Old Chicago Coffee

Coffee Origins

Information about our coffees and some of the origin countries we source from

From time to time this information does change as new harvests are received throughout the year. On occasion changes can include tasting notes and availability. Not all single origin coffees are available year round.



What our coffee blends consist of…

  • African (medium dark)
    An African Kahawa blend featuring coffees that can include Burundi, DR Congo, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Zambia and Tanzania. This blend of coffee beans is roasted medium-dark for the best flavor.
  • Asian (medium)
    Our Asian Plateau coffee beans are a a medium roast and can include coffee blended together from the Bolaven Plateau in Laos, Timor, India, Papua New Guinea, Sulawesi and Sumatra.
  • Swiss Decaf (dark or medium selections)
    Swiss Decaf uses the unique process of Swiss Water, a chemical free way to decaffeinate coffee. Since decaf is often not very flavorful compared to regular coffee we prefer to blend different origins together for a unique flavor profile including Colombia, Brazil and Ethiopia.
  • Breakfast Blend (Light-Medium)
    Gently roasted coffee beans brought just past the standard light roast to keep origin flavors intact while offering hints of good coffee flavor from the near medium roast blend. Coffees used can include variable blends of beans such as Colombia, Brazil and Peru for a true South American Breakfast Blend.
  • Cold Brew (Extra Dark)
    Near French Roast coffee beans blended for great flavor when consumed as cold coffee, but also delicious hot as well. These coffee beans are blended from a secret recipe that includes South American and Central American coffee beans to create unmatched consistent flavor cold or hot.
  • Donut Shop (medium)
    Traditionally fire roasted, our Gourmet Donut Shop coffee includes a blend of medium roasted coffee beans sourced from Central and South America.
  • French Roast (extra dark)
    Perfectly roasted French Roast beans are very dark, slightly beyond dark roast and can sometimes include natural oils from the beans, offering a strong bold flavor. Coffee beans include origins such as Colombia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Tanzania.
  • Half-Caff (1/2 Decaf)
    A mix of Swiss Decaf (chemical free decaf) and caffeinated coffee. This 50/50 blend offers a low caffeine coffee and is available as medium or dark in the bucket, and also available as a light roast in our coffee bags. We do not offer light roast in the bucket since light roasted coffee is heavier and only fills the bucket about 60 percent full.
  • House Blend (medium)
    A popular medium roast featuring a mix of beans that can include Honduras, Colombia, Brazil, El Salvador and Peru for full flavor. This unique blend is carefully crafted to make a consistent cup that is always delicious.
  • Latin (medium-dark)
    Coffee beans are roasted medium-dark for a mix of standard coffee flavor with hints of bold. This Latin American Blend features variable coffee beans blended from Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala, Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Honduras, El Salvador and Costa Rica.
  • Italian Roast (extra dark oily)
    If you like your coffee to just taste like very dark coffee with no flavor profiles such as fruits, tobacco, sweets, floral hints, etc. this may be the preferred choice. This extreme dark roast features oily coffee beans with strong flavor, muting coffee origin flavors for a pure deep coffee taste.


Some of our favorite coffee origins for creating perfect blends

Brazil
Tasting notes include nutty hints and sweet chocolate. This coffee is grown at an elevation of 3,600 feet in the São Paulo state. It\’s popular as a dark roast coffee and makes great espresso with it\’s unique espresso type flavors. It\’s also a popular blend ingredient for cold brew coffees with a malt texture. Brazil is in South America. The country is located below Colombia and to the east of Peru. Brazil is the world\’s largest producer of coffee.
Ingredients: 100% Arabica Coffee.

Burundi
Tasting notes include mandarin orange, rich semi-sweet chocolate, caramel and an ultra heavy body with a mildly sweet finish. This coffee is grown at an elevation over 5,700 feet. A very heavy bodied drink with a sweet and bright finish make this a favorite. Beans are of the Bourbon variety. Burundi is in East Africa, in the African Great Lakes region. Rwanda is to the north, Congo to the west and to the east (and south) is Tanzania.
Ingredients: 100% Fair Trade Organic Arabica Coffee.

Cameroon
Tasting notes include a heavy body, toffee, chocolate and caramel with hints of molasses and blackberry. This coffee is grown at an elevation of 7,200 feet on the side of Mount Kilum. Cameroon is famous for white honey, and with this large population of bees the coffee plants receive lots of assistance in pollination. Coffee here was brought in the early 1900\’s from Jamaica, and this Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee flourished in the ideal climate conditions of Cameroon where the shade grown coffee is under the banana trees. Location is in central Africa. To its west is the Gulf of Guinea which is eventually the ocean further west, and to its north is Nigeria.
Ingredients: 100% Arabica Coffee.

Colombia
Tasting notes include toffee, apples and a fairly heavy body. This coffee is grown in the Antioquia and Calda regions at elevations between 3,800 and 4,400. Colombia is in South America at its northern tip and borders Ecuador and Venezuela. Nicaragua is to the north.
Ingredients: 100% Arabica Coffee.

Costa Rica
Tasting notes include raisins, walnut and green apples with a medium body. This coffee is grown at an elevation of 5,900 feet in the higher mountain peaks of the Tarrazu growing region of the San Jose province. This province is known for the best coffee beans in the country. The bean variety is Arabica and includes a well balanced mix of Caturra and Catuai varieties. To the west of Tarrazu is the Dota growing region where some world renowned coffee beans are also grown. Costa Rica is in Central America with Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south. East of the country is the Caribbean Sea and to the west is the Pacific Ocean.
Ingredients: 100% Arabica Coffee

El Salvador
Tasting notes include nuts, chocolate, brown sugar and a heavy body. This coffee is grown at an elevation of 3,600 feet with Arabica bean varieties that include Pacas, Caturra and Bourbon. It is harvested in the Apaneca Mountains where coffee plants are surrounded by fruit trees, offering a perfect shade grown environment. El Salvador is in Central America. Guatemala is to its northwest and Honduras to the northeast. Moving south you would enter Nicaragua.
Ingredients: 100% Arabica Coffee.

Honduras
Tasting notes include caramel, red fruits and chocolate. This coffee is grown at an elevation of 4,500 feet in the Intibuca Department of the Western Highlands. The mountains are full of pine and oak trees, with valleys covered in vegetation due to the tropical soils that are always full of moisture. Honduras is in Central America with Guatemala and Belize to the north. The southern border includes El Salvador and Nicaragua.
Ingredients: 100% Arabica Coffee

Laos
Tasting notes include cigar tobacco and herbs. This coffee is grown at an elevation of 3,300 feet just south of the Salavan region border in a field at the top end of a waterfall. Coffee from Laos is preferred over the similar Sumatran coffees because its flavor is consistent from one harvest to the next, bringing the same unique flavor year round. Bordering countries around Laos include Thailand, Vietnam, China, Mynamar and Cambodia.
Ingredients: 100% Arabica Coffee.

Nicaragua
Tasting notes include sweet, citric, caramel and a bright finish with an occasional hint of milk chocolate. This coffee is grown at an elevation of 4,900 feet in the northern part of the Matagalpa region. It\’s a mixed Arabica variety of Caturra, Catuai, and Maragogipe coffee beans, which brings this coffee\’s unique flavor together. Nicaragua is in Central America just south of El Salvador and Honduras. South of its border is Colombia, the beginning of South America.
Ingredients: 100% Arabica Coffee.

Peru
Tasting notes include chocolate, caramel, almond, raisin and a heavy body. This coffee comes from the central Peruvian province of Huanauco and is grown at an elevation of 6,200 feet. The region was once the home of the Inca Empire. It\’s warm in the day and cool at night with an average temperature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit, making it perfect for growing great coffee beans. Peru is located in South America on the western edge, below Colombia and west of Brazil. Bolivia is to its south.
Ingredients: 100% Arabica Coffee.

Papua New Guinea
Tasting notes include a heavy body with flavors of mandarin orange, caramel and chocolate. This coffee is grown at an elevation of 5,300 feet in the northern part of the Eastern Highlands, which is near the central area of the country. This area is full of mountains and valleys, making it a perfect place to grow fantastic coffee. Some mountain areas reach over 12,000 feet elevation. Often, this coffee is referred to as PNG coffee. Papua New Guinea is in the southwest Pacific Ocean, just north of Australia.
Ingredients: 100% Arabica Coffee.

Rwanda
Tasting notes include cherries, nectarines and black currant. This coffee is grown at an elevation of 6,200 feet in the western province, not far from Lake Kivu, home to many mountain gorillas. The coffee grown here is Robusta and Arabica. Rwanda is in East Africa. To the north is Uganda, and to the south is Burundi. West of the country you would enter the Congo, and to the east, Tanzania or Kenya.
Ingredients: 100% Arabica Coffee.

Tanzania
Tasting notes include chocolate, cherries and caramel. This coffee is grown at an elevation of 5,900 feet in the southern highlands of Mbeya growing region. The French brought coffee plants here in the 1800\’s and in the 1920\’s India moved coffee here because of the ideal growing climate. Tanzania, like Brazil and Peru in South America, sits just below the equator, providing similar conditions for coffee plantations. Tanzania is located in East Africa. To the west is Rwanda and the Congo. To the east is the Indian Ocean. Heading north you would enter Burundi or Kenya, and south of the country is Mozambique.
Ingredients: 100% Arabica Coffee

Uganda
Tasting notes include chocolate, raisins and green apples. This coffee is grown at an elevation of 5,900 feet on the south eastern edge of the country where rain forests are plentiful, in the Mount Elgon Volcano region. The volcano sits at the border of Uganda and Kenya. The area is home to baboons, blue monkeys, elephants, buffalo, over 300 species of birds, aardvarks and more. Dense forests populate much of the area and valleys of coffee, orchids, ferns and floral plants are common. Uganda is in East Africa, with Kenya to its east, Rwanda to the south, South Sudan to the north and the Congo to the west.
Ingredients: 100% Rain Forest Alliance Arabica Coffee.