Local Shop Vs. Internet Supplier

[Bombcup]

There is a shop in the high street which sells coffee beans. This shop is about a 1 1/2 mile walk so is perfect for taking the dog for a stroll. They have a range of 29 different beans, all single origin except for the 'Italian Dark Roasted Blend'. They do not roast in-house but I am assured that the beans are never more than a week old after having been roasted in London. The lady who runs the shop is very pleasant and enthusiastic about coffee and generally drinks French Press.

My observation is this: The 29 different airtight opaque storage jars contain at least 2kg each. This shop is not the busiest in the world and I have to wonder how long the beans really stay on the shelf for. My town is not known for it's abundance of food and drink connoisseurs (no restaurants other than chinese and indian ever survive more than 12 months), so I can't imagine stock turnover to be very swift, but in fairness the shop has been open for 4 years.

As an experiment I bought 250g of med. roast Ecuadorian from the shop in town (£6.00) and the same from an internet bean supplier (£3.00). The internet beans with roast date marked as the day before despatch were far and away the better of the two.

This leaves me with a dilemma. I feel lucky to have the facility of a reasonable bean shop within walking distance and feel I should support it. However, the quality and price of the beans I have bought from the internet make it nonsensical to use the shop. How would members suggest that I approach the subject with the shopkeeper, especially with regard to the higher overheads she must face?

If this subject has been covered before please point me in the direction of the thread.

Thanks.

[JulieJayne]

As the owner of a shop that sells beans, I would sugest that you talk to your local shop owner. But do so at a quiet moment on a quiet day. Then she will have time to talk

Discuss the merits of bean A versus bean B. Then ask on which day the beans are delivered. If you know that, then you know on which day to buy your coffee.

If your not convinced, then you you have your answer. If you get sensible answers, then you can perhaps gently ask about the price difference.

[Cas]

I had an almost identical experience to this a while ago in Southsea. The shop has since closed down, but through retirement, not lack of customers.
This discussion may be of interest Here

[Bombcup]

Cheers for that link Cas, I can't believe they're actually talking about a roaster in Northampton, and they even mention the shop I'm talking about! Didn't know about the roasters in Northampton but will definately check them out.

I'll pick my moment to talk to the shopkeeper, thanks for the advice. If she's cagey about origins, delivery dates etc I'll beware.