# Green Coffee Beans on ebay



## Ramrod (Feb 9, 2016)

I've been looking at green beans on ebay but have no idea if I'd be buying rubbish. How can one tell? Take these beans for instance. I'm interested but don't feel knowledgeable to take the plunge on a purchase that size. Anyone have any ideas?


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## Nobodysdriving (Jul 4, 2015)

@Ramrod

are you in the uk?

I ordered from PennineTeaandCoffee: http://www.pennineteaandcoffee.co.uk/Green+Coffee+Beans/0_CAAA034.htm#.Vt4DmJOLTR0

purely because they seemed to have a wide range

I have not roasted these beans yet but looking at them they look healthy good beans


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## Ramrod (Feb 9, 2016)

Those are good prices. Thanks for the link! I'll definitely use that supplier.

My question remains though - how can I tell with some degree of certainty if what I'm looking at on ebay (or some other site) is as described and pucca?


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## Nobodysdriving (Jul 4, 2015)

Ramrod said:


> Those are good prices. Thanks for the link! I'll definitely use that supplier.
> 
> My question remains though - how can I tell with some degree of certainty if what I'm looking at on ebay (or some other site) is as described and pucca?


I'm still new in the game of roasting so can't answer this....

I have to admit I took a 'gamble' when ordered from the site above...

I did search reviews for them and saw on this forum some others have bought from the site

I also thought: I'll order just a couple of kg of 2 coffees I like the description of and see how they arrive...do they smell good, look good?

so far they look and smell good, that is all, I will tell more when I've roasted them

but I received super speedy service which of course it's thumbs up, so far so good

I also wonder how do we tell the 'best by' date of these green beans as they came to me with no best before date and I understand that green beans (unless in some special packaging which is vacuum packed) should last about 18 months....so how do I know if these beans have already sat around for say 17 months?

I hope some veteran sees this thread and tells us, I'm off to look for the info and if I find it I'll point you to it....


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Pennine Tea and Coffee are very reputable and the owner Ken has been in the speciality coffee industry for many years.


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

Also a growing number of roasters sell greens.

Has Bean, Bella Barista, Coffee Compass are just a handful that spring to mind.


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## Nobodysdriving (Jul 4, 2015)

Glenn said:


> Pennine Tea and Coffee are very reputable and the owner Ken has been in the speciality coffee industry for many years.


thank you @Glenn

do you know how we tell 'how old' are the greens when we get them from the supplier? my bags of green beans from pennineteaandcoffee do not have any date on them...they look ok and smell grassy like green beans do...am I supposed to email them and ask them the use by date? (or when were they harvested/packed??)

How do you know if the greens have 'gone bad' are out of date?


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

There is no easy way to tell just from looking at the beans.

Best thing to do is contact the retailer to check.

Pennine would not sell beans that are not suitable for use.


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## johnealey (May 19, 2014)

Rave also sell smaller quantities of Greens as do Bella Barista both also advertisers on here ( BB's bulk buys are not a bad way of trying some quality beans of different origins for not a lot of money.)

Coffee Compass as Glenn has said above also do greens in 2kg bags of pretty much if not all of their beans, which is good starter size at reasonable cost.

Not used Pennine for greens but a good range to choose from.

If buying from any new supplier not mentioned above, in the quantities you are liable to buy, you might look for comments such as "new year crop" or year date to give an indication of how old or young the greens are; quality is going to be much harder to guage if you don't have access to lots of information.

When starting out you may wish to buy a green from somewhere that can answer the above or is a known supplier such as any of the above rather than based cost alone. Any of the above mentioned suppliers will give you a good starting point in your roasting journey and you could also buy the roasted version to use as a "guide" or something to aim for.

Best of luck and hope some of the above ramblings of help

John


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## Rob1 (Apr 9, 2015)

http://www.smallbatchroasting.co.uk/

The new website from 918 coffee. I'm happy to say they've updated their website and now give roast recommendations and tasting notes for their coffee. Previously you had to look at the tasting notes for the varieties they roasted themselves or buy 1kg to get an idea, which could get quite expensive.

If you're thinking of buying one of their cheaper bags it's worth emailing or calling to ask how "clean" it is as you could end up having to separate the insect damaged/broken/misshapen/black beans from the good ones, though I have to say price may not be the best indicator. I had 1kg of Columbian and only had to throw out 90g of 1kg (selling for about £35 per 10kg) and I had to throw out 1kg from a bag of Brazilian that sold for about £55. I'm currently roasting the Panama and have found I only have a couple of grams to remove every batch, but they are labelled as "FANCY" on their website, a term I only thought was used in Guatemala to denote quality.


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Ramrod said:


> My question remains though - how can I tell with some degree of certainty if what I'm looking at on ebay (or some other site) is as described and pucca?


Well you can't and I would not advise buying your greens from an ebay seller. Especially as it's come from this sellers own farm.. I've seen some coffee someone wanted to import from Colombia direct from the farm owner. They sent it to me to have a look at...it was absolute crap, so bad I didn't even bother roasting it. you see a nice photo on e-bay, but that's no guarantee of what your going to get and doesn't tell you if it's been processed properly. With really good coffee you shouldn't have to pull many defective beans at all, that's the whole point of speciality grade.

Use reputable retailers or go direct to Wakefield, Mercanta, Interamerican etc..where they know what they are doing, have relationships with the farms and test the coffees they import. I've been buying green coffee for over 10 years, in large quantities as well when I did the bulk buy choices for Bella Barista, I have seen lots of crap and good coffee doesn't come cheap and not usually from e-bay.

If you want bulk beans, get together and order a few sacks between you and split them up. I used to do that when I ran the old greens club for people from my house, coffee at absolute wholesale cost..........................


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## Ramrod (Feb 9, 2016)

Thank you for your post. That was my gut feeling as well and why I posed the question on the forum. Ta


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## Ramrod (Feb 9, 2016)

Nobodysdriving said:


> I ordered from PennineTeaandCoffee: http://www.pennineteaandcoffee.co.uk/Green+Coffee+Beans/0_CAAA034.htm#.Vt4DmJOLTR0


Just ordered:


Honduras Finca Altos De Erapuca RFA and Organic Green Coffee Beans (1kg)

Panama SHB Palmyra Esta RFA Green Coffee Beans (1kg)

Sumatra Gegarang Village - Organic Semi Washed G1 Green Coffee Beans (1kg) 

http://www.pennineteaandcoffee.co.uk/South+American+Coffee/0_CAAA034_CAAA035.htm

  


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## Rob1 (Apr 9, 2015)

@Ramrod how are those Panama beans?


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## Ramrod (Feb 9, 2016)

Rob1 said:


> @Ramrod how are those Panama beans?


The Panama are really nice! I roasted to just into second crack. Chocolate with a lovely soft lingering mouthfeel.


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## Rob1 (Apr 9, 2015)

It's going to be impossible to compare times and the like but I found with a lighter roast you get more of the roasted almond and vanilla notes. Roasted just before second crack with 18g in 30g out in a flat white it was a whole lot of vanilla and chocolate caramel. 36-40g out results in more of a plain chocolate flavour. It's got a really nice crisp citrus acidity between City and Full City roasts. Haven't gone into second crack yet.


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## BrasilCafeImporters (Aug 12, 2016)

Dear DavecUK, I agree with you. It's not easy to tell if the beans are out of date. We are a family-owned specialty coffee farm from Minas Gerais, Brazil and usually provide our clients with a crop date. As you mentioned earlier it's wise to contact the place of purchase. Ultimately, you can buy direct from the farm. https://cafesantamonicausa.com


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