Coffee Beans!

[Ikemi]

Firstly, mods please do not move this thread to the 'Food, Drink & Restaurant' forums - I'm sure there are lots of people on here who enjoy a good coffee and do not browse the FD&R forum, which to be honest is pretty lifeless ... Thanks!

I'm about to buy my first bean-to-cup espresso machine (Delonghi Perfecta 5400) along with the usual extras to get a good latte, espresso and cappuccino at home

I thought I'd start by buying some Lavazza and Illy coffee beans, but I can't seem to find anywhere that sells them online in small quantities. Most of the Lavazza beans I've found are in 1Kg bags, rather than say 250 grams. I'd like to try some different flavours and not have a huge bag of the same stuff! So the questions are:

-Does anyone know any good online coffee bean suppliers that sell Lavazza and Illy?
-Any good coffee beans or grounds you would recommend and enjoy yourself?

Cheers!

[GKP]

Ahh this thread really is about coffee.

[uncinqsix]

Go and see Monmouth in London next time you're there. Much better than Illy or Lavazza.

[Newc]

No need to go to Monmouth - they'll come to you. Mail order contacts at

http://www.monmouthcoffee.co.uk/contacts.htm

[JBM78]

It's good of the mods to do as you ask,eh.

[missdiane]

Ironic, I would not have seen this had it not been moved

What about supermarket? Or do you want to get them online for ease of shopping

[tmk2]

Having worked in Costa Coffee for four and a half years the best coffee I have had was Colombian medellin supremo. This thread has just reminded me of it, hope Tesco still sell it.

[Ikemi]

Hehe! I don't mind the sub-fora layout, but this forum doesn't seem to get much traffic ...

-uncingsix: Cheers - I'll give Monmouth a go!
-MissDiane: I suppose I was hoping for the lazy approach of shopping online, but I might pop into Asda on the way home from work and see what they have on offer. I've found lots of 250 gram bags of ground coffee, but was hoping for beans ... just 'cos the machine has a grinder ... so might as well use it!
-tmk2: Do Costa sell that coffee instore?

Edited by Ikemi on Sunday 13th September 20:33

[tmk2]

Ikemi said:

Hehe! I don't mind the sub-fora layout, but this forum doesn't seem to get much traffic ...

-uncingsix: Cheers - I'll give Monmouth a go!
-MissDiane: I suppose I was hoping for the lazy approach of shopping online, but I might pop into Asda on the way home from work and see what they have on offer. I've found lots of 250 gram bags of ground coffee, but was hoping for beans ... just 'cos the machine has a grinder ... so might as well use it!
-tmk2: Do Costa sell that coffee instore?

Edited by Ikemi on Sunday 13th September 20:33

Not that I've seen recently but they did when I left but that was 4 years ago, Tesco's did sell it 6 months ago though

[Matt172]

what about somewhere like here? http://www.coffee-beans-direct.com/coffee-beans-di...

only problem is it's only bulk buy


this one looks a bit better though, can buy in smaller quantities

http://www.coffeexclusive.com/

[E31Shrew]

We normally buy Lavazza or Illy from Bookers in 1kg bags. Either of those do give a good thick creamy top. Also try www.gocoffee.co.uk

[jamiebae]

Whittards have a reasonable selection of beans you can buy in small quantities.

I really like Illy beans, available in tins from most supermarkets, but they're certainly not cheap.

[RizzoTheRat]

Most of the supermarkets seem to have stopped selling beans these days, though larger Sainsburys still seem to keep a few of the fair trade varieties that aren't bad.

Kopi Luwak's the way to go!

[juice]

Go to your local (non Chain) coffee house and buy some from them. Our local roasts their own and sells them by the bag. Have some Blue mountain in the freezer at the moment, its very very smooth.

[Jack Blag]

Give these guys a call (or email)...

http://www.blendteaandcoffee.com/blend_coffees.htm...

[SwanJack]

I use these http://www.hasbean.co.uk/, the green unroasted beans are really good value.

[Tanguero]

+1 for Monmouth - simply the best coffees I have been able to find anywhere.

[bint]

Whittards are surprisingly good for beans, but regularly use this place;

http://www.jamesgourmetcoffee.com/

Ordered last Wednesday lunch time, arrived Thursday.

[BoXtaPete]

For goodness sake do not buy coffee beans from a supermarket!! Go to someone like HasBean, SquareMile or similar and buy Freshly roasted beans. After roasting beans loose taste and flavour within 3 weeks, so supermarket stuff is cr*p!

And I'm sorry to add that a B2C machine is not going to give as good a coffee as a proper espresso machine plus a grinder.

[juice]

BoXtaPete said:

For goodness sake do not buy coffee beans from a supermarket!! Go to someone like HasBean, SquareMile or similar and buy Freshly roasted beans. After roasting beans loose taste and flavour within 3 weeks, so supermarket stuff is cr*p!

And I'm sorry to add that a B2C machine is not going to give as good a coffee as a proper espresso machine plus a grinder.

Erm, Bean to cup machines do exactly that. Take coffee beans, grind them, steam them and produce coffee !

Agree with you regarding freshness of beans, hence why I get mine from the local coffee house (who roast their own)

http://www.rockisland.bm/wholesale.htm