Five Brooklyn Coffee Bean Shops

If you are an avid coffee drinker, then you should go to a coffee shop. These stores provide a large selection of whole beans from all over the world. They also offer unique kitchenware and trinkets.

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 specializing in international brews as well as a range of loose teas

When you step into this quaint West Village shop, the scent of freshly roasting beans fills the air. Open sacks of dark-brown beans line the shelves, along with jars of sugar, coffee-making equipment and tea 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 set up businesses in order to meet their culinary needs. Albanese named her shop after the popular Puerto Rican coffee she imported (and sold) the beverage was that was so well-known at the time that even the Pope drank it.

Porto Rico offers 130 different varieties of beans, including those from around the world, at three locations, including Bleecker Street, Essex Market, and online. The company roasts its own beans and provides wholesale distribution to 350 restaurants in NYC, Brooklyn and Brooklyn.

Peter Longo, current owner and president, grew up in the family bakery located on Bleecker Street, where his father ran Porto Rico. He continues to run the shop in the same manner like his father and grandfather.

Sey Coffee

Located along Grattan Street in Morgantown, Brooklyn's Bushwick neighborhood, Sey Coffee is both an espresso bar and a coffee roaster. Co-founders Tobin Polk and Lance Schnorenberg, both 33 started roasting in a fourth-floor loft across the street from their new location in 2011 under the name Lofted Coffee (with local clients including Greenpoint's Budin and Soho cart service Peddler).

Sey's emphasis on buying micro-lots--or even whole harvests from single farmers has earned it the praise of discerning New York City coffee aficionados. In the past they made a 6-bag micro-lot purchase of Danilo Dones Sitio Catucai 785 from Brazil's Espirito Santo region. The beans were carefully picked at the peak of ripeness, then removed by flotation to eliminate defects, then dry fermented for a period of 36 hours before being dried on the farm. The result is a coffee with hints of berry lemongrass, and melon.

Sey's commitment goes beyond its shop to improve the overall wellbeing of growers and staff, as well as its customers. It makes use of composts and biodegradable plastics to keep waste out of the landfills. This helps to reduce greenhouse gases and helps nourish the soil. It also eliminates gratuity, which places baristas in the position to help sustain their livelihoods and inspire them to focus on their craft.

La Cabra

La Cabra is a modern specialty coffee brand that was established in Aarhus, Denmark in 2012. It began with a tiny shop and a dedicated team. Their honest and innovative method of providing an exceptional coffee experience has earned them a loyal following not only in their home town but also around the world.

La Carba follows a strict method to select their best coffee (visit the website) beans. They go through hundreds of lots each year in order to select the beans that best meet their ideals. They then roast them very light, adjusting the desired flavor profile. This results in clearer and more vibrant taste.

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

The shop is equipped with a La Marzocco Modbar as well as the cups, plates, and bowls are custom-designed by Wurtz ceramics, a father-and best coffee son studio located in Horsens. In a recent interview with Atlanta Coffee Shops, General Manager Ian Walla reveals that La Cabra serves around 250 different coffees per year, and usually has seven or eight different varieties available at any given time.

The Plant Coffee Roasting Plant Coffee

The Roasting Plant is the only multi-unit coffee retailer that roasts on-site and brews according to your preferences, with each cup of coffee roasted and brewed according to your requirements in less than minutes. It scour countries far and far to find the finest specialty beans that are directly sourced that provide customers with a choice and quality.

The roaster they have on site is a fluid bed machine, which is different from the traditional drum machines commonly found in UK coffee shops. The beans are blown into an enclosed box that is heated and has high-speed and circulating air. This keeps the beans in suspension and allows for a consistent roasting speed.

I tried the Sumatran coffee and it was rich with a velvety mouthfeel, dark chocolate aromas were present and the coffee started to cool as you sipped the coffee. The subtle scents of citrus fruit were evident.

The coffee that has been roasted will be taken to the store's Eversys Super-Automatic brewing Machines to be brewed according your specifications in less than a minute. Customers can pick from nine single origin selections and a variety of blends.

Parlor Coffee

In 2012, the company was established in the back of a barbershop equipped with an espresso machine that was single-group, Parlor Coffee has become a rapidly growing roastery whose beans are sold at top cafes, restaurants and home brewers all over the city. Parlor is committed to sourcing the highest-quality beans all over the world each of which is a long, arduous journey before reaching the roasters.

The owners, who self-described as "passionate about their craft and believe that great coffee should be available to everyone," have created a space that is grounded with chalkboards, compost bins and up-cycled products, and low-frills decor.

They roast and create their own blends as well as single-origins (there were six at the time I was there) They also do cuppings Sundays, which are open to the public. Imagine it as a tasting room where you can smell and taste the beans in the ground. They vary from earthy to chocolaty (one was similar to tomato!). They're a bit off the beaten path and worthwhile to visit.