The Full Story on Canadian Specialty Coffee Purveyor Eight Ounce Coffee
As a bonafide coffee fiend, I‘ve tried countless roasts from all the trendiest indie cafes and top specialty brands over the past decade. But time and time again, I keep coming back to one roaster above the rest: Canadian favorite Eight Ounce Coffee.
What began as an intriguing new find during a trip up north quickly turned into a staple morning ritual once I discovered their expansive selection of scrumptious single-origin beans. Beyond flawless flavor though, Eight Ounce Coffee has earned my enduring loyalty through their transparent direct trade practices, phenomenal customer service, and clear passion for the craft.
After countless pounds of their gorgeous beans, countless hours dialing in my perfect pourovers, and countless mornings made infinitely better thanks to their reliably delicious roasts, I wanted to share my first-hand experiences to help fellow coffee lovers discover or maybe rediscover what makes Eight Ounce Coffee so special.
Getting to Know Eight Ounce Coffee
Husband and wife team Wesley and Jennifer Farnell founded Eight Ounce over a decade ago in Calgary, sharing a dream of making incredible coffee more accessible. They began importing coveted manual brewing devices from niche producers abroad while spotlighting ethical local roasters.
As their curated selection earned acclaim from Canada‘s vibrant specialty coffee community, they expanded into more commercial equipment and eventually their own roastworks. While growth exploded to meet demand, the Farnells insist exceptional service and support come first – a mantra clearly felt by everyone who interacts with the now over 60-person operation.
Beyond expanding product lines, Eight Ounce Coffee also helps cultivate Canada‘s coffee culture itself. Whether throwing the country‘s premiere barista competitions or helping cafes source sustainable beans, their commitment to outstanding coffee seems unparalleled even among leading third wave roasters twice their size.
But naturally as a customer and not a critic, what keeps me obsessively stocking their beans is the delightful flavor consistently packing every bag of Eight Ounce Coffee.
My Favorite Eight Ounce Coffee Bean Varieties
Eight Ounce Coffee offers a rainbow of medium to dark roasts from single origins like Guatemala to complex blends. I alternate frequently depending on mood, pairing needs, and whim, but these are my 3 ride-or-die staples:
1. French Roast
The Eight Ounce French Roast first seduced me over seven years ago with an expertly balanced chocolate and spice complexity. While many dark roasts slide into just ashy bitterness, theirs remains rich, round, and rewarding sip after sip. I often enjoy it straight up to fully appreciate the terroir nuances. But smoothed out with a touch of cream or vanilla, it also makes a dynamite dessert-like treat.
I find these beans excel prepared in an AeroPress, with a total contact time around 3 minutes letting the cocoa notes fully unravel. For water, I use filtered around 200°F to prevent overextraction bitterness. My go-to ratio is 1:15 coffee to water, adjusting the grind to dial in. French pressed works nearly as beautifully if you don‘t mind a bit more sediment.
2. Ethiopian Yirgacheffe
While I typically skewer towards deeper roasts, Eight Ounce‘s lively Ethiopian Yirgacheffe always makes mornings magical. Grown biodynamically at nearly 7000 ft elevation, the beans boast intoxicating floral aroma and crisp lemon-lime brightness. Each orchard-fruity sip tingles with exotic spices like cardamom and bergamot too.
As a washed Ethiopian, I find the Yirgacheffe beans extremely versatile across brew methods. But my favorite way is probably a Kalita Wave pourover. Following Nick Cho‘s technique, I bloom with 50g water, then pour in careful circles up to my desired ~14:1 ratio. The flat bed and 3 minute average time produce a flavorful yet clean cup. I also adore it chilled as iced coffee. The vibrant citrus notes hold up gorgeously!
3. Colombia Popayan
For days craving something sweeter to balance the tang of my grapefruit breakfast, Eight Ounce‘s satiny Colombia Popayan beans always satisfy the tooth. Grown in volcanic soil with meticulous processing, the emerald beans yield syrupy milk chocolate with hints of raisin and apricot. There‘s still a pleasant brightness though keeping things interesting.
Typically I‘ll prepare these as a flat white, allowing velvety steamed milk to mingle with and mellow the fruity espresso. Dosing 19 grams ground moderately fine, I pull 1:2 shots in about 25 seconds. Whole milk frothed until glossy ribbons finish it beautifully. For bolder fruit punch, cold brewing really uncaps this bean‘s juicy tropical side too though!
Comparing Eight Ounce Coffee to Leading Specialty Roasters
While Eight Ounce Coffee provides my daily caffeine fill nowadays, plenty of other outstanding roasters tempt my tastebuds too. So how exactly do they stack up against other top third wave coffee companies?
Overall I‘d assess that Eight Ounce Coffee edges out most mainstream specialty chains on quality and nuance since they operate smaller and more selectively. However boutique microroasters focusing on very limited offerings tailored to regional preferences rival Eight Ounce for complexity. Competing on ethics though, Eight Ounce‘s transparency and sustainability around sourcing, roasting, and shipping remain exceptionally difficult to beat even by smaller batch roasters.
Here‘s a more detailed breakdown of how they compare to two other personal favorite US-based roasters:
| Eight Ounce Coffee | Onyx Coffee | Counter Culture |
|---|---|---|
| Bean Quality | Direct trades only exceptional lots | Outstanding; meticulous sorting |
| Roast Style | Range from light to very dark | Tend towards moderate level |
| Flavor Complexity | High; small batch benefits | Extremely nuanced |
| Brew Gear Selection | Extensive commercial & consumer offerings | Minimal accessories |
| Order Frequency | 2-4 times per month | 3-5 times per month |
| Customer Service | Elite; extremely helpful | Good via email |
| Price Per Pound | $14-$19 | $$17-$25 |
| Sustainability | Stellar commitments to people & environment | Solid efforts |
As you can see, while Onyx Coffee beats out Eight Ounce barely on flavor and Counter Culture lectures on ethics – Eight Ounce Coffee holds its own on the criteria I care about most for repeat tasty mornings. Of course your priorities may differ! But do give them a shot to taste what Eight Ounce is doing up north.
Behind the Beans: Eight Ounce Coffee‘s Journey From Farm to Cupping Lab
Many coffee companies simply source commercial commodity beans and roast without much further diligence. But what drew me to Eight Ounce Coffee originally was a deep sense integrity around both where their magical beans originate and how they handle them.
The process starts by visiting growers at origin, often in remote high-altitude regions of Colombia, Guatemala, Ethiopia and beyond. Eight Ounce‘s head buyers cup samples at farms large and small, assessing fruitiness, body, and potential. They establish long-term partnerships for direct trade around beans meeting flavor standards plus fair labor and ecological farming criteria.
Beans get sent to Calgary where Eight Ounce‘s QA team cups through submission after submission, fine tuning roast profiles for optimal characteristics. They tailor blending ratios and parameters for balance too.
The chosen lots roast in gorgeous 25 lb batches to maximize freshness in sleek refurbished ProBats. I‘ve tour their roastery several times and can vouch for pristine conditions and strict protocols around time, temperature, flow rate – elements easy to cut corners on but making all the difference come brew time.
Quality checks continue after cooling too. Every batch cupped ensures the targeted flavor notes shine through cleanly. Only the batches hitting the right aesthetics and metrics move onto packaging – quite an accomplishment keeping consistency across so many origins and blends!
It‘s this magnificent attention to detail that you can literally taste in those very first sips of a new Eight Ounce Coffee bag. I feel so privileged to be able to enjoy the fruits of their ethical partnerships, scientific craft, and of course flavor journeys chasing coffee greatness!
Why Eight Ounce Coffee Wins My Enduring Loyalty
Sure their lovely beans provide plenty temptation alone. But as I‘ve continued patronizing them over a decade, a few key factors make Eight Ounce Coffee really stand out as my overall favorite roaster – especially ordering from afar in the US:
Responsive Support: I can‘t count how many times quick questions on availability, recommendations for gifts, issues with delivery, and more were answered graciously in detail within 24 hrs by their stellar team over email, phone and chat.
Free Shipping Over $100: With most domestic roasters I still pay $10-15 per carefully packaged shipment. But thanks to Eight Ounce‘s distribution might, they include free standard shipping to most US states on moderate size orders, saving me a bundle yearly.
Loyalty Rewards: As much as I wish endorsing them was enough reward already, Eight Ounce sweetens the love through calibration invites, sampling programs, and especially their 10% off loyalty points. Over the years those can add up to some serious savings!
Curiating Always-New Surprises: My inner coffee nerd positively geeks out whenever Eight Ounce Coffee releases some inventive new cold brew blend or gets exclusive rights to be first bringing a revolutionary roaster Stateside. I‘ve discovered so many outstanding hyperlocal beans and gadgets thanks to their unrelenting innovation.
Of course I can—and do—wax poetic for hours on their scrumptious roasts alone. But it‘s how Eight Ounce Coffee goes the extra mile ensuring a smile-inducing experience around their products that forever won my heart and wallet. Thank you for the memories!
Constructive Criticism: Areas Eight Ounce Can Improve Upon
Please don‘t misinterpret my effusive praise above – the team at Eight Ounce Coffee seems nearly perfect, yet still with room for getting better. In the spirit of helpful feedback from someone wanting the very best for them, a few constructive critiques:
Product Availability Frustrations: Due to small batch sizes, fabulous beans often sell out quickly. I can‘t count how many times I got my hopes up for a tantalizing new arrival, only to find it backordered or discontinued upon checkout. It stings when gifting too!
Inconsistent Bean Packaging: Some bags come sealed impeccably while others lose freshness-protecting valves or don‘t seem adequately nitrogen flushed. Especially shipping long distance, oxygen is no friend to volatile coffee oils. Minimizing those slight differences in bag performance could make a big difference.
No Mobile App: In our digital era, having 10 passwords memorized feels antiquated. I‘d love an app to handle placing reorders, checking rewards points, and tracking deliveries automatically from my phone versus logging into their website. Super minor gripe but would show some tech savvy innovation too!
Truly those nitpicks barely seem noticeable considering the phenomenal beans, customer care, and overall experience Eight Ounce Coffee delivers year after year. But paying mind to those little opportunities constantly arising could help their impressive company continue getting better and better too!
Pro Home Barista Tips for Preparing Eight Ounce Coffee Beans
Between wonderfully nuanced beans and high-tech brew gear, Eight Ounce Coffee provides everything needed for outstanding homemade coffee. But without honing some core skills, even the world‘s best ingredients fall short of their potential.
As a reasonably proficient home barista nowadays, here are my 5 best tips for preparing beans – especially delicious ones from Eight Ounce Coffee! – flawlessly:
1. Pick the Right Grind Size
One of the biggest rookie mistakes is using preground beans for finicky methods like espresso or moka pot. Investing in a quality burr grinder and matching particle size to your chosen preparation prevents underextraction or overextraction. As a rule, go finer for higher pressure methods and coarser for immersion or pour over.
2. Use Pure Water
Seemingly innocent factors like high mineral or chlorine content wreck havoc on your perfect pourover. Either filter existing tap water or use bottled distilled water with controlled mineral levels. For the cleanest slate to appreciate fruity notes, try the Ode Brew Water Kit.
3. Stay Consistent Between Brews
Changing too many variables simultaneously while dialing in makes isolating causes of undesirable results impossible. When testing new beans, ratios, grind size, or water, keep other factors constant to understand the impact of that one adjustment.
4. Clean Equipment Thoroughly
If it‘s been awhile since showing your French press some TLC, coffee oils and residue taint new outcomes. For equipment touching water, heat up diluted Urnex Cafiza occasionally to dissolve buildup. Even wipe down tampers and catch trays to prevent cross-contamination.
5. Record Observations Meticulously
Flavor perception remains wildly subjective. But measuring ratios, timing steps, and logging tasting notes creates repeatability between you (or your baristas) across days. Not to mention identifying what worked or what to tweak next!
As both a self-proclaimed coffee fanatic and scientist, I firmly believe mastering those core competencies elevates enjoyment regardless the brew method. Dialing them in (along with endless on bar practice) took my at-home drinks from murky to magnificent quickly. I hope they help you too!
Brewing With Eight Ounce: Sample Parameter Guidelines
While whole books exist guiding coffee extraction, below find helpful baseline parameters for brewing exemplary cups with Eight Ounce Coffee beans across some popular home methods:
| Brew Method | Parameters |
|---|---|
| Hario V60 | 15g coffee finely ground; bloom 45g for 45 sec; pour concentric circles finishing at 255g total by 2:15; 2:45-3:15 total time |
| Aeropress | 17g ground medium; inverse method; stir 10 secs; 45g bloom; stir & top off plunger to 250g at 1:30; plunge gently by 2:00 |
| French Press | 28g coarse ground beans; 400g 205°F; stir skim foam at 4:00; plunge gently at 4:30 |
| Moka Pot | 14g ground fine basket; Preheat empty; gentle quick flows; don‘t tamp |
| Cold Brew | 100g coarse ground to 900ml water; steep 12-18 hrs; filter clean 3-5 times |
I suggest starting with those recipes as a jumping off point when trying a new Eight Ounce Coffee offering or method. Adjust only one variable at a time, focusing first on grind size to achieve desired extraction based on tasting. Those rough guidelines serve me well across a wide spectrum of their fabulous beans but hopefully you can further finesse an ideally balanced cup!
The Verdict: Why Eight Ounce Coffee Should Earn Your Loyalty Too
In the constantly evolving specialty coffee universe filled with rockstar award winners and trendy nano roasters, Eight Ounce Coffee holds their own through touches both vast and nuanced. Their incredible care evident first in flawlessly executed beans through to customer interactions continually delights both coffee connoisseurs like myself and casual sippers.
Beyond delectable brews sourced transparently, Eight Ounce Coffee warrants ongoing support by putting people first in a commodified industry. From respecting growers to authentic community engagement, each feel good bean helps move the craft forward positively too.
After countless blissful mornings thanks to their meticulous, magical roasting, I hope my personal experiences inspire you to give Eight Ounce Coffee a go filling your own mug with joy soon too! Will report back on exciting new developments as my delicious journey with them continues…
Cheers & best of luck in your coffee quests ahead,
Alex the Aspiring Home Barista
