# Climpson & Sons



## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

I ordered a 250g bag of the Nicaragua CoE yesterday, and paid the rather high £4 postage fee.

Really disappointed to receive today (14th Feb) a bag roasted on the 5th Feb, and a non resealable bag at that.

Maybe I'm to used to receiving coffee roasted to order, but I wont be ordering from Climpson again.

It's a shame as I have had some nice coffee's in cafe's made from Climpson beans. I will of course report once I have tasted.


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## sjenner (Nov 8, 2012)

aaronb said:


> I ordered a 250g bag of the Nicaragua CoE yesterday, and paid the rather high £4 postage fee.
> 
> Really disappointed to receive today (14th Feb) a bag roasted on the 5th Feb, and a non resealable bag at that.
> 
> ...


I don't know how big Climpson's customer base is, but roasting to order is very difficult for the bigger roasters. Surely ten days is not too old for roasted beans? I know that Londinium roasts to order and he discourages customers from buying one bag by charging a fortune for it... If one goes for the six bag option, his prices suddenly become very competitive, but of course one has to like what a particular roaster does anyway.

I received six bags of Malawi from Reiss this morning, and the roasting date was the 12th, but there is also a label on the bag which states... Do not use until 14 days after roast date.


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

That's Reiss's personal opinion on his beans though, I prefer to use mine much earlier than that.

I disagree as well, roasters big and small have always sent me fresh beans.

Anyway, Climpson have kindly agreed to send me a replacement bag roasted 12th Feb - great customer service!

I am happy at the resolution, but others may want to ask for roasted as late as possible when ordering.


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## rodabod (Dec 4, 2011)

I live just down from Climpson's and their coffee has always been excellent. I bought a bag of their Sidamo Espresso which is yummy. Their Baron espresso is an awesome dark blend, and the rest of the blends have a great balance between flavour and acidity.

I think personally, I'd only complain if a bag arrived maybe two weeks or older, post-roast.

Mail order is tricky with respect to postage and packaging costs. I think you're better maybe buying a kilo or so, then freezing most of it.


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## sjenner (Nov 8, 2012)

Yes rodabod, I received that Sidamo as one of a pack of five bags ( http://webcoffeeshop.co.uk/buy-coffee/espresso-sampler-pack/ ) from Climpsons and I reckon that it stood out as the pick of the bunch, mind you I haven't been back yet.

Aaron... Have you seen the size of HasBean's roasters? There is no way that they can roast to order anymore, though a few years ago it was always roasted "yesterday"... The size of an operation must have an effect on the amount of beans that are being roasted at any one time?

And yes I agree that what Reiss does (and recommends) is not necessarily anything other than a personal opinion about his roasts and experience...

http://londiniumespresso.com/blogs/londinium-espresso-blog/1096142-can-coffee-be-too-fresh

But it makes for a good argument.


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## rodabod (Dec 4, 2011)

I wonder if the argument for letting beans rest is more down to espresso beans needing to de-gas to avoid "lively" pours.

I don't usually bother waiting. I prefer slightly overly fresh beans to overly stale.


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## hopsyturvy (Jan 7, 2013)

I haven't tested the taste difference myself - but I've definitely heard something similar from many sources, i.e. that beans are best more than a week off roast. 9-10 days seems to be typical, but I seem to remember reading about someone in the WBC choosing to use beans that were more than 2 weeks off roast. I guess it depends somewhat on the bean, and on what flavours you're trying to bring out


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## tribs (Feb 21, 2012)

I advocate letting certain beans rest quite a while (more than two weeks!), BUT, I'd rather have the freedom to decide exactly how long that rest period is and be certain I was happy in how they were stored during that time.


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

Exactly, I want to make the decision myself. Personally i'll start drinking 3 days after roast, I can see the freshness in the chemex from the gasses in the bloom.

I should add that Climpsons sent me a very nice email today confirming a fresher pack is on its way to me, excellent customer service


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