August 6, 2021

Where to get coffee in Tucson

As of 2021, I am roasting my own coffee. I recently (October, 2022) revisited some of the places in Tucson roasing and selling beans. There seem to be more all the time! I decided to sample some other peoples roasts to see if my own palate was drifting off course. I hoped to be completely blown away and have something to reach for, but so far my conclusion is that I am doing pretty well and getting better.

Note: I am not reviewing places for their barrista skills, or atmosphere as a cafe. These things are certainly important for some people, but that is not the topic here. I am looking for a place that offers freshly roasted beans, roasted how I like them, and with some amount of selection.

My preference is for a medium roast (probably what many would call a "city" roast, possibly trending towards "full city".) I absolutely do not want a dark roast. Anything with oils on the surface, craters indicating the roast entered second crack would not interest me at all. Dark roasts obliterate any unique aspects of a coffee, so it is pointless whether a dark roast is made from Ethiopian or Guatemalan.

I am also not interested in a really pale roast. Pale roasts are notoriously hard to get right and are typically underdeveloped.

Up until I began roasting my own coffee at home, I purchased roasted beans from Old Bisbee Roasters via the mail (see below). I have never found a place in town that does as well as he does. If he didn't exist, Savaya or Raging Sage would be my current choices.

Starbucks

This is a place for me to make some general comments rather than any kind of endorsement or recommendation. In general Starbucks roasts coffees darker than I would like. Some people (with my point of view) refer to Starbucks as "char-bucks". Their over-roasted, slightly burned taste has become their "signature", and most of their customers have come to expect it, mistaking it for the taste of strong quality coffee. Well, so be it and who am I to argue, but it is not what I want, so I go elsewhere.

Raging Sage - 2018

On the east side of Campbell, just north of Grant. This is probably the best place in town to buy quality beans. They keep their loot in a nice cooler and date the bags with the roast date. Prices are OK. In March of 2018 I paid $14.25 for a pound of Columbian and $19.75 for a pound of Honduran.

Presta - 2020

On the east side of 1st, just north of Grant. They sell the lightest roasted beans I know where to find in this part of the world, which is a tentative plus. But they get two big demerits. First they sell in 12 ounce bags, which I despise -- and they are expensive. A 12 ounce bag sells for $20. Not only that, they don't mark or display the price anywhere, for which I always give any business a black mark. So, their price per pound is $26.67 -- pretty darn expensive. (Twice what I pay for coffee at "Old Bisbee" and not as good.) I might pay that if the coffee was fantastic, but it isn't.

Exo - 2022

A friendly and cozy place with their big Probat roaster clearly visible. I bought some coffee and as soon as I ground it I could smell the ground coffee and tell it had been sitting quite a while. This was in spite of the date marked on the bag which would indicate 2 day old coffee. The 12 ounces of stale coffee cost $20 (so $26.67 per pound). It was perhaps bagged on the date marked. The huge bins of roasted beans on the shelves sort of predicted this. Too bad.
Also, they sell only 12 ounce bags -- not good.

Crave - 2022

If you are looking for a cafe, this may be your place, but when I visited they had only two bags of roasted coffee for sale and the guy behind the counter showed little interest in answering questions. Both bags were a blend, which also did not excite me. I left without buying one of the two bags. (On top of that, their website is "parked" right now - are these people serious?) "Not the droids we are looking for."

Savaya - 2022

We visited the shop on Broadway. The fellow was more than happy to chat with us. They had a decent selection of single origin coffee. They offer both 12 ounce and "honest" 16 ounce bags (nice!) We bought both a brewed cup and a 16 ounce of Brazil Starmaya. The Coffee was $20 per pound - a sensible price. The cup was very good -- full body and yet a fruity aftertaste. I would say they balanced the roast very nicely for what I want. The actual roasting takes place at their Tanque Verde location. They have 6 locations (!!) in town, so they must be earning customer loyalty. Once location is on 108 South Church, so if there is parking, it is handy for me. This place could get my top rating. Stay tuned.

Yellow Brick - 2022

This is next on my list of places to check out, so stay tuned. On 3220 south Dodge.

Old Bisbee Coffee Roasters

Just around the corner (in Bisbee, Arizona), a source of very good coffee! He roasts to a level I like. However I have noticed him drifting towards darker roasts over the years. Also, the stuff he ships is not as fresh as it used to be, but it is still very good. Yet the trends disturb me.

The only reason he is not still my regular supplier is that I started roasting my own coffee at home.

He sells by the pound, and typical prices are $18 or $19. If you join his "club", you get two pounds of coffee each month for $30. This price includes shipping, so you get a pound of coffee for $15. And it just shows up like magic, so it is pretty unbeatable.

I have been buying coffee from Seth for many years now and have always been entirely satisfied. I place an order on the website, and the coffee is in my mailbox the next day (2 pounds in a USPS express mailer). I joined his coffee club, and he sends me 2 pounds every month. One of the best benefits of this is that he picks the coffees and I end up trying all kinds of things that I might not choose myself.

His business has grown since I started doing business with him, and this has not entirely been optimal for the customer. My coffee used to arrive with my name on the bag and the aroma would knock me over when I opened the mailbox. These days there is no name, and the coffee is clearly not as fresh as it used to be. No doubt they are roasting in bigger batches, loading it into bags and it would sit on the shelves and be grabbed to fill orders.

Have any comments? Questions? Drop me a line!

Tom's coffee pages / tom@mmto.org