Our Online Shopping Cart Order System
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Walk-in/Pick-up Orders
Our shop is located at 1115 21st Street, Oakland CA 94607. Here's a map. We are a block away from the intersection of Adeline and West Grand.

Pick-up hours: Monday through Friday 11 am to 5 pm. When you place your order online, select "Customer Pickup ($0.00)" as the shipping option.

Walk-in orders are welcome Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 11am to 5pm. We close daily from 1:30pm to 2pm for lunch. It's best to order ahead of time online since we are not set up as a retail space so you can see merchandise a lot easier on the our website. Believe me!

We hold pickup orders as long as possible but after 30 days we will cancel and return funds. There is no refund on green coffee orders that are not picked up after 30 days. We will make a few attempts to contact you by phone and/or email before your order is cancelled. Thanks for understanding.

We hope you are ok with dogs because there are usually two hanging out in our office space.

Sweet Maria's Shipping Special!
We offer a discounted shipping price on UPS Ground good on orders up to 60 pounds to any address in the continental US (no AK or HI or APO/FPOs). The rates are:

0 - 20 Lbs. = $8.99
21 - 40 Lbs. = $14.99
41 - 60 Lbs. = $21.99

Transit times are shown below. Boxes need to be sent to a street address - no PO Boxes. Please be sure to include your suite or apartment number since UPS can add extra fees if this information is missing or invalid.

UPS: UPS is generally the cheapest option for heavier packages. UPS does not count the pick up day or weekends as time in transit, so a Next Day package sent on Friday will arrive on Monday (except for holidays). We ship 5 days a week by UPS. Transit time map is below. UPS does charge "dimensional weight" on air orders - which means that if the box is light and bulky there may be an extra charge that we will inform you of. No PO boxes.

USPS: USPS shipping options are First Class mail (for items under 13 ounces), Priority Mail (for items over 13 ounces, any size box) and two Priority Mail Flat Rate options described below.

• USPS Medium Flat Rate Box: This box holds 12 lbs. green coffee max ( two pouand costs $11.16. TwoRoasted coffee can fit in the box within reason.
• USPS Large Flat Rate Box: This larger flat rate box fits 18lbs maximum and costs $17.02. (The USPS has a cheaper rate for APO/FPO zip codes.) Green coffee and/or most bags will usualy fit and weigh in under the max. weight.

We ship 5 days a week via Postal Service. USPS also charges "dimensional weight" on air orders. Transit times for postal packages can vary widely. Please note: Some large bean coffees take up more space than usual, suchas Liquid Amber, Monsooned Malabar, and the Costa Rica RIP coffee. We will contacted you if there is a problem with the shipping method.

Delivery confirmation locates the package in two places only - once when we generate the postage and then when it is delivered. Packages are not really trackable and there is no default insurance. We strongly recommend you select our Shipping Special or UPS Ground for these reasons!

Saving money on shipping: Choose the Shipping Special - and also consider that your per lb. shipping rate goes down dramatically with UPS after the first 5 lbs. So while it costs say $6.25 to send a Nissan thermos from our place to Colorado, adding 10 lbs of coffee adds just about $4. UPS Ground does cost more in rural areas than in cities. And the further you are from our location in California - the more expensive the shipping. In general, lighter and smaller boxes are cheaper to send USPS, heavier boxes are cheaper to send UPS. For addresses East of the Rockies, USPS Flat Rate for green coffee and bags is cheaper and faster than UPS. For addresses West of the Rockies, UPS Ground is going is probably best for every kind of order.

Taxes

• California residents only: Coffee is food, and carry-out food items are not taxed in California. But merchandise is taxable 7.25% statewide. If you live in Alameda County, California - where our shop is located - the district tax rate of 8.75% is applied (merchandise only).

 

Transit Times for UPS Ground Orders

Click on the thumbnail image of the map on the left to estimate shipping time. *Please note: UPS does not count the day the package is shipped, and weekends and holidays are not included in time in transit calculation.

Incorrect Shipping Information
Please double-check your shipping address. It can severely affect when your delivery arrives. Worse than that, if you provide the wrong shipping address, UPS charges us a $10-$15 penalty!! We'll contact you if we get charged a wrong address fee by UPS and make sure the charge is warranted. In the very rare occasion we are responsible for an incorrect shipping address, please let us know ASAP so we can make the proper corrections. I am glad to say it happens rarely...

Restrictions on Shipping Green Coffee to Hawaii
Unfortunately, we can not ship green coffee to Hawaii. All green, unroasted coffee shipped to the State of Hawaii is subject to restriction. A permit issued by the Dept. of Agriculture is required and shipments must be "...subjected to methyl bromide treatment or other non-chemical treatment such as heat."

We are not going to gas our coffee with methyl bromide. It just is not possible for us to do this for each individual order. We will continue to sell equipment, supplies and roasted coffee to Hawaii. Although we are aware of this rule and will abide by it, we do not have an automated way to exclude green coffee orders from Hawaii, and may not catch every order.

We reserve the right to not ship certain orders. You will be contacted if your order cannot be shipped.

Our Refund Policy

We hope you are happy with the home roasting supplies and green coffee you purchase from Sweet Maria's. We offer refunds on unused and "as new" items returned in their original box. For used items we do not offer refunds, but do offer store credit based on condition.

Please be aware that much of the equipment we sell is intended for home coffee roasting. By using it for a purpose other than what it was intended for, you most likely void the manufacturer's warranty. If equipment you purchase from us fails prematurely, please contact us.

We cannot offer "satisfaction guarantees" on items. We ask you to read descriptions and purchase in good faith. Please do not purchase with the intention of returning. We do not want you to keep something that you are really unhappy with, but often times we can advise you on the proper use of an item and resolve other issues. If you find that a coffee you selected is not matching it's review, let us know as we can help figure out what the reason may be. Different people taste things differently - so, if something seems wrong, we will verify that you received the correct coffee. Tom stands by his reviews - though that does not mean you will taste the same things as Tom does.

Our Back Order Policy

If we are out of stock on an item that you ordered, either merchandise or coffee, our policy is to hold your order and contact you about any delays. You can then decide to make substitutions or delete the item. We don't ship partial orders. We don't make substitutions on coffee orders since many customers spend time selecting their coffee, so we prefer to choose a substitute, or not. With merchandise, we rely on our suppliers to tell us when an item ought to be back in stock, but we have no control over when it will actually arrive. We do our best to keep folks informed in case of delays and if there is an item out of stock, we will always notify you by email.

Sweet Maria's Privacy Policy

We do not sell, trade, or share customer information or mail list subscriber information with anyone...EVER! Our shopping cart does not store credit card information, just name, address, phone number, etc. Please email Tom at tom@sweetmarias.com if you have any concerns.

International Orders

Two (and a half) Shipping Options:

1) When you want your order quickly, have it fully insured and have the ability to track it, UPS WORLDWIDE SAVER or WORLDWIDE EXPEDITED are worth the extra cost.

Sweet Maria's offers UPS Worldwide Express shipping at a discount from published rates. UPS Worldwide offers guaranteed worldwide delivery and tracking via the UPS website and a tracking number that is emailed to you the moment we ship your order. Worldwide Saver is a 1 to 3 day service - by the end of the business day and Worldwide Expedited offers 2 to 5 day service.

• UPS charges "dimensional weight" if a box is not that heavy but bulky. We will email you to discuss any issues if they arise. A quote from our shopping cart system is not a guarantee of the rate.
• The shipping fee does not include any VAT or sales taxes assessed by your country. UPS does assess a $10 customs bond fee and COD fee (unless you have a UPS account set up to pay taxes and duties.)
• UPS Worldwide has a guaranteed time-in-transit. If the time-in-transit is over the number of days according to the tracking record, your shipping charge will be refunded. Time-in-transit does not include delays due to customs inspection and does not include weekends and holidays.

2) When you want the package not as quickly, have some faith in the post office and want to save money, USPS Priority Mail International is what you should use.

USPS Priority Mail International has projected 6 to 10 day transit times but offers no guarantee. It often takes longer; USPS delivers to the local postal service in the country of destination for final delivery so transit time also depends on the local postal system. There is no tracking feature that locates the package in transit.

Other considerations:

• The maximum weight of package contents is 40 pounds. The actual regulation weight is 44 lbs but we allow a few pounds packing materials. Yes, you can order more but it will ship in 2 boxes.
• Customs may reject our shipments or subject the package to quarantine. The receiver (that is you!) would assume financial responsibility in this case. We can not ship green coffee to Mexico. Have we ever had a package rejected or confiscated by customs? Yes, once from Chile, once from Mexico and once from Asia - but in general, no...and that is after shipping thousands of orders.
• Certain destination countries allow us to insure USPS packages. Insurance covers the cost of merchandise if the shipment is lost or damaged as long as there is proof of damage. It does not cover shipping costs nor does it cover delivery time-in-transit. Insurance is automatically figured into the price of postage and we insure all international postal shipments.

2.5) If you buy 12lbs of coffee or less with no merchandise, we suggest the Priority Mail International Flat Rate box.If you are ordering 18lbs of coffee or less we suggest the Priority Mail International Large Flat Rate box. Insurance is included.

USPS Priority Mail International Flat Rate offers the same transit time estimates, reliability and customs restrictions as Priority International, and we include insurance on International Flat Rate packages in our shipping/handling cost . This covers the replacement cost of the coffee only and not the cost to re-ship it.

International Shipments: Warranties and Restrictions

Glass, Ceramics and Other Fragile Items: Unfortunately, except for shipments to Canada, we will not send any glass or ceramic items to international addresses. No exceptions! Even with package insurance, we are not reimbursed for replacement shipping and with international packages this can be a major expense.

Foreign Electrical Currents: Our appliances accept US voltage which is 110 volts and 60 hertz. The machines may not function on foreign currents even with the use of a voltage convertor. Most voltage convertors do not convert hz. and this will affect the performance of any machine with a heating element - roasters, brewers, espresso machines etc.

Warranties: In the event your appliance needs service, we will not be able to pay for any return shipping costs so please consider the purchase of an appliance or roaster very carefully. Sweet Maria's does not offer product warranties or satisfaction guarantees but our suppliers and manufacturers do offer warranties for defective merchandise. However, in the case of international orders these warranties are subject to the manufacturer's discretion and may in fact be void by international sale or use on a foreign electrical current. Please note that it is difficult and sometimes impossible for an overseas customer to obtain warranty services on appliances. In some cases will refuse an order - if we deem it too risky for both you and us.

Customs, Duties, Taxes, etc: Countries such as Japan, South Korea, Israel and Australia have very strict import regulations and may require special import permits. There are several countries that impose a quarantine on coffee. Please email us to find out if we can ship to your country and please check your local customs restrictions. We are willing to attempt shipments to any country and have been successful in shipping to countries that have specified that they don't accept green coffee. We do our best to investigate customs restrictions to avoid shipping issues, but you the customer are responsible for your purchase, all taxes, duties and other fees imposed by the destination country.

Our International Refund Policy: We cannot offer refunds on international orders, especially if your country's customs deny the package or if an appliance doesn't accept your local electric current. Also, there will always be fees of some kind from your mail delivery service, or taxes/duties. You must account for these too! Otherwise, we will do everything we can to make sure your package reaches you and package all items as best we can to increase the chance of safe arrival!

We reserve the right to refuse an order. If this is the case, we will notify you that the order is cancelled and you will not be charged.

Terms: Submitting an international order to Sweet Maria's means that you accept the terms and limitations listed on this page and elsewhere in this web site.