Free Shipping on Orders of 3 bags or more with code FREESHIP (U.S. ORDERS ONLY)

Frequently Asked Questions

ORDERING, SHIPPING & COUPONS


We do! If you order 3 bags of coffee or more, you qualify for free shipping. You must input the coupon code freeship to enjoy these savings. You must reside in the U.S. in order to get free shipping and free shipping is only good for USPS shipping. (We do provide discounted shipping prices on orders of 3 bags or more with our UPS options but do not offer free shipping with this method.)

Orders placed online before 10 am CST M-F, ship same day. Orders placed after 10 am CST M-TH, ship next day. Orders placed after 10 am CST Friday through Sunday, ship the following Monday.

(Exceptions: holidays or when a special coffee has a special roast date. We are closed major holidays including Labor Day, Memorial Day, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas, New Years, and several days around Christmas and New Year’s for our winter holiday. Coffee does not ship on these holidays. We also sometimes have special coffees that have a special roast date. When this is the case, this is indicated in red messaging on our shop page by the coffee and on that particular coffee’s page. When this is the case, the coffee will ship on its special ship date.)

If an order was placed within 24 hours of a new promotion or sale, we can certainly honor that sale. Please email us at orders@jbccoffeeroasters.com with your order number and let us know you just missed the sale. We do have to wait until orders batch out at the end of the night to enact partial refunds so that discount will be refunded on the next business day from when your order was placed. Those refunds post to credit/debit cards within 24-48 hours.

Yes, we do! All international orders are shipped via USPS Priority International and typically arrive within 7-12 days. You can always upgrade to a different shipping method as well by calling us at 1.608.256.5282.

If you placed an order online at JBC Coffee Roasters, you are sent an email confirmation when your order is placed and an email with tracking information once your order is processed/getting ready for shipment. If you did not receive these emails, check your junk mail or in the case of Gmail addresses, check your promotions tab. Our emails often find themselves there. If you still do not have an email, please check that your email was entered correctly by logging into your account at www.jbccoffeeroasters.com. If you still have questions, please feel free to give us a call at 608.256.5282 or email us at orders@jbccoffeeroasters.com.

If it’s been awhile since you have ordered with JBC Coffee Roasters, you may need to reset your password. We launched a new website the summer of 2020 which requires everyone to reset their password one time. If you have tried to reset your password but didn’t get an email, check your junk folder or in the case of Gmail, check your promotions tab. Also note that usernames and passwords are case sensitive. If you are still having an issue, please email us at orders@jbccoffeeroasters.com and we can generate a new password for you.

If your coffee was marked delivered according to your tracking information and it is still the same date that the postal service indicates it was delivered, we recommend waiting a day. Sometimes a postage carrier will mark a package delivered but it won’t actually arrive until the next day. If it is the next day and you still don’t have your package, please check with your neighbors, apartment front desk, etc and/or your post office. If you still do not receive your package after several days, please contact us and we will help send a replacement.

Disclaimer: If there are known delivery issues to your address, we cannot take responsibility for missing packages. We either ship UPS or USPS. If there is a more reliable carrier to your address, please indicate at checkout out in the order notes section what carrier you prefer, I.e. comment something like “Please ship USPS” or “Please ship UPS.”

Please note. We do not have any more information than you do with access to your tracking number. Once we hand a package off to USPS, UPS, or DHL it is in their hands and you have all the same information we have.

We pride ourselves on accuracy, but we are human. Sometimes mistakes do happen. But no worries! We will make it right for you. Just give us a call at 608.256.5282 or shoot us an email at orders@jbccoffeeroasters.com detailing your issue and we will help you out.

When placing an order, simply check the create an account button underneath the billing details on your check out page. Or click the create an account button at the top right of our homepage.

Please email us at orders@jbccoffeeroasters.com with your order number and let us know you forgot to add the coupon. We do have to wait until orders batch out at the end of the night to enact partial refunds so that discount will be refunded on the next business day from when your order was placed. Those refunds post to credit/debit cards within 24-28 hours.

We always have free shipping on orders of 3 bags or more with the coupon code freeship. This code is also always available at the top of our homepage so that you don’t have to remember it each time. Additionally, if you are not already signed up for our newsletter, you will receive a welcome coupon good for $5 if you sign up. It is also through our newsletter that you will receive any additional coupons. You receive first word on any special sales/deals we are running, information on new releases, and JBC happenings. Please feel free to sign up at our homepage.

Yes indeed! This is our roasting location so it is not a retail shop but we do offer curbside pick up. Simply place your order over the phone at 608-256-5282 and we will get your order ready for pick up right away. Check out a list of our coffees here.

 

SUBSCRIPTIONS


Certainly! Subscriptions make a great gift. Just click the gift order box and fill out a gift message for your recipient. That message will show up on the receipt of their first order. Please note that if you input your own email address for the order, you will be the one receiving tracking information for each shipment.

Monthly subscription for 3 months: 3 shipments

Monthly subscription for 6 months: 6 shipments

Monthly subscription for 12 months: 12 shipments

Bi-monthly (Twice a month) subscription for 3 months: 6 shipments

Bi-monthly (Twice a month) subscription for 6 months: 12 shipments

Bi-monthly (Twice a month) subscription for 12 months: 24 shipments

Weekly subscription for 3 months: 12 shipments

Weekly subscription for 6 months: 26 shipments

Weekly subscription for 12 months: 52 shipments

If you ordered a monthly subscription, those ship the 1st Tuesday of each month. If you ordered a bi-monthly (twice a month) subscription, those ship the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month. If you ordered a weekly subscription, those ship weekly on Tuesday.

Definitely! Typically a shipment of one bag of coffee would include the price of the coffee and the cost of shipping (roughly $5-7 plus dollars for one bag of coffee.) Our subscriptions are a flat fee of $22 per shipment which includes the shipping cost so savings are anywhere from $3 dollars to $10 plus dollars per shipment.

The short answer is no, those coffees are chosen by our roasting team each shipment. The long answer, though, is that you should rest assured that you will be receiving our newest, high rated coffees with each shipment. We use this service to send the best of the best of our coffees and never use it as a way of getting rid of older coffees. The coffees sent with our subscriptions are our newest, our most favorite, and our best coffees.

The coffees sent with our subscriptions are our newest, our most favorite, and our best coffees that are available as 12 oz bags.

 

GIFT CARDS


Gift card codes are emailed upon ordering. If you or your recipient did not receive an email, check your junk mail or in the case of Gmail addresses, check your promotions tab. Our emails often find themselves there. If you still do not have an email, please check that your email was entered correctly by logging into your account at www.jbccoffeeroasters.com. Please also feel free to contact us at orders@jbccoffeeroasters.com and we will be more than happy to resend that code to you.

Yes! They are e-gift cards that are good for shopping online. Upon purchase, you will input the email of the gift recipient and they will immediately receive an email with how to redeem their gift card. You can also fill in the optional gift message section to send them a personalized message. If you would like to purchase the gift card now but send it to your recipient later, enter your own email as the recipient and forward on that email when you are ready to send it.

 

COFFEE & ROASTING QUESTIONS


The truth about mycotoxins is that there is a lot of misinformation about it in coffee and some compa­nies propagating this misinformation in order to sell their product.

  1. The number one way to ensure no mycotoxins in your coffee is to buy high quality. As specialty roasters, we only deal in specialty coffee (the highest quality coffee out there representing under 1% of coffee worldwide). We have two Q Graders on staff who, along with the rest of our team, evaluate green coffee samples and roasted samples extensively before purchasing any coffee. Mold and fungus (responsible for mycotoxins, aflatoxin on coffee) is a deal breaker for us. Mold or fungus significantly lower the score of the coffee based on the grading system we use. We simply don’t buy coffees that are scoring low on the Q scale. We work with farmers who take significant steps at the farm level to produce quality. They are continuously monitoring water activity and moisture content in their coffees. They take significant steps to process their coffee in way that will ensure even drying and, thus, the highest quality coffee. We, likewise, test water activity and moisture content for every coffee we buy to ensure they are within acceptable levels. Water activity and moisture content is tested when sampling for purchase, upon arrival, upon release, and quarterly. Mold cannot grow on coffees displaying water activity under .7 AW and all of our coffees meet this requirement.
  2. While the above points are the most important to note in eliminating your exposure to mycotoxins, aflatoxin in coffee…it’s important to note that compared to other foods, mycotoxin/aflatoxin levels in coffee are very low, in fact far below the safety limit. This includes ALL coffees, including low quality Robusta that tends to be most susceptible to mold/fungus and not even close to the quality level we would accept at our roastery. Conclusion, the trace amounts of mycotoxins found on any coffee are far below safety limits and too low to be of any significance.
  3. While we stand behind the quality of coffee we are buying and the fact that we do not buy coffees with any evidence of mold or fungus, the roasting process (which brings coffee to 395-400 degrees plus) kills mycotoxins/aflatoxin and significantly reduces exposure.
  4. We are proud to have a temperature-controlled green room that we built out a couple years ago that monitors temperature and humidity to provide the best storage facility for our coffees. We contin­uously monitor moisture content and water activity in all our coffees throughout their time with us to ensure only the best quality for our customers!

Really, your best bet in making sure you are limiting your exposure to mycotoxins, aflatoxin is to buy from high quality roasters who sell only specialty coffee.

Anaerobic fermentation is a coffee processing method where coffee is fermented in pressurized sealed tanks deprived of oxygen. This lack of oxygen produces distinct acids, lactic acids for example, that create a different and distinct flavor profile for the coffee. This process can be done with the coffee still in cherry or with coffee that has been de-dulped in the mucilage. The coffee is then dried either in cherry (natural process), in mucilage (honey process), or after it has been washed (washed process.)

Wet-hulled coffees from Sumatra/Indonesia tend to be very earthy with tobacco notes and this is largely because of the way they are processed. Wet hulling is a processing technique unique to Sumatra/Indonesia where they remove the last protective layer of the coffee seed-the parchment-before the coffee seed is dried thoroughly. The majority of coffee we drink is washed processed (vs wet hulled) and these tend to be cleaner cups. Washed coffees are processed pretty similarly, only they are dried in parchment vs. having that parchment removed before drying. We seek fruit-forward, clean Sumatras that are much less earthy than many comparable Indonesian coffees, but wet-hulled coffees will always have a little bit of that Sumatra-esque flavor that results from the wet-hulling process.

Envision this. Your roasted coffee bean that you receive, is originally a green coffee seed growing inside a coffee cherry that grows on coffee trees. The coffee cherry is picked once ripe during harvesting. From there, it is processed in a variety of ways at the farm level (before it ever gets to the roaster.) Most of the coffee we drink is washed processed. In this process, the coffee cherry and mucilage are removed (by a process of de-pulping, fermentation, and washing) from the coffee seed before the coffee is dried. Natural process, conversely, refers to a coffee processing tech­nique where the coffee is laid out to dry with the coffee cherry intact (rather than removing the cherry skin and mucilage before drying). This creates a natural fermentation environment for the coffee and can produce very intense fruit and floral notes. If you like intense fruit and floral aromas and tasting notes, a natural process is a great coffee for you to try.

We do not currently have any sample-sized coffees (8 oz or 12 oz is our smallest package). If you are not already signed up for our newsletter, however, you can get some great deals that way and be the first to hear about any new coffee arrivals. Upon signing up, you will immediately receive a coupon good for $5 off your next order and will get word on any sales. (Plus, we always offer free shipping on 3 bags or more with the coupon freeship for U.S. orders). You can sign up for our newsletter at our homepage.

We recommend purchasing based on origin/varietal of coffee if you are looking for a mellower acidity. Coffees from South and Central America or Sumatra, for example, tend to have a mellower or rounder acidity. African coffees, especially Ethiopian coffees, will have a much brighter, more citrusy, more sparkling acidity. Again this will all depend on the varietal of coffee, growing/processing techniques etc but that general rule of thumb is a good way to start.

Acidity in coffee further explained. Acidity has definitely gotten a bad rap in coffee and it really shouldn’t. The acid content of coffee is less than fruit juices, beer, and soda with a pH of around 4.3 to 5. Quality acidity is crucial for a quality cup of coffee. When a professional coffee cupper is refer­encing acidity, it is not the pH that this taster is referencing but rather acidity as a flavor note. When positive, acidity is described as bright, sparkling, crisp etc. All coffee is made up of multiple different organic acids and the play of those organic acids together will create the coffee drinker’s perception of acidity. The perception of acid (there may be very slight Ph differences as well) is often different based on the varietal of coffee, the origin, processing techniques, etc.

We always offer a good variety of organic certified coffees. If you click on any given coffee, it will say organic under the certification section if it is indeed organic.

Yes, actually much better. We have moved beyond a fair trade model to a sustainability through quality model. We pay vastly far and above the rates mandated by “fair trade” and find that model is not actually be advantageous for farmers nor actually a fair trade. We pay 4, 5, 6, 7 times (and much more!) the rate mandated by fair trade for specialty coffees. We see many farmers working on improving their quality to move into the specialty coffee model because the honest truth is that it is much more sustainable for them and can actually provide a living wage.

We do not roast date our coffee due to limited room on our packaging and to maintain production efficiency, but we do guaran­tee shipment within 48 hours of roasting. We understand the importance of fresh roasted coffee and you can rest assured that you are getting just that. We do understand, however, that the roast date is important to some coffee drinkers and you can certainly feel free to request that information on any fu­ture orders in the comment section at checkout. Simply comment something like, “please add roast date,” and we are more than happy to do so. If you already have your coffee and would like to know the roast date, please feel free to email us at orders@jbccoffeeroasters.com.

In our case, there is actually no difference between our espresso and coffees. We light to light medium roast all of our coffees/espresso. We encourage customers to order any of our single origin coffees for espresso and have moved away from labeling any coffees as espresso (because they were, in fact, the same exact product/coffee as their coffee counterpart). Other roasters may take their espressos to a darker roast…we do not. We find where a coffee shines tends to be where a coffee shines in all applications. We do also always have the one designated espresso blend which is currently our Twisted Espresso. But, truly, all of our coffees are lovely in the espresso machine.

Coffees daily presence in our lives may make us forget the fact that coffee is indeed a crop, with a maturation and harvest cycle that will dictate its availability. Each year we sample the best of the best crops that are coming in and it is often not that same farm that we buy from and/or we may purchase super special small microlots that have limited availability. Even if it is a direct trade partner we work frequently with from year to year, we will often switch up the lots/coffees we are bringing in. What we can guarantee is that we always have amazing coffees from a variety of origins and although we may be sold out of a certain coffee, we will be able to find other coffees that you will love. If you loved a coffee and want to know what would be comparable—shoot us an email at orders@jbccoffeeroasters.com or give us a call at 608.256.5282.

Our beans are not oily. Most high quality beans from reputable roasters will not be roasted dark enough to force the oils from the bean. (Light roasted coffees appear dry/wrinkly.) Our practice is to roast light enough so that the essential oils that contribute to a coffees taste are still inside (in fact preserved much better) and are not susceptible to becoming stale by being forced outside of the bean.

We spend a lot of time sourcing super special/unique coffees and work really hard to find the sweet spot for each of our coffees. A dark roast will not display the many myriads of aromas and flavors that make a coffee special but will simply create roast imparted flavors that are easy to duplicate no matter the quality. A dark roast can also hide defects, which is why it is often used for low quality beans.

All of our coffees are light to light medium roasted.

We are taking it to another level and really working hard to encourage people to talk about the aromas and flavors they prefer in a coffee vs. the roast level. We taste a vast amount of coffees to select just one. Variety, country of origin, farm level techniques, processing methods, etc all have an impact on cup quality and the flavor/aroma of your coffee. We light to light medium roast all of our coffee because we spend a lot of time sourcing just really special coffees and this is what will really showcase the aroma and flavor notes that make a coffee unique. (Why would you burn off all the unique flavors of a high quality coffee to simply create roast imparted flavors that are easy to duplicate no matter the quality?) All of our coffees taste vastly different depending on variety, country of origin, processing methods etc. We believe we have a coffee for everyone. If you like more chocolate and caramel notes (maybe you are used to dark roasts), we have a coffee for you.  If you love high-end fruit notes or citrus notes, we have the coffee for you. We really want people to talk about coffee more like people talk about wine. Coffee actually has over 850 aromatic and flavor compounds. That is over 4 times as much as wine. Lets talk about what aroma and flavor notes you like in your coffee.

If you have a question about what coffee you should try or what you would like based on your taste preferences, shoot us an email-orders@jbccoffeeroasters.com-or give us a call at 608.256.5282.

All of our coffees are light to light medium roasted.

 

COFFEE PREPARATION & STORAGE


This is the age old question that has many answers across the board from different roasters. The short answer is that we would love for you to use your coffee from 4-28 days after roast if possible. This will be the optimum time for brewing for maximum flavor, aroma, acidity etc. Also, oxygen is what causes coffee to degrade so the more air-tight storage condition you can provide the better. The long answer, however, is that our coffee will actually last much longer than this and still taste great. All of our coffees are light to light medium roast and light roasted coffees last much longer than dark roasted coffees. If you roast dark enough to force the oils from the bean (we do not), all of those oils will lead to staling much faster. (Another great reason to move to the light side of things!) This is where it gets subjective for the coffee drinker and the coffee itself. The acidity may not be as popping or bright, but we have stored coffee for 3 to 6 months and the coffee still tastes great. This is where it is up to your palate. Coffee is safe to drink for longer than this time frame but will not taste as flavorful. So, shoot for 4-28 days after roasting for brewing, but it’s up to your palate after this timeframe and you could get a great cup of coffee for up to 3 months plus.

Our coffees come in high barrier bags with a zip seal that is optimum for freshness. You should store your coffee like you would potatoes (in a cool, dry pantry for example) and seal the package as air-tight as possible after each use. Keep your coffee away from light, heat, and moisture.

The easiest way to solve this is to use as fresh as cream/milk as possible (age of the cream/milk is the biggest factor for this problem to occur) and let your coffee cool a little before adding cream or milk. To give you a brief explanation… All coffee is slightly acidic and made up of various organic acids. Lactic acid is one of these acids. When a coffee that is maybe a little higher in lactic acid is mixed with older milk (milk continues to build more and more lactic acid as it ages), then curdling can occur. The milk may not be spoiled enough to cause an off odor or flavor, but just enough acid and heat (in addition to its own) can cause curdling. Secondly, milk can also curdle when it is added to coffee that is too hot. So, in short, we would let your coffee cool a little bit more before adding your milk and also make sure you are using fresh milk.

We attribute bitterness to over extraction, which takes place during preparation. If your coffee is tasting bitter, we recommend doing one or more of the following: grind coarser, a shorter brew time, or amending the water you use to brew. (We recommend Third Wave Water). Also check out our brew recipes and videos for more tips: https://jbccoffeeroasters.com/brew-recipes/.

We attribute sourness to under extraction, which takes place during the preparation. If coffee is under-extracted, it can create a sour sensation. (Conversely, over extracted coffee tastes bitter.) If your coffee is tasting sour, we would recommend doing one or more of the following: grind finer, a longer brew time, or hotter brewing water. That all said, if you are used to brewing only dark roasts, the fruit notes in lighter roasted coffees may be perceived as sour (tart?) to some drinkers. We would still recommend the above practices as light roasts tend to brew a little differently than dark roasts. Also check out our brew recipes and videos for more tips: https://jbccoffeeroasters.com/brew-recipes/.

  1. The first step is easy. Buy high quality coffee! We may be a little biased but we believe you are in the right place to do so at JBC Coffee Roasters
  2. Water! The water you use makes up 98%-99% of your brewed coffee. We recommend using Third Wave Water (available at our site). For third wave water, all you have to do is buy a gallon of distilled water, add one mineral packet, shake, and brew. The water then is shelf stable to use for brewing each day and it is the optimum mineral content to bring out the best in your coffee. Second best option after Third Wave, is to simply use Spring Water.
  3. Make sure you are using the correct amount of coffee. Here are some of our recipes: https://jbccoffeeroasters.com/brew-recipes/.
  4. Make sure you have the right grind size. If your coffee tastes bitter, grind a little coarser. If your coffee tastes weak/watery—do one of two things…use more coffee or grind finer.
  5. Still needing tips/advice? Give our friendly customer service team a call at 608.256.5282 or shoot us an email at orders@jbccoffeeroasters.com.

Temp: 200 F

Dose: The amount of coffee you use will be somewhat determined by your basket size. We highly recommend purchasing a 20 gram VST basket for your portafilter. When dosing with a 20 gram basket, start at 20 grams of coffee.

Yield: We generally recommend a 1 to 2 ratio (so 20 grams in, 40 grams out). If you are looking for a thicker, more syrupy, punchier shot than you can change that ratio up to 1 to 1.75 or 1.5 (Ie 20 grams in, 35/30 out). (Keep in mind, every time you change your dose or yield you will need to change your grind pattern.)

Grind: This is where the dialing in occurs. The grind for espresso is very fickle and must be dialed in each day. You will need a high quality espresso grinder. Espresso is ground very fine. We recommend grinding as fine as you can until your espresso is tasting bitter. Then back off and go coarser until you hit the sweet spot.

Time: We don’t really use time as a parameter and use mostly weight-based parameters. The reason being that as the coffee ages, the timeframe of the shot may change but the weight will not. We do use time, however, as a kind of secondary guideline for how we are pulling the shot. Ie. if it starts too fast, our coffee is ground too coarse. If the shot starts to slow, coffee is ground too fine. Etc.

Signs you need to change your grind (providing all the other variables, including your tamp, are set):

Coffee is starting to fast. Coffee is too coarse.

Coffee is starting slow. Coffee is too fine.

Coffee is tasting too bitter. Coffee is too fine.

Coffee is weak or watery. Coffee is too coarse.

 

LOCAL ORDERS


Yes indeed! This is our roasting location so it is not a retail shop but we do offer curbside pick up. Simply place your order over the phone at 608-256-5282 and we will get your order ready for pick up right away. Check out a list of our coffees here.

For local customers with a Bucky Book coupon, these orders must be placed by phone. You can call us at 608.256.5282 and mention that you have a Bucky Book coupon. Orders can be placed for pick-up but we can also ship. Please note that you will be charged additional shipping charges for this option.