Posted Sat Apr 19, 2008, 7:15pm Subject: What gives - Stumptown no longer selling coffee by the pound in their cafes?
I cruised over to Stumptown on Division to pick up a pound of beans, just like I've been doing every week or so for the past few years. I was informed that they were no longer selling coffee by the pound in their cafes - only at the Annex location. You can still buy beans pre-packaged in 12oz bags at the cafes, but if you want a pound, or any other variant other than 12 ounces, you'll have to go to the Annex. This is not exactly the last word in convenience.
Since I've only been buying my beans from Stumptown, I'm curious to know if this approach is being adopted elsewhere around Portland (or around the west coast or the rest of the country for that matter). Any info would be appreciated.
Posted Sun Apr 20, 2008, 5:19am Subject: Re: What gives - Stumptown no longer selling coffee by the pound in their cafes?
I've been buying stumptown from the Albina Press (original location on albina) for about 9mos and they've always sold them in 12oz bags. I actually like the 12oz volume, so I never really though too much about it. I'm wondering if it's an issue of convenience for the cafe; that is, no need to carry 1/2 and full lb bags, but rather just split the difference and not have to display as many bags? Just a theory, but other than that, I really don't know.
MarshallF Senior Member Joined: 1 Jun 2003 Posts: 476 Location: Los Angeles Expertise: Professional
Espresso: Dalla Corte Mini Grinder: Cimbali Max, Solis Maestro Vac Pot: Hario Nouveau, Bodum ESantos Drip: Bodum French Presses, Chemex Roaster: None
Posted Sun Apr 20, 2008, 11:14am Subject: Re: What gives - Stumptown no longer selling coffee by the pound in their cafes?
Guth Said:
Since I've only been buying my beans from Stumptown, I'm curious to know if this approach is being adopted elsewhere around Portland (or around the west coast or the rest of the country for that matter). Any info would be appreciated.
It's the trend, which seems to have begun with supermarkets demanding standardized sizes for their shelves. For many people 12 oz. makes more sense than 16, since they don't consume coffee quickly enough to avoid the last few ounces going stale. Obviously it is less convenient for others.
Posted Tue Apr 22, 2008, 8:04pm Subject: Re: What gives - Stumptown no longer selling coffee by the pound in their cafes?
Guth Said:
Since I've only been buying my beans from Stumptown, I'm curious to know if this approach is being adopted elsewhere around Portland (or around the west coast or the rest of the country for that matter). Any info would be appreciated.
Barefoot Coffee Roasters in San Jose, CA also switched to a 12 oz. bag from 1 lb. It also seems to have coincided with their supplying coffee to the local Whole Foods. I also miss the one pounders. We go through about a pound a week and it threw my buying schedule off, as they are cross-town. Also got hosed on their frequent buyer program. Had four free bags of coffee ( one pounders) that can now be redeemed for 12 oz. bags. In all fairness, their per pound price remains about the same, and they have a $1/bag discount on a purchase of three bags or more. Still worth the trek for their Element 114 and Sweetness Espresso blends!
Posted Thu Apr 24, 2008, 5:05am Subject: Re: What gives - Stumptown no longer selling coffee by the pound in their cafes?
Hi Andre,
I noticed that you have a roaster listed in your profile - how much do you supplement your pre-roasted coffee purchases with green beans to roast your own and how much of a task is it to obtain those beans? I haven't checked into this option yet at all.
Posted Thu Apr 24, 2008, 7:46pm Subject: Re: What gives - Stumptown no longer selling coffee by the pound in their cafes?
Guth Said:
I noticed that you have a roaster listed in your profile - how much do you supplement your pre-roasted coffee purchases with green beans to roast your own and how much of a task is it to obtain those beans? I haven't checked into this option yet at all.
I got an iRoast a couple of years ago from a friend who was a coffee roaster. He taught me how to use it and I enjoyed playing around with it with my Saeco Espresso Classico. When I upgraded to the Brewtus, I was exploring different coffees and made a trek to Barefoot Coffee Roasters. After sampling their various espresso blends, I am amazed at the espressos from their Element 114 blend, especially with the Semi-commercial machine.
Lessons learned:
I left the roasting to the professional roasters that had the proper equipment and the expertise to use it. The iRoast makes incredibly small batches, so a three-bean blend would take about 1 to 1-1/2 hours (including cooling time between roasts) to roast about a half a pound. A lot of time that I didn't have to research or refine. I might pick it up again when the kids are older and are less time intensive. Find a good local roaster and use the coffee at it's peak.
I concentrated on the grind and the extraction. Still working on it. In Coffeegeek podcast 61, Mark Prince made the interesting observation of always striving to perfect the "godshot", and how attaining your experience of a "godshot" raises the bar and makes a moving target of always trying to improve what is in the cup.
The coffee community, both professional and enthusiast, is an incredibly giving community. I have met some incredible people just by talking about coffee. Got some great tips from them as well.
Guth, depending what you want to accomplish, roasting can be facinating and fun. I tried it, and it didn't really work out for me from a time and effort standpoint. www.sweetmarias.com is a good resource if your looking to learn about roasting, as well as many other sites. I am fortunate enough to have a great roaster in town, so I let them do the hard work in roasting and I can concentrate on the grind and extraction. A good combination for consistency.
volcanolance Senior Member Joined: 12 Nov 2005 Posts: 100 Location: Sacramento, Ca Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: La Pavoni P6S2 Grinder: Mazzer Luigi
Posted Tue Apr 29, 2008, 5:40pm Subject: Re: What gives - Stumptown no longer selling coffee by the pound in their cafes?
You guys have to admit...the 12 oz'rs are just so damn cute!! Plus, you have to imagine that by sparing those 4 oz's per-sale-of-bag, that it means that they can spread the coffee love that much further.
and to Andre- when the 'Footers get the Kneebuckler back, you need to hook yourself up with some....its my most favorite "blend" ever. So damn tasty.
Hallelujah! Barefoot is opening their commercial Roasting Works (Click Here (www.barefootcoffeeroasters.com)). The inventory of whole bean has improved dramatically over the last few weeks. I presume that should not be a problem once the new works is dialed in. I'm hoping that they will allow walk-in retail of the whole bean at the new location. Easier for me to get in/out of, especially with $4/gallon gas! It's been a while since I've tried kneebuckler; I'll have to experiment again. Thanks for the suggestion!
Hi Guth, I got some green beans from that super-fancy grocery store off Burnside just west of Powell's. That was a few years ago though. I have some greens you can have if you just want to give it a try. Or you may contact at Extracto 29th & Killingsworth. They have a 1951 Probat they're tinkering around with so I'm sure they'd sell you some greens as well.
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