Fresh from Oren's Daily Roast

Not too many years ago, while I was already living in the West Village in New York, I thought my only options for coffee were Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts and the coffee cart that parks on the corner of 14th and 7th every morning.

Then I found Oren's Daily Roast. The first shop I visited is down on Waverly Place near Washington Square Park. They keep their glass jars of fresh roasted beans in a glass display case at the back of the store. Being there for the first time and watching my beans scooped out of those jars, I knew I'd discovered something special. This was a totally different experience than grabbing a shiny pre-sealed bag off the shelf. These seemed like fine specimens kept in precious small quantities only for the discerning coffee fanatic.

At the time, I knew very little about coffee (other than how much I liked it) so I was convinced I only liked dark roasts. I asked for the best dark roast they had and got their Beowulf Blend. It's really their espresso blend, but I brought it with me to my in-laws for the holidays and proudly poured the fresh grounds into their drip coffee maker and shared a pot with the family.

I think that may have been the day I first grew hair on my chest, but I was hooked. This coffee was certainly a whole new world for me. I didn't know of any other shops at the time that claimed to have roasted their coffee within the last 24 hours. Since then, I've discovered more great coffee in the city and of course there has been a slew of newcomers but Oren's is still one of the best.

I stopped by today for a couple new samples.

• Guatemala Amatitlan from Finca El Colmenar
• Brazil Cerrado from El Dattera
• Ethiopia Sadamo #3

I've added the links for each because they all include a description of the coffee and a story of origin. (And if you're a reader of this blog, you know how much I appreciate the stories that come with every cup of coffee.) I also have some green beans of the Ethiopia Sadamo which I'll roast later this week.

I'll post again once I've brewed and roasted and tasted. In the meantime, I'm just going to continue dipping my nose into the bags that they came in. That's the smell of real fresh coffee my friends.

Thanks Oren's. Keep up the good work.