Willoughby's Coffee & Tea — Restaurant in New Haven

I was looking for freshly roasted coffee beans for my espresso machine. The staff member didn’t know the exact roasting date of the beans but she assured me that their batch is fresh and recently restocked. I got a bag of Ethiopia Idido Natural Grade 1 coffee to test but unfortunately it wasn’t fresh. It must have been roasted at least several weeks ago as it lacks any fragrance.

EDIT: a. I wrote this review 10 days after purchase bc I just got the time to do so. I DID try the coffee right after buying it and that's what my review is based on

b. Based on my personal experience, the lack of fragrance in the coffee beans right after purchase was more consistent with beans that are roasted 1+ month ago or perhaps stored improperly. So when I'm saying "several weeks" in the OP, I mean 4,5 weeks. The coffee wasn't stale in a repulsive way, but by no means of definition was it...

Another Ridiculous Price Hike!! Today my 9-year relationship with Willoughby's is over! After being a loyal customer for the past 9 years and purchasing a coffee Mon-Fri at either the Church St or York St locations, because of two price increase within the same year for a double shot of espresso. Cost used to be $3.49, then their first increase went up to $4.56 in August 2022, which I thought was ridiculous for a double shot of Espresso, today, May 2023, they've raised it to $5.10!!! Nope, not paying that, that's where I draw the line. OH....and did you know they also charge for ice, yep, $2.50 for a medium cup of ice!! And it's not even good ice, it's kind of hollow and melts faster because it is. The department I work in also gives them a ton of business throughout the academic year.......definitely looking for new options for myself and for...

A sad and annoying experience today with a somewhat moody staff. I was helping myself get some bulk coffee without realizing it’s not self-serve like in the grocery stores. A staff stopped me after I’ve filled about 1/4 lbs of beans into a bag already, so I apologized and set it aside. Another staff came to help me but spilled the beans EVERYWHERE with careless motions. I sensed a lack of understanding of how much work and effort behind each and every one of these coffee beans. There was no respect shown at all towards the massive labor to even make it possible for us to easily access and taste them. Maybe consider changing it to self-serve in the future cuz the customers...