Why doesn't the roaster skip roasting one week to "catch" up?

Marvin

Or roast less at a time?

Why doesn't the roaster skip roasting one week to "catch" up?

Or roast less at a time?

How do you plan -- especially in this economy -- how many pounds you'll need "next week"? The number is constantly changing.

Your personal consumption and mine may remain relatively constant, but -- you know --

• there's that business trip out of town next week, I'll buy more coffee next week;
• there's that new roaster on the other side of town, but since I'm here, I'll try some of their beans this week;
• the family is going on vacation for two weeks, I' have to remember to get fresh beans when we return;
• oh yeah, I wanted to try that roaster from the internet that was recommended to me (and perhaps you switch permanently).

and so on -- there are dozens of reasons why the amount of coffee roasted does not equal the amount of coffee sold . . . including the business in the café is down because people aren't spending the extra $3 for their afternoon lattè, or having the free brewed coffee from the break room in the office . . .

I'm not saying it isn't impossible to roast less or to skip roasting entirely for a week, if that's what one needs to do to balance inventories. I'm just saying the "art" of predicting future sales demand isn't an easy one.

Cheers,
Jason

I did a little research, for this particular cafe (bean hollow OP was talking about) this is may be the actual reason --> http://adamfeldman.typepad.com/adamfeld ... offee.html

Jason, I think you're being too kind. The microvariables you list may be unpredictable, but overall things should be steadier from week to week. And if the roasted beans start running low, well, then, they could roast some more. Plenty of others manage to. But the fact of the matter is that they are roasting when they still have old stock.... they could wait before roasting more.

This roaster is simply not meeting demand and the staff know this is the case, otherwise they wouldn't have lied. And the bins vs. sealed bags point made earlier also holds. The situation is just a mess. No wonder their business is down.

Here is my first of two or three followup posts:

I want to cafeorinico (an online retailer I happen to live near) and picked up the four pounds they roasted for me today. As I stand in my kitchen and inhale near the as yet unopened, sealed packages the fresh coffee aroma is extremely thick and delicious.

A point of comparison to the local cafe: I would do the same with the bag I got as I walked out of the shop and only could smell the paper bag it came in.

So checkmark for better aroma (I assume due to freshness but could also be bean or roast quality).

I plan to double freezer-bag and freeze most of this since the warehouse is not on my way home from work and they keep normal business hours.

I will post again after I brew.

michaelbenis wrote:Jason, I think you're being too kind.

Of course I am! But the main point is that what may seem "obvious" at first glance isn't always so . . .

Happy "Aren't-You-Glad-To-Be-Rid-Of-The-Colonies?" Day, Michael -- I'll have some Abbot Ale from Greene King to celebrate.

I had previously reported regarding a roastery that wouldn't retrieve beans which had just been roasted, instead selling me what was in the bins, and had presumably been there for about a week.

The roaster for this cafe saw a facebook post I had made with the same criticisms and has assured me that the bins are empty on roasting day and are subsequently filled with the fresh beans. She also sent me a message today advising that, if I went to buy the beans today, I should tell the staff that she wanted them to retrieve beans from the "reserve bin" since the regular bins were not yet completely emptied of last weeks stock (probably because we got about 40" of snow in a week).

The cafe is "Bean Hollow" in Ellicott City, MD, and I am greatly encouraged to have this contact with the roaster and some confidence that they take my interests seriously. Since I had reported the "bad news" I wanted to follow up with the new information.

(PS since the big snow storm I have been forced to brew espresso with Dunkin Donuts beans. It was not tasty at all, and even when using it in cappuccino the poor taste came through. I can't wait to go to Bean Hollow tomorrow!)

Like the OP, I, too, would be less than pleased with being lied to by the shop/roaster. But then, I am not pleased with being lied to by anyone. Really, who is?
I think it correct for him to simply take his business elsewhere and think he has done the members of the HB community a service by reporting on this shop's less-than-truthful practices.

Len