Foods from International Kafia
Comments
2016 Feb 7
I picked up the French Roast yesterday and was altogether not happy with the experience. They were unable to tell me when it was roasted though they said "it was just brought up today". I guess I should have asked "brought up from where?".
What bean they use is a "trade secret". Um. Yeah.
I mentioned that I was a bit mortified to see the roasted coffees just spread out in open baskets. They did not seem concerned about that because they had a high turnover.
There is a lot of oil on the beans but there are still big portions of them which are brown not black, which tells me they are roasting them way too fast. Even on a well roasted French Roast oil should not be out on the bean to the point where it is almost dripping off. The proof of the pudding was in the eating this morning - the coffee tasted stale and burnt. I just couldn't drink it.
What bean they use is a "trade secret". Um. Yeah.
I mentioned that I was a bit mortified to see the roasted coffees just spread out in open baskets. They did not seem concerned about that because they had a high turnover.
There is a lot of oil on the beans but there are still big portions of them which are brown not black, which tells me they are roasting them way too fast. Even on a well roasted French Roast oil should not be out on the bean to the point where it is almost dripping off. The proof of the pudding was in the eating this morning - the coffee tasted stale and burnt. I just couldn't drink it.
2013 Feb 14
Thanks, Momomoto for mentioning this place. I had not known it existed until I read your comments. So, I stopped in today and bought a half pound each of Indian Monsooned and Tanzanian PeaBerry. They smell really good, and I think I have found my new coffee supplier. (Previously a fan of Francesca's.). The couple there are really nice and explained the coffees to me which was a very nice touch. I can also confirm that their hours are 9:30 to 5:30 on weekdays and 8:00 to 4:00 on Saturday. I was also impressed by the fact that they asked for feedback. When was the last time that ever happened?
2013 Feb 13
The original owners of International Kafia have retired after about 35 years, and have sold the business.
The coffee's still great, and the new owners (Pamela and Stephen) are very nice.
Hours have changed, though. If I remember correctly they're now open Tuesday to Saturday, 9:30 to 4? I'll check next time I'm there.
The coffee's still great, and the new owners (Pamela and Stephen) are very nice.
Hours have changed, though. If I remember correctly they're now open Tuesday to Saturday, 9:30 to 4? I'll check next time I'm there.
2007 May 5
This is the only place that I'll buy my coffee from (although Hasbeans in London, Ontario is really good, too.) They sell enough beans that it's almost always fresh, and it smells like heaven if they're roasting while you're there.
Ridiculously affordable prices, too, at around $7/lb. for the good stuff.
Ridiculously affordable prices, too, at around $7/lb. for the good stuff.
Captain Caper
I bought roasted coffee that didn't bloom very well when I tried a pour over. Who knows how long it was sitting in that basket ?
I now home roast and really enjoy the green beans I get at Montana Coffee and Tea. When they could not tell me about the Ethiopian Sidamo because they had tossed the packing sack, Jean, looked up the invoice from Montreal importer (www.njdouek.com/). She told me it was grade 2 and named the co-operative it came from. I paid $5.85/lb for a really good Sidamo.
BTW: I buy my green Ethiopian Yirgacheffe here: ottawafoodies.com and Kafia's cost 50% more for about the same quality.