For years I've been trying to find a single roast to become my house coffee. I've had some really great roasts, and I end up chasing those flavors. When the bag is gone I try to find more of it again.
There are just so many roasters and coffee options available. I get caught up and frozen from having too many options. I know I like Verve, Heart, and Sey, but which one is going to give me the best espresso? My mind thinks it needs to solve this puzzle. It doesn't. Any of these roasters will produce an excellent espresso. For instance, right now I'm drinking Verve's Streetlevel that's been open for two weeks, and it's really good so, there is no need for me to try to find a another espresso.
There is no best roaster. There are good ones and great ones, but too many variables exist in coffee to ever have a best. It's all so subjective, like asking the waiter what's the best thing on the menu and having them recommend their favorite that is loaded with onions. But I hate onions so their favorite would never be good to me. I just need to pick a roaster and roll with them. There's not enough time in the day — or the week — for me to research, whittle, compare and then decide if this is the one to stick with.
I've decided to go with a few offerings from Verve. First, the Roaster's Choice subscription for both Americas roasts. I like those roasts and they're single origin, so I'll get a good variety of flavor. This sets up coffee to come to me regularly. No more worrying about being short on coffee. Second, Roaster's Choice espresso from Verve. Every three weeks a new espresso blend comes from them. Also once a month I buy a random bag from a roaster I've never tried. This keeps my curious side of the brain happy.
No more searching Reddit for who "the best espresso roaster" is or asking Claude to recommend the best chocolatey medium espresso roast from an independant-ish coffee roaster. I can sit back and work on perfecting my pours and pulls without spending so much time searching for new coffees.
I already feel a sense of relief now that the burden is gone. Wonder how long this will last. Probably until I get my first bag of bleh beans.