Orlando Coffee Roasters — Restaurant in Orlando

What can I say, Orlando Coffee Roasters are simply amazing! They first got my attention through their customer service. I was in the middle of developing my coffee company, River Of Life Coffee Company, when I found them on a Google research. I knew I wanted the coffee I used to be locally roasted, so I was on the hunt. I messaged several companies I found with only Orlando Coffee Roasters and one other company answering me. It was a Sunday when I messaged so I figured it wouldn’t be until later the next when I heard back but boy was I wrong. I got an answer right away. They helped me with my questions and welcomed me to their shop.

My trip to the shop was nothing short of my first experience with them. They answered any questions, shared the different roasts they offer, made me several different shots of espresso to try and then sent me home with samples. The whole staff are so warm and welcoming! They do whatever they can to make sure they take care of their customers.

However, while great customer service is key it can’t be everything. So I have to brag on their quality of roast. The Baru blend is my FAVORITE for the shop. It is bold but smooth. For our espresso we use Amanda’s Espresso ( which seemed meant to be when I saw the name since my name is Amanda 😉). Finally, I use the cold brew bean to make cold brew for the shop. It is like nothing I have ever tasted before and is simply amazing.

So to say that Orlando Coffee Roasters has got it going on is an understatement.

You won’t be...

I started getting into making real espresso at home, dropped big $$$ on machinery and was left to find a good coffee bean to brew. I read that to brew the freshest you should find a local roaster. After trying all the roasters in Orlando, I found Orlando Coffee Roasters. In my opinion, OCR delivers three fold: quality, value, and consistency. There are a few other quality roasters around town but they'll lack in value and consistency. A 12 oz. bag of a certain high end coffee shop's espresso blend will run you $22, where all of OCR bags are 16 oz. and much more affordable. That's not to say they sacrifice on quality. You can see the love and craftsmanship they put into developing their roasts and then you can taste it. A week into brewing their Signature Espresso blend, my barista roommate and I met in the kitchen to discuss how addicted we were with the roast. Lastly, if you brew espresso you know how important consistency is. After 6 months of brewing Signature Espresso, I've never had to make major adjustments in grind size. Dial it in once and forget about it. Any minor changes in dosing have normal from the top to the bottom of the bag. Incredibly reliable. I cannot say the same for any other local coffee roast.

Note: this is not a coffee shop, it's a roastery. But I highly recommend you get some beans and get to...

This is it. This is grail espresso bean for any Orlando resident.

I purchased the vienna in both medium dark (Arabica, Robusta), and Medium (Arabica). The ristretto shot I pulled was gorgeous with tons of crema, even out of a Breville Duotemp, and had so much body and flavor that I felt bad testing it in a latte. Chocolatey, little hints of fruitiness that don't get cloying; it's my preferred espresso profile.

Gustavo clearly puts his heart into this product. The roast was perfect -- just the right amount of oil on the surface of each bean. There are a lot of places in this city that assume darker is better, but OCR knows their stuff. I'm sure it would be great in pour over, drip, and even french press, but this is the king of espresso beans. I wish I had known about these guys years ago, as I would not have purchased my coffee from anywhere else. Idali (I hope I got that right) at the front counter was also super cool and a great rep for the brand.

I'm so glad I don't have to go shopping around, desperate to find good roasters -- this is where I'll get my beans...