Why Small-Batch Coffee Is Simply Better

Fresh bread. Ice-cold microbrews. Tomatoes picked straight from the garden. Most small-batch foods prove that bigger isn’t always better – and the same goes for coffee.

Coffee connoisseurs know that a great cup o’ joe isn’t just about how you make it, it’s also about where you get it from. The way coffee beans are harvested, sorted, roasted, and sold can have a huge impact on the final product’s quality and freshness. This is why choosing small-batch coffee – or coffee beans produced on a small scale – is the way to go. Here are our top reasons why small-batch coffee is simply better.

Fresher Beans, More Flavorful Coffee
Coffee beans can last up to a month if they’re stored in a cool, dry place, but immediately after roasting, compounds begin to escape from the beans in a process called degassing – taking a lot of flavor with them. After 8 days, up to 70% of those compounds will be gone. As time goes on, you lose more flavor and are left with stale-tasting coffee. Buying local, small-batch coffee ensures that less of your coffee’s shelf life has been wasted on packaging and transportation.

Quality Control
Technology isn’t perfect. While using a machine to sort through large batches of beans is more efficient, making smaller batches of coffee allows the roaster to use their expert eye to make sure the right bean is chosen for each particular roast. They can also keep a closer eye on the roasting process itself to monitor consistency.

Innovative Brews
There’s a reason why you usually see the same flavors at the grocery store from big-brand coffee companies: it’s much riskier to experiment on 2,000 pounds of coffee beans than it is to experiment on 20 pounds. Small-batch coffee roasters know they won’t be throwing away a literal ton of coffee beans if an experiment goes sideways. This is why they’re more likely to take greater creative risks when it comes to flavor.

Extra Care and Connection
When roasters only have a limited capacity, it’s their mission to ensure every ounce of coffee exceeds standards and that every customer is ecstatic with their purchase. There is an extra level of passion attached to smaller merchants that’s often missing from the big brands. Small-batch roasters are often more discerning when it comes to the beans and flavor-enhancing products they use, so you can be sure that an extra amount of consideration went into every roast.

Too much morning and not enough coffee? We can fix that. Enjoy a mug (or two) of locally-roasted May River Coffee Roasters coffee over breakfast then buy a bag of beans for later. Each small batch is infused with inspired flavors like Banana Cream Pie, Chocolate Covered Oranges, and Blueberry Cream. Learn more about May River Coffee Roasters here: https://mayrivercoffeeroasters.com/?v=c65242dc6c2c