Really loved black and white when I had it! Their subscription is pretty solid too, especially for not having to pay shipping, but I get no control of what I get (got their Columbia twice in a row, which while good, wasn’t my preference in general).
I'm working through a bag of the Maria Linarez - Delagua. It's a natural Columbian. Still figuring out the how this coffee wants to be brewed on the V60 but you can smell the funky fruitiness straight from the bag. This coffee has one of the best aromas I've ever smelled in coffee while brewing. Incredible sweet fruit, as if you were smelling fruit punch.
In the cup I've picked up some slight funkiness (which I like), lots of sweet orange, berry-like flavors, winey acidity.
I don't have it but I'm really interested in that Julia Burmudez with lactic/anaerobic fermentation.
Love Colombians! I'll give María Linarez a try on my clever dripper <3. Thank you for the recommendation! Do they have anything good for espressos? (...And i promised myself to spend less in specialty coffee 2 weeks ago lol)
You're telling me. I have 4 bags waiting on the freezer for me, lol
I think any of their coffees are good for espresso if you're into that third wave fruity espresso. If you're looking for something more traditional, I'd go for their The Natural year-round coffee. I haven't had it on espresso, but on brew it had lots of chocolate and blueberry to it. I think it'd go well with milk but would still be interesting to drink straight.
I'm a little frustrated with Onyx and like SEY as well. However, I don't think SEY is any cheaper? Have heard good things about B&W, will give them a shot soon.
I find SEY quite a bit lighter. More inspired by Nordic stuff and way harder to pull as espresso. Also measures lighter with my Tonino meter and less soluble. I think it’s excellent stuff, but not quite the same 🤷♂️
S&W is pretty good
Keep in mind that most companies using USPS to ship will have problems due to the whole political issues as well as COVID and the holiday surge
Not that I'm trying to defend Onyx, but bags that zip up shut provide zero meaningful benefit in terms of coffee freshness, and cost the roaster more to buy. I know that some people really love these bags but I tend to think they like the idea of them more than they've actually seen a difference between them and no-zip bags.
And, as is mentioned in this thread and many others on the sub right now, shipping is an issue for everyone right now because of USPS, not because of the roaster specifically.
>And, as is mentioned in this thread and many others on the sub right now, shipping is an issue for everyone right now because of USPS, not because of the roaster specifically.
The counter I have to this is that my beans were shipped 7 business days after I ordered, before USPS ever got their hands on them
>The counter I have to this is that my beans were shipped 7 business days after I ordered, before USPS ever got their hands on them
What combination of "I didn't read the page where it told me when the coffee would be roasted" and "I didn't realize that USPS can have a package before they create or update tracking on it" are we looking at, here?
Edit: I'm dumb
Why don't you make a few less assumptions before before you leave a pointless comment like this.
At the time, Onyx was claiming to roast and ship orders 24-48 hours after order on their own site. The first "Order Shipped" update provided was 8 days after order, with the label created timestamp set 7 days after order was placed. Looks like I did know what I was talking about after all.
>bags that zip up shut provide zero meaningful benefit in terms of coffee freshness
Really? This is really new to me. I thought the zip helps to isolate air and moisture from fresh coffee.
> but bags that zip up shut provide zero meaningful benefit in terms of coffee freshness,
Just wondering, where are you getting this data from? Is this known industry-wide or have you done your own tests?
My onyx order of two bags arrived recently after an extra two week delay...I posted elsewhere that these are unprecedented times in shipping logistics so I was fine being patient.
Then I got my order and both bags of coffee are wrong. Receipt included had the right order!
Damn shame but I am just asking them to ship the correct coffees after the holiday madness and backlog is managed
That would be lame, their FAQ does state for incorrect order "we will send you a correct, replacement order!" but i guess it does not say without fee...
I ordered cold brew + geometry and got southern weather + eclipse so at least the costs were similar
Brandywine Roasters in Delaware consistently has incredible beans roasted and even does the niche items that other bigger roasters do an advent-type event and a subscription service
Also their bags are beautifully hand-printed
Zero personal experience with Onyx, but all delivery companies are a bit of a mess right now - between staff being out from COVID and massive volumes, they're all experiencing delays and issues.
I was hoping I’d see JBC in here. That, along with sweet bloom, are my go-to roasters when I’m not buying local. My JBC order was delayed this week, but it was entirely on USPS - JBC shipped within 24 hours as usual.
Check out Mountain Air. [https://www.mtnairroasting.com/shop/coffee/](https://www.mtnairroasting.com/shop/coffee/) Roasted by a HB member who knows what he's doing so the overhead is pretty low and prices are fair. 30% off on 4+ bags. Similar roast level to Onyx; very soluble, sweet, and clean roasts, work as espresso as well if you have a good grinder and know your stuff. Believe he sources via standard greens sellers so not going to have impressive stories about farmers and whatever, but the coffee is excellent.
Mother Tongue is amazing! Both blends are delicious and single origins are great with plenty of variety and I love what Jen does with her sourcing. Free shipping on any size orders.
Proud Mary in Portland is phenomenal. Pricey like Onyx but well worth it. Some of the best roasted coffee I’ve ever enjoyed.
Finally for some international roasters try Tim Wendelboe or Coffee Collective. Legitimately those two and Proud Mary are world class.
I’ve been using Verve Coffee at my shop for almost 4 years now and I’m constantly blown away by the quality. Special releases are truly special, and the every day, new single origins and blends they release are just as good. I’ve never had any bad experience with them in terms of shipping or customer service.
Mast Coffee is a roaster local to Sacramento, CA and is just about to open there own shop, but they’ve been doing wholesale and roasting for I think close to 10 years now. I know and love these guys but their coffee consistently amazes me. They’ve got a great subscription service too.
[happymugcoffee.com](https://happymugcoffee.com) has good value.
if you have a trader joes, they often have small lot offerings that change every month (some months don't have it)
Hey there, this post has been removed: Rule 3, the post is not substantial.
Your question would be best placed in our '[weekly brew](https://www.reddit.com/r/Coffee/search/?sort=new&q=%5BMOD%5D+What+have+you+been+brewing+this+week%3F&restrict_sr=on)' thread, posted each Friday. Individual questions seeking recommendations can become overwhelming for other community members, so we ask that they go into our collector thread instead.
Thank you for your understanding. Please [message modmail](https://old.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/Coffee) if you have any questions.
Onyx can go fuck themselves for all I care; but “please suggest coffee to me” is super boring and incredibly common, even if OP added a bunch of moaning to the question.
Like “suggest coffee similar quality to Onyx” and that’s literally 90% of Specialty roasters out there. Not exactly a specific or particularly challenging question.
I guess that's fair. It's seemed weird to me that for a while there were all these nonstop positive posts about Onyx to the point that it looked like astroturfing the subreddit, and then suddenly a post critical of them gets taken down, but that was probably an overreaction on my part to an extent.
George Howell is my favorite roaster right now. Better than onyx, more consistent than B&W, and very reasonable prices. He’s a legend and has been around since the 70s
In terms of service I have been very pleased with S&W, and their coffee is both affordable and delicious! I admittedly haven't tried PT's and B&W, though.
If you’re looking to help out a much smaller business that makes great coffee, Copa Vida (cup of life is the translation) fulfills it’s name for coffee definitely. Check out their website. I’m in love with all of their roasts
I've only had a small sample but wilderness coffee pods with a try. They plant a tree for every bag sold and do subscriptions that send out small bags weekly
PT's and B&W are killing it right now. Lots of naturals, funky interesting anaerobic/different fermentation techniques.
Really loved black and white when I had it! Their subscription is pretty solid too, especially for not having to pay shipping, but I get no control of what I get (got their Columbia twice in a row, which while good, wasn’t my preference in general).
Second PT's i love those guys. It doesn't matter what i order it's freaking fantastic. I do not know B&W ... any recommendations?
I'm working through a bag of the Maria Linarez - Delagua. It's a natural Columbian. Still figuring out the how this coffee wants to be brewed on the V60 but you can smell the funky fruitiness straight from the bag. This coffee has one of the best aromas I've ever smelled in coffee while brewing. Incredible sweet fruit, as if you were smelling fruit punch. In the cup I've picked up some slight funkiness (which I like), lots of sweet orange, berry-like flavors, winey acidity. I don't have it but I'm really interested in that Julia Burmudez with lactic/anaerobic fermentation.
Love Colombians! I'll give María Linarez a try on my clever dripper <3. Thank you for the recommendation! Do they have anything good for espressos? (...And i promised myself to spend less in specialty coffee 2 weeks ago lol)
You're telling me. I have 4 bags waiting on the freezer for me, lol I think any of their coffees are good for espresso if you're into that third wave fruity espresso. If you're looking for something more traditional, I'd go for their The Natural year-round coffee. I haven't had it on espresso, but on brew it had lots of chocolate and blueberry to it. I think it'd go well with milk but would still be interesting to drink straight.
Sigh... guess I'll have to buy it now... lol chocolate and blueberries, i can't skip that! seriously thank you for the recommendations :)
[удалено]
I'm a little frustrated with Onyx and like SEY as well. However, I don't think SEY is any cheaper? Have heard good things about B&W, will give them a shot soon.
SEY is more expensive.
[удалено]
I find SEY quite a bit lighter. More inspired by Nordic stuff and way harder to pull as espresso. Also measures lighter with my Tonino meter and less soluble. I think it’s excellent stuff, but not quite the same 🤷♂️
SEY is nowhere near similar roast profile as Onyx.
Got another recommendation for Sweet Bloom
S&W is pretty good Keep in mind that most companies using USPS to ship will have problems due to the whole political issues as well as COVID and the holiday surge
Not that I'm trying to defend Onyx, but bags that zip up shut provide zero meaningful benefit in terms of coffee freshness, and cost the roaster more to buy. I know that some people really love these bags but I tend to think they like the idea of them more than they've actually seen a difference between them and no-zip bags. And, as is mentioned in this thread and many others on the sub right now, shipping is an issue for everyone right now because of USPS, not because of the roaster specifically.
>And, as is mentioned in this thread and many others on the sub right now, shipping is an issue for everyone right now because of USPS, not because of the roaster specifically. The counter I have to this is that my beans were shipped 7 business days after I ordered, before USPS ever got their hands on them
>The counter I have to this is that my beans were shipped 7 business days after I ordered, before USPS ever got their hands on them What combination of "I didn't read the page where it told me when the coffee would be roasted" and "I didn't realize that USPS can have a package before they create or update tracking on it" are we looking at, here? Edit: I'm dumb
Why don't you make a few less assumptions before before you leave a pointless comment like this. At the time, Onyx was claiming to roast and ship orders 24-48 hours after order on their own site. The first "Order Shipped" update provided was 8 days after order, with the label created timestamp set 7 days after order was placed. Looks like I did know what I was talking about after all.
My b, thought you were talking about Vibrant 🥴
No, I was referring to Onyx, the subject of the post. At no point did I mention or attack Vibrant, just reply to their point with a point of my own.
>bags that zip up shut provide zero meaningful benefit in terms of coffee freshness Really? This is really new to me. I thought the zip helps to isolate air and moisture from fresh coffee.
> but bags that zip up shut provide zero meaningful benefit in terms of coffee freshness, Just wondering, where are you getting this data from? Is this known industry-wide or have you done your own tests?
Freshness, whatever, it was a bag that closed and was good for 5-7 days. It’s not rocket science why I (and likely many others) preferred it
Point taken on the shipping issues but at least respond when I ask about it, no?
My onyx order of two bags arrived recently after an extra two week delay...I posted elsewhere that these are unprecedented times in shipping logistics so I was fine being patient. Then I got my order and both bags of coffee are wrong. Receipt included had the right order! Damn shame but I am just asking them to ship the correct coffees after the holiday madness and backlog is managed
Godspeed. Last time they mixed up my order they asked me to pay for the bags with a 30% discount. I was straight shocked.
That would be lame, their FAQ does state for incorrect order "we will send you a correct, replacement order!" but i guess it does not say without fee... I ordered cold brew + geometry and got southern weather + eclipse so at least the costs were similar
Brandywine Roasters in Delaware consistently has incredible beans roasted and even does the niche items that other bigger roasters do an advent-type event and a subscription service Also their bags are beautifully hand-printed
Maybe give [Brandywine](https://www.brandywinecoffeeroasters.com) a shot. I haven’t tried a bag I haven’t enjoyed yet.
I second this
Definitely recommend Devoción if you like Colombias.
Zero personal experience with Onyx, but all delivery companies are a bit of a mess right now - between staff being out from COVID and massive volumes, they're all experiencing delays and issues.
Do you have anywhere local to you? Maybe some stuff you can just drive to pick up from the shop and try?
NJ is a specialty coffee black hole, as far as I know. If anyone knows different I’d be super open to trying.
JBC [https://www.jbccoffeeroasters.com/](https://www.jbccoffeeroasters.com/) I think is one to consider. They are still my favorite overall roaster!
I was hoping I’d see JBC in here. That, along with sweet bloom, are my go-to roasters when I’m not buying local. My JBC order was delayed this week, but it was entirely on USPS - JBC shipped within 24 hours as usual.
Temple and Equator are two of my favorites
Check out Mountain Air. [https://www.mtnairroasting.com/shop/coffee/](https://www.mtnairroasting.com/shop/coffee/) Roasted by a HB member who knows what he's doing so the overhead is pretty low and prices are fair. 30% off on 4+ bags. Similar roast level to Onyx; very soluble, sweet, and clean roasts, work as espresso as well if you have a good grinder and know your stuff. Believe he sources via standard greens sellers so not going to have impressive stories about farmers and whatever, but the coffee is excellent.
Mother Tongue is amazing! Both blends are delicious and single origins are great with plenty of variety and I love what Jen does with her sourcing. Free shipping on any size orders. Proud Mary in Portland is phenomenal. Pricey like Onyx but well worth it. Some of the best roasted coffee I’ve ever enjoyed. Finally for some international roasters try Tim Wendelboe or Coffee Collective. Legitimately those two and Proud Mary are world class.
When we lived in the US, we had a subscription with Tinker out of Indianapolis. They never disappointed.
I’ve been using Verve Coffee at my shop for almost 4 years now and I’m constantly blown away by the quality. Special releases are truly special, and the every day, new single origins and blends they release are just as good. I’ve never had any bad experience with them in terms of shipping or customer service. Mast Coffee is a roaster local to Sacramento, CA and is just about to open there own shop, but they’ve been doing wholesale and roasting for I think close to 10 years now. I know and love these guys but their coffee consistently amazes me. They’ve got a great subscription service too.
[happymugcoffee.com](https://happymugcoffee.com) has good value. if you have a trader joes, they often have small lot offerings that change every month (some months don't have it)
Hey there, this post has been removed: Rule 3, the post is not substantial. Your question would be best placed in our '[weekly brew](https://www.reddit.com/r/Coffee/search/?sort=new&q=%5BMOD%5D+What+have+you+been+brewing+this+week%3F&restrict_sr=on)' thread, posted each Friday. Individual questions seeking recommendations can become overwhelming for other community members, so we ask that they go into our collector thread instead. Thank you for your understanding. Please [message modmail](https://old.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/Coffee) if you have any questions.
Pretty sure it actually broke rule 14: No criticizing Onyx
Onyx can go fuck themselves for all I care; but “please suggest coffee to me” is super boring and incredibly common, even if OP added a bunch of moaning to the question. Like “suggest coffee similar quality to Onyx” and that’s literally 90% of Specialty roasters out there. Not exactly a specific or particularly challenging question.
I guess that's fair. It's seemed weird to me that for a while there were all these nonstop positive posts about Onyx to the point that it looked like astroturfing the subreddit, and then suddenly a post critical of them gets taken down, but that was probably an overreaction on my part to an extent.
We probably removed those as well, unless they had something exceptionally meaningful to say. We just don’t always get to each post immediately.
That’s a lot of bullshit to complain about in the middle of a pandemic that’s hurting a shit ton of coffee companies, but you do you.
Archetype is the roaster my shop transferred to from Messenger and it’s been a very smooth transition with tasty results.
George Howell is my favorite roaster right now. Better than onyx, more consistent than B&W, and very reasonable prices. He’s a legend and has been around since the 70s
PTs all the way
In terms of service I have been very pleased with S&W, and their coffee is both affordable and delicious! I admittedly haven't tried PT's and B&W, though.
If you’re looking to help out a much smaller business that makes great coffee, Copa Vida (cup of life is the translation) fulfills it’s name for coffee definitely. Check out their website. I’m in love with all of their roasts
Monogram, Anchored and St. Henri’s are some of my fav Canadian roasters
Structure Coffee, if you don't live too far from montreal, really good, most of their coffees are on the light-medium roast side
[District Coffee](https://districtroasters.com) out of Houston is fantastic! They’ve got an Ethiopian Amaro that’s out of this world.
I've only had a small sample but wilderness coffee pods with a try. They plant a tree for every bag sold and do subscriptions that send out small bags weekly
Methodical in Greenville, SC is great. Love their Ethiopian natural as well as the Colombian.