The Katy, Texas store and the Willowbrook store, I am told, are two of only ten current Bed, Bath and Beyonds to feature an extensive coffee section. They also house a World Market food section, as both stores are owned by the same parent company. Here are some photos of some of the coffee options including Melitta, Hario, Chemex, Breville, Keurig, and more.
Until now, your options were Sur La Table, Williams Sonoma, several of the artisanal coffee shops, and online, to name a few. True, you aren't going to find, say, a Rancilio Silva or a Rancilio Rocky or a Baratza Maestra here, but Bed, Bath has really done a great job with this section in my opinion.
Click on any photos to enlarge it for a better view.
An extra bonus: Now, I consider Keurig to be one of the worst things to happen to craft coffee. I am a Chemex and Technivorm kind of person. But, the store has two Keurig pro units and you can brew up a coffee sample in the store, have a coffee while shopping. And it isn't just one or two options. Just about every coffee made for the Keurig, which they sell, is available for tasting.
And don't forget: 20% off coupons on a regular basis in the newspaper.
Espresso Machine Review
(a review of espresso machines in 3 price ranges)
Recently, a friend asked me about burr grinders. I thought I might capture my response here, since I mentioned Bed, Bath and Beyond to her in my response:
First off, don't consider anything but a burr grinder. Now, if you do have an espresso machine and want to grind fine enough for espresso (somewhere between white flour and sand) you are going to have to spend some money to get a good one.
But there are two options. First, forget about grinding coffee for espresso and buy the Lavazza espresso grind at Spec's on Smith Street or ask your friendly coffee vendor (Catalina, Southside, Boomtown or Greenway or other) to do an espresso grind, buy a smaller quantity and use it up before it goes stale from oxidation. Note: I am now a believer in freezing coffee.
Second, the Hario hand grinder is superb for espresso grind but not so great for medium grind. Max Gonzalez of Catalina said the ($50) Hario grinder can grind as finely as some very expensive electrical ones. I own one and used it every day in my office and on road trips.
Now, on to burr grinder. I own a Baratza that I bought at Catalina. Baratza, on the low end pricing is about as good as you can get in the price range. But you don't have to spend that much.
Capresso and Cuisinart make grinders that will suffice for your every day medium grind. If not shopping online, using the Bed Bath and Beyond 20% off coupon at their new coffee market venue out in Katy would be a good place to go shopping.
