Five Brooklyn Coffee Bean Shops

If you are an avid coffee drinker, you should go to a coffee shop. These shops provide a variety of whole beans from all over the world. They also have unique trinkets and kitchenware.

Some of these shops offer subscriptions to their coffee beans. Others offer large quantities of coffee beans at their retail locations.

Porto Rico Importing Co.

Veteran coffee vendor who concentrates on international brews, loose teas, and a variety.

When you walk into this old-fashioned West Village shop, the aroma of freshly roasted beans fills your nose. The shelves are lined with jars and sacks filled with dark brown beans, with tea-making equipment, speciality coffee beans accessories and sugar.

In 1907, the first time it was opened, Porto Rico was founded by Italian immigrant Patsy Albanese. At the time, Greenwich Village was seeing an large influx of Italian immigrants who established businesses to serve their culinary needs. Albanese named her shop after the renowned Puerto Rican coffee she imported (and sold) - - a drink that was so famous at the time that even the Pope took a sip.

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

Peter Longo, the current owner and president of the company was raised above his family's bakery located on Bleecker Street where his father was the owner of Porto Rico. He still runs the business in the same way to his father and grandfather.

Sey Coffee

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

Sey's focus on buying micro-lots, or even entire harvests from single farmers has earned him the respect of New York City Coffee bean company enthusiasts. Last year they made a six-bag micro-lot purchase of Danilo Dones Sitio Catucai 785 from Brazil's Espirito Santo region. The beans were picked at their peak of ripeness and then steamed to eliminate any defects. 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 goal of holistically improving the well-being of employees, customers and growers extends beyond the walls of the shop. It utilizes biodegradable disposables as well as composts to keep waste out of the landfill and converting it into agents that reduce harmful greenhouse gases as well as nourish soil. It also removes gratuities. This lets baristas concentrate on their craft and earn a living.

La Cabra

La Cabra, a modern specialty coffee company, was established in Aarhus in Denmark in 2012. The company started with a modest store and a dedicated team. Their honesty and ingenuity to delivering a truly exceptional coffee experience has earned their acclaim not just in their hometown, but globally.

La Carba follows a strict procedure to find their perfect beans. They search through hundreds of lots each year in order to find the ones that best meet their ideals. Then, they roast them in a light roast coffee beans style before dialing them in to achieve their desired flavor profile. This gives the coffees a more vibrant flavor and clarity.

The East Village store opened last October with a sleek and minimalist design, and 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 employs the La Marzocco modbar and the cups and plates are designed by Wurtz ceramics in Horsens, an artist-run by a father and son. In a recent Q&A interview with Atlanta Coffee Shops, General Manager Ian Walla reveals that La Cabra serves approximately 250 different coffees per year, and usually has seven or eight different varieties available at any given moment.

The Roasting Plant Coffee

The Roasting Plant is a multi-unit coffee retailer roasts and brews coffee beans price on-site. Each cup is roasted and brewed according to your requirements in less than seconds. It searches countries far and wide for the highest-grade, directly sourced specialty beans that provide customers with a choice and high-quality.

The on-site roaster employs fluid bed technology which is quite different from the classic drum-type machines used in the majority of UK coffee houses. The beans are blown inside the heated box using high-speed air, which is circulated. This keeps the beans in suspension and ensures a consistent roasting rate.

I tried the Sumatran coffee and it was delicious with a velvety mouthfeel. Dark chocolate aromas were present and the coffee started to cool as you sip, subtle flavours of citrus fruit were detected.

The roasted coffee is then whisked to the Eversys super-automatic brewing equipment and the coffee is brewed according to your preferences in under a minute. Customers can choose from nine single origins and several blends.

Parlor Coffee

Parlor Coffee was founded in 2012 behind a barbershop, using a single espresso machine. It has since evolved into a flourishing coffee roastery, whose beans are available in top cafes and restaurants as well as home brewers across the city. Parlor Coffee is committed to procuring the highest-quality beans, that have all been through a long journey before they reach its roasters.

The owners, who self-described as "passionate about the craft and believe that great coffee should be accessible to all," have created a environment that is simple, with chalkboards, compost bins, recycled handmade items, and simple decor.

They roast and make their own blends and single-origins (there were six when I was there) They also do cuppings Sundays, which are open to the public. Imagine it as a tasting room, where you can taste and smell the beans as they are roasted. They range from earthy to chocolatey (one was almost like tomato!). It's a bit off the beaten path but worth the trip.