why cant I get what I want!

askthecoffeeguy

OK - the scenario is something like this:  I own my own cafe and can get all the fresh coffee I want, relatively speaking, from my work, for home use...

But I am naturally inquisitive by nature, and I like to shop around and see what's out there.  If there is anything good, new, different, unusual.

Experience has taught me not to buy coffee beans from the stupid-market, as they are invariably no good, as they are at least a year old (if not longer!)

I saw on a shelf in the stupid-market the other, the 'in-house' coffee blend from a well-known Australian Chef / Restaurateur, and at $60 per kg, I thought: "Gee whizz... these had better be good!"

But guess what?  

The packaging was clear plastic which had been exposed to both heat and harsh light, the beans were 14 months old going by the use by date, and, a quick sniff of the so-called one way valve revealed what I already expected: That the beans were well and truly stale, as was further evidenced by their over-oily and very dark complexion.

So, I thought to myself:  I'll try my local heath-food shop, get something boutique roasted, and preferably organic!

BUT THE SAME THING HAPPENED!

Even though I checked the use by date, and determined that these beans too had seen some fair time on the shelf, for some reason I thought that, because they were organic they would somehow be superior!

WRONG!!!

What is one to do?

If I as a cafe owner struggle to purchase so-called fresh coffee beans, what is Joe-Average to do?

Now I know that there are other avenues open to me, such as going directly to the source, to the roasters themselves, and that there are several excellent on-line avenues to purchase freshly roasted beans.

But I mean to say, what a disappointment if you've lashed out on the expensive home espresso equipment, only to end up with a product which is well and truly past its ideal use by date of 3 months from the date of roasting.

How do others get around this crema dilemma?

No wonder more and more are turning to roasting their own!

Pat

chefrob

Hi Pat You have opened a Pandora's Box!! This should be very interesting, I'm looking forward to reading heaps of replies about where to get the best beans, let alone the debate about home roasting! I'm a chef with 20 years experience, I reckon I can make a pretty good cup, but I'm no Barista. I marvel at how good staff can make 5 different coffee based drinks in quick succession, all looking fantastic and tasting great. But hopefully they wonder how I can make 5 different meals quickly, all looking fantastic and tasting great too, and that's not even touching on my cakes, tarts and muffins! Practice makes perfect, and having a love and pride in what you do doesn't hurt. Getting back to the point, as you well know, with a handle of askthecoffeeguy, 250 posts and being a moderator, buying supermarket beans is not the way to go. But buying supermarket whole beans and grinding them on demand, or enough for a day or two is infinately better than buying supermarket pre-ground. Everyone has to start somewhere, I bought Vittoria Mountain Grown Arabica beans twice, mainly for the air sealed black tin can that they came in. What a classy looking tin, the coffee was good too. I now use these tins to keep my grinds fresh. Getting back to the point more precisely, if you go to the expense of purchasing a Home Espresso set up (including Grinder, must include Grinder), then buying roasted whole beans online is the way to go. I love Alan's Blend from Coffee for Connoisseurs, and there are heaps of other choices from them that I'm looking forward to tasting. Pioneer Coffee is just down the road from me (I'm in Hervey Bay, Qld). I havn't tasted their blends yet, but my next order will be from them, as I like to spend my money locally - support local business, and they in turn will support you (but I'm sure that Pioneers Blends will taste great). The price of the roasted beans, including Posting, is great value, considering that a passionate and skilled person has created these blends, roasted them to perfection within a few days of your order, and delivered them poste haste to your door. What more could you ask for?

askthecoffeeguy

Hey Rob, we have some pretty smart local boutique roasters here in Melbourne, too, including St Ali, and Veneziano Caffe, and Jasper coffee (who supply my workplace), to name but a few. I don't know about St Ali, but I know it's possible to order direct from the other two. Sometime in desperation (does that make me a coffee junky?) I too have tried beans from the stupid-market, and occasionally they have been alight on first tasting, but my experience has been that the tend to fall apart completely a day or two after opening - probably something to do with how long they have been in the packet already. And yes, I agree about pre-ground coffee. Someone told me recently that pre-ground has to be stale before it is even packaged, to prevent it from oxygenating. But I'm sure more experienced commentators could comment on that one... And yes, the whole fresh coffee debacle is a bit of an issue, certainly for me. When I'm working I often drink 6 to 8 double shots (poured short) of coffee each day, which makes for a lot of coffee! Which means that I am tasting the stuff all the time, so I have come to have certain high expectations about how the finished product should taste, certainly in terms of freshness, preparation, cleanliness, and quality. If someone bought a coffee of of me which they  didn't like, I'd say: "How can I make that coffee better to suit your expectations?" Either that or offer them a free one next time they visited. But when you buy a product off the shelf, there appears to be little guarantee when it comes to freshness, or meeting customer expectations. And yes, a roasted date would be a great thing on a pack of beans, given that, to the best of my understanding, the use by date is something like 2 years from the date of production, which is about 19 months too late! Remember the 3 by 3 rule: Coffee is consumed at its best within 3 months from the time of roasting, 3 days opening the packet, and within 3 minutes from having been freshly ground! pat

nzroaster

I suggest buy online!!!! Not only does it somewhat assure freshness but it means you can taste a variety of roasters beans. As for packaging. All my beans have roasted on dates, its the only way to go (if you are not in supermarkets)

roastman

wow good topic but easy to answer , buy from a respected roaster ,check the roast day on bag (most good roasters will put a roasted on date on their bag ) make sure it has a one way valve on the bag , and really it should be drank within a three week period from the roast day and never grind more than you are going to use straigth away , happy grinding  

chefrob

$60/kg for coffee beans! Check out the Instant "Coffee" in the Supermarkets. $6.50 to $8 for 100 grams for the "High Quality" stuff. Man, it makes me choke on my biscotti! (Sorry, but I love that phrase).

ausrs

have you ever considered going to your local favourite coffee shop and asked to buy beans from them ??? we have several customers that buy our beans ..from 125 grams up to 2kg bags .........and $60 per kg ...they are joking ?????

askthecoffeeguy

i used to sell both beans and grind through my coffee shop but then we got so busy that we kept running out of coffee! Now that I am competing in the Victorian Barista Competition (a prelude to the national and international competition) I am in the process of putting my own blend together! Very exciting! Probably only for use in the competition, but who knows? From little things, big things grow! Pat