Category Archives: Buying from Us

How to buy from NanoRoast and get what you want without hassles

Because we need more small annoyances…

Small anoyances are the normal state of life, and as a general rule, I try not to let them suck me into their vortices. This of course doesn’t apply to our ability to get really top quality coffee from around the world for you, so I was bummed when I found this in my newsfeed today:

Reuters reports a frost AND shipping problems from Brazil (https://apple.news/ALM3jf_JbTPOjSsZWc0uB2g) expected to severely impact coffee availability and price. The frost is more worrying than the temporary global shipping slowdown for me. Coffee bushes take up to seven years to start producing once planted.

At the same time, Colombia is experiencing political and labor tensions with the government that resulted in the government’s order to hold all export ships in port. As far as I know, they are still arguing, and the coffee isn’t shipping yet.

We have seen COVD-19 disrupt all phases of the supply chain, and the supplies in stock are reaching the bottom. Still, suppliers have some new stock. What I worry about is quality. And cost, too.

I just want to say to my wonderful customers that I’ll continue to be picky about which coffees I roast for you, and if I have to get creative to get what you want to taste in your cup, I’ll let you know. This might be, for example, running out of a fruity dry process Ethiopian and substituting a similar tasting coffee from Uganda or East Timor. What will rule is the taste profile, not the origin name.

As always, I consider it a privilege to roast for you, and I am very thankful for you, my dear customers. I’m always happy to hear your feedback, too. Please stay safe until this dumb pandemic is over at last.

To better days…

susan

Trials of A Coffee Artist

Yeah, COVD. And wildfires. And shipping and logistics issues for getting your top-quality coffee beans from the farm to me. Arrgh. This has been a hard year for everyone.

I wanted to share a little peek behind the curtain as to how 2020 affected NanoRoast, and more importantly, your coffee availability. Basically, everything is taking twice as long to get to me from around the world, and when it gets here, some of it doesn’t quite measure up due to the extra time sitting in port. Good news is that I still have some great beans to roast for you, and though I had to metaphorically kiss more frogs to find a prince this year, we have still found some really great coffee. The bad news is all the links in the chain have raised prices on the good stuff. It’s not really a surprise given the kink in the supply chain, but it’s caused me to rethink pricing structure and how to keep you in good coffee while still being able to pay the mortgage. You’re welcome.

The bottom line is that I’m discontinuing the smaller 12 oz orders to focus on 16 oz, 24 oz and 32 oz options where the economics are more cost-effective for us both. When you factor in our move to FREE SHIPPING on orders, it’s less hard to swallow, pardon the pun. I’m also putting a few offerings on sale every month to encourage you to try something new. Finally, I will continue to make sure every bag of NanoRoast has at least the stated amount or more, and I will continue to do random upgrades and random samples of things I think you might like to try.

After a difficult year for all of us, my appreciation for all my wonderful customers who continue to support us overflows. I wish you all effective vaccines and a happy end to the pandemic.

Thank you so much. Enjoy your coffee!

susan

FREE SHIPPING EXPERIMENT

UPDATE: As of January 27, 2021, we are making shipping FREE for all orders in the Continental USA of up to 5 lbs to the same address. Yay. However, the USPS just instituted a fairly large price increase in shipping, so I’m re-balancing in order to keep you supplied with the really primo stuff while not going broke. Life is full of trade-offs, so we are increasing the minimum quantity you have to buy, but I’m giving you FREE SHIPPING. 16 oz will be in one bag (unless you arrange otherwise), 24 oz and 32 oz will be in two bags. They will stay fresh a couple of months if left unopened in a cool, dark place. You should store opened bags in a jar with a tight-fitting lid in the pantry, not the freezer. I appreciate each and every customer, and I hope you will roll with this with me. However, if you have feedback, I’m listening. Please email me:  [email protected].

ORIGINAL POST:

As of January 21, 2021, we are turning the page. Among the changes coming about, we are experimenting with FREE SHIPPING. Depending on postal rates, volume, etc., we hope to just make this aspect of purchasing great custom coffee easier–one less thing to worry about. We will still ship USPS 3-day (at most), or local customers can arrange pickup, contact-free if you like, masked and distanced otherwise.

You’re probably thinking, “she’s going to raise prices to cover shipping.” There is a point where the economics don’t work if I don’t, but I’m going to try very hard to hold the line. That said, I’ve been looking at purchasing patterns, and I may tinker with quantities, such as phasing out the 12 oz option, to keep it all in balance. Please let me know if there is an option I DON’T offer that you would like to see. If it makes sense, we’ll try it. Your feedback is welcome. We live to make you happy with your coffee.

Watch this space for upcoming developments, and thank you again for supporting this tiny, tiny business. Please take care of yourself, and

Enjoy your coffee!

s

What’s New in 2021

Happy Holidays, Coffee Lovers!

You all know by now that I really despise the webmaster part of my job description — I’d really rather make lovely coffee art for you to enjoy — but that’s life. To make more room for blend experimentation and tasting lots of new offerings, I’m going to be migrating my website to another web host and shuffling my offerings a little differently. Stay tuned!

One thing I have not enjoyed is that, though my SSL certificate is and remains in place, the majority of browsers insist on unhelpfully telling my customers that their shopping is “not secure.” Arrrrgh! This is due to an old version of the programming language they use on the server, blah, blah, blah. I can’t get them to upgrade, so I’m moving. I sincerely hope that you don’t notice when it happens, but in case Murphy’s law is in force when I do, you can always order via email ([email protected]), text, or phone. The price sheet will be updated this week, so hang onto it just in case.

One good thing you will notice is that I’m going to group my full-caf offerings into Lighter Roasts, Medium and Darker Roasts and maybe even a special section of Reserves that are special interest due to superior rating, nonstandard but cool processing or an unusual coffee varietal. Your feedback is always welcome.

Till then, Enjoy Your Coffee!

s

NanoRoast and COVD-19

So, what is NanoRoast doing to ensure your safety and health (besides sending you delicious custom-roasted coffee) in these virally-challenged times?

You have no doubt heard from every business you are in contact with, and this is laudable, but what we are doing is simply taking the CDC’s advice and using the common sense practices we use anyway when handling anything for human consumption. I am well stocked with bleach and alcohol, and I know how to use them on surfaces. I use soap and water at least twice when roasting and the same when packaging every batch. I don’t roast when I am sick, And I am STAYING AWAY FROM SICK PEOPLE.

Customers should be aware that we are well-stocked at this point and unlikely to run out of your favorite origin or blend. I hope you all are staying safe and healthy as well. Thank you for continuing to support a very tiny business. I deeply appreciate you. Hang in there—We will pull through this. Until then, check out our Current Offerings, and

Enjoy your coffee!

susan

Keepin’ It Fresh

We are always looking for new ways to maintain the high quality of NanoRoast coffees while they are being shipped to you and until you enjoy the last of the order. If you hoard your stash (and I’m certainly not judging), it might last longer than if it is viewed as fair game for the folks you live with. However, maybe the easiest and best solution is to request smaller packages.

NanoRoast offers a 12 oz package with a one-way valve that will allow the CO2 gas to escape (good) but not let air in (bad.) But once you open the package, you need another strategy. Recently, we have been taking requests from some of our long-time customers to break down that 16 oz package into smaller packages. Because we are all about customizing to what you want, we will totally do this. If this idea appeals to you, here’s how you go about getting smaller NanoRoast packages:

1) Email [email protected] and request whatever coffee selection(s) and custom size packaging you want.

2) I will respond with the additional cost, usually $1-3 dollars, depending on complexity.

3) You email me your approval of the order.

4) I’ll send you a PayPal invoice that you pay (don’t need a PayPal account) and get your order going.

Who else will do this for you?

Enjoy your coffee!

susasn

NanoRoast Coffee Samplers Available

Now There is Help for Coffee Choice Overwhelm

Ok, you’ve been scanning our long list of single-origin coffee offerings, and you suddenly realize: “ I don’t know what to order first!” Never fear; we have an option for you–sampler packs.

NanoRoast Samplers are smaller packages (12 oz each) of our current offerings that are bundled together so you can try several before investing in a larger quantity, or just because it’s fun to try something new every day or so. Please note that you can choose the standard sampler, in which the choices of coffee selections is mine, OR you can choose a custom sampler, in which you choose the specific components.

How this works:

Custom Sampler:  Please email me the specific coffees and roast levels you want ([email protected]). I’ll invoice you.

Standard Samplers: Choose from the options below (4 pack) 

Tour of Coffee Sampler  This sampler consists of 4 @ 12 oz packages (3 lbs total) of coffees from each major coffee-producing region of the world–Central America, South America, Asia, Africa. Roast level will vary according to the particular coffee included, but you can state a general preference for lighter, medium or darker roasts. We want you to be happy, so your preference will guide the specific selections chosen. In any case, we will endeavor to amaze you with the best of each region.

Dark Roast Lover’s Sampler This sampler has 4 @ 12 oz coffees that will delight a dark roast drinker. While dark roasts tend to emphasize the chemical processes of roasting over inherent unique characteristics, we can roast darker while still maintaining variety. These will all come to you roasted dark enough to emphasize the roasty flavors, but they will not look particularly oily (this is a good thing) or be overly bittering on the palate.

Lighter Roast LoversSampler This pack has 4 @ 12 oz of coffees that shine at lighter roast points. Usually, we try to include a variety of origins to showcase the distinctive flavors of different varietals and processing methods. These are roasted dark enough not to be sour or grassy but light enough to show off the best of the bean.

Susan’s Stash Sampler (2 pack, 1.5 lb total) This sampler is the one where I share two 12-oz packages of really top-quality coffees I save for my own enjoyment, e.g., the really good and pricey stuff. All are rated over 90 points by the SCAA rating standards, and all have come from award-winning farms or processors. They are expensive, but I think they are worth it! Obviously, I can’t know ahead of time which will be worthy of this group. If you want to explore the best of the best, email me ([email protected]) and I’ll send you a proposal with cost.

enjoy your coffee!

Exciting News in Which I Update My Dated Website

Flash: Nano Finally Updates Website!!

I am not a luddite in any sense, but taking the plunge to redesign and update my rather dated website is not something that I consider a good time. However, that project is now about to go live. As Bob Dylan said, “There’s a Slow Train comin'”….

The plan is to take down the site temporarily next Friday, October 19, install the new stuff and test it and have it magically back up and operational by Sunday, October 21. Unlike most IT department implementations, I don’t work at zero-dark-thirty on stuff like this because I like to be awake.  What could possibly go wrong???

I’m confident that the new site will be easier on the eyes no matter what device you are using, if not easier to navigate. We will still keep all the opinions, information and reviews. All that said, if I mess this up too badly and/or you want to order while the site is down, please email me at [email protected]. I’ll send you a PayPal invoice. Many of my customers have discovered the Easy-Peasiness of just emailing me to discuss recommendations, place orders and chat about coffee. You are invited to do the same if you like.

So, wish me luck, and enjoy your coffee!

s

UPDATE:  I think it’s done (fingers crossed), but if you see anything that doesn’t work, please email me. Many thanks!

Fudge the Decaf!

Just How Decaf Does Your Coffee Need to Be?

Many NanoRoast customers already know we offer reduced-caf blends, which till now have been roughly half-cafs. Going forward, I’m going to give you the option of telling me HOW MUCH caffeine you want in your lower-caf blend. Duh! I should have done this a long time ago, and here’s why:

The Reasoning  Suppose you are sensitive to caffeine and need an alternative, but you still want your coffee to taste really intensely good. Decaf tends to taste a bit washed out due to the processing it receives, so decaf drinkers often don’t get the same experience that full-caf drinkers do with their coffee. It makes me sad. However, it stands to reason that your caffeine sensitivity is not the same as other people’s sensitivity level, and since we are customizing everything else, why not allow you to customize the level of decaf  in that blend?? We are starting with 25% increments, but if you just really want 30% level of one component, email me or send me a note with your order.

Suggestion  This leads me to a suggestion in favor of more flavor: Unless your doctor has said absolutely NO caffeine*, you might try a very low-caf blend. One customer has me blend his 90% decaf/10% regular and swears it makes both his doc and his taste buds happy. I don’t know the exact answer for you, but we are dedicated to helping all our customers achieve coffee nirvana, whatever that looks like.

Enjoy your coffee!

susan

*I’m gonna trust you on this.

Uniformity Issues with Your NanoRoast Custom Coffee

Uniformity Issues with Your NanoRoast Custom Coffee

Every now and then, I get a question from a new customer that boils down to, “Why is my coffee not uniform?” The answer is, “Because it is selected, processed, roasted and otherwise crafted just for you.” If uniformity is your issue, you probably are used to buying from a much larger roaster who produces hundreds of pounds at a time from large pre-blended lots. This change to custom coffee can be surprising, so let’s look at two ways lack of uniformity might present itself in your custom coffee.

ROAST LEVEL UNIFORMITY?

This issue shows itself in two ways, a) a medium roast of one origin and another, and b) what “medium roast” means from one lot to another of the same origin and varietal. In the first case, a customer will notice that a medium roast Sumatra looks lighter than a medium roast Colombian. In the second, someone will remember last year’s Burundi Kayanza medium roast was darker than this year’s.

Explanation:  Coffee is a crop, affected by weather patterns during the growing season, plant varietal, processing methods and even altitude where it’s grown. Even the same coffee origin/varietal/farm/processing can vary from year to year where you can tell the difference in the cup. Our challenge, then, is to find what “medium roast” means within the range of good roasts for that particular lot and to describe it accurately. It may not be the same shade of brown as the medium roast of another origin that year. For example, wet-hulled Indonesian coffees look less roasted than they actually are, and some East Africans look dark but taste medium.  Bottom line: Go by taste, not sight.

WEIGHT AND VOLUME UNIFORMITY?

You learned in high school chemistry that things of the same mass but different densities occupy different volumes, right? We equalize these by weighing. Therefore, 1 lb of dense, high-grown Colombian beans might take up less space in the package than 1 lb of those fluffy, low-grown Brazilians. Also, if you hadn’t noticed, those tiny, dense Ethiopian heirloom beans not only naturally take up less space due to small size and high density, they pack closer together. So you can receive a tiny Ethiopian, a relatively large Brazilian and a medium-sized Colombian package in the same shipment, all weighing 1 lb. Class dismissed. Bottom line: Ignore volume differences. Go by weight.

By the way, we use the “Net Wt. at least x” method of filling our orders. We usually try to err on the side of overfilling your order cuz we like you.

Enjoy your coffee!

s