@dfk41 I’m a bit confused matey - if roast dates are such a red line, why keep ordering from them?
A word of caution
whinmoor85 I think you have not picked my beef up. I contacted them to ask why they could not add a roasted on date to the best before date. They replied and I queried the reply. You can work out the roasted on date as they say best before 6 months to the day as opposed to the month. I then ordered again and after the exchange of emails, the beans turned up. One bag had no best before but a roasted on date (remembering they told me they do not do this). The beans were 24 days old on receipt. I am suggesting when buying a premium product at over £70 per kilo IO expect them not to be 24 days old! The second bag had no information on them at all.
Right, matter is resolved. I heard back today with an explanation. I specifically asked not to be refunded but they did anyway due to the damaged packaging. As far as I am concerned, I will continue to place orders with them. I am still on the lookout for a nice punchy, fruity coffee suitable for V60 or Hario Switch if anyone can help!
MWJB Does that ridiculous cost come with a side order of Rao arrogance? What good can 100 grams be? All the better reason to home roast and easily be on par and usually better than most any commercial roaster worldwide.
Might I ask why you would refuse a refund if you were offered sub standard experience?
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The price I quoted was as per 100grams (this is just how I quantify bean cost), not an order of 100grams. Yet, it is not the most expensive coffee I have bought, it was acceptable once rested (the other 3 bags, not so much).
100g is 7 pour over brews, plenty enough to get a god grasp of a coffee. Many of my orders are 150g, Sweven, for instance, do smaller bags at114g.
I have roasted at home too, I’m obviously not as good at it as you are, any tips greatly received.
I was (and still am) a big fan of Rao’s first 2 books, as an intro to understanding coffee. His latest social media content seems to be less rigorously researched & referenced. However, Scott was actually the most happy & kowledgeable to engage with on suggestions on how to troubleshoot Prodigal coffee, compared to other roasters I have communicated with. As I said in response to David, I am not keen on stockpiling coffee, waiting for it to rest just because the roaster is in a rush to get it out the door, so ordering a month ahead of time is not for me.
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Tal Of course you may ask. A refund was never in question although that was not what I was after. Initially I simply wanted to know why a roaster who seems to be offering beans at the top end price wise, was not prepared to simply add a Roasted On date to the packaging. I was not particularly happy with the answer. The sub standard part was receiving beans with damaged packaging (that can happen to anyone) coupled with one of the two packs having zero information on the packaging. By zero, I mean nothing, nada.
When I queried this I received an answer and I was quite happy. I will continue to order beans. it is quite possible to ask questions, debate robustly and not have to fall out!
JonWoo187 Does that ridiculous cost come with a side order of Rao arrogance?
I’m not sure why you’re suggesting Scott Rao is involved the company? He owns Prodigal coffee, not Darkwoods.
Decent DE1 • Mazzer Philos
JammyDodger @JonWoo187 was presumably responding to my post which mentioned a purchase from Prodigal in a tangential conversation, not Darkwoods.
dfk41 Glad to see they resolved your issue. What did they say about the lack of roast dates?
whinmoor85 They blamed 2 things. One, their process and secondly they claimed not to sell many 500 gm bags so use 1kg bags (which they do) which predominantly sell to wholesale/trade accounts. I am not sure if that makes a difference but hey ho!
20 days later
I have ordered 1kg of the Arboretum from Darkwoods.
I ordered on Saturday, 20th of July. It arrived Tuesday, 23rd.
Wanna guess the roast Date? 3rd of July. Not impressed.
MediumRoastSteam Complain……be interesting to compare the responses
dfk41 - I wrote to them last night. Let’s see what they say.
On the plus side, at least it had the correct date on. Someone less scrupulous could have just out whatever date they wanted on. This isn’t a roaster I have tried and probably never will having read this thread but at least they seem honest from what you have said.
Ade Smith. ACS Evo Leva v2. Kafatek Flat max 2, ssw 2024. Mazzer Philos, Craig Lyn HG-1 prime., WW key mk1.
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Adrianmsmith Someone less scrupulous could have just out whatever date they wanted on.
Scrupulousness isn’t really a factor, there isn’t any legal requirement to have a roast date. I don’t think anyone has suggested an intention to mislead.
I’d try the coffee prior to complaining, this roaster is consuistently providing the best coffee for filter, for my part.
Regarding roast dates/resting it strikes me as a double edged sword…I’m very happy to receive coffee quickly if it is ready to brew. When I think I’m running out and want some new coffee, it’s frustrating to receive a bag then have to wait another 2-4 weeks for it to come on song, going without for another day or two whilst I make another purchase for something I can drink right away.
I’d rather the roaster rested & QC’d the coffee, releasing it when at its peak, or at least, state clearly on the product page the recommended rest time from delivery.
If you go to a supermarket to buy sausages and there are two packs left. The first runs out of date that day whilst the other has 10 days on it. They are both the same price. Which one do you buy? Dark Arts gave me excuses as to why I received coffee roasted 20 odd days earlier but did say they would look at their process. So, is this bad luck on your part, has another one slipped through or do they think their is nothing wrong with shipping out older coffee?
dfk41 The first runs out of date that day whilst the other has 10 days on it.
Do you buy absolutely fresh beef and dry age it yourself, or buy the ‘21 day aged’ beef and cook it straight away? Likewise 12yr old whisky?
Meat has a ‘use by’, it can be dangerous to exceed this, coffee (like toothpaste) has a ‘best before’ - it will be safe consume after this date but may not be at peak aesthetic quality.
I don’t want coffee sent out to me before the roaster has had a chance to QC it & make sure I’m getting what they are advertising. I don’t want to hear, “the roast curve looks fine…” when I get a disappointing bag.
I’m sure the coffee will taste just as good however I would also be irritated as I purchase expecting to leave it for it for 7-14 days anyway, in which time I would use existing beans. So not ideal from a stock perspective.
It must be hard for roasters as I’m sure they are confident it tastes just as good and I dare say most customers are happy to accept if it’s been roasted within a month of the delivery date.
Hopefully when you get to trying them they taste great regardless and this experience doesn’t leave a bitter taste (no pun intended)