malachi wrote:If folks have any questions.... now would be a good time to ask.

Would it be possible to finish the Hairbender review at least a while before the end of July? Stumptown has set up shop in Amsterdam, but they're gone by the end of July.

I would love for a sidebar or alternative discussion of the roasters to include some experience with the cost of shipping. There are some roasters, ala Blue Bottle coffee that include the price of shipping in their listed price on the web; whereas others have a flat rate of $5 ala Counter Culture.

However, it really stings when checking out on Intelligentsia's website, whose west coast roaster is less than 100 miles from my house and is the closest of the three by far, to be charged over $8 to ship a pound of coffee.

Perhaps including the basic shipping charge per 12 or 16 ounce order to a single address in the US could give us a relative perspective on the company's policy while saving us the trouble of having to register on every single site (also a pet peeve) just to find out the gross cost of an order.

For example without taxes, here are the delivered cost per ounce of three different orders to my place in California:

• Blue Bottle Coffee: $17.75 + $0.00 / 16oz = $1.11/oz
  Counter Culture: $11.55 + $5.00 / 12oz = $1.38/oz
  Intelligentsia: $15.00 + $8.18 / 16oz = $1.45/oz

Thanks!

arriflex wrote:For example without taxes, here are the delivered cost per ounce of three different orders to my place in California:

• Blue Bottle Coffee: $17.75 + $0.00 / 16oz = $1.11/oz
  Counter Culture: $11.55 + $5.00 / 12oz = $1.38/oz
  Intelligentsia: $15.00 + $8.18 / 16oz = $1.45/oz

Except that many (most?) customers reduce (and sometimes eliminate) their per-ounce cost by purchasing 2 or more pounds at a time and freezing some. So, the bargain at one pound could become the most expensive at 4 pounds.

I'm not denying that shipping costs can be an important consideration, just saying that creating a cost comparison can be complicated.

Understood, I am not suggesting that the thread make judgement. Simply provide broad tools for individuals to judge for themselves.

I appreciate that it could be complicated, but normalizing the data can provide a wealth of information without the barrier to entry that many of the purveyors require.

Perhaps a simple two part explanation for each purveyor that shows the cost of a 'minimum' order maximizing freshness, and the minimum 'bargain' order maximizing beans/dollar.

Personally, I go through very little coffee pulling one shot a day on my old Pavoni.

Not a big deal, just thought it'd be a nice place to have some form of information if available.

Marshall wrote:Except that many (most?) customers reduce (and sometimes eliminate) their per-ounce cost by purchasing 2 or more pounds at a time and freezing some. So, the bargain at one pound could become the most expensive at 4 pounds.

I'm not denying that shipping costs can be an important consideration, just saying that creating a cost comparison can be complicated.

Good point Marsh