Tips to Save Your Money & Time with Bulk Coffee Buying
PurelyCoffeeBeans wonders about buying bulk coffee beans in large bags! There are times as a serious coffee drinker you wonder whether you could save a little bit of money by buying bulk coffee or just stick to buy small bags of branded coffee.
How about that for bulk storage of your coffee? (c) Kenneth Dickson 2020.
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What can I learn about buying bulk coffee?
- “How can I buy bulk coffee?” You ask
- Can you buy green coffee beans in bulk?
- How much coffee does a pound of green beans make?
Roasting & storing your coffee
- How do you roast coffee beans?
- How do you tell if your coffee beans are freshly roasted?
- Is it worth to buy larger pallets?
How much bulk coffee? Whole or bean?
- How much coffee will you use in a limited period?
- Should I buy bulk coffee beans or ground coffee?
- So grind it right!
Ways to calculate how much bulk coffee to buy during the Covid Coffee Crisis of 2020
“How can I buy bulk coffee?” You ask
But that’s not the only way you can have freshly ground coffee every day and still save money as well.It’s easy, really! For example, if you’re a member of one of the large warehouse stores (like Costco), you should be able to save money by buying their own bulk coffee brands in store.
There are other cost-effective methods to ‘have your coffee and drink it’ in the long run. As well as saving you money, you’ll have some of the best coffee beans cup of coffee you can get anywhere!
If you’re interested in bulk buying your coffee beans, then you should consider FairTrade coffee because of its direct impact on coffee farmers.
Can you buy green bulk coffee beans?
The best way to buy bulk whole bean coffee is to confine yourself to unroasted beans, commonly called green beans. If you want all of the flavor your beans can give, it’s essential that you buy them before they are roasted.
Green beans can keep a much longer time than any roasted beans or ground coffee, and they will retain their flavor well for about 2 years. So proper storage is important otherwise the beans will be damaged.
Look around your local area for bulk sellers of green coffee beans (even Amazon sells them). But don’t be surprised if you can’t buy them in 1/2lb bags! They really are for bulk sales!
How do you roast coffee beans?
The roasting process extracts the natural oils from the beans; the oils are what give the coffee its flavor. Roasted coffee beans are only good for a few days because the oils evaporate or can even go rancid if improperly stored.
Are you ready to roast your own beans? It’s not difficult; you just have to choose the right roaster. A fluid bed roaster is the least expensive and easiest to use. They are rather like a hot air popcorn maker!
You choose the roast setting and the machine does the rest. A drum roaster is the type used by commercial roasters and you have to keep an eye on the beans to be sure they don’t burn; your nose will tell you when they are done.
How much coffee does a pound of green beans make?
During roasting, you will seen an estimated loss of 10~12% of the weight of the green coffee as moisture is evaporated and gases escape from the roasting coffee. Professionals estimate that about 80% of that amount is in fact moisture, while the remainder is escaping volatile coffee compounds and gases.
To return to the original 1lb (454g) of coffee, you’d expect to lose upto 2 oz (45~55g) of moisture content. Of course, the longer you roast the coffee, the more moisture content that will be eliminated. So darker roasts will lose comparatively more than lighter roasts. Don’t forget to take this into account when comparing green and roast coffee bean pricing.
How do you tell if your coffee beans are freshly roasted?
If you prefer to buy your beans already roasted, you’ll be looking for a roast date quite recent (think days rather than weeks!). To verify, you’ll notice that freshly roasted beans may have an oily surface. Their should be a fairly pronounced aroma of roast coffee, especially during the degassing period which starts after roasting is complete.
Ask the clerk when the beans were roasted or look on the bottom of the bag if you’re in the supermarket, if you’re still not sure. Once you find freshly roasted beans, be sure to store them in an airtight container in a cool, dark and dry place. Vacuum sealing your roasted bulk beans is an ideal way to preserve them.
If you buy bulk coffee that is ready roasted, then opening a larger bag means that you should really use the coffee beans as quickly as possible, or the air will begin to turn the beans’ flavor. By the time you get to the bottom of the bag, the flavor will be gone.
Is it worth to buy larger pallets of bulk coffee beans?
One option to consume roasted coffee beans is to buy larger pallets of smaller packs, making it easy to use up an entire pack within a short time. Though you will probably pay more, you will find that the coffee is just fresher. So, buy 24 bags of Espresso Roast 1/2lb units rather than 12 bags of Espresso Roast 1lb bags. Sound weird? Not really.
In fact, buying large packs of small amounts of coffee is perhaps the best way to maintain freshness, and is largely responsible for the coffee pods craze. Otherwise, if you are regularly brewing large amounts of coffee for a larger office or family, you’ll find that bulk purchasing of coffee beans offers the most affordable way to enjoy quality coffee in your cup!
How much bulk coffee will you use in a limited period?
Once you’ve bought several times and noted usage patterns, you will be in a much better position to assess how much coffee you or your office or family can consume in a given time frame. Try to use a larger bag within two weeks if you can, once opened. And always, always store properly.
If you don’t, you’ll notice that the flavors dissipate due to the forces of time, air, moisture, and light. Even if you do store properly, there is a limit to how long you can keep those essential flavors.
How much coffee should I buy?
If you’re unsure of how much to buy, then do a bit of simple math. “Covid Coffee Crisis 2020: 10 Ways to Survive When You Can’t Go Out for Coffee!” @ PurelyCoffeeBeans.com
- a. How many days do you expect to stay at home? 14? More? Less?
- b. How much coffee do you use in a single cup? 15g (1/2 oz) or 24g (3/4 oz)?
- c. How many cups do you make in a day? One for breakfast, four for the family?
So if you make 2 cups a day with 24g and you plan to stay at home for 14 days, you’ll be needing about 3 x 1/2lbs bags over that period. If you bulk buy, perhaps just one large bag.
2 cups/day x 24 grams x 14 days = 670 grams (or 1.48lbs)
If you make 1 cup a day with 17g of coffee, and you plan to stay at home for 30 days:
1 cups/day x 17 grams x 14 days = 420 grams (or 0.92lbs)
Or you can work it out the other way. How many cups does a 1-lb bag make (454grams)?
454 / 20 grams = 22 cups of coffee
You may use a different amount, but for most hand poured coffee 17g is pretty typical. The usual ratio is about 1:15~18 or 1g of coffee:15ml of water ~ 18ml of water (approx. 1/2 fl.oz to about 2/3 fl.oz). Make sure you use a standard spoonsize, too!
So if you make coffee twice a day for 2 people, your 1-lb bag of coffee would last approximately 6 days. If you’re in quarantine or buying bulk coffee, you would probably need around 5~6-lbs (or 5-6 x 1lb bags of coffee – approx. 2.6kgs) to last for a full calendar month.
Should I buy bulk coffee beans or ground coffee?
If you’ve just been reading my article on my new burr coffee grinder, you’ll know that I like to grind just prior to making coffee. In fact, if you’re buying coffee beans, you’ll be pleased to note that they do keep better than the ground coffee you might otherwise consume.
Many coffeehouses will grind your coffee for you, and one of the first things the barista will tell you is to consume your coffee soon. That’s not just because they want you to come back… it’s because the actual coffee grounds deteriorate quite quickly due to moisture, air, heat and sunlight.
So grind it right!
In short, store your coffee beans well, grind right before use, and don’t buy so much that you’re still using them up 5 years later. By giving your coffee a little thought, you can find ways to save money and have the best tasting cup of coffee regularly and often!
You can even share this treat with your office workers or family! You may also want to read the article about buying coffee beans.
What are the best coffee brands, find out here!
