Favorite Espresso Beans

I’ve been brewing espresso at home for a couple of months using a Krups 964 which was given to me from a friend. The machine isn’t fancy but it does what’s required. However, it didn’t take long to find out that the keys to good espresso are bean quality and quality of the grinder. I was originally using a whirly blade grinder but it’s results were uneven and I couldn’t get the grind small enough. Trying to make espresso on the cheap, I opted to get an old refurbished hand grinder. With the equipment set, all I had to do was find my preferred espresso beans. Luckily Vancouver is coffee crazy and there are a number of local roasters producing quality beans. Here are my favorites so far.

49th Parallel. Maybe my favorite tasting bean, although I haven’t had it for month or more now. My biggest gripe? It’s a pain in the ass to get there (Kits) from here (the Drive). Second biggest gripe? The beans are a lot harder to grind than the others I’ve tried.

Cafe Artigiano. Taste is fine. I find that the beans are really unstable though. Every grind I make results in a slightly different shot. I’ll make an espresso with a shot time of 28s and then the next one will have a shot time of 20s. This results in really different tastes.

And now my favorite…. Milano La Futura. Easy to grind, consistent shots, and of course very tasty.