What is it worth? Coffee is coffee -- right? Well, I reckon' that is in the eyes of the beholder...or in this case...the "be-drinker". :o) Some folks like Gevalia, some like Starbucks, and some even like Maxwell House. A few like The Alpaca Bean as well, thank goodness!
When you compare the name recognition of these coffees, The Alpaca Bean comes in a distant fourth...if at all. However, when you compare the taste...well that is a different topic altogether. Coffee, whether vacuum packed, canned, one way valved, etc., is a product that is time sensitive...the quicker you get it into your brewer from the time it is roasted - usually means the better your taste experience. With that in mind, there is another criteria that impacts us all...cost.
About a year or so ago, I did an analysis of cost by oz and by cup. At that time this what I found:
Gevalia comes to your home in 8 oz vacuum packed bags, at a cost of $7.55 plus shipping. This comes to $.94375 per oz plus shipping. Gevalia offers Peruvian but could not locate a Bolivian coffee.
Starbucks, at that time, was advertised at 12 oz for $10.15 plus shipping. This would set the per oz cost at $.8458333 plus shipping. Starbucks offers a Peruvian but could not locate a Bolivian Coffee.
The Alpaca Bean was selling for $8.75 for 14 oz...or a per oz cost of $.625 plus shipping. The Alpaca Bean offers both Peruvian and Bolivian coffees.
Finally, Maxwell House was selling for $5.25 for 10 oz, making it $.525 per oz at the grocery. Maxwell House offers Columbian...could offer Peruvian in one of their specialty coffees, however, did not find nor price if they do.
Since then, times have changed to some degree...but Gevalia still comes in 8 oz bags for $7.55...The Alpaca Bean is still selling for $8.75 for 14 oz...Maxwell House is still $5.25 for 10 oz at the grocery... but Starbucks Peruvian can now be found for $11.95 for 16 oz...or $.746875 per oz. Good for Starbucks!!! Of course, you can now get, The Alpaca Bean, in a 16 oz bag as well...cost: $9.95...but who is counting! :o) There are other coffees out there that I did not price, most notibly Dunkin' Donuts, and Maui Coffee.
The point??? Well, if you look closely at the date policies of each of these coffees, will see that most have a "sell by" date stamped on the bag...that date is usually approximately one year from the time the coffee is bagged and delivered to the market. Well...if you receive one of our coffee bags you currently will not find a "sell by" date stamp...why??? We usually do not sell coffee on the mass market, so we have been able to roast when coffee is ordered. Meaning you are usually getting our coffee about a week after it comes out of our roaster...but, we will start adding a "lot date" so that you will know when the coffee was roasted. You really might want to consider this along with the cost factors...don't you think?
Bottom line...drink the coffee you enjoy. Decide which offers you the taste you want at a value you expect. But, know that there is a difference in freshness based on time since roasting. Our lot dates will give you an exact "time since roasting", while other coffees will simply tell the merchant when to put the stale bags into a bargain basket for consumers...without any mention as to when the coffee was bagged after roasting. If you see, The Alpaca Bean, on a specialty shop's shelves and the date is older than say, six months...well, I can tell you that the coffee in those bags will taste good, however, it will not be the same as our coffee that is a few weeks since roasting. Best thing to do in this case...tell the merchant that the coffee they have would be good coffee for their consumption, but they may want to reorder! :o) Of course, if you were drinking this fine brew and passing the word on to others...well, that merchant would not have our wonderful coffee on their shelves for say, six months...we all have a role to play, you know? :o)
Until next month...you all take care and enjoy your morning mug of brew (no matter the brand). If you are ever in our neighborhood, drop by for a chat and a tour of our totally redone barn/store/roasting area...the broken pipes gave us lemons, so we decided to make lemonade! We have added a fiber area, training room, and soon a vet room! Love to show it to you!
The Coffeeman
