I want to first say I have never (yet) ordered from Onyx... so this is meant to be a perhaps naive question:

From photos it appears they send out their coffee in very elaborate/fancy boxes, and without having yet been a customer my immediate question was whether I should worry about unnecessary waste from this?

I can already hear the wailing and gnashing of teeth at my question... but I assure you it is coming from a good place.

You are buying coffee that was grown, processed, shipped across the world, roasted, packaged, shipped across the country. The extra piece of paper packaging is the least you should worry about. They are not the only place that does this either.

My only gripe with their packaging, has to do with the bag that's inside of the box. You can't reseal it. I like to store my coffees is the original packaging, so I won't be reordering from them. However, I really enjoyed their Tropical Weather blend.

Sey also uses boxes with their coffees. It's all recyclable. I wouldn't worry about it being wasteful.

Having been doing a subscription service that uses 10oz bags (Trade) and ships from around the country, this has been weighing on me a bit... so the fact that others do it as well isn't really going to alleviate the underlying concern about it (in fact its the opposite). Also, something being recyclable... while its better, also is still not my ideal. Especially if it doesn't even seal back up... that just seems odd to me.

In any case, I'm still learning here. Just starting to consider all the different aspects of what this all means.

If possible, I think it's always best to buy from roasters local to you. Perhaps not everyone has good roasters near where they live, but if possible you should support local businesses and reduce unnecessary waste from shipping. It's still better to order coffee shipped from a roaster 20 miles away from where you live than from a roaster half-way across the country. Then you won't feel as bad about buying the occasional bag (box) of coffee from a faraway boutique roaster.

I'm glad someone brought this up. I noticed this when I first ordered from them for myself. I later ordered two bags for a friend for their birthday and they said they liked the coffee but didn't care for all the packaging. It seems to go against their sustainability message to include so much. I actually weighed everything other than the coffee sent to me from B&W compared to all the packaging sent via Onyx. It was a massive difference. This was about a year ago so I don't have the exact numbers with me but B&W was around 68g of packaging including coffee bags and mailer. Onyx was closer to 1lb of packaging with the bag, box that goes over the bag, shipping box and inserts.

I don't agree with the poster that said since coffee is shipped around the world and processed that we shouldn't care about trying to save resources getting it to the customer. If anything we have a lot of ground to make up to ensure the practice is sustainable in the future all the way to the end consumer. The problem gets worse with scale. Just think of 1lb of cardboard send out with every shipment while another reputable roaster sends 68g. Then magnify that difference over all their orders.

Onyx has always been a weird thing for me. Their coffee is good but the way they try to portray themselves versus what they do is confusing at times.

Recycling is hand-waving away the waste issue. It still takes energy and materials to make things and not all recyclables are recycled (my area doesn't have a recycling program at all.)

RE Onyx:

Their packaging is what I would call opulent. Totally over the top and snarkishly premium in the way it feels. However, the packaging is made of recycled materials, manufactured sustainably, and is 100% recyclable. So on the one hand it is wasteful, on the other hand, they are supporting sustainable manufacturers and manufacturing practices by having a value stream attached to the recycled goods market. So I'd say its neither here nor there. If you like the packaging and the premium feel of it, don't feel guilty. If you don't, maybe just try to ignore it. Yes - you're paying more for it. So figure out whether you actually want to. But don't get too hung up over whether buying this coffee is good or bad for the environment.

Now, as for supporting local roasters.

I 100% agree.

But some local roasters (most, sadly) either don't know what they are doing, are purchasing garbage green, or both. Because of this, it is not viable for most of us out there to go find a local roaster that is good and support them while getting truly great coffee in the process. I'm lucky enough to have two local roasters in my neck of the woods who do a very nice job most of the time.

I can walk to Bedrock coffee (https://bedrockcoffee.com/) from my office and sip a great pourover while nerding out with Danny about their latest microlot and actually pull up the Artisan roast curve from their 2kg Mill City roaster and talk with them about development time, roast degree, etc... they are new, but passionate and Danny and his business partner attended several classes by Scott Rao and want to get better with both green selection and their craft of roasting.

This is unusual. And they don't always nail it. Their Obsidian Espresso roast is way too roasty for my tastes (cratering and scorching abound), and sometimes they bake their light roasts and I get nothing special out of them. But I support them and am frequently rewarded with wonderful cups. I hope they get more consistent and I will continue to support their passion.

Another local roaster charges more, and is more consistent. But I support them less, because they are slinging milk drinks on a Slayer steam and I don't enjoy their more consistent offerings as much as I enjoy the more experimental stuff I get on occasion from Bedrock.

For me, getting a rotating roaster subscription was the key for widening my horizons and learning what I do and don't like. It also allows me to be objectively subjective in how I value what my local roasters are bringing to the table. When I can compare my local guys to the likes of Coffee Collective, April, Wendleboe, Nomad, La Cabra, Sey, Passenger and the like - and almost always have something at home from one of the above to compare a local roast against, I feel I am better prepared to be an informed consumer of what is available locally. I am lucky to have two local roasters that I can supplement my roasting subscription with and frankly I'd be surprised if most members of HB had similar luck. My guess is most don't.

Other coffee shops in my neck of the woods also have freshly roasted coffee from intelly and Olympia, so I can also pop over to one of those locations and grab a bag or two of a known quantity and further my comparisons.

Anyway, I'm rambling. I do that. Sorry.

Cheers!

- Jake

Jake_G wrote: Their packaging is what I would call opulent. Totally over the top and snarkishly premium in the way it feels. However, the packaging is made of recycled materials, manufactured sustainably, and is 100% recyclable. So on the one hand it is wasteful, on the other hand, they are supporting sustainable manufacturers and manufacturing practices by having a value stream attached to the recycled goods market.

I asked them about this when they first did the redesign because it seemed over the top. It may be nice for occasions like gifting, but once you've seen dozens of boxes go into the recycling bin, it's a bit weird. I wonder what percentage of their customers feel the same way? I would prefer getting a simple bag (like the one inside the box) and using a clip to reseal.

Jake_G wrote:I can walk to Bedrock coffee (https://bedrockcoffee.com/) from my office and sip a great pourover while nerding out with Danny about their latest microlot

It's not walking distance for you for sure, but a few years ago I had some nice coffees from Ruby in Nelsonville.

Well, I suppose I am glad to hear its not just me that is questioning these types of things. That's something I suppose.