coffee society journal — know your beans
Berkeley has been a coffee town since Peet's opened on Vine Street in 1966. Today it has a dozen or so roasters, from a global brand to one person operations. We're one of the one person operations. Here's the map as we see it, with our bias declared up front.
01the big one
Peet's started here and still has the original store at Vine and Walnut, but it's now a large company and the coffee is roasted in Alameda. It's consistent and it's everywhere. It's also not really a Berkeley roaster anymore, which Peet's would probably agree with.
02the shared roastery
A lot of small Berkeley coffee is roasted at CoRo on Fifth Street. It's a collaborative roastery (a shared space where more than 25 Bay Area brands rent time on the machines), so if a small local bag says Berkeley on it, there's a good chance it was roasted there. CoRo also runs public cuppings, which are probably the best free coffee education in the East Bay.
03the independents
There are more than a dozen independent roasters in town. Some roast in the back of a cafe, some sell mostly wholesale, and a few, like us, sell mostly online and at events. They're worth trying one at a time. Look for a roast date on the bag and a named farm, because that tells you more than any review.
Where we fit: we buy three or four lots at a time, all scored 85 or higher, roast them to order, and ship within 24 hours. Small menu. Big floor.
04common questions
Peet's started here but now roasts in Alameda. More than a dozen independents roast in town, many of them at the CoRo shared roastery on Fifth Street, and we're one of them.
From any local roaster that prints a roast date on the bag. Ours ships within 24 hours of roasting, and Bay Area orders usually arrive in a day or two.
It's a collaborative roastery on Fifth Street where over 25 Bay Area coffee brands roast, and it hosts public cuppings and classes.
the one person operation
Every lot is 85+, roasted to order in Berkeley, and shipped within 24 hours.
about coffee society current lots the coffee clubcoffee society · specialty micro roaster · berkeley, ca · est. 2023