Five Brooklyn Coffee Bean Shops

If you're a coffee lover then you'll want to go to a coffee bean shop. These shops sell a range of whole beans from all over the globe. They also sell exclusive trinkets, kitchenware and other items.

Some of these shops offer subscriptions for their coffee beans. Others offer large quantities of coffee beans at their retail stores.

Porto Rico Importing Co.

Veteran coffee seller who specializes in international brews, loose teas, and a variety.

When you walk into this traditional West Village shop, the aroma of freshly coffee beans fills your nostrils. The shelves are filled with jars and bags of dark brown beans, with coffee-making equipment, tea accessories and sugar.

The first restaurant opened in 1907, Porto Rico was founded by Italian immigrants Patsy Albanese. At the time, Greenwich Village was seeing an increasing number of Italian immigrants who opened establishments to cater to their dietary requirements. Albanese named her shop after the renowned Puerto Rican coffee she imported (and sold) - - a drink that was that was so well-known at the time that even the Pope took a sip.

Today, Porto Rico sells 130 varieties of beans from around the world at three locations in New York City including their Bleecker Street location, Essex Market and online. Porto Rico roasts their own beans and offers wholesale distribution to 350 restaurants in NYC, Brooklyn and Brooklyn.

Peter Longo, current owner and Ground Coffee Beans president, grew up in the family bakery on Bleecker Street, where his father was the owner of Porto Rico. He still runs the shop in a similar way as his father and grandfather.

Sey Coffee

Sey Coffee, a coffee roaster and shop is located on Grattan Street, in Morgantown. This neighborhood in Brooklyn's Bushwick district is situated on Grattan Street. Tobin Polk, Lance Schnorenberg and their 33-year-old co-founders started roasting coffee in an apartment on the fourth floor, just around the corner in the year 2011. The name was Lofted Ground Coffee Beans. Local clients included Greenpoint's Budin, and Soho cart services Peddler and Peddler.

Sey's emphasis on buying micro-lots--or even whole harvests from single farmers earned it the acclaim of discerning New York City coffee aficionados. In 2011, Sey purchased a six-bag micro lot of Danilo Dones Sitio Catucai from Brazil's Espirito-Santo region. The beans were harvested at their peak ripeness and floated to remove any defects. They were then dried on the farm following a 36-hour dry fermentation. The result is a allpress coffee beans that is fragrant with hints of melons and berries.

Sey's commitment extends beyond its shop to improve the overall well-being of staff and farmers, as well as customers. It makes use of composts and biodegradable products to ensure that waste is kept out of landfills. This helps reduce greenhouse gases and nourish the soil. It also does away with gratuity, which places baristas in the position to support their livelihoods and encourage them to focus on their profession.

La Cabra

La Cabra, a modern specialty-coffee company, was founded in Aarhus in Denmark in 2012. They started with a small store and a dedicated team. Their honest and creative approach to providing an exceptional coffee experience has earned them a following not only in their home town however, but across the globe.

La Carba follows a strict process to find their perfect beans. They scour through hundreds of varieties each year to find the ones that best match their ideals. Then, they roast them in a light style then dial them in to achieve their desired flavor profile. This gives the coffees a greater clarity and a more vibrant taste.

The East Village store opened last October with a sleek minimalist style, and has been praised by coffee lovers for its precise pour overs and baked goods, which are overseen by head baker Jared Sexton, who's previously worked at Bien Cuit and Dominique Ansel.

The shop employs a La Marzocco Modbar as well as the cups, plates and bowls are designed by Wurtz ceramics, a father and son studio in Horsens. In a recent Q&A session with Atlanta Coffee Shops, General Manager Ian Walla reveals that La Cabra serves about 250 different coffees a year, and usually has seven or eight varieties on offer at any given time.

The Plant Coffee Roasting Plant Coffee

The Roasting Plant A multi-unit retailer of coffee roasts and brews coffee on-site. Each cup is brewed and roasted according to your specifications within less than a second. It is a search engine for the finest specialty beans that are directly sourced providing customers with the option of choice and quality.

Their onsite roaster uses fluid bed technology, which is quite different from traditional drum-type machines found in the majority of UK coffee shops. The beans are blown around in an enclosed box heated by high-speed air that keeps the green beans suspended and allows roasting to happen at a consistent rate throughout the machine.

I tried the Sumatran coffee and it was rich with an enveloping mouthfeel, dark chocolate aroma was present and the coffee started to cool while you sipped and subtle aromas of citrus fruit were detected.

The coffee is whisked to the store's Eversys super-automatic brewing systems and it is brewed to your requirements in less than a minute. Customers can pick from a variety of single origins and a range of blends.

Parlor Coffee

Parlor Coffee was founded in 2012 in a barbershop with a single group espresso machine. It has since evolved to become a burgeoning roastery, whose coffee beans can be found in a variety of great cafes and restaurants as well as home brewers across the city. Parlor Coffee is committed to sourcing the finest quality beans, which have all undergone a long journey before reaching its roasters.

The owners, who self-described as "passionate about the craft and believe that good coffee should be accessible to all," have created a environment that is simple with chalkboards, compost bins, up-cycled hand-made products, and a minimalist interior.

They roast and brew their own blends and single-origins (there were six on the menu when I was there) They also offer cuppings on Sundays, which are open to the public. Think of it like the tasting room of a brewery. You can smell and taste the beans, ranging from chocolaty earthy (one was almost tomato-like!). They're a bit away from the tourist trail but are worthwhile to visit.