Our Coffee

Why do we say we have the best coffee in Kalamazoo??
How could we possibly make a statement so bold??

The answer lies in Plymouth Michigan and in one man named Tom Isaia.
Tom has been in the coffee business since the late 60's when he owned one of the first coffee houses in Ann Arbor called the Blind Pig and opened a roasting facility in 1982.

His passion for the bean is unequaled.
Growers and brokers will ship Tom hundreds of pounds of coffee each year in hopes that he will buy from them. Through a process called "trying and cupping" Tom tastes each sample. He rejects most and only keeps few that he knows is exceptional and will stand apart from other beans from the same growing region.

Tom believes in roasting a coffee only enough to bring out the subtle nuances of each batch. If a coffee requires a dark roast they are carefully roasted at appropriate temperatures to avoid burning the bean.

You will not see any flavored coffee in our pots.
Tom believes like we do, the best ways to cover up bad coffee is
to roast it to charcoal or to flavor it artificially.

The next time you buy a pound of coffee do a check on it.
Unless our coffee was specifically roasted for espresso, it will be roasted to bring out only the very best characteristics of the bean and it won't be oily and roasted to almost charcoal.

Our coffee have a smooth rich flavor that dances on the tongue and you can tell the difference between the coffees of different growing regions, it does not all taste the same. Our coffee will not be sitting on a shelf for weeks on end, we only order enough to get us through the week and when we are out, we are out.
When you visually inspect our coffee, all the beans the same color indicating one batch was roasted and bagged especially for us.
We only sell whole beans so that you get the very best flavor, if you need your coffee ground we are happy to do it for you on the spot.

There are many things we like to do ourselves, but there are some things that should be left to the experts with many years of experience and a wealth of contacts in the industry.
We trust Tom Isaia and Coffee Express Co. when it comes to the coffee we proudly serve and drink everyday.
We wouldn't ask Tom to come and cook or bake for us!
(Trust us on that one!)

We carry the following coffee and we consider them to be the finest Tom and his company obtain on a regular basis.

African

Kenya AA	The "AA" tells that this is a top Kenyan pick. The coffee has the typical East African snap, spiciness and "winey" brightness.
Ethiopian Harrar (hah-rahr)	The Harrars will surprise you with the amount of flavor they exhibit. Sometimes called "mocca", the cup has a strong "syrupy" flavor.
Tanzanian Peaberry	While many think that the smaller peaberry bean produces a more intense flavor, all Tanzanian coffees exhibit a flavorful and balanced cup.

Indonesian

Sumatran Mandheling (man-day-ling)	Mandheling is a region of Sumatra that produces one of the heaviest-bodied coffees available. A full and robust flavor that blends well with other coffees.
Java Estate	With slightly larger bean size and a deep, clean taste, this is a select pick of the best Javas.
Celebes Kalossi (sel-eh-bees ca-low-see)	Though this coffee shares some of the heavy body of other Indonesian coffees, it has a bit more zest, with a smoother flavor. It is a prized and rare coffee.

Blends

Decaffeinated
Swiss Water is a patented decaffeination process that uses charcoal instead of methylene chloride to extract the caffeine. Our Swiss Water beans are processed at a plant in Vancouver, Canada, and are a good choice for customers uncomfortable with the chemicals used in the European process.
We only serve and sell Swiss Water process decaffeinated coffee.

2026 Parkview (P)345.9404 (F)345.9414 or 7878 Oakland at Centre (P) 492-7515 (F) 492.7518