Five Brooklyn Coffee Bean Shops

If you're a fan of coffee then you'll want to try out a coffee bean shop. These shops offer a variety of whole beans from around the globe. They also have unique trinkets and kitchenware.

Some of these shops offer subscriptions for their coffee beans. Some shops sell coffee beans in large quantities.

Porto Rico Importing Co.

Veteran coffee vendor specializing in international brews as well as a range of loose teas

The aroma of freshly roasted beans fills the air as you walk into this West Village shop. Open bags of dark-brown beans line the shelves, along with jars of sugar coffee bean shop-making equipment, tea and other accessories.

Porto Rico, originally opened in 1907 by Italian immigrants Patsy Albonese. Greenwich Village at the time was witnessing a surge of Italian immigrants, who opened businesses to satisfy their food needs. Albanese named the shop after the popular Puerto Rican Coffee she imported and sold - a beverage that was so renowned at the moment, even the Pope would drink it.

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

Peter Longo, the current president and owner of the business was raised over the bakery of his family on Bleecker Street where his father was the owner of Porto Rico. The owner continues to run the shop in the same way as his father and grandfather.

Sey Coffee

The shop is located along Grattan Street in Morgantown, Brooklyn's Bushwick neighborhood, Sey Coffee is both an espresso bar and a coffee roaster. Tobin Polk, Lance Schnorenberg and their 33-year-old co-founders began roasting coffee in a loft on the fourth floor, just across the street in 2011. They called it Lofted Coffee. Local clients included Greenpoint's Budin and Soho cart services Peddler and Peddler.

Sey's commitment to buying micro-lots or whole harvests, from single farmers has earned it the praise of New York City coffee enthusiasts. The last time Sey was in the market, he 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 imperfections. They were then dried on the farm following a 36-hour dry fermentation. The result is a blend with hints of berry lemongrass and melon.

Sey's commitment to holistically improving the wellbeing of employees, Coffee Bean Shop customers and growers extends beyond the retail store. It utilizes composts and biodegradable disposables to keep waste from the garbage dumps. This helps to reduce greenhouse gases and helps nourish the soil. It also eliminates gratuity, a move that puts the baristas in a position to provide their livelihoods as well as encourage them to focus on their craft.

La Cabra

La Cabra, a modern specialty coffee brand, was founded in Aarhus in Denmark in 2012. They began with a small shop and a committed team. Their innovative and honest method of providing an exceptional coffee shop experience has earned them a loyal following not just in their home town and across the globe.

La Carba has a rigorous process to find their perfect beans, by scouring through hundreds of different varieties every year to find ones that are perfect for their tastes. They roast them in a very light style and dial them in to achieve their desired flavor profile. This gives their coffees clearer and more vibrant taste.

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

The shop uses the La Marzocco Modbar and the cups plates and bowls are crafted by Wurtz ceramics, a father-and-son studio in Horsens. In a recent Q&A interview with Atlanta Coffee Shops, General Manager Ian Walla reveals that La Cabra serves approximately 250 different coffees a year, and typically has seven or eight coffees available at any given point.

The Plant Coffee Roasting Plant Coffee

The Roasting Plant is the only multi-unit retailer of coffee that roasts its own coffee and brews on demand, with each cup of coffee roasted and brewed according to your preferences in less than minutes. It is a search engine for the finest specialty beans that are sourced directly, giving customers the choice and quality.

Their on-site roaster is a fluid bed device, which is different from the classic drum machines used in UK coffee shops. The beans are blown in a heated box with high-velocity air that is circulated. This keeps the beans suspended and ensures a consistent roasting rate.

I tried the Sumatran Coffee and it was rich and velvety with a rich and velvety taste. Dark chocolate was evident from the aroma, and as you sipped the coffee, you could detect subtle citrus fruit flavours.

The roasted coffee is then whisked to the store's Eversys super-automatic brewing machines and you can have your coffee brewed to your specifications in just a few minutes. Customers can pick from nine single origin selections and a variety of blends.

Parlor Coffee

The company was founded in 2012 at the back of a barbershop, complete with an espresso machine with a single group, Parlor Coffee has become a growing roastery, whose beans can be found in top cafes, restaurants and home brewers in the city. Parlor Coffee is committed to finding the highest quality beans that have gone through a long journey before arriving at its roasters.

The owners, who are self-described as "passionate about coffee and believe that a good cup of coffee should be available to everyone," have created a place that is a bit more grounded with chalkboards, compost bins and up-cycled products, and low-frills decor.

They roast their own blends (there were six when I was there) and single-origins, however they also have cuppings on Sundays, which are accessible to the public. Imagine it as a brewery tasting area where you can taste and smell the ground beans. They vary from earthy to chocolaty (one was almost like tomato!). They're away from the main roads and is worth a visit.