FAQs

As an agricultural product, coffee is subject to seasonality. This means keeping any specific single origin coffee in stock year round is nearly impossible without compromising freshness. Furthermore, it can be difficult to predict if and when a specific coffee will be back in stock because, as a seasonal plant, there are a number of factors beyond our control that influence the crop cycle. Some coffees we buy once and never see them again. Even if we purchase a subsequent lot from the same farm or cooperative, the flavor characteristics of the coffee can change from one season to the next. The good news is, we usually have a fresh alternative with similar cup characteristics. Check out this article to learn how to find a suitable substitute for your favorite coffee.

We generally carry a few coffees that are certified organic, and we try to make this clear by adding the terms “Organic” or “FTO” to the coffee’s name. You can find our current selection of organic offerings here.

If you are interested to learn more about our perspective on organic certification, check out this article we wrote on the subject.

We do not conduct any labs or testing for mold or mycotoxins, though signs of either would be very apparent in green coffee. It’s something our coffee buyers and QC department would never miss. Mold is more of a concern in commercial grade coffee like canned or flavored options. You can also get mold from improper drying of coffee, but this sort of thing would be caught much before it even reaches us. At our warehouse, coffees are stored in ideal conditions that will not allow for the growth of mold.

The arrival date field lists the month/year a particular coffee landed here at the Port of Oakland. The most recent dates usually equate to the most recent harvests. 

We have many, many coffees to move through, and we assess the flavor and longevity of each relative to its release date. We are a small business, and unfortunately there is just no way we could post all of these coffees for sale right when they arrive. Even if we could, certain origins would likely sell out quickly leaving big gaps in our selection for months at a time. With our current method, our coffees are still fresh-crop and we can be strategic about our releases.

Please also note that our green coffee team is constantly cupping and tasting not only prospective new coffees but also coffees from our entire menu to assure that all the descriptions and scores remain accurate. If a coffee ever changes, the product page will be adjusted accordingly.

If you would like to learn a bit more about arrival dates, check out this short article.

There are certain criteria we look for when considering whether or not a coffee would make a good espresso. Coffees we’d recommend for espresso tend to have big body, moderate acidity or brightness, and heavy chocolate roast flavors when developed to Full City/Full City+. Some fruit or acidity are okay, but we generally shy away from coffees like Kenyas with screaming vibrance or dry process Ethiopias with over the top fruit. Check out this article to learn more about our criteria for good espresso.

We roast and sell a small quantity of coffee on our website, and you can find our current selection here. To avoid confusion, all roasted coffees will contain the word “Roasted” in the name. Coffees are roasted bi-weekly on Tuesdays, and Roasted Coffee Subscriptions are shipped out the following Wednesday. Pre-orders are listed online for upcoming roasted coffees roughly one week in advance of roast day.

We offer the ability to print out labels, charts, specs, and full cupping notes for each of our coffees. If you scroll down to any coffee’s ‘Overview’ section, there’s a link in big letters that says ‘Print.’ It will open up a new window and prompt you to print (or save) a sheet containing all of this information including a label that you can cut out and apply to your storage container of choice.

For wholesale pricing and larger bag sizes ranging from 50 to 154 lbs, we would recommend checking out our wholesale business Coffee Shrub.