Frequently Asked Questions

What is speciality coffee?
Speciality coffee is the highest grade of coffee available as awarded by the Speciality Coffee Association and has a score above 80 on a 100-point scale.

Where do you buy your coffee? 
We buy our coffee from Mercanta who are importers of specialty coffee. Supplying roasters across the globe with the world’s finest green Arabica coffee, Mercanta’s supply chain reaches 20 producing countries offering fully traceable coffees from 7 warehouses enabling them to provide a streamlined and efficient service to more than 50 countries worldwide.  
The name ‘Mercanta’ is a combination of the word ‘Merchant’ and the Spanish phrase ‘Encantada.’ One would use this saying when meeting a person for the first time, translating as ‘I am enchanted to meet you.’

When do you roast?
Several times a week. Straight after roasting, coffee releases CO2 (the degassing stage) and roasted coffee needs to rest for anything from 3 to 7 days to optimise flavour, all our coffee comes with the roasting date clearly displayed on the bag.

When should I drink my coffee?
The most important date relating to coffee is the ‘roasted on’ date and for optimum flavour you want to drink your coffee within 6 to 8 weeks of roasting. You can of course drink coffee for a long time after the roasting date (some shop bought coffee can be nearly 4 years old!) but the longer you leave it the more it degrades.

Milk
A quick note about milk as some of the increasingly popular plant-based milks don’t like the acidity in coffee and can split. If using one of these we would recommend Oat or Coconut milk as they seem to work the best.

How should I store my coffee? 
Leave it in the bag and keep tightly sealed or decant to an airtight container. Fresh air and sunlight are freshly roasted coffee’s biggest enemy.

Do you grind coffee? 
Yes, we offer several different grind sizes covering most brew methods: aeropress, espresso, filter, french press (cafètiere) & stovetop.
When ordering just select your brew method from the dropdown menu and if you have a question or would like a different grind size just drop an email to hello@deveroast.com and we will be happy to help.

How much coffee should I use per cup? 
That is a very personal choice, and we would recommend you try a few different amounts until you find your sweet spot.
What works for us when brewing in a cafetière is 60g of coffee per litre of water and for a home espresso machine we use a 2:1 water to coffee ratio - 19g coffee to 38g of water for a double espresso. Somewhere between 18g-21g is probably where most people end up.
There is a world of science relating to brewing coffee and if you want to dive a bit deeper into it then this book by James Hoffman is everything you need.

We absolutely recommend you get into the habit of weighing your coffee and water. Tare your scales, add your coffee then your water. Repeatability is key and it will set you on the path to great tasting coffee, everytime!

Payment
Card payments are handled by Stripe who are a global online payment processor trusted by millions of businesses worldwide including Amazon, Google and Deliveroo. Stripe are a Level 1 PCI Service Provider which is the most stringent level of certification available in the payments industry. 

Shipping
We currently ship orders on a Wednesday, Thursday & Friday each week using Royal Mail (up to 2kg) and DPD for anything larger.

Collection
Free local collection (during opening hours) from Botley Mills, Southampton, SO30 2GB. Select ‘Pick Up’ at checkout.
Park at Botley Mills car park (free for 1 hour) and walk to the right of the Country Store and follow it around the back, roastery is 50 yards ahead of you on the right adjacent to the river. 

Returns
We hope you are completely happy with your coffee and don’t have any reason to return, however if anything is wrong with your order please send an email to hello@deveroast.com and we will arrange a return or exchange.

Wholesale
We offer a dedicated speciality coffee wholesale service, so whether you are a home worker, an office team or a business of any size please send an email to hello@deveroast.com and we can discuss the various options.