Missjune75
New member
Been thinking about how much is too much money for a bag of roasted coffee beans. I seem to stop at $17 for 12 oz bag but I'm on a budget. Wondered what coffee other's coffee limit is
How much is too much money for coffee and what's your limit!?
- Thread starter Missjune75
- Start date
Duffyjr
Member
As a general rule I try a keep in under $20 and that doesn't include shipping. How ever I will spend more if it's something I really want to try. I have some El Socorro Pacamara Honey coming that is $22.50 for a 12 oz bag. A member here mentioned it is a really good coffee and that is a fair price for it.
Kudzu
Member
Though I sometimes feel like it is extravagant, I pay a local roaster, whose coffee I really like, $20 per pound for my daily brew. For something special, as an occasional splurge, I would pay more.
ensoluna
Banned
I guess I am bit spoiled on this matter because I have a farm and roasting company in Guatemala that normally I bring some roasted and green beans home, about 3 times a year.
But quite often, I also have to buy from here in USA. I do not try to over $15 per pound, unless I know it is very good.
Normally, I just ask my forum roaster friends what they have fresh and unique and buy off from them.
since we all are friends and same members, they tend to be generous about what they give me and also try to supply me with as freshly roasted beans as possible.
for me, works out perfect that way.
Duffyjr
Member
Not to derail this thread but I've seen you say this before and makes me wonder do they have beans that are not on their websites?
OP
Missjune75
New member
- Thread Starter
- Thread starter
- #6
DuffyJr- I'm still trying to figue this coffee thing out. My previous way of buying a special treat beans was to stop by Rojo Roastery when I was just in NJ and pick up whatever smelled good. Now that Rojo's has crossed the line of what I am willing to pay (hence this thread) to around 18-22 bucks for a 12oz bag of coffee I've had to actually educate myself in the world of coffee bean varieties. That is until the internet offers smell-o-vision.
I was fortunate to find Musicphan on this forum. I've been buying his beans from his company website Encore Coffee on the regular lately. I did take Ensoluna's above advice and reached out to him and confessed I have no idea what Im doing in the ordering biz of my coffee and asked if he would be so kind to point me to something yummy I might have overlooked. He wrote me back and suggested some varieties I hadn't considered. I just ordered one of his two suggestions for beans (Ill try the other one next month). [If anyone's interested it was the Bolivian]. It was useful to be pointed towards some beans I'ld otherwise wouldn't have ordered.
So far everything he roasts has been delicious but he does offer a "tour pass" of special coffees for those that want to subscribe. It's a flexible subscription service that delivers small batches of special varieties. So yes, those are special coffees that aren't offered regularly (at least in this one limited instance).
However, there may be special coffee offered to those like Ensoluna, that are particularly charming, in the cofffee biz and speak fluent coffee. (Ha!)
Anyway, something positive has come out of Rojo's price hike. I no longer drink really good coffee as a treat, I can now afford to drink it every morning. The other good thing is I'm actually learning a little bit about coffee and having a bit of an adventure trying out a bunch of different varieties.
I was fortunate to find Musicphan on this forum. I've been buying his beans from his company website Encore Coffee on the regular lately. I did take Ensoluna's above advice and reached out to him and confessed I have no idea what Im doing in the ordering biz of my coffee and asked if he would be so kind to point me to something yummy I might have overlooked. He wrote me back and suggested some varieties I hadn't considered. I just ordered one of his two suggestions for beans (Ill try the other one next month). [If anyone's interested it was the Bolivian]. It was useful to be pointed towards some beans I'ld otherwise wouldn't have ordered.
So far everything he roasts has been delicious but he does offer a "tour pass" of special coffees for those that want to subscribe. It's a flexible subscription service that delivers small batches of special varieties. So yes, those are special coffees that aren't offered regularly (at least in this one limited instance).
However, there may be special coffee offered to those like Ensoluna, that are particularly charming, in the cofffee biz and speak fluent coffee. (Ha!)
Anyway, something positive has come out of Rojo's price hike. I no longer drink really good coffee as a treat, I can now afford to drink it every morning. The other good thing is I'm actually learning a little bit about coffee and having a bit of an adventure trying out a bunch of different varieties.
John P
Active member
It really depends. As a roaster, I am very picky about what I buy, but I will certainly pay for quality and expertise. So... not including a properly roasted Gesha or a Cup of Excellence offering, I would say about $25 for 12 oz. would be my (soft) limit. And I would expect value at that price.... as in "I would have paid $30 for that!" Not sure if I have a firm limit. :coffee1:
shadow745
Well-known member
I won't waste $ buying roasted coffee again. Been home roasting for a bit over 1 year now and have achieved fantastic results consistently. So far my cost (green coffee from Sweet Maria's, shipping, 17-18% loss and a bit of electricity) is averaging $8 per pound and is on par with anything I've bought from artisan roasters over the years and I've sampled a lot for home/commercial use. IF I were still buying roasted coffee $12-13/lb would be tops. I'm not into the super duper outrageously expensive micro lots everybody raves about every now and then.
Musicphan
Well-known member
Missjune75 - thanks for the props!
pgk1978
New member
You should try roasting your own beans! I've been roasting for 6 months now, and I'm hard pressed to spend money on roasted coffee unless I'm trying to compare my roasts. If you buy good greens, it's easy to create a great end product. There are lots of ways to roast, some of them very inexpensive. Try it out!
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ensoluna
Banned
What home roaster do you have?
pgk1978
New member
I use a behmor 1600+. Yes it's around $360 but I feel I will get that money back easily. I have many people asking for my coffee on a regular basis now and have increased my weekly roasting amount. I'm considering a larger roaster soon.
Oh and on a side note, I noticed your other post about what Sivitz says about drum roasters vs air fluid bed. I've been wrestling between the two for a while. I'm strongly considering an air fluid bed roaster, despite having no experience with one, or a simplified version such as a modified popcorn popper.
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ensoluna
Banned
Yes, good choice. Behmor 1600+ is an excellent home roaster! Just curious.. where do you get your green beans? and what kind of beans you like to buy at what pricing? Also, since you are a new member, please let us know bit more about you and your coffee back ground.
thanks
Alex from Ensoluna S.A. Guatemala
pgk1978
New member
I have sourced my greens from various places. Most notably: sweet Maria's, Burman coffee, bodhi leaf, and smokin beans.
I'm still learning a lot about roasting, beans from different regions, and roasting profiles. I haven't spent too much money on "higher end" or difficult to find coffees like geshas or kona or Jamaican blue mountain. I try to spend around $4-7/pound.
I've always been a lover of coffee, but over the past few years I have been really trying to find good coffee, but was often disappointed by the big name players in the mainstream. I then decided to try my hand at roasting, and I'll never look back.
My favorite regions for coffee (at least at the moment) are: Guatemala huehue, Burundi, and Sumatran.
(I'm partial to Sumatran because I lived there for 2 years and fell deeper in love with coffee there. That is also the first time I had first person experience with coffee processing from a coffee cherry on a tree.)
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shadow745
Well-known member
+1... I have only bought greens from Sweet Maria's. I know they are a bit more $ than other green sellers, but their customer service, knowledge, homework/cupping notes they do on all the coffees they sell and freshness/consistency of those greens puts them at the top of their game.
Over the years I've used coffees from Intelligentsia, Counter Culture, Klatch, PT's... just to name a few. What I roast is on par with what I've had from them. Even better in some cases.
