Illy Espresso Beans is great, even mixed 50/50! Jet Fuel from Independence Coffee Company has been my recent go juice.
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That’s an impressive setup. I don’t use anything that fancy (a FreshRoast SR500, which is basically a glorified popcorn popper) but won’t ever go back to buying pre-roasted beans. I get all my beans from Burman Coffee Traders (https://burmancoffee.com) which has a good selection.
Just to chime in here, as a Vermonter I’ve been enjoying Brio Coffee lately. They run a bit expensive, but I’ve found the quality to be topnotch and I’ve never disliked any roast from them (including espresso).
I use Lavazza Crema e Aroma in an aeropress.
20g Medium fine grind (bodum grinder)
90 degree water
1 paper filter
No rinsing or pre warming. Not inverted. Pour water over coffee to between 3 and 4. Stir. Leave for 1 minute and press.
If you’re UK based, Thomsons has a couple of amazing coffees: their Full French is a strong, big bodied beast, very high in caffeine…a big cup has seen me through many a VO2Max workout! The St. Vincent Roast is my go-to espresso, very easy to pull a nice a shot, great flavour and perfect for a milky drink.
I love this question. So many good coffee’s out there as evidenced by the wide variety of answers here. I’m in North Carolina and from local roasters I love Counter Culture, and Larry’s Beans. PERC out of Savanah GA is also one of my favorites. From a little farther (Californian I think) Blue Bottle is can be really good, depending on the variety, and I have really liked the Stumptown Roasters I have found in my local store.
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I like coffee…but I make terrible coffee. I can’t remember ever making a cup and thinking “mmm, that’s really nice.” And I make coffee every day. For years. 
I won’t be touching the espresso machine until we get closer to summer. I have an inherited hand grinder I use occasionally, a cafetière and mostly coffee from Tesco, Taylor’s “Lazy Sunday”
Yeah, I don’t get that from it…
Am I the only one that likes Starbucks? Pike is fine. Central American coffees are my fav but Sumatra is great too
Depends on the bean, depends on the method… you gotta try to keep most “variables” the same and change maybe one of them at a time.
I have regular cheap coffee that i perculate for ease of use in the morning when we’re rushing out to get kids out the door.
And i have beans that i keep for the weekends and that i use in my french press. If you don’t know how to use it…there are a few tutorials online. But it’s very straightforward (especially if you use metric system lol)
but it gives a good taste for cheap price
My brother sent me some Counter Culture; good stuff!
Ha! You can make it as involved and complex as you want (not at all like biking … noooo) but it can also be really simple. If you want to just strive for a big improvement over “terrible,” buy an Aeropress from Amazon ($30), a bag of decent dark roast (Peet’s Major Dickason’s Blend, pre-ground, is my preference) and give it a try. I find a heaping scoop of grinds for a full Aesopress makes a fabulous mug of coffee. The best part is that your efforts are instantly rewarded.
I grind coffee beans for both cold brew and pour over but I’m looking to get an espresso machine which I would also be grinding for. Should I have a separate grinder for each brew type? Or can I replace beans each time with the knowledge that leftovers from each bean will be in my brew?
I’m not that picky and have an embarrassing palate.
Band of Climbers has outstanding coffee. I highly recommended.
Cheers for all your recommendations, gonna look some of they up and give them a try.
So much goodness in this thread…I’m in NC as well, so Counter Culture and Larry’s are big here. I also just started a subscription with Trade coffee that I really like so far. My espresso game isn’t the greatest, but I’ve got a Breville Barista Express that pulls a good shot (for me).
Also…Army coffee…I wasn’t a big coffee drinker in the army, probably because of army coffee, but I do remember using the instant coffee packets like dip…just put it in your lip and let it go to work. I don’t miss that, actually.
Espresso and filter coffee should be made with different grind sizes, and espresso can be finicky to get right and set up for each bean. ie with an 19g VST basket in my single group handle, it will take me 3-4 coffees min to get the grind right for the rest of the bag (with some minor fiddling), as the grind should be adjusted depending on the environmental conditions (humidity, temp and age of the beans)
I have found that filter coffee tends to be ALOT more forgiving.
Saying that I have a Mazza Joly that I have removed the hopper from, I weigh the beans before I stick them in the grinder and use a paint brush to clear the top, and then two passes at the outlet. I have found that I get a consistent quantity in Vs out. with only minor contamination, would be more accurate with out the stupid manual doser.
I usually use a sharpie to mark the grind location that I am using for that bean and then I can flick back between the two. (though the GF usually gets the first coffee after the adjustment, just dont tell her :P)
There is also a school of thought that says that with the hopper removed and no back pressure from the extra beans, the particulate size will be inconsistent. my machine is no Slayer or La Mazzocco so I haven’t notice.
PS the larger dose in the basket creates a more stable shot and can provide a richer taste.
PPS - Grab a medium roast Ethiopian bean Natural processed bean and pull a risretto shot with a finer grind and with higher dose size… when you nail it your mind will be blown 
Have just discovered burr grinders, what a massive difference to blade ones, never going back 
I’m going wild and trying some Lavazza Qualita Rossa Ground Coffee, and some Fairtrade Guatemalan Ground Coffee from a popular British supermarket that never seems to do well in the States.
Here in San Diego, my favorite roaster is Bird Rock (two locations), and they have multiple light- to medium-roast options which are a cut above any store brand. Santa Ana is my current go-to for them. I get it when I’m closeby and want to treat myself (~$16/lb).
I’m enjoying Trader Joe’s 100% Kona right now. At $15/bag it’s steep for store-bought, but markedly better than most grocery store options. TJs had a light roast Ethiopian blend that was delicious at $9/bag but they’ve not had it in a while. Their regular run coffee is close to awful, but their lighter roast breakfast blend isn’t bad.
If I’m buying at another grocer, Peets Major Dickason’s blend is a go-to, or Starbucks Cafe Verona if I can find it whole bean. Starbucks breakfast blend or blonde are OK too.
I’m finding myself moving towards light roast coffees after liking the burnt stuff for a long time.
I prefer coarse grind and french press when I have time, but the drip maker has made a reappearance with the newborn and cramming in training sessions in the morning, and it’s OK too. I have a Keurig at the office, but meh.
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Here in the UK I can’t recommend hasbean.co.uk highly enough, amazing range of coffees either as beans or ground to your requirements
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