Best coffee roastery in East Bay?

[Maya]

Oakland preferably... but anywhere will do if it's the best!

[Lori SF]

I don't know if it's the best but it was the best coffee I had when I lived over there..I knew it as Royal but I think it's called something different now. They grind and drip beans per order and they have great mochas and lattes. Located on Collage Ave. at 63rd street, near Claremont Ave. in North Oakland.. and there is a good bakery on the same block.

[Robert Lauriston]

Cole (formerly Royal) Coffee doesn't roast its own beans.

[dordogne]

After two decades of buying beans from Peet's, I;ve switched to Cole's (formerly Royal)--their beans have deep, rich flavor without the almost-burnt dark roasting of Peet's. Cole's buys from McLaughlin's, from which you can order online (don't know whether you can buy small quantities of retail on walk-in), but there's rapid turnover at Cole's and beans are usually quite fresh.
http://www.mclaughlincoffee.com/

[heidipie]

Here's the Cole Coffee story: the manager of the Royal Coffee cafe and retail store bought out the store on 63rd and College a couple of years ago, and renamed it Cole. They still buy their beans from Royal, which is a direct importer, now based in Emeryville. Then they get them roasted at McLaughlin, also in Emeryville. Both Royal and McLaughlin are local and "independent." Check out the Royal Coffee blog if you want to read breaking news on the international coffee markets: http://www.royalcoffee.com/

Cole has a featured coffee of the month. Last month's Ethiopian Yergacheffe Organic Fair Trade dark roast was the best coffee I've ever made at home. But they're all out of it now, because it was a low-yield season in Ethiopia (as I read on the Royal blog). But I myself am sold on the Cole/Royal/McLaughlin operation for the foreseeable future.

Hope this helps, Maya.

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Cole Coffee - retail store
307 63rd St, Oakland, CA 94618

[dordogne]

Heidipie, thanks for the highly informative post. I will add that Cole's has a good number of organic and fair trade coffees and often features African beans. I became of a great fan of their Timor organic, unavailable in recent months because of political turmoil in East Timor but rumored to be back soon. The folks behind the counter are great, but you'd do well to stay away from their caps and lattes--the foam is really dismal (for me Peet's is still the gold standard for luscious foam)

[Robert Lauriston]

You should give Blue Bottle a try. They're pretty ambitious. Personally I prefer a darker roast.

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Blue Bottle Coffee Co
1552 Beach St, Emeryville, CA 94608

[JasmineG]

Does Blue Bottle actually serve coffee at the Emeryville location, though?

[Robert Lauriston]

No, they sell beans (which I believe must be ordered in advance). Since Maya's question was about roasters I assumed beans were what she was looking for.

They sell their coffee (drinks and beans) at their kiosk in SF and at the Berkeley Saturday farmers market.

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Blue Bottle Coffee Kiosk
315 Linden St, San Francisco, CA 94102

[Robert Lauriston]

Farmers market link:

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Berkeley Saturday Farmers' Market
Center St and Milvia St, Berkeley, CA

[JasmineG]

They also sell at the Temescal Sunday farmers market, and at the Ferry Building on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

[chemchef]

Robert,
Do you not like Blue Bottle's darker roasts? I couldn't tell from your post.

I have gone through about every coffee I could find at the local stores (Whole Foods & Berkeley Bowl mostly), as well as Peet's, and I like Blue Bottle the best by far.

I have also tried many of the local shops that claim to roast their own or buy beans by a local roaster, and still I prefer Blue Bottle.

I tend to like a rich, dark cup of coffee, but without the bitterness and burnt taste that many of the coffees at local shops exhibit.

[Robert Lauriston]

I've tried Blue Bottle's darkest roasts at their market stand. Too light for my taste.

My usual is Peet's, 50/50 "Blend 101" and Sulawesi-Kalossi, from a shop with high turnover.

[rworange]

On San Pablo Avenue, on the Richmond border is a great new coffee roaster - Catahoula Coffee.

Great roasting machine up front where you can watch the owner roasting his beans.

I think it is a as mentioned, a dark rich cup of coffee, without bitterness and assertiveness. If you like milk or cream in coffee, it brings out a lovely sweetness in the bean.

What I tried to date wasn't as nuanced as Blue Bottle, but my problem with a lot of BB is it is too medium-bodied. The more asseritve brews like the Hayes Valley have an acidic edge I don't enjoy on it's own but works with sweets ... but the reason I drink coffee is to avoid sweets.

Also the owner has a great laid-back attitued. He just wants to make and enjoyable cup. It isn't as overly-serious or fussy as BB ... they don't recommend it, but they will grind your beans if you ask.
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/407468

For the person who was looking for a Cafe Roma experience ... this is better.

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Catahoula Coffee Co
12472 San Pablo Ave, Richmond, CA 94805

[rworange]

Have you tried Mokka on Telegraph?
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/313788

One poster at the link at the end, clued me into the fact that they are now doing a limited serve of started serving this year's Panama Geisha Esmeralda Especial.

I know people want a roastery and this is from Equator. However, it is some sort of absurdly expensive coffee which Equator procured a bag prior the official auction ... or something like that.

The poster in the above link described the brew perfectly ... dead-on ... really, really dead-on ...

"I have no trouble appreciating the sour, fruity, luminous qualities of this drink. If your coffee priority is brightness rather than body, you might find this extraordinary. At $3.50 for a 12 oz. cup, it's an economical way to experience this ridiculously expensive bean."

That being said, it wasn't my cup of coffee.

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Catahoula Coffee Co
12472 San Pablo Ave, Richmond, CA 94805

Mokka
3075 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley, CA 94705

[Maya]

Thanks - I am looking for beans, and I am definitely a darker-roast (actually espresso) person. I'd like to go with an independent place ideally - we love the beans from Roma in North Beach but want a source in the EB too! Blue Bottle is great but not quite up there for my home favorite.

[chemchef]

Unfortunately, the best espresso out there is Lavazza. Its not local by any means, but my husband and I (and my Italian step-father) all agree on this. And, believe me, we've tried them all.

If you find a decent, local espresso bean, I'd love to know about it! We tried Village Grounds for Flying Goat espresso (by recommendation of you 'hounds), but unfortunately either we didn't like the coffee or the barista didn't know how to pull a decent shot b/c it tasted quite bitter. She was well-versed on the coffee and could tell us all that we wanted to know about it, but nevertheless, it didn't convince us to buy it.

[Robert Lauriston]

I've had good espresso at Caffe Trieste in North Beach. I don't think they let amateurs touch the espresso machine there. Dunno about the Berkeley branch.

A very picky friend says the espresso bar at Fellini's in Berkeley does it right.

[chemchef]

yes, my husband and I have had some good espresso at Trieste. We'll have to try Fellini's... thanks!

[Maya]

Now I'm confused - I am trying to find a place that roasts and sells its own beans (dark roast, ideally for espresso, but not an absolute requirement) for home use. Sorry for the confusion. Any help is vastly appreciated!

[TopoTail]

Roasting dark without getting the charcoal taste associated with Charbucks is a real art, and most of the really serious roasters around tend to prefer lighter roasts, which allow the fruity and floral tastes of coffee to come to the fore. (As you roast darker you lose the floral and fruit tastes, lose acid, and gain body.)

I'm intrigued by Robert's description of Cole's current iteration. The last time I went there was several years ago and the only taste I could discern in their espresso was char.

As for the Trieste, I used to like the original when I lived in North Beach in the seventies, but when I've returned more recently the espresso has been hideously overextracted. Same goes for the Berkeley version, which is about a block from my current house. The baristas are clueless and seem to make a practice of running way too much water through the beans, resulting in a really bitter espresso.

My problem with Lavazza, and any other coffee roasted in Italy, is that unless you air ship it directly, it's stale before you buy it. For espresso, you really need to use the beans within ten days of the roast date (though freezing can extend the life).

If you want a dark espresso that's skillfully roasted, try Cafe D'arte in Seattle: http://www.caffedarte.com/page.aspx

They offer four different espressos in the Neapolitan tradition and the price is reasonable even with shipping. I've turned many friends on to them over the years, and 90% of them have become regular customers.

[chemchef]

In addition to losing the floral and fruit tastes, you lose caffeine when you roast darker. This is an important point for many of us!

I'm not sure what to say about Lavazza... I mean, I know in my head that it *should* be stale after the shipping and whatnot, however, the fact that the taste is far superior to many of the local roasters tells me that they must be doing something right. Either that, or I've just been lucky enough to buy from reputable sources that have really good turnover.