Food & Drink

green (unroasted) coffee beans sourcing in GTA

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Jr. Member
Aug 11, 2003
171 posts
3 upvotes
Richmond Hill

green (unroasted) coffee beans sourcing in GTA

Hey guys,

Anyone here roast their own coffee beans in/near TOronto?
I was wondering where you guys source your beans?
Before I left Toronto four years ago I mostly bought from green beanery downtown, are they still the staple for green beans now?
17 replies
Member
Sep 21, 2001
389 posts
100 upvotes
West end
So the shipping is $5 a pound or the coffee is $5 a pound?
I couldn't register at greencoffeebuyingclub.com is that working for anyone else?
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Deal Fanatic
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Sep 18, 2009
5016 posts
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Southwestern Ontario
The greecoffeebuyingclub link works for me, but I have been registered for several years. I am not buying any green beans from the U.S. any more, because the postal rate went up this year. It is now $42 U.S. for 15 lb.
The rate for 15 lb in Canada is $11, approx, from KW Cambridge. The other two vendors I use, smico in Laval and greenbeanery in Toronto, charge much the same but it depends on distance, with a surcharge to B.C. or the west.


The Santos I got from anubis recently was $4 per lb plus $11 shipping. For 15 lb that was just under $5 per lb delivered. Quality was excellent.

The anubis site does not list green beans. I would contact them by email to get the current prices, as they are not listed on gcbc vendor offerings . If you have problems ordering PM me.
...



Packard
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Jr. Member
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Sep 11, 2011
194 posts
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Toronto
Care to share your way of roasting the beans?
jayt90 wrote: The greecoffeebuyingclub link works for me, but I have been registered for several years. I am not buying any green beans from the U.S. any more, because the postal rate went up this year. It is now $26 U.S. for 15 lb.
The rate for 15 lb in Canada is $11, approx, from KW Cambridge. The other two vendors I use, smico in Laval and greenbeanery in Toronto, charge much the same but it depends on distance, with a surcharge to B.C. or the west.


The Santos I got from anubis recently was $4 per lb plus $11 shipping. For 15 lb that was just under $5 per lb delivered. Quality was excellent.

The anubis site does not list green beans. I would contact them by email to get the current prices, as they are not listed on gcbc vendor offerings . If you have problems ordering PM me.
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Sep 18, 2009
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Southwestern Ontario
cassandra111 wrote: Care to share your way of roasting the beans?
I use a Cafe Rosto (about $200) from www.greenbeanery.ca
It has worked well for about 6 years, and I'm thinking about replacing with a Behemor, just over $300., as it is the most favored amateur roaster.
Some people get acquainted with green roasting by using an air popcorn device (limited capacity), or a very hot cast iron pan(uneven roasts).
The commercial electric units from greenbeanery are generally better.
...



Packard
Ask the man who owns one!
Jr. Member
Aug 11, 2003
171 posts
3 upvotes
Richmond Hill
cassandra111 wrote: Care to share your way of roasting the beans?
You can get decent even roasts from simple oven at home:
1. preheat oven to 200-220c (depends on bean) - this is most important step, preheat to ensure even temperature.
2. spread beans on baking pan (shallow so radiative heat transfer to sides of pan are minimized).
3. roast 20min +/- change in temps and time.
4. cool beans when done.
5. rub cooled beans to remove the chaff.

caveats:
1. oven variable temps and uneven heating
2. smoke/burnt coffee smell when roasting indoors
3. small batch volumes (which can be a benefit; always fresh!)
Jr. Member
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Sep 11, 2011
194 posts
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Toronto
^Thanks, OP! Love your tutorial and tips which make me eager to try this method first while mulling which home roaster to buy. My in-laws used to do the pan roast method.

My Jenn-Air has great even temperature, so no problem on caveat 1. I'm glad you pointed out #2 as I'm way too sensitive to cooking odors and have invested a lot into filtering them out. Hopefully, roasting beans give off a more pleasant scent!

Just a thought: at the level that you and jayt90 are on, you probably can't find a decent cup of joe outside of your homes! I'm not even close to being a purist, but I don't even enjoy the coffee at my local Italian cafe anymore. Rarely can I find a decent cup at someone's home either that I've become so adept at diverting a host's attention while deftly pouring my awful coffee down the drain, lol!
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Jan 4, 2009
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on the links!
For small batches, I use the FreshRoast SR500.

For larger roasts (~3 lbs.), I have a steel drum that can be hooked up to my BBQ rotisserie
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Sep 11, 2011
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Toronto
Sauerkraut wrote: For larger roasts (~3 lbs.), I have a steel drum that can be hooked up to my BBQ rotisserie
That sounds intriguing, tell us more!
Deal Addict
Feb 13, 2007
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Merchants of Green Coffee
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Jun 27, 2003
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North York
Here's my last order from Greenbeanery. I've been ordering from them for years. They also have a birthday month store credit program.

1 x Nicaragua Maragogype 2 lb. (NIC-MAR-2) = $18.04
1 x Peru Chanchamayo HB MCM 50 lb. (Per-Chan-50) = $156.96
1 x Peru SHB Organic 2 lb. (PER-OR2-2) = $11.99
1 x Guatemala Huehuetenango SHB EP 5 lb (GUA-HU-5) = $29.38
1 x Brazilian Peaberry 1 lb (BRA-PEA-1) = $8.40
1 x Brazilian Pulped Natural Coffee 2 lb. (BRA-PN-2) = $17.05
1 x Costa Rican Tarrazu 2 lb. (CR-Tarr-2) = $14.25
Sub-Total: $256.07
Same Day Courier (GTA only) $14.75 (1 box(es) to be shipped)
Total: $272.74

I don't have time to go downtown to buy the beans, so the $15 shipping if fine for me. This amount last my wife and I about a year, plus the odd 1lb that I give out to friends/teachers here and there. Their website does list the taste profile of each bean if you click on it for the details. The first time I went into their store to ask someone about it, no one had a clue about any of the beans.

I have the behmor 1600 roaster, I roast 1 lb at a time, love it. Between my wife and I, I have to roast once a week, takes about 30 mins from start to finish (I play temple run 2 while I wait for the final 5mins to start cracking). Much more even roast than my old air popper, and I can control exactly how dark I want the beans. I have a burr grinder, and brew using the drip method (regular morning coffee with milk), cilio porcelain drip with costco filters which tasted same as the Melitta brand ones (tried the permanent filters but too much sediment went thru). I also have a aeropress and french press but don't use them much anymore.

jayt90's suggestion for http://www.greencoffeebuyingclub.com/ is good too. I also bought from the canadian guy who lives in montreal, fast shipping and better prices than greenbeanery. Only thing is you might have to buy quite a bit per order (I forget the minimum, maybe 5-10 lbs), whereas greenbeanery I can get 1/2 - 1 lb just to try out the bean.
Newbie
Sep 4, 2017
1 posts
Anyone order bigger orders like 50 lb bags or
Maybe join together and make a big order to save money ?
Newbie
Jan 26, 2007
5 posts
North York
Rick1231 wrote: Anyone order bigger orders like 50 lb bags or
Maybe join together and make a big order to save money ?
If we do this for 'Bali Blue Moon', I'm totally down! By far the best coffee I've ever tried/roasted.
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Sep 1, 2005
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Markham
Have any of you tried SweetMarias...since you're ordering green unroasted beans you can order much bigger quantity and roast when you're ready.

https://www.sweetmarias.com/green-coffee.html
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