Five Brooklyn Coffee Bean Shops

If you're a coffee lover then you'll want to try out a coffee shop. These stores provide a large selection of whole beans from all over the world. They also have unique kitchenware and trinkets.

Some of these shops offer subscriptions to their coffee beans. Some shops sell the beans in large quantities.

Porto Rico Importing Co.

Veteran coffee shop that specializes in international brews, as well as a variety of loose teas

The scent of freshly roasting beans fills the air as you enter this West Village shop. Open sacks of dark-brown beans are stacked on the shelves along with sugar jars, coffee-making equipment as well as tea accessories.

Porto Rico, originally opened in 1907 by Italian immigrant Patsy Albonese. Greenwich Village at the time was experiencing an influx Italian immigrants, who opened businesses in order to meet their food requirements. Albanese named her shop after the renowned Puerto Rican coffee she imported (and sold) - - a drink that was that was so well-known at the time that even the Pope consumed it.

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

Peter Longo, the current president and owner of the business, grew up above the bakery of his family located on Bleecker Street where his father was the owner of Porto Rico. He still runs the shop in the same way as his grandfather and father.

Sey Coffee

The shop is located along Grattan Street in Morgantown, Brooklyn's Bushwick neighborhood, Sey Coffee is both a roaster and coffee shop. Co-founders Tobin Polk and Lance Schnorenberg, both 33 started roasting in the fourth-floor loft across the street from their new location in 2011 under the name Lofted Coffee (with local clients including Greenpoint's Budin and Soho cart service Peddler).

Sey's emphasis on buying micro-lots--or even whole harvests from single farmers--has earned it the respect of the most discerning New York City coffee aficionados. In the past, Sey bought a six-bag micro lot of Danilo Dones Sitio Catucai from Brazil's Espirito Santo region. The beans were picked at their peak ripeness and steamed to remove any imperfections. They were then dried on the farm following a 36-hour dry fermentation. The result is a coffee that is fragrant with hints of berry and melon.

Sey's commitment goes beyond its shop to improve the overall wellbeing of staff and farmers, as well as customers. It makes use of biodegradable plastics and composts, keeping waste out of the landfill and converting it into agents that reduce harmful greenhouse gases and enrich the soil. It also eliminates gratuity, a move that puts the baristas in a position to help sustain their livelihoods and inspire them to concentrate on their craft.

La Cabra

La Cabra is a modern specialty coffee brand that was established in Aarhus, Denmark in 2012. They started with a small store and a team of dedicated employees. Their innovative and honest approach to providing an outstanding coffee experience has earned them a devoted following not only in their home town but all over the world.

La Carba has a rigorous method of identifying their ideal beans, searching through hundreds of different lots a year to find the ones that meet their standards. Then they roast them in a light style, dialing them in to achieve their desired flavor profile. This gives the coffees more intense flavor and clarity.

The East Village store opened last October with a sleek, minimalist design, and has been praised by coffee enthusiasts for its scrumptious pour overs and baked goods supervised by head baker Jared Sexton, who's previously worked at Bien Cuit and Dominique Ansel.

The shop utilizes a La Marzocco Modbar as well as the cups, plates, and bowls are custom-designed by Wurtz ceramics, a father and son studio located in Horsens. In a recent Q&A interview with Atlanta Coffee Shops, General Manager Ian Walla reveals that La Cabra serves about 250 different varieties of coffee each year, and specialty Coffee usually has seven or eight varieties available at any given time.

The Plant Coffee Roasting Plant Coffee

The Roasting Plant is the only multi-unit retailer of coffee that roasts on site and brews on demand, coffee gift with every cup of best coffee being roasted and brewed to your specifications in less than minutes. It scour countries far and across the globe for the highest-quality, specialty coffee directly sourced specialty beans providing customers with choice and quality.

The on-site roaster employs fluid bed technology which is a bit different to the classic drum-type machines used in most UK coffee houses. The beans are blown in an enclosed box that is heated and has high-speed air that is circulated. This keeps the beans in suspension and allows for a constant roasting rate.

I tried the Sumatran Coffee and it was incredibly rich and velvety with a rich and velvety taste. Dark chocolate was evident in the aroma, and as you sip the coffee, you could taste subtle citrus fruit flavours.

The coffee is then be poured into the store's Eversys Super-Automatic brewing Machines to be brewed according your preferences in less than a minute. Customers can select from nine single origin selections and a variety of blends.

Parlor Coffee

Parlor Coffee was founded in 2012 behind a barbershop, using a single espresso machine. It has since grown to become a burgeoning roastery, with beans that can be found in great cafes and restaurants as well as home brewers throughout the city. Parlor is dedicated to sourcing the highest-quality beans around the globe, each of which has had to endure a lengthy journey before it reaches the hands of its roasters.

The owners, who are self-described as "passionate about their craft and believe that a good cup of coffee should be available to everyone," have created a environment that is simple and has chalkboards, compost bins, up-cycled hand-made products, and a minimalist interior.

They roast and make their own blends and single-origins (there were six while I was there), but they also offer cuppings on Sundays, which are open to the public. Think of it like the tasting room of a brewery. You can smell and taste the beans, ranging from chocolaty to earthy (one was very tomato-like!). They're off the beaten track however, they're worthwhile to visit.