best dark roast coffee beans in Berkeley / Oakland area

[Robert Lauriston]

Either Peet's quality has dropped a bit in recent years or my palate has changed. Combined with their ever-higher prices I don't feel like I'm getting the value I used to, so I'm searching for something better than Peet's, or as good but cheaper.

I thought Cole Coffee's New Guinea espresso roast was on a par with Peet's but more expensive.

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Cole Coffee
3179 College Ave, Oakland, CA 94705

[Robert Lauriston]

The winner is Peet's Major Dickason at $8.75 a pound from Costco. I don't think it's as good as it was a few years ago, but I like it better than any of the others I tried.

[luciemom]

How would the Major Dickason's be to use in the fill-it-yourself Keurig pods? And what grind would be best to use? My parents bought one of those machines and realized how bad the coffee is that comes with it. So they've acquired a filter and I'm not sure what to tell them as far as grind. They're big Costco shoppers.

[Robert Lauriston]

Probably the best coffee they'll find at Costco.

[oakjoan]

We've been buying San Francisco Bay French Roast in 3 lb. packages from COSTCO. It's under 20 bucks for 3 lbs and we like it a lot.

Anybody else tried it?

[lmnopm]

It is perfectly decent coffee for the everyday pot.

[Robert Lauriston]

I posted about it above. OK but I'll pay the buck or two a pound extra for the Dickason.

[Robert Lauriston]

Finally remembered to buy some beans at Philz. The Ether, despite being billed as one of their "strongest tasting blends," seemed very smooth and mellow. Better than what I've been drinking. I also got some Julie's and some Jacob's to try.

[Robert Lauriston]

Julie's, don't like as much as the Ether. Bland, slightly unpleasant, reminds me of Folger's.

[Robert Lauriston]

For the record, I liked the Jacob's the best of the three.

[goldangl95]

Glad you tried it out! Jacob's is our home's go to blend from Philz - we are very happy with how the drip coffee comes out.

[Brandon Nelson]

Espresso and other "Italian roasts" are not "dark", they are by defintion "medium".

[poser]

No, Italian roast although lighter than French roast is still considered dark, and for the most part unsuitable for espresso. As for espresso being a roast level, that is also incorrect. Espresso is a brewing method not a roast level. You can brew espresso with any bean, but, you are correct most beans and blends that are used for espresso are roasted to a medium level.

[Brandon Nelson]

As far as the roasting trade goes "Italian" is a "medium" roast. "Dark" roasts all have a certain of carbonization, if you will. It is that situation that defines them as "dark" they are more shelf stable than medium roasts, but have sacrificed some complexity in the process. True "espresso" roast is in fact an "italian" roast.

i have done barista training with David Schomer (Vivace) and cupping with Rich Marianni (Wolfe). These guys have forgotten more about coffee than most of the world will ever know. Both these fellows have said the same thing about roasting profiles as I have above.

[Robert Lauriston]

"Italian roast" means different things to different people. I've seen from 440F (maybe in Milan) to 510F (!).

http://www.sweetmarias.com/roasted.pi...

[poser]

If you have done barista training, you should know there is no such thing as an espresso roast.

[Brandon Nelson]

Hence the quotes. Sorry if I was unclear. "Espresso" roast was used in the OP, it was repeated for the sake of clarity.

Dickenson, Vita, Foglifter, and Coles new guinea espresso roast are not trade terms. Their definitions are limited to the producer or retailer that gave them that nickname.

Roasting degrees do have some trade parameters. That will surely vary from region to region, as the language and do as well.

[Robert Lauriston]

In my experience, at most places that have an Italian roast, it's the darkest they sell. Old-school espresso is roasted dark, most third-wave coffee roasters never go that far.

https://www.sweetmarias.com/library/c...

[TopoTail]

"French" and" Italian" roasts are an American term, and in my experience French roast is generally darker than Italian. In Italy, it depends on where you are. In the south, the roasts tend to be fairly dark, and most bars pull ristrettos--very short shots with a lot of body and a lot of crema.

As you move to the north, the roasts become lighter and the shots longer. In Trieste, they serve lungos--long shots that tend to be more acidic than in the south (when you roast beans darker, you eliminate some of the acid, along with the lighter floral and spicy notes favored by Third Wave roasters here). The shots served in the north are more like what one generally gets here: not nearly so much body as in the south, less crema, and at least twice as much in the cup.

(The first proper espresso I ever tasted was in Naples, and I still prefer a medium to dark roast ristretto.)

[Robert Lauriston]

As they say in Rome, north of Viterbo, it's all Germans, and the coffee's disgusting.

[Mission]

I don't fancy the four barrel!

[Robert Lauriston]

Turns out of all the local dark-roast beans I've tried in the past year I'm least disappointed by Trader Joe's Bay Blend, which judging from the label is meant to be a Peet's / Starbucks style. Currently a bit under $9.50 a pound.

Still have to get around to trying Philz. I'd happily pay more for coffee as tasty as what I used to buy from Peet's.

[twocents]

I forgot to ask if you've tried McLaughlin's Max's Blend (available at Cole). This was my standard French roast I bought consistently for 10 years or so prior to my conversion to third wave city+/full city. I had discovered it as Bette's Blend at Bette's Oceanview. It's been a while, but it was one of the cheaper blends, about $12/lb last I tried. Could be a little uneven, I felt about 1 in 20 batches were over-roasted.

For myself, I've been drinking a lot of De La Paz single origin. The roast quality they achieve in these lighter beans makes me think the darker roasts (their espresso blend) might be very nice indeed. But they will be more expensive, $14-16 per 12 oz.

[sugartoof]

"For myself, I've been drinking a lot of De La Paz single origin. The roast quality they achieve in these lighter beans makes me think the darker roasts (their espresso blend) "

The regular single sourced dark roasts won't do it, but yes, if you drink the espresso blends as a coffee they'd work. Just maybe more uniqueness and not the Peets Coffee taste the OP wants. Bicycle Coffees dark roast would also work.

[Robert Lauriston]

I tried a bag Costco's San Francisco Bay French Roast. Not bad but a step down in quality from TJ's, though also cheaper, a bit under $7 a pound.

[goldangl95]

Should try Philz. Yes the blends have mysterious contents, but they have plenty of medium and dark roast blends to pick from. One caveat, is the ordering process is chaotic, and as they expand, I find the barrista quality has become uneven

[Robert Lauriston]

I'll put Philz on my shopping list. I keep forgetting when I'm over there. I was just across the street yesterday.

[Robert Lauriston]

I'm currently trying Weaver's Legacy Blend. Best coffee I've had in a while. Ought to be good, at $20 a pound. I'll try some of their other blends.

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/830425

[rworange]

Wish i tried some of the coffees you've mentioned so i know how to compare. Here's what I've tried of Weaver's to date

Aged Mocha Java as mentioned in the tread. It is a dark roast but personally not something i'd buy again. It is just me. People coming into the shop that day were salivating because this was being served.

My favorite is the organic French roast which is a little smoother than the regular French roast.

I'm not sure if the bag i have labeled as house blend is the same as the Legacy. i liked the House blend a lot.

Peru - eh. The Peruvian at Catahoula was so excellent that this didn't compare favorably.

Guatemala - it would appeal to Guatemalans ... bland and tasteless. However, i like dark roasts and this isn't it ... and i'm just sick of Guatmala in general so that might be coloring things. .

I have no clue how much it sells for in markets and you did ask for Berrekely/Oakland. However, I paid

29 dollars for two and a half pounds at the San Rafael shop with the bulk discount and included a cappuchino I ordered.

[Robert Lauriston]

House Blend is something else. I'll probably try it next as it's the cheapest.

[rworange]

Thinking about this, it might be worth a one time trip over the bridge to the shop. First of all, the assistant barista there is really knowagable. Not that i know everything about Central American coffee, but he was just so on target about what I did know. So he'd be good to talk to about what you are looking for. Also John Weaver is there.

Also, they have those bulk bins which give you a chance to sample so you are not committed to a pound.

Lastly, everthing is available in the back, so they probably would sell you any you were interested in bulk.

[TopoTail]

I was walking by Cole's the other day and decided to give it a try again. The last time I tried their coffee was several years ago, and I'm pretty sure it's under new management now. On my earlier visit the only "flavor profile" I could detect was char from some serious over roasting. This time I noted that the beans were quite dark but didn't have a hint of oil, which I took as a good sign.

Anyway, I have been forced to switch to decaf for health reasons and ordered a decaf macchiato. While the roast was too dark to leave any of the more subtle tastes one gets with a lighter roast, there wasn't a hint of char, and I found it quite an enjoyable coffee, if somewhat one dimensional due to the roast profile. But what really surprised me was that it didn't taste like decaf. It tasted like real coffee. I'm going to go back and buy some to experiment with using my espresso setup.

It's not local, but another excellent source of dark roast coffee is Caffe d'Arte in Seattle. They offer a range of espresso blends, but even their "light" Firenze blend is quite dark. Their darkest, Taromina, as I remember it, is similar to the Cole's I had the other day--dark but smooth and no char. Looks like they're charging $11.95/lb. these days.

[rubadubgdub]

I've found Philz is a great alternative. They always seem to have some special for $10/lb and they specialize in blends for Melitta/drip. I haven't priced Mr. Espresso recently but I think they're cheaper than Peet's and very nice as well (at BBowl in vacuum sealed bags)?

[Robert Lauriston]

I noticed that the (Oregon St.) Berkeley Bowl had two bins of Jeremiah's Pick Fogbuster, which I figure means they go through a lot of it, so I'm trying it. I like it about as well as Peet's, and it's only $9 a pound.

http://www.jeremiahspick.com/our-peop...

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Berkeley Bowl
2020 Oregon St, Berkeley, CA 94703

[Robert Lauriston]

One more random difference between old and new Bowls: the latter has only house-brand coffee in the bins, and its limited selection of pre-bagged Jeremiah's did not include Fogbuster.

[escargot3]

I'm curious to hear what you think of the BB jeremiah's Pick Fogbuster. Or what your latest choice of coffee is.

[Robert Lauriston]

That's what I've been drinking. I like it fine.

They don't carry it at the West Bowl, so I got a pound of their dark roast full bodied house coffee, it's similar if not the same.

[lmnopm]

Does Monterey Market carry the Fogbuster?

[Robert Lauriston]

I've heard they carry Jeremiah's Pick. MM's not convenient for me so I haven't looked.

[Robert Lauriston]

Bag-your-own beans at both Bowls are now $10. The West Bowl is convenient to my new job so I bought a pound of the darkest house roast. I prefer the Jeremiah's Pick Fogbuster (original Bowl only).

I'm not thrilled with it but haven't found anything that tastes like what I used to get from Peet's. I tried a couple of kinds of Peet's recently, my old 101-Sulawesi blend and Major Dickason's, and didn't like them as well. The only coffee I've had recently that really tasted like coffee to me was some decaf Major Dickason's, but it's pretty different from the regular. Weird.

[twocents]

I've actually been going the other direction myself- went to single-cup preparation and have moved from French roast towards the thirdwave city roast style, paying $12-15 for those 12 oz bags they all favor. However, I was wondering if you've tried the Allegro brand that Whole Foods sells as their house bulk stock- the Oakland branch always has several variations, including 2-3 very dark roasts. I tried some in the summer and it seemed pretty decent for a dark roast. Mostly $10-13 for the full pound, and because it's bulk you could buy small amounts to try.

[abstractpoet]

Have you tried the Yirgacheffe beans from Kefa Coffee in Oakland? I don't think it's a dark roast per se, but it is an earthy, full-bodied coffee that might appeal to a dark roast drinker. That's been my favorite for take-home French press use. Price is probably on par with Peet's.

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Kefa Coffee
422 29th Ave, Oakland, CA 94601

[SerenaE]

I like coffee beans from the Country cheese store (next to Monterey market). It is an unpretentious little store with an amazing collection of coffe beans, tea, spices, and most of all chocolates. They have the best prices for most items too. Don't know about what kind of roast they have for coffee beans though.