First big con = roast date
Only a few online shops actually mention the roast date or sell prepackaged coffee from big brands. I had a few occasions where the shop owners told me not to worry, their coffee would be good for at least 18 more months....
Bullshit!
I am a true asshole when it comes down to this, because I actually reply them they are wrong, telling them the coffee will lose its pure power and scent, the aromas are gone within weeks after burning, my own personal limit is currently 6 weeks, this allows me to appreciate coffee when it is still fresh.
Second big con = variety
I just love to vary my coffee slurping, a new flavour every few days, I love it. Some bad, some good, some awful :)
When you buy online, the ones with the biggest variety almost never roast their own beans, they will sell the usual suspects like bazzara, lavazza, Blaser, Kona, .... But I want my variety.
I also like a "1shop stop", 1 place where I can just order everything, ranging from my syrups to my sugar sachets, from the descaling kit to a tamper.
One of my favourite shops, koffiebean.nl sells many syrups, sugars, ... But I seldom use them to order coffee, not because I dont trust them, but cuz I like the variety of other shops (for coffee) much more. Fascino-coffee, the latest place I ordered from, they have a great variety of products, freshly roasted beans and other things, after mailing them a few times, they actually accepted some of my suggestions and will incorporate those soon AND most importantly swift delivery times, which brings me to the third con, time...
Third and probably biggest con = time
I am not talking about roasts here, but the actual time it takes to deliver the stuff at home. Not all online shops use DHL or Fedex, but snail mail... Imagine waiting for 3 weeks before your "freshly roasted" coffee arrives. Not being home is another such problem.
I had quite a few encounters before with TNT (they suck) where they claimed I wasnt home, but hey, I am lucky enough to have my coffee delivered at work, where there is always someone there to accept the package.
I hate waiting for something i look forward to... dont you?
I also dislike high shipping prices, some shops in the past asked 15 euros to ship 500 grams to my country, the coffee itself was a mere 8 euro... gotta love it :)
From my previous experiences, many shops failed, so far only 2 really did the trick for me.
Koffiebean.nl though this one is mostly for non coffee items, you know, the syrups and stuff
Fascino-coffee.net is the other, a very big variety of coffee beans, they actually listen to suggestions, which is an obvious bonus and the speed, i ordered just once, but once they have syrups and the brita filters, I think they will be my only suppliers for a long time :)
