Coffee Offering: Program Details - New Lower Shipping Rates!

[Ron_L]

Roastin' Ronnie's Coffee will be offered for purchase frequently. Here are some important details that apply to the majority of these offerings.

Roaster's Choice - I don't have warehouse space to stock every possible coffee origin, so I am going to offer coffees that I have cupped (the coffee world word for sampling and tasting) or have been cupped by someone who's palette I trust. So, what does this mean to you? Basically, you will be able to buy one coffee at a time, and it will be whatever I feel like roasting

Coffee Type - I will offer a variety of coffees including single origin coffees (i.e., coffee from a single country, growing region and farm) as well as hand-crafted blends. I enjoy experimenting with blends of different single origin coffees and test these regularly. When I find a blend that works well I will offer it for purchase to the Brethren.

Packaging - All coffee will be offered as whole bean in 12 oz. bags (approx. weight). Roasted coffee stays fresh longer in whole bean form. If you don't have a grinder I will have some recommendations for you. If you are cost-conscious, you can usually find usable grinders at your local Goodwill store or thrift shop. The bag will be vacuum sealed and will have a tear-off strip at the top that will remove the sealed section and leave a zipper to allow you to reseal the bag. The weight of the bag will vary slightly from 12 oz. depending on the specific coffee inside. Some coffee beans vary in size and weight, so please don't be upset if one bag is 11.9 oz. and another is 12.1 oz. I put as much coffee in the bag as it will hold. Also, remember that contents may settle during shipment

Pricing - Most coffee will be offered at $12/bag. Occasionally I will have a special coffee available at a higher cost. The price will be clearly stated so there are no surprises. For those who have bought coffee from me at BBQ Competitions, the $12/bag price reflects a significant increase in the cost of green coffee beans. Coffee prices are up over 40% since last spring, so my costs have increased significantly. In addition, I only buy green coffee that meets my standards. This means that you are getting some of the best coffee available at the time of purchase. Yes, my prices are higher than the coffee that you buy in the grocery store, but there is a huge difference in quality. We'll talk about this is a separate thread.

Shipping - Unfortunately, shipping is not cheap. I will not mark up shipping, but in order to make life easier I have chosen to use flat rate shipping for every one. This means that the actual shipping costs for some will be lower than the flat rate price, but will be higher for others. My hope is that these will balance out and I won't lose money on shipping. If this concept doesn't work I can always change it.

At this time the lowest cost shipping is available through the US Postal Service, even after price increases that went into effect on January 1.

My current shipping rates are:

Priority Mail (2-3 days) (preferred): $5.00 for one bag or two bags. <--- New lower shipping costs!

Priority Mail is preferred because I can get the packaging free from the USPS and delivery is faster, which means that your coffee will be fresher when it gets to you.

Availability - This is important. I currently roast outside, so I am limited to when I can roast by my job (including business travel), family obligations, and the weather. So, in an attempt to reduce disappointing folks by delaying shipments because I can't roast when planned, I will not be taking pre-orders for coffee. i will offer coffee as I have it available. This means that quantities will be limited and will be first come- first served. Because of this I ask that each order be limited to two bags maximum. this will allow more people to enjoy Roastin' Ronnie's Coffee.

Logistics - Basically, when I have coffee available i will post a new thread in this forum. I will try to roast as much at a time as i can, but until I get a feel for demand, the quantities will be smaller. Please don't be upset if you miss out on a particular offering. If weather and my schedule allows I will have new coffee available at least every two week, hopefully sooner.

When I post a new thread with coffee available I will include the details about the coffee, the number of bags available, and the pricing. Please post your commitment to buy in this thread. I will update the first post in the thread as often as possible and will keep a running tally of commitments so you will know how many bags are still available. Please look at the current commitments and any that have been added since my last update and do the math! If you there are 20 bags available and you see commitments for all 20, then that offering is sold out even if I haven't updated the thread.

Once you have committed to buy please send me a PM with your Paypal account information. I will be using Paypal for payment since it allows a variety of payment sources, and offers protection for both the buyer (you) and the seller (me). If you don't have a Paypal account you can still send money via the Paypal web site using a major credit card. If you have an objection to Paypal for some reason, don't whine to me about it

Once I receive your Paypal information I will send you an invoice for the amount of your purchase. You will have three days to complete the transaction. If you can't pay within three days and haven't notified me, I will re-offer the coffee for someone else to buy. If this happens, I will note this and if it happens a second time you will be put on a list of deadbeats.

[leanza]

Ron, what roast does your palette typically favor?

[Ron_L]

Originally Posted by leanza

Ron, what roast does your palette typically favor?

There isn't an easy answer to that. I roast each coffee to it's optimal roast level. So, one origin may be roasted light (City+) roast level while another origin is better taken darker (e.g., Full City+). You will also see different roast levels with a blend, and with some coffees I will roast some of the beans light and some of the beans darker and blend those to create a melange. One thing I won't do is burn the beans like a major coffee retailer based out of Seattle

Does that help?

I'll be adding a thread with some common coffee terms, including the definitions of the roast levels, shortly.

[landarc]

Dang, I guess I need to figure out what is wrong with my Paypal account, other than lack of money.

[Big George's BBQ]

Great idea Ron Thanks

[MOS95B]

I plan to be upset about everything you said not to... Just because that's how the internet works....

Here's hoping I have spending money when you have supplies!!

[gtsum]

interesting..the wife and I always like to try new coffee (along with wines!)...I will be on the lookout for the posts

[Jorge]

When I was younger and single, I was a coffee snob Getting older, fatter, exercising less, and monitoring my blood pressure...coffee is one of the things I cut WAY back on.

I still enjoy a GOOD cup now and then, and Ron has hooked me up. I got one bag as a gift when he was in town, and it did not disappoint when I had a cup or two. At the Royal I gladly paid for two more bags for my wife to take to her office knowing the quality would be there.

I know enough about coffee to know when the beans are roasted properly. I also know from personal experience that Ron puts together a nice blend. After looking at the cost of beans, this is a bargain!

You aren't buying from a large store that may have overestimated demand for a particular bean or blend. You are buying from an artisan that has a passion and has the knowledge to turn out a quality product.

If you really want to try quality coffee, this is the way to go. Forget Starbuck's and the swill they serve.

[bigabyte]

I just got my bags a little while ago, ground some up and and made some espresso. I figured it would be the best I ever had, but it is the best by a wide margin!

Ron, you may have just caused my coffee intake to increase quite a bit!

[frognot]

Also received my coffee beans (Holiday blend 2010) this afternoon & made some coffee before going to a class tonight. It made outstanding drip coffee. I have to confess that i had had a nap that lasted longer than expected so i really didn't savor that first cup as planned (it was gulp & go). Will make an espresso tomorrow to get a better opinion.

[Ron_L]

Thanks for the feedback, guys!

[landarc]

I notice that everyone is using Ron's coffee for making espresso and using that for evaluating coffee. It got me to wondering, what is the best way to evaluate the quality of a coffee bean. For me, I currently like to cup coffee, but, this really does not taste like coffee. What say the official Brethren coffee snob? Espresso? Brewed? Cupped?

[bigabyte]

I do espresso because I'm the only one in this house that ever drinks coffee. It's so easy to make coffee for one, especially when that person only wants one or two cups when it's espresso. I had a 4 cup Mr. Coffee drip coffee maker, but put it away (I think I sold it), because...well...I don't remember why, but I remember deciding that if I was going to make coffee for just me it was best to just use the espresso machine and toss the drip brewer.

For just casually drinking coffee, I prefer brewed...crazy, I know.

I'm a great candidate for the Keurig...but I'm not into units you can't get inside and clean easily...I like cleaning everything...I taste the difference...I think some people learn to like the off tastes by using dirty stuff. I had a boss one time who insisted the coffee pot never get cleaned out, and actually had someone fired once after they cleaned out the pot. That coffee was swill.

[Ron_L]

I would evaluate it the way that you normally drink it, since that's how you will experience it regularly.

Professionally, cupping coffee is done by putting the ground coffee into a cup and added a pre-measure volume of hot water. The grounds will float and the cupper will break the surface with a spoon to get to the liquid. But that's not practical for every day drinking. When I "cup" a new coffee or blend I use a pour-over since I drink coffee that way and I can easily control the amount of coffee, water and brew time. I also try it as espresso since I also drink espresso and espresso-based drinks.

[Wampus]

SWEEEEEEEET!

I've had Ronelle's coffee. I scored a couple of bags this summer when I was out at the Chamber's fundraiser with him. He brought lots of coffee to donate to the event and gave each of the Brethren some to take home as a gift! (thanks again Ron!) I don't recall the exact blend, but it was a smoked bean and it had a WONDERFUL smoky flavor. MMMMMMM.

Before trying his, I'd never ground my coffee beans before and since, I've never done it any other way. Through many a PM, Ron's helped me learn about coffee (a LOT more than I ever even KNEW I could learn!!).



So, I'll be keeping an eye on this as well. Since I'm one of the official Brethren CHEAP A$$ES, I'll be looking especially for the sales!