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submitted 11 months ago by LilB0kChoy@lemm.ee to c/coffee@lemmy.world

Pretty much the title. I’ve noticed lately that more independent and non-grocery roasters will have 12 ounce bags instead of one pound.

Is there a special reason for this beyond, I assume, bringing the price of more gourmet-ish coffee to a price point comfortable for the average consumer?

Also, shout out to King Bean in South Carolina, I love their Capers Blend.

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[-] gcfbrian@lemmy.world 67 points 11 months ago

A true pound of green yields roughly 12 ounces of roasted coffee. 12oz bags have been standard in speciality shops for a long time honestly.

[-] plz1@lemmy.world 14 points 11 months ago

I always thought it was shrinkflation.

[-] WHYAREWEALLCAPS@kbin.social 2 points 11 months ago

Little of column A, a little of column B.

[-] LilB0kChoy@lemm.ee 10 points 11 months ago

Thanks! That answers my question.

[-] kalkulat@lemmy.world 31 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

MANY products have seen slow shrinkage over the last decade. 16>13 oz. chip bags, 13 cookies instead 16 .... That candy bar that used to be 3" across is now 2.5 " across? Result: 2/3 of the surface area = 50% more profit. The price stays the same and they hope you don't notice how much less you're getting. Another side of this is the drop in the quality of ingredients.

[-] WHYAREWEALLCAPS@kbin.social 9 points 11 months ago

Shrinkflation, as they call it.

[-] TheAlbatross 24 points 11 months ago

My local roaster weighs out a pound for ya before grinding.

I think it's shrinkflation if you're getting 12oz vs a pound for the same price as before

[-] kalkulat@lemmy.world 5 points 11 months ago

Absolutely, Starbux has been lessening the ounces and raising the prices for several years.

[-] Blackout@kbin.social 4 points 11 months ago

Child labor costs are rising in West Africa so Starbucks needs to consider their shareholders. I say this as a coffee drinking hypocrite. Even ethically certified coffee is constantly outed. You can buy from Hawaii but then there's the issue they destroy the local environment to grow it. I just trust my current sources as being true fair trade and they are 2-3x the price of the stores.

[-] LilB0kChoy@lemm.ee 4 points 11 months ago

The only time I used to buy specialty coffee (years ago) was from a single location and it was always Jamaican Blue Mountain. At that time they sell it like deli items and weigh it on a scale to get you whatever amount you wanted.

I don’t think what I’m seeing is shrinkflation as it’s just as I’ve gotten back into drinking specialty coffee.

Honestly the 1 lb. green = 12 oz. roasted makes sense for what I’m seeing. The grocery brands or chains like Starbucks, that I’d believe is shrinkflation for short.

[-] jgjl@discuss.tchncs.de 11 points 11 months ago

Now we have usdefaultism here, too. Yay!

[-] sobriquet@aussie.zone 8 points 11 months ago

Hey, that’s not fair! OP could also be from Myanmar or Liberia.

But, for those not in Myanmar, Liberia, or USA: the reason this seems to be an issue is that a pound is apparently 16oz (not 12).

[-] jgjl@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 11 months ago

I was wondering what the fuzz is all about, thanks for saving me a Google!

[-] LilB0kChoy@lemm.ee 6 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

I’m sorry if my post or question offended you. I’d be appreciative of any constructive feedback but I was simply asking a question about my experiences where I’m from in the measurements used here.

I did read the sidebar and look for any rules before posting, I was simply looking to a hobbyist community whose members likely know a lot about the topic.

[-] jgjl@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Na, not offended, just amused. It would be nice though to provide some context on which region of the world your question applies to. Also, not everyone knows that a pound would be 16 ounces not 12.

[-] LilB0kChoy@lemm.ee 1 points 11 months ago

I appreciate the feedback. I didn’t see location callouts common in other posts and kind of assumed based on measurements and the shoutout to a coffe shop in SC that it would be clear I was talking US but I shouldn’t assume. I’ll try to be more cognizant of that. Thank you!

[-] jgjl@discuss.tchncs.de 6 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

And the instance is called lemmy.world, and lots of downvotes, this is just like the good olden days on Reddit tears of joyous nostalgia

[-] WHYAREWEALLCAPS@kbin.social 4 points 11 months ago

the instance is called lemmy.world

You do realize how federation works, yeah? OP isn't on lemmy.world. I'm reading and replying to this on kbin.social. This isn't a monolithic site like reddit.

[-] jgjl@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 11 months ago

I do, hence I would expect folks to clarify a bit context and not just assume everyone one knows how USAians weight stuff.

[-] WHYAREWEALLCAPS@kbin.social 6 points 11 months ago

Gee, maybe, just maybe, you could understand that people will default to using what they know and what is common to them, instead of thinking it's some attack on the rest of the world. I'm an American and I certainly wouldn't hold it against anyone from the rest of the world coming in and using metric because I realize other places use other measurements. I'm also quite capable of converting between other measurements. Hell, you used more energy to bitch about it than it would have taken to google it.

[-] orion2145@lemmy.world 3 points 11 months ago

Sad that there’s simply no easy way to do the conversion math!

[-] jgjl@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 11 months ago

If you insist of using funny units derived from metric, you should to the math, why should I do it?

[-] Dravin@lemmy.world 1 points 11 months ago

I'm curious. What size bag is standard for specialty coffee in your neck of the woods? I can think of several reasonable sizes (250 g, 330 g, and 500 g) but haven't the foggiest which or if it might be some idiosyncratic number arising from some tradition or other.

[-] chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world 11 points 11 months ago

I have a local roaster who sells roast-to-order beans by the pound. He estimates how much green coffee it’ll take to produce a pound after roasting. Sometimes you get more than a pound, which is a nice bonus.

I will say, at the rate I go through coffee I actually prefer 12 ounces. It makes it easier for me to keep the coffee fresh. I usually order multiple bags of beans and vac seal freeze all but one bag. That local roaster’s coffee is so good though, so I may order from him again soon!

[-] sickmatter@fedia.io 4 points 11 months ago

They need to fall under the 16 ounce FDA limit to avoid a felony charge for possession of cacao with intent to distribute.

[-] deegeese@sopuli.xyz 3 points 11 months ago

Most places switched to 12oz a while back. I always figured it was shrinkflation. Place I buy from offers 12oz and 5lbs. My local Peet’s will sell any quantity and bag to order.

this post was submitted on 12 Nov 2023
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