Newbie question-- Given that roasted beans are best used within 14-15 days, and I use about 1.5 lbs per week. Do I keep ordering 2-3 lbs and pay the high shipping costs? Or... can I buy 5 lbs to eliminate shipping costs (in some cases) and maybe freeze 2 lbs of that to preserve its freshness? I hope you get my question. Just trying to save some money here. Thanks!

There's a great deal of information on this site about this topic if you use the search function. It's been discussed exhaustively.

dvanderson2 wrote:Can I buy 5 lbs to eliminate shipping costs (in some cases) and maybe freeze 2 lbs of that to preserve its freshness?

That's what most folks do. Coffee: To Freeze or Not to Freeze? goes into way, way more detail.

Thanks Dan! I appreciate it.

Find a local artisan roasting house and buy your roasted coffee locally ever 10 days or so.

dvanderson2 wrote:Newbie question-- Given that roasted beans are best used within 14-15 days, and I use about 1.5 lbs per week. Do I keep ordering 2-3 lbs and pay the high shipping costs? Or... can I buy 5 lbs to eliminate shipping costs (in some cases) and maybe freeze 2 lbs of that to preserve its freshness? I hope you get my question. Just trying to save some money here. Thanks!

Dan linked you to the blinded testing he did, which is a great read, an excellent study, and self-explanatory. The critical issue for most of us is well stated within: "matching your consumption patterns with roasting and delivery schedules". My wife and I have a subscription that brings us one bag for my espresso and one for her drip every other week. As we don't have exactly the same number of drinks every day of every week, I reluctantly starting freezing half a bag when the containers are filled beyond about 1/3 - and it hasn't made any difference at all. My wife used her frozen spare last week after about 5 weeks in the freezer, and it was fine.

She learned from her mother to freeze everything in the kitchen, which is fascinating since her mother refused to ever serve leftovers. So when I met her, she was keeping her coffee in the freezer and it took a few years to talk her out of the practice. Thankfully, I no longer fear finding 5-years-frozen chicken cacciatore on my plate for dinner, but we're happily freezing coffee for up to a few months with no ill effects. And our consumption regresses to the mean over a few months, so we aren't ending up with a growing stockpile in the freezer and I've only had to grind some of my beans once for her when our shipment was delayed a day. Once you figure out your mean consumption and the variance in your patterns (which, for us, is driven largely by travel), you should be able to achieve a sound equilibrium between delivery and consumption.

turtle wrote:Find a local artisan roasting house and buy your roasted coffee locally ever 10 days or so.

You know, I used to live in San Francisco where there were many roasters within the city limits. Now that I am seriously into espresso, I find myself in Granby, Connecticut where choices are greatly diminished. You know of any up this way?

You will need to visit them to determine if any of them can provide you with what you are after.

https://www.google.com/maps/search/Gran ... a=!3m1!4b1

Thanks! Your link provided more results than my previous ones. They're all at least 30 minutes away, but one might work. Appreciate it!

Aw, c'mon Dennis - 30 minutes is an eye blink if you're serious about espresso. My wife and I will walk further than that for good coffee.....

...and a belated welcome to HB!

David