I'm done buying 12 oz. bags of coffee

Discuss flavors, brew temperatures, blending, and cupping notes.
RecontraBacan
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Joined: 13 years ago

#1: Post by RecontraBacan »

I'm done buying 12 oz. bags of coffee. Some roasters like Paradise will still sell some of their beans in pound/multi-pound lots. They'll continue to get my business. I'm just done with everyone else. And spare me the "Well, then you're going to be missing out on drinking some really awesome coffees from some great roasters." No, if great roasters want me to purchase their awesome coffees, then they'll sell them to me in pound, kilogram, or multi-pound bags. A 12 oz. bag of coffee is simply un-American. Green coffee is sold on the open market by the pound or the kilogram, roasted beans should be sold to me that way as well. If a roaster charged $15.00 per pound for green coffee or $15.00 for 12 oz. roasted coffee, then that would be different, that would probably be fair (roaster's reasonable cut). But that's not what they're doing. They're no different in my mind from food/condiment mfgr's silently downsizing their packages, like Hellman's/Best Foods mayonaise being suddenly sold in 30 oz jars instead of the 32 oz jars they were selling from time immemorial. I've been making my own olive oil mayonaise ever since. Fortunately, I've got access to two local roasters that still sell roasted coffee by the pound. Everywhere else they've gone to 12 oz bags--e.g. Stumptown and even in the local artisan markets. If you ask them why, they'll all say, "Because that's what everybody else is doing."

Well I ain't doing it, and I ain't buying it.

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cmin
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Joined: 12 years ago

#2: Post by cmin »

I stopped buying 12oz bags long ago. Like 99% of the time the 12oz bags are priced higher then companies offering a pound, and for whatever reason shipping was almost always higher on those stupid bags the pound shipments making me feel "some" are padding their pockets on shipping. Way way way too many good roasters that do in pound increments at great pricing and great shipping prices. Plus pound(s) making it way easier to break down batches into jars that I measure out for single dosing and freeze, usually good for about 3 days a jar for wife and I and if friends come over I know I'll have enough around for them.

Why the heck am I going to pay like 20-25 bucks including shipping for a 12oz bag, when I can get 2lbs shipped for 25-30 from other places with the same/similar beans/blends. Like Fair Mountain Coffee has a great 2lb deal or Stone Creek Coffee that does free shipping over $25 and 2lbs is usually under 30. And not even mentioning the ones offering great deals on 5lbs if you know how to store/freeze properly.

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Eastsideloco
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#3: Post by Eastsideloco »

Different strokes...

I find it hard to get through 1-pound bags in a timely fashion. Also, I like have some different coffees on hand at any given time. So I've given up on 12-ounce bags in favor of 8-ounce bags or smaller. :wink:

You might want to start a list of roasters selling by the pound or larger. (I suspect that the list is actually quite long.) Something along the lines of these threads:

Any roasters offering coffee samplers?

Any roasters offering small quantities of coffee?

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TrlstanC
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#4: Post by TrlstanC »

Actually I was just thinking today that it would be nice if roasters offered smaller bags of roasted coffee. It's 9 or 10 days worth of coffee for me, and I like to change things up often enough that that's just a little bit too long. 8 or 10 oz bags would be perfect. Although all things considered 12oz isn't too far off, especially if it takes me more than a few shots to get dialed in, or if I have people over.

I don't think any specialty roaster is making an extra 50% profit by selling 12oz bags at the same price they would've sold a 16oz bag. When I see a full pound bag at the same price (about $15-20) as a 12oz bag, it's almost always the case that they're just buying cheaper greens. A few roasters still sell 16oz bags (or occasionally 500g bags), but if they're selling the same quality coffee as other good specialty roasters, the price per oz is always close to the same.

And for shipping most roasters offer a $5 flat rate box from USPS that holds about 3 bags/2lb of coffee.

DanoM
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#5: Post by DanoM »

Same here... I don't buy anything less than a pound. Today my Bodka Coffee package came, and it's a big one. 8 pounds of beans, 7 varieties, already have 2 more from Bodka in the freezer too. So now I have nearly 11 pounds and 9 varieties of Bodka Coffee alone! (Won't be ordering again for about 2 months I guess.)

I have a dedicated drawer in the freezer that holds the 1 pound coffee bags quite well. No problems for longer storage at -10F either.

For me 1 pound is about 1 week worth of coffee beans, so open a bag and enjoy the flavors for a week or mix and match. Usually during the weekend I pull more variety and during the week stick mostly to one varietal.

Anyone ordering several varieties like I did might like the 8oz bags, but I like the option of pulling straight SO as well as blending my own. Having more than 8oz gives me more time to learn! :D
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Bodka Coffee
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#6: Post by Bodka Coffee »

I guess the thinking behind the smaller bags is some folks just want to try samples. Most folks do buy the pound sizes. I also think the thinking behind a small per oz increase on the same coffee is the bag and label costs the same for each and drives the cost up just a bit per ounce. Make sense?

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Marshall
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#7: Post by Marshall »

Bodka Coffee wrote:I guess the thinking behind the smaller bags is some folks just want to try samples.
No, it's mainly to reduce sticker shock. That being said, I prefer the 9 oz. bags as they last me exactly a week. I buy two at a time and toss one in the freezer. If I bought them by mail order, I would buy three and freeze two.
Marshall
Los Angeles

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Bodka Coffee
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#8: Post by Bodka Coffee »

Ok. I'll accept that. :D

Aaron
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#9: Post by Aaron »

Everybody is different... Snacks and candybars are getting smaller while retaining the same price. Like Marshall said most people might be a little surprised by the price of one pound of quality coffee, but if you knock off a few dollars and sell 3/4 of a pound the price looks better. Even if the price/pound is the same its the price that the consumer sees that will persuade them to buy or not to buy. Why not just buy two or three bags if you want more?

12 ounces is 0.34 kilograms if you want to think of it that way for your next purchase :D
“The powers of a man's mind are proportionate to the quantity of coffee he drinks” - James McKintosh

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Stereo Heathen
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#10: Post by Stereo Heathen »

I feel the opposite way.
I wish coffee was sold more often in smaller bags, regardless of markup, because how much coffee is one person expected to drink before it stales?
Likewise, I just can't drink that much of any one coffee-- it gets boring.

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