Irving Farm Coffee Roasters is a local roaster in New York.  Their roasting facility is in the Hudson Valley, but they have cafes in Manhattan.  I visited their Upper West Side location on 79th (at Broadway).  I admit that in San Diego, living so close to Revolution Roasters and Lofty Coffee Co, I’m pretty spoiled, and finding good coffee here in New York has been tough.  So, I was very happy to finally find Irving Farm.

The Upper West Side location is definitely a neighborhood place. You’ll find the typical coffee house crowd on laptops and people coming and going.  There’s a back room with a nice big skylight to make it very bright and welcoming.  I didn’t try the food, but it looked good to.  I was just there for the coffee.  The barrista at the helm of the nice La Marzocco machine was a portly good natured fellow that was talking with everyone and anyone and recognized the regulars.

The shot, their Blackstrap espresso blend, was very good.  It was sweet with caramel and some chocolate.  I could see the beans, and they were a nice deep brown color…not over roasted and burned like so many other places.  So, I returned to the cashier to buy a bag.  Now, here’s the thing that really got me excited.  The bags were all stamped with the roast date.  My bag was roasted only 3 days prior to my purchase.

Like beer, fresh is key to good coffee.  So, finding a place like Irving Farm, where you know the coffee is truly fresh is great.  And, the bonus of being able to buy the same fresh beans for home use is awesome.  With enough locations around the city (including Union Square and Grand Central), I now know where I’m getting my beans.  You can see a shot with the beans I bought here.