SEY Coffee: Brooklyn's Benchmark for Light-Roast Single-Origin Precision
SEY Coffee is based in the Northeast and ships from Brooklyn, New York. They have built a reputation as one of the most rigorously sourced and precisely roasted specialty operations in the country. Their model is straightforward: a small, rotating selection of single-origin lots sourced directly from named producers, roasted consistently at medium level to let each coffee's origin character and processing nuance shine through cleanly.
The current CoffeeByMe catalog from SEY spans Peru, Colombia, and Ethiopia, with roast levels uniformly at medium (level 3) and acidity trending moderate-to-high. What distinguishes SEY is producer-level transparency: every single-origin lot in their lineup names the specific grower, farm, and processing method. The 2026 Chorso Bule Ethiopia, for example, is a washed Ethiopian Landrace from Gedeb with notes of peach tea, melon, and jasmine — while the 2026 Chelbessa Ethiopia showcases the same Yirgacheffe sub-region with watermelon, peach, and citrus, demonstrating SEY's ability to differentiate within an origin, not just across them.
Colombia is equally well represented. Jhon Alexander Bermudez's Chiroso from Urrao (fermented underwater for eight days) brings ripe pineapple and hop-like brightness, while Wilson Alba's dry-fermented Pink Bourbon from Sierra Morena offers berry compote, lemon zest, and hibiscus. Their only blend in the catalog — the Huila Decaffeinated field blend — rounds out the offering with orange marmalade, dark chocolate, and strawberry.
CoffeeByMe's AI recommendation tool makes it easy to navigate SEY's rotating lots and find the right cup based on your preferred tasting notes.
Single Origins
| Name | Roast | Tasting Notes | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Wilson Alba; Sierra Morena, End of Season - Colombia | Medium | hibiscusBerry compotelemon zest | $27.75 |
| 2026 Chorso Bule - Ethiopia | Medium Light | melonjasminePeach tea | $27.50 |
| 2026 Carlos Saenz; Machay Pata - Peru | Medium | lycheejasminemango | $82.00 |
| 2026 Dwight Aguilar Masias; Finca Nueva Alianza, Red Gesha - Peru | Medium | honeydewlycheejasmine | $35.00 |
| 2026 William Ortiz; La Cabaña, 2nd Harvest - Colombia | Medium | LimeTropicalMelon | $27.25 |
| 2026 Chelbessa - Ethiopia | Medium | Watermelonpeachcitrus | $25.50 |
| 2026 Jhon Alexander Bermudez; Finca La Estrella, 2nd Harvest - Colombia | Medium | Ripe pineapplebright acidityhops | $26.00 |
| 2026 Georgina Puma; Monte Verde - Peru | Medium | apple blossommandarinblueberry | $31.00 |
Blends
| Name | Roast | Tasting Notes | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Huila Decaffeinated | Medium | Orange marmaladestrawberrydark chocolate | $24.25 |
Roast Profile & Flavor Range
SEY's entire catalog sits at medium roast (level 3), with one offering noted as light-medium. Acidity is consistently moderate-to-high across all lots, and body trends lean-to-medium — a profile deliberately chosen to maximize clarity and origin expression. Tasting notes across the lineup emphasize florals, stone fruit, tropical fruit, and citrus: mango, jasmine, lychee, peach tea, berry compote, and melon appear repeatedly. It is a coherent, fruit-forward house identity built through sourcing and roast restraint rather than roast development. Single origin pricing ranges from $25.50 to $35 per 8.8oz bag, with the large-format Carlos Saenz Machay Pata available at $82 for 32oz.
Why Buy SEY Coffee
Producer-level traceability: Every SEY single-origin in our catalog names the grower, farm, and processing details — the Jhon Alexander Bermudez Chiroso is fermented underwater for eight days, the Wilson Alba Pink Bourbon is dry-fermented before raised-bed drying. This level of transparency is rare.
Three Peruvian single origins: SEY offers unusual depth in Peru — the Red Gesha from Dwight Aguilar Masias, the Monte Verde Geisha from Georgina Puma, and the large-format SL9 from Carlos Saenz Machay Pata — making them the strongest Peruvian high-altitude program in the CoffeeByMe catalog.
Ethiopian regional differentiation: The 2026 Chelbessa and 2026 Chorso Bule are both Gedeb-area washed Landraces, but with clearly distinct profiles — watermelon/peach vs. peach tea/jasmine. CoffeeByMe's tasting-note filters help you choose between them.
Best for: Light-roast enthusiasts who want clean, precise, fruit-forward cups; pour-over drinkers who value producer transparency; and anyone curious about rare varieties like Red Gesha from Peru or Chiroso from Antioquia.
