Use by date or batch label?

[lukewarm711]

Hi All.
Ive just started getting in to grinding beans which I can buy fresh from a range of places locally. It just so turns out that I live within a couple of hundred metres from Belaromas big roasting factory - some days I can smell the coffee in the air around the area!

Having never ground my own beans until recently I use to (prepare to cringe) buy supermarket ground beans. Now however Im on the hunt for a nice blend that I can enjoy with my milk based drinks - usually flat whites and lattes.

Any of you CSrs tried Belaromas blends or have any recommendations from them?

PS. Last time I was at their little cafe Scottie Callaghan was there getting some coffee - I wouldnt have known who he was until I went to the desk with some magazines on it after ordering my coffee, and he was on the cover of one. Haha.

[TC]

Re: Use by date or batch label?

No, but I have tried lots of CS sponsor blends.

Andys espresso wow is outstanding...

Given that you are a member, how about giving some sponsor beans a crack :-?

[Dennis]

Re: Use by date or batch label?

Any of you CSrs tried Belaromas blends or have any recommendations

Yes. I recommended that they stop putting use by dates on their coffee. Have they done that yet?

PS. Last time I was at their little cafe Scottie Callaghan was there getting some coffee

Maybe thats because he works for them.

[lukewarm711]

Re: Use by date or batch label?

Oops sorry guys.. didnt expect such sour feedback :-/

Ill give some sponsors blends a go. I have some reading to do

[blanyon]

Re: Use by date or batch label?

Yes.  I recommended that they stop putting use by dates on their coffee.  Have they done that yet?

I believe that is an interpretation of the food labelling laws requiring used by dates on food products. Not everyone does it so it may just be them covering their behinds.

[lukewarm711]

Re: Use by date or batch label?

Yep, use by dates are a food labelling requirement by law.

[Weaponhead]

Re: Use by date or batch label?

If you can get your hands on the delacremmm, do it. We use no. 5 at work which is pretty reasonable...

[Dennis]

Re: Use by date or batch label?

Yep, use by dates are a food labelling requirement by law.

Where did you get that little nugget Luke? Im sure many people think so, but it isnt true.

The facts:

1. Food that is made and packaged on the premises from which it is sold is not required to have ANY label on it, ie. no identification at all, let alone a use by date.

2. Coffee is not required to have a use by date on the pack. When distributed to other points of sale it must have a "best before date" along with a few other requirements.

3. There are plenty of foods that are not required to have either a use by date or best before date. Go to your pantry or supermarket shelves and check out the baked beans, or many of the other canned foods that are in the same aisle. Very few, if any, will have either use by or best before.

Been there - done that.

[lukewarm711]

Re: Use by date or batch label?

Where did you get that little nugget Luke?

High school food tech.. :-[

Maybe they just werent thorough enough when it comes to important things like coffee.

[Dennis]

Re: Use by date or batch label?

Where did you get that little nugget Luke?

High school food tech..  :-[

Maybe they just werent thorough enough when it comes to important things like coffee.

;D ;D ;D

[scoota_gal]

Re: Use by date or batch label?

Any of you CSrs tried Belaromas blends or have any recommendations from them?

As a member and moderator of Coffeesnobs, this is not something I admit to often and some who know me well, know we use this product in our business.

Mind you, being a client of Belaroma has its benefits, one of which I got to attend an advanced workshop run by Scott last year.

We put the No.5 blend through our machine as it is our preferred Belaroma blend.

Our actual preferred coffee is Espresso Wow. I have quite a local client base who regularly purchase this blend from me.  

As I am not really keen to say much about our coffee supplier on a public forum, I am happy to answer any of your questions via PM. I just dont believe that everyone here needs to see my opinions on Belaroma, whether they be good or bad. They are my opinions and I dont need people misconstruing things I might say. So, I reiterate that if you wish to know more, please PM your interest, Luke.

Dennis, Belaroma are still putting useby dates on their bags of coffee, Im afraid. I cant see that changing quite frankly. However, there are still batch numbers and I guess if we were really keen to know when the coffee was actually roasted, we could ask them to tell us what date the batch number matches. Ive never done that how ever.

[Fresh_Coffee]

Re: Use by date or batch label?

Hello Scoota.

Off topic but.....As a roaster, I would say that wanting to know what the batch numbers mean (in terms of roasted date or how old is the coffee) is superfluous. The beans either produce a good result in the cup when brewed properly by a knowledgable professional barista looking for the best possible result during the course of his/her working day, or it doesnt. If it produces a good result, then the roasted date or batch number doesnt come into play.

An individual baristas opinion of what constitutes "good" then also comes into play...OR, an individual baristas opinion of what constitutes "commerically acceptable" or "fit for purpose" comes into play.....all subject to the individuals opinion.

In my opinion, a roaster probably would not divulge to a client how to enterpret their batch numbers. If it became common knowledge, a business could have massive problems with individuals differing opinions on what constitutes "fresh" coffee or not and the roaster would be run ragged swapping coffee around all over the place just because of the individuals interpretation of the "worth" of the meaning of the batch number and its possible theoretical effect on the quality of the beans....phew. It would be a nightmare for any good name roaster plying their trade in an entirely professional manner.

Batch numbers I believe, are for "internal use" only, where they can be accessed by the roaster, if a problem in the quality of the pack is observed.

On another note I agree, "use by" dates on coffee packets are silly   !

Just my 3.5 pesos worth!

Regardz,
A.
(see you Sunday?).

[Dennis]

Re: Use by date or batch label?

On another note I agree, "use by" dates on coffee packets are silly

Hi Attilio

Some irony with these use by dates:

1) Regular customers would be able to work out when it was roasted.

2) As they are regular customers its safe to say they are also regularly happy with the product and have no need to look at the date on the pack.

We have a famous hamburger shop across the road from mine, They make and sell their own pineapple crush. The type with chunks of pineapple in it that isnt too sweet, takes me back to childhood memories, and tastes wonderful.

They sell it in an opaque plastic bottle and there is absolutely no identification of what is in those bottles. Just plain plastic bottles that customers buy by the gallon!

(Ill be there Sunday and looking forward to meeting you!)

[Fresh_Coffee]

Re: Use by date or batch label?

fantastic, C U then.

(not quite my shortest post ever,..but close

A.

[scoota_gal]

Re: Use by date or batch label?

Thanks for that, Attilio, a great perspective there...personally, weve been shown round the roastery at Belaroma and weve been assured of their products freshness. Ive always found them quite open to deal with and theyre a company with passionate people in it too! Hence why Ive never bothered to question any of their dates/batch numbers etc on the bags. Like Dennis said, were regular customers who are regularly happy with the product.

Mostly, I use the dates to make sure that weve done proper stock rotation, which seeing as we churn through about 15kgs a week at the moment, isnt a huge issue either!

And Im pretty confident I can spot/sniff a stale bag of beans from about 20 paces away too! ;D

No, sorry guys, you wont see me in Sydney this weekend, Im still managing this shop for the owners who dont return from their OS trip till the end of next week. As much as Id love to be there...have fun yourselves!