Good evening, SF.

As I sit here making my grocery list, I'm thinking about coffee. I usually buy whole beans, a bag or two -- you know, the 12-oz or so bags -- at a time. With winter and uncertainties coming on, I've been stocking up on a few things. Now I'm thinking about coffee -- I think I'd like to buy beans in larger quantities. Anyone buying coffee beans in bulk? Any particular sources you like?

Usually a couple of pounds of whole bean at a time. As long as they come in foil sealed bags, or are vacuum packed, not a problem.

Typically 10- 1# whole bean vacuum packed at a time from a local importer/roaster

Lasts me about 2-2.5months

My go to coffee is a local roaster in Salt Lake City. La Barba Coffee. I buy their coffee in 5 lb bags.

I like to get 5# bags of Organic Aloha Bean - Hawaiian Hazelnut from The Bean Coffee Company which lasts for around three months.

I use the subscription plan and it saves 20%.

I take out a pound or so at a time and reseal the larger bag and it stays fresh.

Enjoy,
Kevin

We usually buy 5-10 lb at a time and create our own blend. Once we blend, they get sealed in a foodsaver bag and stored in the freezer.

We've bought numerous times 5# bags both ground & whole, to compare the difference (if any) in a favorite "Morning Slammer" from a place in Boise & also now in Prineville.

Typically we have around 10-1# bags in the freezer awaiting their rotation.

A buddy got interested in learning to roast them, and has imported his own 50# bag now & then.

i enjoy good strong coffee...receive 5 lbs monthly by subscription. death wish coffee.
it’s my vice since i quit buying firearms ;-)

yummy

Usually 40 oz. bags of Caribou coffee.

I have heard good things about Sweet Marias Coffee and their good service. I seem to recall some members here endorsing Sweet Marias in the past.

I have not ordered from them, but I've been thinking about ordering one of their starter kits to roast beans at home. I know this is pretty basic cheap quality, but I might give it a go Sweet Marias Their website has a tab for coffee storage too.

It's fun to experiment with different kinds of coffee and stocking up on what you really like while you still buy a little amount of other varieties to try out.

They will sell you freshly roasted coffee as well as the raw beans if you want to roast your own.

There are a number of local roasters near to me which I have tried. Lately I've been buying and enjoying an Italian Roast.

I suppose Costco sells enough coffee that it's usually fresh with a good long expiration date that you could buy bags of roasted beans sealed in the mylar bag, should be good for at least a year or longer?
.

If you like Hawaiian coffees you may like this place. It’s small, family run, and the couple who own it are good family friends but most importantly they know what they’re doing and their coffees are great.

https://mauicoffee.com/

I usually buy 3x one pound bags of whole beans at a time. That's a little less than a month's supply for me. A pound lasts me a little over a week.

Not exactly "bulk quantities" in the grand scheme, but more than buying a bag at a time.

I also have some K cups on hand, for times when I'm in a big rush, or as a backup in case the "real" coffee runs out before my next order arrives.

quote:

Originally posted by OKCGene:
I suppose Costco sells enough coffee that it's usually fresh with a good long expiration date that you could buy bags of roasted beans sealed in the mylar bag, should be good for at least a year or longer?
.

Not necessarily. That hasn't been my experience with Sams Club, a similar warehouse store. For example, I ordered a bag of coffee beans from Sams Club in mid/late August. The bag I got had been roasted and packed in March. So it had been sitting for 5+ months. I've also seen pallets of many-months-old coffee beans in person at my local Sam's Club.

Besides, despite what the expiration date on the bag may say, coffee is best when it's used within about a month of roasting, even when it's packaged well in a sealed bag. Year-old coffee won't be "bad" in that it won't make you sick, but it won't be "good" in that it will make a poor quality cup of coffee.

(This is one of the major benefits of buying from a smaller roaster or local roaster, where you're getting beans that are only a few days old, as compared to larger national roasters from a chain grocery store whose beans may have been sitting in warehouses, on trucks, or on shelves for weeks/months already, and may already be past their optimal freshness period before you even receive them.)

Vacuum sealing and freezing can extend coffee's period of freshness, but to fully stop the oil loss that causes coffee beans to go stale requires lower temperatures than residential freezers are capable of. And refrigerating or freezing/thawing coffee can also introduces other separate moisture issues. So freezing coffee generally isn't recommended if you're a coffee snob wanting the best quality cup of coffee possible, although it's an option for "emergency prep" purposes to head off a shortage. Middling quality coffee is probably better than no coffee at all.

I have been a Red Bird Coffee customer for several years. I order 5 lb. of their espresso blend and generally add a pound of another to try for a change of flavor. Good product and shipped right after roasting. It arrives 2 days later so always fresh. I then pack it in quart size Mason jars, vacuum seal the lids and freeze. If you don't have a sealer just fill the jars completely full and freeze.
This is about a 6 week supply of espresso for me. Still very tasty when I open the last jar and then it's time to reorder. They have a very wide range of varieties and roast levels, not just espresso. Reasonably priced for specialty coffee.
I generally try to order on a Friday or Monday so it doesn't sit around during shipping.

We’ve been buying Costco’s Costa Rica coffee. It’s no longer carried in the store, so we order online. 2x 3# bags. We have a couple of coffee canisters (bought on recommendation here in the Forum) that aren’t quite big enough to take 3#, nevertheless, fresh ground every morning, I feel like I’m getting consistently good coffee.

I get three 5 pound bags of whole beans every 2 months on auto ship.

I have a subscription here:

https://konagrown.com/

I get 12 bags every two months to get free shipping on more than $100.

Great coffee.

I buy in bulk but I roast my own. I use Sweet Marias.

I prefer dark roasts (which puts me in the minority. My go to is Costco which locally has San francisco Bay dark French. It comes in a 3 lb bag. I like it but it has a few tiny broken pieces. For twice the price, I prefer Red Bird or else Coffee Bean Direct. In order to save on shipping I have to order a 5 lb bag. I put the beans up in smaller mason jars in the freezer and/or into AirScape canisters. As others wrote, the freezer isn't the best but it works. The canisters are okay, but each time one opens them, air gets in.

Used to buy 10 pound sealed bags from Peerless Coffee in San Francisco, years back when we visited the wives parents. Now qwe do one and two pounders online.