I usually buy from Red Bird or a local roaster. Recently I heard about Happy Mug and tried them. I haven't been able to get a nice shot of espresso from their beans, had to grind super fine compared to 6 weeks old Red Bird beans, and the shots lack crema. Compared to Red Bird beans, the Happy Mug beans don't smell as strong. I suspect these are old beans, tho not entirely sure. Any thoughts?

I order from them and have been happy with them for brew and espresso. The roast date is printed on the label and easy to miss as it's not added on but appears to be part of the label printing process. I grind them within the range of other roasters' offerings (nothing unusual for me) except for a decaf used for espresso, but that's typical to have to grind way finer for decaf espresso.

I stick with their single origins mostly. I see frequent changes in those offerings, and haven't had a clunker yet. I've had bags that were more outstanding from some other roasters, but Happy Mug easily satisfies my need for variety and flavor, especially at those prices. I mix in ordering from them with other recommendations from the forum and a Trade subscription.

Do note that Red Bird is 50% more expensive so they have a larger green budget per lb of coffee sold. HM sells their greens and they are typically regarded by us hobby roasters as decent but not stunning.

My wife only drinks their Colombian, drip. We order 4 lbs every 6 weeks or so. For years. Have had one over roasted batch, one phenomenal batch (no idea what was up with that - it was one of the best cups of coffee I've ever had), and all the rest were just fine.

I didn't like their espresso blend - didn't look over roasted, but was ashy no matter what.

They always ship immediately and the roast date is always no more than a day before. Kind of hard to believe, but I have no real reason to doubt it.