Where do you buy proper coffee?

[fred the great]

I usually buy Hill Tribe Coffee which comes from Northern Thailand.

Quite strong.

<coffee-pseud>

You should try and seek out coffee from the Bolovens plateau in Laos, it's some of the best stuff.

</coffee-pseud>

Interestingly, there was  a Coffee and Tea Exhibition recently in Bangkok. My wife and I sat down with a cup of coffee from Laos. It was lovely.

[Hot Flatus]

It is great stuff.  Not much that comes out of Vietnam is that good in my experience though, Chon is disgusting.  They flooded the market a few years back with cheap Robusta, and have little experience of decent grains.

[fred the great]

The Hill Tribe Coffees are reasonably priced here and I like to support them.

I am no expert though.

[Really Ancien]

Booths are fairly good and do some unusual stuff at a good price.
Booths food stores North West, Booths food stores UK, Food stores Lancashire, Food stores Cheshire, Food stores Cumbria, Food stores Yorkshire

Damon.

[LEL]

Farrars in Kendal do mail order - my favourite is Maragogype.

[Jurek]

Don't touch the stuff these days.

But when I did, it was either from Whittards or The Algerian Coffee Store - both of which I would highly endorse.

[Thor]

Thanks everyone for all the great suggestions.   
I'll pick one or two suppliers and place orders.

[swood]

I get my coffee beans from Cafe Du Monde

Link removed for Holy Thread Resurrection, Batman!

[ian]

I belatedly second Jurek's suggestion of the Algerian Coffee Store, who send me coffee beans by mail these days. Sadly, this doesn't capture the lovely smell of the store itself.

[Hot Flatus]

I have 2 current sources:

coffeecompass.co.uk  for the quality stuff

and...

TKmaxx for Italian bar coffee. Yes, mad isnt it. I dont know where or how they are getting this stuff but they are, in 1kg bags for about £10. Quality varies from shite to average, and it is the average I'm after. Artisan coffee is great, but I quite like bog standard ristretto per every bar in Italy, and you need a pretty bland central/south american bean and a bit of robusta to get it. Got 7kg the other day in Swindon.

[orienteer]

From H R Higgins in Duke St (by post since lockdown) for over 30 years.

By royal appointment to Brenda too, but have never seen her in the shop.

[andrewc]

I have a regular delivery of a couple of bags from a local caffeine pusher.   https://92degrees.coffee/collections/our-coffee       

[markcjagar]

I buy from a local roaster, https://www.smithstreetcoffeeroasters.co.uk/

1kg of beans for ~£20, nice as hot or cold brewed.

[pcolbeck]

Freshly roasted I tend to get from Roost in Malton (they do mail order too).

https://www.roostcoffee.co.uk/

For interesting canned or vac packed I like Espresso International

https://www.espresso-international.co.uk/

Note that whist that's a UK website they ship from Germany. I don't think they actually have any physical presence in the UK.

Lidl also have 1Kg bags of OK 100% Italian arabica from time to time, really cheap. Their normal coffee offerings are meh.

[Peter]

 Got 7kg the other day in Swindon.

admit it: "coffee" is just code, isn't it?!

[davelodwig]

I use a local roaster for beans to go in my machine.

https://goldensheepcoffee.co.uk/barn/

He delivers for free in the local area, and offers to fill reusable tubs.

D.

[Regulator]

I belatedly second Jurek's suggestion of the Algerian Coffee Store, who send me coffee beans by mail these days. Sadly, this doesn't capture the lovely smell of the store itself.

I used to love going in there...

We have a couple of roasters in Cambridge, which is nice.  I find it easier than mail order, as I can 'sample'.

[citoyen]

Excuse the thread necromancy...

I want to buy a small gift set of decent coffee for a birthday present. Any suggestions of good ones?

Aiming to keep the spend low, would rather a few small samplers of good coffee rather than a larger quantity of average coffee. This is the kind of thing I have in mind, but I don't know anything about this particular brand so no idea if they're any good:
Fountain Rock Mini Coffee Explorer Gift Set 4x 70g, £13
https://fountainrockcoffee.co.uk/products/mini-coffee-explorer-gift-set-plus

[andrewc]

These 2 places both do tasting / gift packs , but a bit more expensive than the one you mentioned.


https://www.hasbean.co.uk/collections/tasting-packs


https://www.coffeecompass.co.uk/collections/gifts-trial-packs

[Jurek]

Algerian Coffee Store in Monmouth Street in Covent Garden used to be my go to coffee shop (when I drank coffee).

[citoyen]

Algerian Coffee Store in Monmouth Street in Covent Garden used to be my go to coffee shop (when I drank coffee).

Thanks. I remember you mentioning them before but I’ve never actually tried them. They say there’s a 72 hour delay on proceeding web orders at the moment which is annoying. However, I’m in London tomorrow so could maybe even call in.

[citoyen]

These 2 places both do tasting / gift packs , but a bit more expensive than the one you mentioned.


https://www.hasbean.co.uk/collections/tasting-packs


https://www.coffeecompass.co.uk/collections/gifts-trial-packs

I thought about hasbean but the website has gone to shit, which puts me off.

Are coffee compass any good in your experience? I hear mixed reviews.

[andrewc]

Their service is excellent & they are decent value for money.   I've not had anything from them that's been less than drinkable,  but I'm not the  sort of connoisseur who sips & goes on about mouthfeel or floral notes....  you'll have to wait for Flatus to log on for that....

[Jurek]

Algerian Coffee Store in Monmouth Street in Covent Garden used to be my go to coffee shop (when I drank coffee).

Thanks. I remember you mentioning them before but I’ve never actually tried them. They say there’s a 72 hour delay on proceeding web orders at the moment which is annoying. However, I’m in London tomorrow so could maybe even call in.

I've just realised that its Old Compton Street rather than Monmouth Street.

[ian]

I can't confess I'm a coffee aficionado either, but I drink a lot and – as said – I get all mine from the Algerian Coffee Store (mail order now, but it's a lovely place to visit in person). The staff will choose coffees for you, I just get them to send me a box with 12 bags of dark and dangerous coffee beans, mornings not being my thing.