Coffee Bean Suppliers
Coffee Bean Suppliers....
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)Unless you have decided to start roasting your own coffee beans, a good starting point for freshly roasted coffee bean suppliers would be your local fine-foods grocer or delicatessen shop.
But, they themselves must obtain their stock from their coffee bean suppliers, so, cut to the chase and visit your local roaster.
Ring them, ask if you can have a look at the roasting equipment, see what freshly roasted coffee beans look like when they come out of the roaster, taste, smell, ask lots of questions!
Most coffee bean suppliers and roasters appreciate their customers taking an interest in their product and often are very willing to help you find your favourite roast profile or bean variety.
They can also teach you about the various coffee styles and some roasteries run cupping classes, where you can learn how to really “cup” (taste) a coffee; you’ll be amazed at the different flavours you can discover in a single cup of coffee!
If you do not have a roaster nearby, you may have to look at your local shop or super market.
Ask the manager where he or she gets the coffee- supplies, how much time passes between orders and if you can, contact the wholesaler to see how much time passes between the beans coming out of the roastery and landing on the shelf in your local shop.
Unfortunately you will find that in most cases there is a considerable time-span between roast and shelf.
It is not unusual to find beans that have been roasted more than 6 months ago…. And that means the beans are not just stale, but seriously rancid!
Coffee beans will keep quite long when they are green, but once they have been roasted, they
Sometimes roasters will try to prolong the shelf -life of their beans by vacuum-packing them... BIG NO_NO!
During the vacuum sealing process all the air is sucked out of the pack, and with it, most of the volatile coffee oils, and thus: the flavour.
Even IF removing the oxygen from the pack might slow down the oxidising process, you will also have dry, bland tasting beans, instead of precious little nuggets bursting with flavour.
So, morale of the story is:
if you cannot figure out that the beans were roasted less than 4 weeks before they ended up on the shelf in your local store, don’t buy them!!
if you cannot figure out that the beans were roasted less than 4 weeks before they ended up on the shelf in your local store, don’t buy them!!
Ok, so no local roaster and no fresh beans in your local store?
That leaves you the internet; there are heaps of small and large, well established and boutique roasteries that sell their coffee online.
The trick is to find one that:
1. Does not charge through the nose for the shipping.
2. Uses quality beans, not just Robusta or low grade Arabica.
3. Ships within 3 days of roasting.
4. Has a few beans/blends to choose from (but stay away from suppliers with more than 6 or 7 different options).
5. Has a refund/replacement policy as well as a quality-guarantee.
6. Is willing to answer questions about the beans, the way they are roasted and to what level they are roasted; with a bit of luck they may even let you cup some of their roasts!
A good online roaster will be happy to answer all those questions: it is after all the only way you, as prospective customer, can develop a feel for the product you intend to buy.
Alternatively, you can buy from a good online store where you can be sure that the turnover of stock in their affiliates' warehouses is frequent so the product is fresh.
Also, affiliation with a large online store means that there is a policy of refunds for unsatisfactory products in place.
Our online store is affiliated with Amazon, so you know it is backed by their quality customer service.