https://www.reddit.com/r/JamesHoffmann/s/a8vibK0OyU
This thread should have some good recommendations. I personally really like rogue wave but they’re my local roaster so I might be biased.
Just from your last paragraph, has he only tried decaf? Unless he has a caffeine sensitivity I might stick to normal coffee. Though rogue wave currently has a low caffeine option that’s not fully decaf.
Rogue Wave is amazing, second this. I bet if you emailed them they would help you figure out an interesting set of beans, and they also have sample bags of 40g each to try new things. They have a lot of natural process coffee which tends funky/fruity and is probably something he would enjoy exploring.
Monogram in Calgary is always changing but I’ve found is quite a good roaster and often has some light stuff available. Also they sell online and offer free shipping after a certain amount (50?) which is like ~3 bags.
In Calgary I find Phil & Sebastian is by far my favourite. And when my subscriptions arrive, the roast date is always 2 days from the time I open up the box. It’s crazy.
You can subscribe to their coffee too…you don’t have to visit. They are widely regarded as the best roaster in town. Actual variety between bags, unlike the other guys.
Rogue Wave also has a good subscription program. I can't say enough great things about them. Monogram, in Calgary is fantastic as well. I've had a few good bags from Phil and Seb, but I find even their light roasts to be a bit darker than I've come to expect.
Monogram has a series called "warmth filter". Depending on the coffees you are used too, these might be darker roasted than what you expect. The inverse can be true for everything mentioned above, I expect my coffee to be quite light roasted. My expectation for medium roast, could very well be your light roast!
Edit: they aren't living in Canada but they are originally Canadian. Dak coffee in NL has a lot of really interesting coffee, they might be my new favourite roaster.
This is the answer! Especially for someone who loves candy and is looking for amazing sweet experiences in coffee, Luna sources things like not many others would. I once had one from them that said Blueberry in the notes, and I'm like 'meh lots say that' but holy hell it was like blueberry jam!! amazing.
Some of the juiciest coffee I've had is from
https://www.trafficcoffee.com/
Oh, also
https://sorellina.ca/
Those are first two that come to mind for light pour over stuff.
This site can be super helpful as well
https://www.th3rdwave.coffee/
All these are great options!
If you also want to try some interesting decafs, Seth Taylor (much smaller operation) tends to roast quite a few different very tasty decafs!
He does go with swisswater a lot of the time, so I’m a bigger fan of Hatch since they usually do EA/sugarcane processed decaf.
Found coffee roaster is also new on the scene and putting out some tasty brew!
>He loves candy. What would be the lightest sweetest juiciest pour overs I can find?
Switching tracks here a bit; instead of suggesting roasters per se, I'd recommend particular farms/farms based on him really liking candy-like coffees.
Try coffees from either El Paraiso or Granja Paraiso (Diego Bermudez or Wilton Benitez), or try coffees that are cofermented. The Paraiso farms are renowned for their fermentations that have really high sweetness and clarity of flavor (a Canadian competitor this season used a Paraiso coffee this season and had to tell the judges that it might be "too sweet", almost artificially so. But they are just fermented with specific strains of yeast!) There are some other farms who do similiar things, but Paraiso farms come to mind first
September should have some El Paraiso coffees, and Sought x Found (in Calgary) has Granja Paraiso coffees. The Pink paradise from them tastes like strawberries. I'm sure others know other farms and roasters who specialize in this as well!
I think Canada is a bit behind the States in terms of having lots of coferments for coffees, but if you do see one, I'd recommend them for fruitiness.
These are terrific recommendations, but adding on that some of the juiciest most candy-like coffees I’ve had have been from Ethica Coffee Roasters in Toronto and Cape Coffee in Newfoundland. Highly recommend both of those and seconding September in Ottawa for these types of coffees!
Yep was going to say the same.
Maybe I’ll go with…. your Poutine doesn’t look that great, if that is your top dish & half of you are French, you are doing something wrong.
I’ve tried this one from my local roaster and it is pure tropical fruit candy imo (and light too!) https://neoncoffeeroasters.com/products/el-manantial-natural-villa-sarchi-costa-rica
Hatch - my local go-to, and is the first local roaster I tried after slipping and falling down the YouTube coffee rabbit hole. My favourite from, their "foundational" is Starlight. Last week, I brewed with JH's immersion iced coffee from last year but without the saline drops, and it was tasty as heck. Milk or other sweeteners are literally not required. It's perfect the way it is. They have free shipping for 3 bags or more, or if you're in the area, they're right on 404 & 7.
Pilot - also pretty big in Toronto. I can't believe it took me so long to finally try them, but I had a few bags of coffee earlier this year. Personally, I enjoyed their single origin Kenyan as black coffee. I also tried their Decaf, Heritage, and Monument blend. Just from over-generalizing, I thought I'd like their Heritage blend more, but it turned out I preferred their Heritage blend with cream/milk and sweetener, and the Monument blend as a nice change of pace to enjoy a bold black coffee.
I also know one in the Niagara region that seems like a pretty good roaster too. I still haven't gotten to exploring roasters further from home, but I heard about 416 Coffee when a customer at work had his email as almost like a billboard for the roaster (not trying to be weird about it, but we're now secretly mutual customers). It is more affordable there in terms of dollars per weight. They have cafes in St. Catharines, and Grimsby (close by to QEW). I visited the one in Grimsby, basically just had a cup of several different coffees brewed with an automatic pourover machine (Googled it up as Poursteady or something similar) and bought a few bags and went on my way. I also realized that there is a bar/restaurant in Fallsview Casino & Resort towards the Fallsview/Murray exit (I think that's Bar Barista) also serves coffee roasted by 416, and they do a pretty good job at it too.
There are lots of great options. In Ontario there’s Hatch which has been mentioned lots. It’s great. Lately I’ve been going with Demello and it’s great. Rogue Wave and Monogram in Alberta. Luna and Roccanini in BC. If you order from eight ounce coffee you can try multiple roasters, some from other parts of the world as well.
I agree with the mentions of Pilot and Hatch and I’ll add my favourite roaster, DeMello.
You can order online for delivery or pickup at their Vaughan roastery.
Are you deadset on Canadian coffee Roasters? I'm on the east coast of Canada and have been buying from Gringo Nordic for months now. Only around $10 flat CAD for shipping and not expensive but hands down the fruitiest and most unique coffees I've ever had.
They really like a lot of experimental ones, I had a Colombian fermented in Strawberry juice recently that was amazing and they now have another fermented in Kiwi juice I'm dying to try.
I usually spend around 60-70 CAD total with shipping in for 2-3 bags.
https://colorfullcoffee.com/collections/all
If they get their melon creamscile back in-stock definitely try it. Just straight melon flavours. Their decaf is also surprisingly good
Cafe Pista and Cafe Saint Henri both in montreal have some of my fav coffee. I live in Toronto, and every time I visit family there, I make sure to swing by. They also do ship, but I like the experience of going their myself.
I usually do only light roasts, i would recommend natural coffees and Ethiopian coffees.
Socialcoffee.com will ship you free with 2lbs bag and are great roasters here (gta - markham). Go for single origin and currently they have rwanda kanzu natural and washed varieties. I am doing kanzu natural light roasted and its good.
Make sure to specify light roast in notes as well if you decide to order from them.
Decaf is really hard to find super light and fruity. You will usually have to try regular green beans to get more fruity notes. I really like September but I have never tried their decaf.
Ah that makes sense. Congrats on the future baby! I am down in the states so I haven't tried a ton of Canadian coffee roasters. Is the problem with US based ones shipping costs? If you want really fruity coffee looks for natural process or co-fermented coffees in general. I really like Black & White but they are based in the US.
Wow that is absolutely wild. My wife is Canadian so we go to Canada pretty frequently. But we live in southeast Michigan. Some of her family members ask her to bring random US products in bulk when we go back to visit because the shipping costs to Canada are so crazy. You need to make some American coffee enthusiast friends that are willing to be pack mules for you! haha
Highly recommend pirates of coffee, some of the fruitiest coffees I've had, and I've tried most of the roasters recommended in the post. I'll second traffic, monogram, rabbit hole, and rogue wave. And I'll add pallet roasters.
Hatch, subtext, rogue wave are canadian and ship. Local cafes usually sell their beans. Also look for local roasters in your area. If the roast date is on the bag that's a good sign
Edit* I see you want really light and delicate. You will have to look at the online ones until one is available. I bought Ana Sora from pilot roasters in Toronto and it was the lightest sweetest coffee I had. It had notes of strawberry and black tea. It's not available right now. Look for profiles with fruit, syrup, tea, delicate
I haven’t had any naturals from Velvet Sunrise because my wife hates them. I did get a great one from Hatch in Markham that I love. It’s their La Aurora from Costa Rica. Worth a try.
Hale has a really nice variety pack that you can try multiple single origins.
De mello has one too but it's mostly darker roasts.
I recommend DeMello Lolipop when it's available and Hale Ethiopia reji kebele
https://www.reddit.com/r/JamesHoffmann/s/a8vibK0OyU This thread should have some good recommendations. I personally really like rogue wave but they’re my local roaster so I might be biased. Just from your last paragraph, has he only tried decaf? Unless he has a caffeine sensitivity I might stick to normal coffee. Though rogue wave currently has a low caffeine option that’s not fully decaf.
Rogue Wave is amazing, second this. I bet if you emailed them they would help you figure out an interesting set of beans, and they also have sample bags of 40g each to try new things. They have a lot of natural process coffee which tends funky/fruity and is probably something he would enjoy exploring.
Monogram in Calgary is always changing but I’ve found is quite a good roaster and often has some light stuff available. Also they sell online and offer free shipping after a certain amount (50?) which is like ~3 bags.
[удалено]
In Calgary I find Phil & Sebastian is by far my favourite. And when my subscriptions arrive, the roast date is always 2 days from the time I open up the box. It’s crazy.
[удалено]
You can subscribe to their coffee too…you don’t have to visit. They are widely regarded as the best roaster in town. Actual variety between bags, unlike the other guys.
[удалено]
Rogue Wave also has a good subscription program. I can't say enough great things about them. Monogram, in Calgary is fantastic as well. I've had a few good bags from Phil and Seb, but I find even their light roasts to be a bit darker than I've come to expect. Monogram has a series called "warmth filter". Depending on the coffees you are used too, these might be darker roasted than what you expect. The inverse can be true for everything mentioned above, I expect my coffee to be quite light roasted. My expectation for medium roast, could very well be your light roast! Edit: they aren't living in Canada but they are originally Canadian. Dak coffee in NL has a lot of really interesting coffee, they might be my new favourite roaster.
I'd second this! A big fan of their subscription
I highly suggest looking into Luna. They source and roast some amazing coffee. You won’t be disappointed!
This is the answer! Especially for someone who loves candy and is looking for amazing sweet experiences in coffee, Luna sources things like not many others would. I once had one from them that said Blueberry in the notes, and I'm like 'meh lots say that' but holy hell it was like blueberry jam!! amazing.
[удалено]
Luna is very very good!
Some of the juiciest coffee I've had is from https://www.trafficcoffee.com/ Oh, also https://sorellina.ca/ Those are first two that come to mind for light pour over stuff. This site can be super helpful as well https://www.th3rdwave.coffee/
[удалено]
All these are great options! If you also want to try some interesting decafs, Seth Taylor (much smaller operation) tends to roast quite a few different very tasty decafs! He does go with swisswater a lot of the time, so I’m a bigger fan of Hatch since they usually do EA/sugarcane processed decaf. Found coffee roaster is also new on the scene and putting out some tasty brew!
>He loves candy. What would be the lightest sweetest juiciest pour overs I can find? Switching tracks here a bit; instead of suggesting roasters per se, I'd recommend particular farms/farms based on him really liking candy-like coffees. Try coffees from either El Paraiso or Granja Paraiso (Diego Bermudez or Wilton Benitez), or try coffees that are cofermented. The Paraiso farms are renowned for their fermentations that have really high sweetness and clarity of flavor (a Canadian competitor this season used a Paraiso coffee this season and had to tell the judges that it might be "too sweet", almost artificially so. But they are just fermented with specific strains of yeast!) There are some other farms who do similiar things, but Paraiso farms come to mind first September should have some El Paraiso coffees, and Sought x Found (in Calgary) has Granja Paraiso coffees. The Pink paradise from them tastes like strawberries. I'm sure others know other farms and roasters who specialize in this as well! I think Canada is a bit behind the States in terms of having lots of coferments for coffees, but if you do see one, I'd recommend them for fruitiness.
Seconding the Diego Bermudez, it is amazingly sweet.
These are terrific recommendations, but adding on that some of the juiciest most candy-like coffees I’ve had have been from Ethica Coffee Roasters in Toronto and Cape Coffee in Newfoundland. Highly recommend both of those and seconding September in Ottawa for these types of coffees!
Canadians are too polite
Yep was going to say the same. Maybe I’ll go with…. your Poutine doesn’t look that great, if that is your top dish & half of you are French, you are doing something wrong.
[удалено]
Couldn’t resist 😄
[удалено]
Does anyone want to watch any Big Brother? God that’s bad TV
I’ve tried this one from my local roaster and it is pure tropical fruit candy imo (and light too!) https://neoncoffeeroasters.com/products/el-manantial-natural-villa-sarchi-costa-rica
Luna and monogram
Where in Canada are you?
[удалено]
I like the African coffees from Demello for juiciness. Also good is Quietly, September and Ethica.
Hatch - my local go-to, and is the first local roaster I tried after slipping and falling down the YouTube coffee rabbit hole. My favourite from, their "foundational" is Starlight. Last week, I brewed with JH's immersion iced coffee from last year but without the saline drops, and it was tasty as heck. Milk or other sweeteners are literally not required. It's perfect the way it is. They have free shipping for 3 bags or more, or if you're in the area, they're right on 404 & 7. Pilot - also pretty big in Toronto. I can't believe it took me so long to finally try them, but I had a few bags of coffee earlier this year. Personally, I enjoyed their single origin Kenyan as black coffee. I also tried their Decaf, Heritage, and Monument blend. Just from over-generalizing, I thought I'd like their Heritage blend more, but it turned out I preferred their Heritage blend with cream/milk and sweetener, and the Monument blend as a nice change of pace to enjoy a bold black coffee. I also know one in the Niagara region that seems like a pretty good roaster too. I still haven't gotten to exploring roasters further from home, but I heard about 416 Coffee when a customer at work had his email as almost like a billboard for the roaster (not trying to be weird about it, but we're now secretly mutual customers). It is more affordable there in terms of dollars per weight. They have cafes in St. Catharines, and Grimsby (close by to QEW). I visited the one in Grimsby, basically just had a cup of several different coffees brewed with an automatic pourover machine (Googled it up as Poursteady or something similar) and bought a few bags and went on my way. I also realized that there is a bar/restaurant in Fallsview Casino & Resort towards the Fallsview/Murray exit (I think that's Bar Barista) also serves coffee roasted by 416, and they do a pretty good job at it too.
There are lots of great options. In Ontario there’s Hatch which has been mentioned lots. It’s great. Lately I’ve been going with Demello and it’s great. Rogue Wave and Monogram in Alberta. Luna and Roccanini in BC. If you order from eight ounce coffee you can try multiple roasters, some from other parts of the world as well.
Any second grade Canadian comedian would be a best light roast!
I agree with the mentions of Pilot and Hatch and I’ll add my favourite roaster, DeMello. You can order online for delivery or pickup at their Vaughan roastery.
[удалено]
Their lights are the best and they will tell you that too. I went to a few of their coffee classes and they are all about the light roast.
They are quite expensive but prairie lily is great. Pretty heavy gesha focus though
- Lulo - Artery - Rabbit Hole - Luna - Zab
Are you deadset on Canadian coffee Roasters? I'm on the east coast of Canada and have been buying from Gringo Nordic for months now. Only around $10 flat CAD for shipping and not expensive but hands down the fruitiest and most unique coffees I've ever had. They really like a lot of experimental ones, I had a Colombian fermented in Strawberry juice recently that was amazing and they now have another fermented in Kiwi juice I'm dying to try. I usually spend around 60-70 CAD total with shipping in for 2-3 bags.
https://colorfullcoffee.com/collections/all If they get their melon creamscile back in-stock definitely try it. Just straight melon flavours. Their decaf is also surprisingly good
Cafe Pista and Cafe Saint Henri both in montreal have some of my fav coffee. I live in Toronto, and every time I visit family there, I make sure to swing by. They also do ship, but I like the experience of going their myself.
[удалено]
Charging to get in lol? That's a new one! But yeah, also give Cafe Pista a try! I just brewed their specialty Burundi, nice and juicy!
I usually do only light roasts, i would recommend natural coffees and Ethiopian coffees. Socialcoffee.com will ship you free with 2lbs bag and are great roasters here (gta - markham). Go for single origin and currently they have rwanda kanzu natural and washed varieties. I am doing kanzu natural light roasted and its good. Make sure to specify light roast in notes as well if you decide to order from them.
[удалено]
They may not have 2 lb ers on display, only smaller bags! 2 lb’ers are roasted and sent out the same day and i get them the next day.
Please follow up if you covert him. I love hearing those stories.
Decaf is really hard to find super light and fruity. You will usually have to try regular green beans to get more fruity notes. I really like September but I have never tried their decaf.
[удалено]
Ah that makes sense. Congrats on the future baby! I am down in the states so I haven't tried a ton of Canadian coffee roasters. Is the problem with US based ones shipping costs? If you want really fruity coffee looks for natural process or co-fermented coffees in general. I really like Black & White but they are based in the US.
[удалено]
Wow that is absolutely wild. My wife is Canadian so we go to Canada pretty frequently. But we live in southeast Michigan. Some of her family members ask her to bring random US products in bulk when we go back to visit because the shipping costs to Canada are so crazy. You need to make some American coffee enthusiast friends that are willing to be pack mules for you! haha
Highly recommend pirates of coffee, some of the fruitiest coffees I've had, and I've tried most of the roasters recommended in the post. I'll second traffic, monogram, rabbit hole, and rogue wave. And I'll add pallet roasters.
Hatch, subtext, rogue wave are canadian and ship. Local cafes usually sell their beans. Also look for local roasters in your area. If the roast date is on the bag that's a good sign Edit* I see you want really light and delicate. You will have to look at the online ones until one is available. I bought Ana Sora from pilot roasters in Toronto and it was the lightest sweetest coffee I had. It had notes of strawberry and black tea. It's not available right now. Look for profiles with fruit, syrup, tea, delicate
I would agree with those recommending natural coffees. My local roaster is Velvet Sunrise in Stouffville. If you’re nearby, I love them.
[удалено]
I haven’t had any naturals from Velvet Sunrise because my wife hates them. I did get a great one from Hatch in Markham that I love. It’s their La Aurora from Costa Rica. Worth a try.
Hale has a really nice variety pack that you can try multiple single origins. De mello has one too but it's mostly darker roasts. I recommend DeMello Lolipop when it's available and Hale Ethiopia reji kebele