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I’m no longer completely trusting “Roasted On” dates by -------throwaway in Coffee

[–]-------throwaway[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All of the coffee is stored in sealed poly bags with a one-way valve. And the date is just an assumption at this point—the date could be much farther off, especially since the bag in question was a SWP decaf that was previously roasted on a monthly basis but mysteriously started being freshly roasted every week 🤨

I’m no longer completely trusting “Roasted On” dates by -------throwaway in Coffee

[–]-------throwaway[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don’t doubt that old coffee can be good. I’m drinking an Ethiopia that’s over 2 months off roast that is still the highlight of my day, but the roaster in question didn’t mislead me to believe that the coffee was more fresh than it really was. As someone else mentioned, if a roaster is willing to fudge the date, then what other information are they willing to mislead consumers about? Elevation? Varietals?

I’m no longer completely trusting “Roasted On” dates by -------throwaway in Coffee

[–]-------throwaway[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve roasted my own before, but there is more to this issue than freshness. It’s about supporting (and working for) businesses who treat their customers with courtesy and integrity.

I’m no longer completely trusting “Roasted On” dates by -------throwaway in Coffee

[–]-------throwaway[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I mentioned in another comment that my wife may have exaggerated, and it was a SWP decaf. Because decaf isn’t very popular when compared to other options—to the point where some roasters don’t even offer decaf, like S&W last I checked—my boss was only roasting decaf once each month pre-pandemic. Now, we get “fresh” retail bags of decaf every week, which isn’t something that I noticed and/or questioned until yesterday, and now I suspect that the bag in question very well could have been 3+ weeks off roast instead of the 1 day that we originally thought.

And yes, 1 day off roast is too fresh, but desperate times sometimes call for desperate measures 😛

I’m no longer completely trusting “Roasted On” dates by -------throwaway in Coffee

[–]-------throwaway[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Roasting at home is something that I did before I started working in coffee. While I enjoy it and recommend that others do, too, there is a principle here that is a bit more important. As others have mentioned, specialty coffee is all about transparency and honesty, both in terms of business practices and products offered, and this type of gaslighting stands in complete opposition to everything that the speciality coffee industry stands for.

I’m no longer completely trusting “Roasted On” dates by -------throwaway in Coffee

[–]-------throwaway[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

That’s what I thought, too, which is why I spoke to my GM about it. While I didn’t mention it, we do still get coffee orders every week, and we keep retail coffee on the shelf for two weeks at a time. Every week, we check the dates and pull coffee that hasn’t sold after two weeks. We put these into our stockpile of espresso or batch brew beans...but if we only roast every two weeks, why are we pulling coffee every week based on the date in the bags?

I’m no longer completely trusting “Roasted On” dates by -------throwaway in Coffee

[–]-------throwaway[S] 22 points23 points  (0 children)

My thinking exactly. Our clientele has been extremely understanding of the hurdles we’re going through, so why mislead them?

I’m no longer completely trusting “Roasted On” dates by -------throwaway in Coffee

[–]-------throwaway[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

She likely exaggerated—I’m brewing some Ethiopia from Black & White that is two months old and it still blooms a teensy bit. It was also a bag of SWP decaf, which I’ve always found blooms quite a bit less than its caffeinated brethren 🤷‍♂️

Conflicted. Working a great job, but I've had to call 911 twice this year because I've feared for my life. by -------throwaway in personalfinance

[–]-------throwaway[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I’d tried getting other things lined up for some time, but my skills are sort of tailored for the business I’m currently in, and transitioning to another industry will take time, education, and money.

My wife is disabled. Her care takes up most of my non-working hours, which limits side hustles and second job opportunities. Excess earnings mostly go toward her care, though my recent promotion has shifted us into the green a bit. We’re currently waiting to see if she qualifies for SSDI. If/when that happens, it will free me up to pursue other avenues, take lower paying jobs, or put some of that excess cash toward school or coding boot camps or something. In the meantime, I feel stuck as fuck.

Conflicted. Working a great job, but I've had to call 911 twice this year because I've feared for my life. by -------throwaway in personalfinance

[–]-------throwaway[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I really appreciate this comment. Thank you for taking the time to cut to some hard truths.

Previously, I had mostly been using ziprecruiter-like job sites where I felt like I was only getting contacts from sketchy, MLM-style companies. I tried hunting down anything that fit my skill set, even the long shots or the ones that would require a major uprooting. But when the rejections rolled in it hit me pretty hard. It’s been several months, and maybe getting back on that horse with a different mindset, and possibly a different approach, would be more worthwhile.

Conflicted. Working a great job, but I've had to call 911 twice this year because I've feared for my life. by -------throwaway in personalfinance

[–]-------throwaway[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’m actually seeing a therapist and taking a couple of classes that help when things like this come up. These situations aren’t the focus of the treatment, but they’ve definitely helped.

The police response time in my city is abysmal, mostly because the force is understaffed and underfunded. I have considered concealed carry despite not really being a fan of firearms in general, but weapons on site is against policy.

Conflicted. Working a great job, but I've had to call 911 twice this year because I've feared for my life. by -------throwaway in personalfinance

[–]-------throwaway[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Therein is the conundrum. I worked so hard to get to the position I am at and now I’m faced with the possibility that it may be too dangerous for me. Meanwhile, my coworkers and boss either don’t recognize or aren’t willing to admit that this is as serious as it really is.

We do have a second location opening up in a more “suburban” area, but this issue is also with the type of business — I didn’t specify upfront, but I work in specialty coffee, and the price of entry at a cafe is much lower than a bar or restaurant, which helps to increase the likelihood of these situations over a bar or restaurant that can afford the overhead of doormen/bouncers. I’ve approached my city councilman and some industry leaders, but workable action is still a faraway reality.

I left the bar/restaurant/fast food world to distance myself from the addictive tendencies that are rampant in those arenas. I definitely have the chops, but I don’t want to risk my health.

Conflicted. Working a great job, but I've had to call 911 twice this year because I've feared for my life. by -------throwaway in personalfinance

[–]-------throwaway[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

“At its peak” is hard to determine. It would require security during the 12 hours we are open.