coffee already beats the supermarket coffee by a large margin, how much can I really expect to gain by roasting myself?
You are absolutely right. Fresh roasted with a quality grinder gets you all the way there for sure.
For me, the lower cost of green beans has over time paid for the roaster. I also buy green beans in 15lbs bags or larger, so it is more capital intensive, but green beans stay fresh for a long time. The clock starts ticking on coffee only after you roast them. Inflation has been on a hell of a tear, so buying more in advance has lowered my cup cost considerably. When I’m drinking the last of an order, I can’t buy coffee anywhere near that price I originally paid. I also avoid frequent trips to a roaster that isn’t near me or multiple shipping fees for weekly deliveries. I order large amounts usually 1-3 times a year. Large orders shipping is usually free.
You can always just roast in an oven, it’s just more fuss and fiddly. My hot air fluid bed produces perfect results every time, and like I said, all my gear has paid for itself over time.
What I personally feel I gain from the additional setup is the ability to fine tune my roasts to the bean. I can conveniently introduce variety based on my stash of green bean varieties sitting in a cupboard. It’s like a delicious hobby that never feels like work. I look forward to my biweekly roasting session.
Guests also know I serve a great cup of coffee. ;)
Look for small artisanal roasteries in cities (The Barn in Berlin is decent, as is Roast in Copenhagen); they’ll charge slightly more, but the beans will be top notch.
What are the European alternatives?
I mean, as far as beans go, they will just not be grown in Europe.
As for roasters, I’d encourage you to look to your local roasters. Freshly roasted and freshly ground beans make for significantly better coffee.
We actually do have EU-grown coffee beans, though not that much. In Spain there’s one. The Canary Isles also have some.
I stand corrected, but still, I doubt this supply could sustain the demand from the full European market? I also have my doubts on whether the climates on offer in Spain/The canaries are ideal, given coffee’s quite particular climate demands.
Local roasters is the way! I can get world class specialty coffee beans in countless roasting profiles just buying nationwide. Market stuff is shit once you try it.
I’ll go one step further. Buy green beans from an importer and fresh roast them yourself. You can roast in an oven, or buy something like the SR540 or SR800. Best coffee of your life and you will learn to appreciate and fine tune everything to your tastes.
The key to great coffee is buying good beans. Personal taste is subjective, but I go crazy for ethiopian. Kenya and Burundi are also frequently very good. Jamaican Blue Mountain is very good, but not worth the price except as a small treat. Kona is trash. Sumatra is just meh to ok. Colombian Supremo is ok, and the price is fair for what you get.
You will learn how med and dark roast pre-ground coffee from the supermarket is trash. Once you taste great coffee, you can’t go back. You know what you’re missing.
I absolutely agree but will caution against going down the rabbit hole of amazing coffee.
I get locally roasted beans and grind them myself. I WFH so I can take a 15 minute break often to get a lovely cup of caffeine. The offset is getting coffee from anywhere else makes me sad at my cup. Tears don’t help the flavor at all.
Ignorance is bliss.
I’m honestly not that bothered by coffee at the lower quality end. I’ll still enjoy a cup of instant when the situation requires it.
I do get to take particular pleasure in good coffee though, and that I am very grateful for.
That’s good. Back when I was on r/coffee it was a known issue.
I feel like buying freshly roasted from local roasters and grinding it yourself gets you most of the way there, getting good equipment to roast yourself is both costly, hard and a bit inconvenient.
The locally roasted coffee already beats the supermarket coffee by a large margin, how much can I really expect to gain by roasting myself?
You are absolutely right. Fresh roasted with a quality grinder gets you all the way there for sure.
For me, the lower cost of green beans has over time paid for the roaster. I also buy green beans in 15lbs bags or larger, so it is more capital intensive, but green beans stay fresh for a long time. The clock starts ticking on coffee only after you roast them. Inflation has been on a hell of a tear, so buying more in advance has lowered my cup cost considerably. When I’m drinking the last of an order, I can’t buy coffee anywhere near that price I originally paid. I also avoid frequent trips to a roaster that isn’t near me or multiple shipping fees for weekly deliveries. I order large amounts usually 1-3 times a year. Large orders shipping is usually free.
You can always just roast in an oven, it’s just more fuss and fiddly. My hot air fluid bed produces perfect results every time, and like I said, all my gear has paid for itself over time.
What I personally feel I gain from the additional setup is the ability to fine tune my roasts to the bean. I can conveniently introduce variety based on my stash of green bean varieties sitting in a cupboard. It’s like a delicious hobby that never feels like work. I look forward to my biweekly roasting session.
Guests also know I serve a great cup of coffee. ;)
In Portugal we have Delta Café. Probably you can find it in Germany.
Look for small artisanal roasteries in cities (The Barn in Berlin is decent, as is Roast in Copenhagen); they’ll charge slightly more, but the beans will be top notch.
Dallmayr Classic is pretty good, it’s made in Germany
The supermarket house brand is always an option, and it’s cheaper too.
For Albert Heijn that would be Perla, I’m not sure about Jumbo and the others.