How to Buy Coffee Beans Online

Never, in my former life as a chef, did I imagine that I would end up selling coffee beans, from a mountainside in Vermont, and online! Even when I purchased Brown and Jenkins, which started out as a catalogue company, I wasn't aware of how large an impact things like the internet, Facebook and social media like Twitter would have on my business. In fact, local Vermonters are often surprised to learn that a large portion of our business here is internet based. It's true!

The idea of buying coffee beans online might seem a bit strange at first. How do you smell the beans? How can you decide what to order? What if the coffee is awful? So I thought I'd give you some tips on how to select, purchase and buy gourmet coffee online.

Step One: Visit the Roaster

Yes, I know, if you're in California and you stumble across Brown and Jenkins online, you may not be able to hop a jet just to Northern Vermont to watch Glenn roast a batch of Ethiopian Yrgacheffe coffee. Yet, many of our most loyal clients are folks who were here as tourists to watch the leaves change or to ski at Smuggler's Notch and fell in love with our coffee. So just keep your eyes open during your travels. If you find a roaster you love, ask if they ship!

Step Two: Look for Detailed Coffee Bean Descriptions

If you go to our web page for Sumatra Mandeling, you'll get an in-depth description of this coffee's characteristics to help you decide if you'll like it. Any online coffee roaster and retailer should offer complete descriptions, and only sell Arabica beans.

Step Three: Look at the Shipping Delay

It shouldn't take more than 2-3 days, tops, for you to receive your order of freshly roasted coffee beans. Remember, coffee beans start to loss some of their best characteristics the moment they are exposed to air. So you want a delivery option that allows you to only store your beans for one to two weeks. Folks in our Coffee Break Club are able to schedule weekly orders, or call in their orders as needed, so they always have fresh beans on hand.

Step Four: Look for Incentives to Try New Blends

Single origin coffees or new blends should be easily explored. When buying coffee beans online, look for a company that lets you try small size sample bags of beans other than the ones you usually order.

The internet is a great tool for many things. Yes, even for ordering gourmet coffee beans. Leave me a comment, or visit our Facebook page, and let me know how you combine the web and your love of coffee.

Until our next cup,
Sandy Riggen