FAQs

Buying Bad Hand coffee

Where can I buy Bad Hand coffee?
We have a helpful list of all our fantastic cafe partners on our Stockists page who either have bags of our coffee available or are happy to fill a container for you from their hopper. You can also order from our shop and get it posted to your door or, if you're local to us, collect from the roastery.
As the roastery is not yet back open to the public we are opperating a 'click and collect' system, so you can order online and we'll let you know when it's ready to pick up.

How much coffee do I need?
That really depends on how much you drink the recipe you're following. Roughly speaking, you can get two cups of coffee a day for a week from a 250g bag and eight cups a day for a kilo bag. You can order a bag at a time, or adjust your subscriptions to suit your use.

Can I get my coffee ground?
Yes! There is an option to choose the right grind size for you when you're shopping our coffees.

What grind size do I need?
The size you need will change depending on how you make your coffee. As a general guide, the finest grind will be for espresso, slightly coarser for stove top, medium to coarse for Aeropress and pour overs and coarse for French Press or cafetière. Grounds should be consistently sized to help you get a balanced extraction so burr grinders are better than blade grinders to help get the best flavours.
If you're unsure which will be right for you, just give us a shout.

How should I store my coffee?
Keep coffee away from air, heat (or fluctuating temperatures), light and moisture. You can keep your coffee in the bag in the cupboard (not the fridge) – our bags have one way valves on them to keep air from getting in, but that allow gases and air to escape – or in an airtight container (like our super-cool Klean Kanteen canisters).

How long will my coffee last?
We recommend using beans within two months of the roast date. It's best to use ground coffee within a week.

Coffee won’t go off or expire, but the longer it is exposed to oxygen (especially after being ground) the less flavourful and more stale it can taste. The best way to keep your coffee fresh is to buy smaller amounts more frequently.

Can I collect my order?
Yes! Just choose the collection option at the checkout and we'll let you know via email when it's ready to collect.

Can I bring my own container to refill?
At the moment the roastery hasn't reopened to the public, so we have suspended this option, but you can still get your zero waste fill from The East Street Deli, Sunrise Organics and Almond & Co.

When will I get my coffee?
We roast our beans throughout the week, so we'll send it out as soon as they're ready. We'll keep you updated on shipping and collection times via email. 
If you have chosen to collect from the roastery just wait for our email saying your order is ready to collect (usually within 24 hours).
For postal orders we are shipping out every Monday, Wednesday and Friday (subscription orders are sent out every Monday after the first order).

Making Bad Hand coffee

How do I make my coffee?
Your recipe will vary depending on personal tastes and what brew method you use (espresso, stovetop, pour over, immersion, etc). Whatever style you go for, it's best to keep these things in mind:

• Grind fresh, if possible
  If your coffee is already ground, use it quickly to avoid stale flavours.

• Use filtered water
  The minerals dissolved in your water affects the flavour of your coffee.  Using filtered water helps get the best flavours, while also saving your kettle or espresso machine from scale damage.
  
  A Brita, BWT or Peak jug or filtered water tap is all you need.
  
  
• Use water off the boil
  We use 95°C for most things, but if you don’t have a way to measure, just leave your kettle to cool a minute before brewing.

• Measure or weigh, if possible
  Sticking to a recipe will help you get consistent results, while giving you a good base to start from if you want to experiment.
  
  We recommend 60g coffee per 1L water (around 15g coffee per 250g water) for filter coffees or 19g coffee, 30-second pour and a 35-40ml yield for espresso (so a ratio of 1:2 of coffee in to coffee out).

• Make coffee that you enjoy drinking!
  There are countless ways to make coffee and no one right way, but if you’re stuck then send us a message and we’ll try work it out with you.

Do you do any classes?
Yep, we run lots of different classes, workshops and courses. Check out the full listing here or get in touch with us to tailor a session to suit your needs.

Other questions

Are the bags recyclable or compostable?
Our bags are all omnidegradable, which means they will break down in landfill, commercial or home compost to biomass, water and CO2 when in contact with naturally occurring enzymes in soil and water.

We love planting seeds in them and then burying the bags once the seeds have sprouted.

Can I have some coffee sacks?
Yes! We have stacks of sacks and love when they are reused for projects. So far they’ve had a new life as garden bags, floor mats, bunting, beach clean sacks, cushions.

Come by the roastery and grab some – or let us know and we can put some aside for you to collect.

What are your opening hours?
Someone will be in 9-5 weekdays and we are open some weekends for events (check our Events page to see what’s coming up).

We don’t have set opening hours as we are still building some parts of the warehouse, or might be busy training or delivering. If the front door is open though, then feel free to pop in and say hi!

Does the roastery have a cafe?
Not yet! We are still building quite a bit of the warehouse so aren’t ready to open a cafe yet – we do host events sometimes, so keep an eye on our Events page!

How do I get Bad Hand coffee for my cafe/restaurant/office?
Give us a shout here with some details about yourselves and will get back to you with the best options for you.

Do you sell coffee equipment?
We have a small selection of home brewing equipment and grinders at our roastery and here.

If you’re after espresso machines, grinders and brewers for your cafe or business we are proud to work with La Marzocco, Fetco, Moccamaster, Ditting, Conti, Mahlkönig, Victoria Arduino, Brita and Compak, and can help you sort out the best set up for your brewing needs.

Are your coffees Fair Trade and Organic?
We focus on ethics, traceability and delicious flavours. We work with green bean importers who trade directly with the farms and cooperatives they buy coffees from, meaning farmers get above the minimum price guarantee (which Fair Trade ensures) but also builds a more stable trading model that allows farmers to make better returns on their product year after year by producing high quality.

Organic certification is another tricky subject. Organic is often synonymous with better quality produce and is better for the soil and ecosystem. However, in the coffee industry, this doesn’t really show the whole picture. 

A lot of the farms we work with are very small, so the expense of Organic certification just isn’t a possibility for them. Some small scale or poorer coffee farms do farm organically anyway out of necessity, they just simply don’t have the funds to certify themselves, while some farmers are left with no choice but to use some form of chemical fertilisers or pesticides in order to make a living.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that we don’t buy Organic coffee, but we prioritise the flavour and ethics of the beans over certification.

Not found the answers you were looking for? Send us a message and we’ll get it sorted.