ottawa foodies

This is the kind of business we need to support. It is local, socially responsible, and sells excellent products at not-outrageous prices.

"Freakin' Good" is our house blend - fresh ground on Saturday mornings - nothing better! The beans are usually fresh at the Independent Grocer in Almonte, and if you go to the actual shop, you can get one of their blends on sale each week.

We purchased a bag of their "Freakin' Good Roast" beans as part of a fund raising activity for our kids' nursery school. And yes, it is "Freakin" good! :-)

Thanks FF I'm looking forward to reading everyone's comments, and giving it a try!

Alley cat, there was an informative forum discussion on the topic of home roasting, mostly thanks to zymurgist: ottawafoodies.com/forum/232

As an aside, if you know anyone who attends the Bells Corners Cooperative Nursery School, they sell Equator beans/grounds throughout the school year as a fund raising activity.

If you can't make it out to Almonte, Equator does mail-order as well. We make sure to order before Tuesday mornings,as suggested on their web site, and we receive it the same week, usually on the Thursday. We would love to start roasting our own beans, does anyone have recommendations for their favourite brand or type of coffee roaster, and any tips for roasting?

I buy a lot of my beans, both roasted and green, from Equator in Almonte. If you can make the trip out to their store in Almonte, I've noticed the freshness can make a difference compared to what you might get at local grocery stores (some of their packaging in the past has had dates on it). Regardless, it's (IMHO) great coffee, not to mention organic and free-trade. For home-roasters, they appear to sell just about all their varieties green as well.