ootgCoffee - Frequently Asked Questions

Coffee Roasted Daily | Out Of The Grey Coffee®

Romans 10:13

Thoughtfully Sourced | Roasted Daily | Shipping Truly Extraordinary Coffee & Handcrafted Luxury Loose-Leaf Tea Everywhere!

O Taste and See...

Who roasts & packages your coffee?

How quickly do you ship out orders & when can I expect to receive my recently submitted order?

You will receive an order confirmation e-mail immediately after placing your online order & orders ship usually within 3-7 business days, but always within 24 hours of being roasted. The United States Postal Service delivers most orders in the U.S. within 2-5 business days & International orders within 6-10 business days.

Where do you ship to?

We currently ship to the 48 continental United States via United States Postal Service (USPS). We also ship all over the world such as Hawaii, Alaska, all the U.S. territories, APO/FPO/DPO, Canada & most other countries via USPS, UPS or FedEx, these orders can be placed through our website.

We have customers all over the world who enjoy our special Out Of The Grey Coffee® blends & many have created their own unique coffees.

Please call 1.888.354.JAVA (5282) & select "Coffee & Tea Sales" for any questions. 

Do you offer free shipping?

U.S orders of $90.00 or more within the 48 contiguous United States qualify for free shipping. For addresses in Alaska, Hawaii & APO/FPO/DPO/PO destinations.

Please call 1.888.354.JAVA (5282) & select “Coffee & Tea Sales” for any questions.

Can I ship to multiple addresses on one order?

Unfortunately, only 1 ship-to-address is accepted per order. We recommend placing separate orders for each address.

How do I place orders?

Orders can be placed 24/7 via our website. 

Please call 1.888.354.JAVA (5282) & select "Coffee & Tea Sales" for any questions.

I want to make changes to my recently submitted online order, how may I do so?

Once an online order is submitted, it cannot be modified. We recommend placing a new order with the changes, but to ensure that your first order is not processed.

Please call our Customer Service immediately at 1.888.354.JAVA (5282) & select “Web Support” or reach out to us through our Email at Sales@OutOfTheGreyCoffee.com & we will respond quickly.

I have two coupon or discount codes; may I apply both on an order?

Unfortunately, only 1 "coupon code" or "discount code" can be applied per order.

What is the Bank of Java (Loyalty Rewards Program)? 

We took the best out of the incentive programs that we have seen & have made it fun & user friendly. With the Bank of Java, you will earn rewards (Beans) for many variety of actions in addition to making a purchase.

Can I use my Bank of Java "Beans" & a coupon code?

No, even though accumulated Beans from the Bank of Java work just like cash, our platform will only allow 1 "coupon code" or 1 "discount" to work per transaction. The current value of your earned Beans will be shown in your Bank of Java account & if you choose to use them no additional "code" or "discount" will work.

Learn more about the Bank Of Java

What is Subscribe & save (Subscription plan)?

Subscriptions will automatically renew according to your selected delivery interval and the coffee and/or tea will be shipped by Out Of The Grey Coffee® (ootgCoffee) after each successful renewal.

For example, if you started a monthly subscription, then the system will automatically charge your credit card each month and you will get the coffee and/or tea shipped to your doorstep each month, without the need to place the order by again yourself, WHILE SAVING MONEY!

Can I pause or cancel a subscription?

Yes, of course. You can pause or cancel a subscription any time you want in the customer portal, as seen in the screenshot below. The only time when the subscription cannot be cancelled is when you first start that subscription because it requires two (2) payments before you can cancel it.

The customer portal can be accessed, through the magic link you received in the email that was sent to you when you placed an initial subscription order with ootgCoffee. You can also access your subscriptions if you create an account with ootgCoffee.

How can I skip or reschedule a charge?

You can skip or reschedule the charge in the customer portal. Each scheduled delivery will have a Skip payment button next to it, which you can use to skip the charge. You can reschedule the charge by clicking on the Reschedule button next to the delivery date

Can I add products to my subscription?

Of course. You can add products to your subscription in the customer portal. Just click on the Edit button in the products card and edit, remove, or add products to your subscription.

What happens if the payment cannot be processed?

If the subscription cannot be renewed because a payment cannot be processed, you will receive an email with a link where you can safely update your payment method.

What payment options are available?

Our website accepts all major credit cards, PayPal, cryptocurrency & Bank of Java Beans (Loyalty Rewards). 

The OutOfTheGreyCoffee.com website is completely secure & encrypted.

Do you offer terms, credit accounts, CODs, etc?

No. All orders must be paid in full before we ship them. This is one way we keep our prices low.

Can you do large scale commercial orders for me?

Call us at 1.888.354.JAVA (5282) & select “Coffee & Tea Sales” or reach out to us through our Email at Sales@OutOfTheGreyCoffee.com.

Can you sell me full or half bags of green coffee beans?

You can call me, Java Jack, directly at 1.888.354.JAVA (5282) & select “extension 700”.

What is “Fresh Coffee”?

Whole bean coffee maintains peak flavor for two to three weeks after roasting. During that time, the coffee beans release carbon dioxide gas that drives away oxygen & keeps the beans fresh. Once the coffee stops releasing CO2, the beans start to oxidize & stale. Believe me, you can taste the difference! 

Order some of our fresh coffee today & taste for yourself!!!

How do I know which grind I should select?

We all know the expression “Daily Grind” wasn’t coined as something to look forward to. However, where coffee is concerned, the daily grind becomes one of life’s foremost simple pleasures.

The rich, spicy aroma released by the grinding of fresh roasted coffee is amazing. I’d like to find a way to bottle this spicy scent-full strength, just the way its bouquet permeates the olfactory while expanding to fill your home or our Roastery during the grinding process.

Grinding coffee can be an enjoyable & relatively simple affair. However, it should be noted that the importance of proper grinding is often overlooked even though it is a crucial step in the anatomy of a perfect cup.

That said… it really depends on what brew method you will be using to brew your coffee. Your coffee will stay the freshest if you order whole bean. Therefore, purchasing whole bean & grinding yourself assures that the beans stay fresher for a longer time. 

However, if you prefer that we grind your coffee, we have many options for you to consider, so please select the option (for an additional .49 cents a bag) based on your brewing method: French Press, Drip Coffeemaker, Cone-Bottom Filter, K-Cup Pod, Pour-Over, Espresso Machine or even Cezve (Turkish Pot). Just pick your brewing method & we will customize the best grind for your preferred brewing method!

Whole Bean (Grind Yourself)

Coarse (French Press)

Medium Coarse (Drip Coffeemaker)

Medium (Cone-Bottom Filter)

Medium Fine (K-Cup Pod & Pour-Over)

Fine (Espresso Machine)

Extra Fine (Turkish Coffee)

What happens once the coffee is ground?

Coffee begins to stale about thirty minutes after grinding because the increased surface area allows the CO2 to escape much more quickly. That’s why we at Out Of The Grey Coffee ® encourage all our customers to grind their own coffee immediately before brewing. Of course, if you don’t have a grinder, or wish to give coffee to someone who may not own a grinder, we will be pleased to expertly grind the coffee for you.

Once I receive my coffee, how do I keep it fresh?

If you’ll drink a whole bag (a little over 12 oz.) in two to three weeks, leave your coffee in the Out Of The Grey Coffee® bag. Keep it at a steady room temperature & store in an area protected from the sunlight. If you want to keep it fresher for more than three weeks, freeze it in the original packaging. Freezing will slightly reduce the aroma of your brewed coffee, but will preserve the fresh flavor for up to three months. Whatever you do, please DO NOT refrigerate your coffee. Coffee is like baking soda. It will absorb any odors in your refrigerator resulting in a fresh-smelling fridge & strange-tasting coffee! 

What does "resting your coffee" mean? And why is it important?

Coffee roasting is a process that encourages chemical reactions in the beans. One of the by-products of this reaction is a buildup of gas in the beans, primarily carbon dioxide.

When we make a pourover with freshly roasted coffee, during the "bloom" (the first pour of hot water over your bed of grinds), the hot water will react with that gaseous buildup in your coffee, releasing it from the grinds. Likewise with espresso - the hot, pressurized water coming from the espresso machine to brew espresso coffee releases the gaseous compounds in the bean. If the coffee is TOO fresh, the excessive release of gas slows down saturation of the grinds, reduces flow through the bed, can cause channeling and uneven brewing, and even carry unwanted "roasty" flavors into the brew. All this leads to a cup that tastes "gas-y", hollow, flat, and vastly different from brew-to-brew.

One way to mitigate this issue is to allow your coffee to rest, or to "de-gas" before brewing. For our coffee, we recommend anywhere from 3 - 7 days for degassing. This will allow the coffee to taste its sweetest and most consistent, without any of the unexpected surprises of a chemical reaction with volatile gasses still present in the beans.

On our bags, you will notice there is a one-way valve on the back. This valve is designed to allow carbon dioxide to escape, without allowing oxygen into the bag which encourages oxidation and premature staling.

Are the more expensive coffees better coffees?

What kind of flavorings do you use?

We do not add any additional flavors to our single origin coffees & artisan blends. We do infuse natural flavors & spices in our Handcrafted Flavored Coffee. The natural flavors that we use comply with the following guidelines – no chemicals, preservatives, additives, genetic modifications, or ionizing radiations. The natural flavors are basically essential oils or essences, which contain the flavoring ingredients that are derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material.

*These flavorings function to enhance flavor & taste, but not the nutritional value of the coffee creation.

What is your decaffeination process?

We use the Swiss Water Process (decaf without the chemistry). It’s a 100% chemical free decaffeination (for an additional .49 cents a bag) process. When you love coffee as much as we do, what you take out is just as important as what you leave in.

How much caffeine is in your coffee?

Eight ounces of our brewed coffee contain approximately 90 to 150-mg of caffeine. As a rule: the lighter the roast, the more caffeine it contains (this surprises many people). For example, a French Roast coffee is a dark roast, thus, it would have a caffeine level close to 90-mg, a Breakfast Blend, or other lighter roasts, would approach the 150-mg level.

Does your coffee contain Gluten?

I’ve searched all categories & still cannot find an item… what should I do?

If you need additional assistance, please call us 1.888.354.JAVA (5282) & select “Coffee & Tea Sales” or reach out to us through our Email at Sales@OutOfTheGreyCoffee.com. 

We’re here to assist you!

Why are you called Out Of The Grey Coffee® ?

We all live in a world where the truth is subjective, in the "grey area". God's Word says, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:32) 

Why coffee? 

Coffee has never been better than it is today. Producers know more than ever before about growing coffee & have access to more varieties & specialist growing techniques. Coffee roasters like ourselves have never before been so likely to appreciate the importance of using freshly harvested coffee & our understanding of the roasting process continues to improve. There are now more & more cafes selling really good coffee, using the best equipment & training their staff more effectively. Many industries claim a golden age in the past, but I firmly believe coffee has yet to peak in quality, so this is an exciting time. 

Consumers are now starting to engage with their coffee, prompting the coffee industry to change so that it is better able to tell the stories of where coffee is from, how it tastes & perhaps why it tastes that way. Coffee has been a staple in our lives for hundreds of years, but never before has there been this kind of interest.

The coffee industry is enormous & has grown around the world. Today 125 million people depend on coffee production for their livelihood & it is consumed in every part of the globe. Coffee is entwined with both the economic & cultural histories of so many countries yet very few coffee drinkers have, in the past, scratched the surface to see what is underneath. "I had no idea it was so interesting!" is a common response to those who take a look. The idea that one might drink coffee for pleasure, to delight in its complexity of flavor, still has relatively little penetration into global culture.

How is coffee traded?

The price paid for coffee is generally quoted in U.S. dollars per pound in weight ($/lb.). There is something of a global price for coffee, often referred to as the C-price. This is the price for commodity coffee being traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Coffee production is often discussed in bags. A bag usually weighs 60 kg (132 lb.) if it comes from Africa, Indonesia or Brazil, or 69 kg (152 lb.) if it comes from Central America. While bags may be the units of purchase, on the macro scale coffee is usually traded by the shipping container, which contains around three hundred bags. 

Contrary to popular belief, a rather small percentage of coffee is actually traded on the New York Stock Exchange, but the C-price does provide a sort of global minimum price for coffee, the minimum a producer would be willing to accept for his coffee. Prices for particular lots of coffee often have a differential added to the C-price, a kind of premium. Certain countries have, historically, been able to get higher differentials for their coffee, including Costa Rica & Colombia, although this type of trading is still mostly focused on commodity grade, rather than speciality coffee. 

The problem with basing everything on the C-price is that this price is somewhat fluid. Usually prices are determined by supply & demand & to some extent this is true of the C-price. The C-price for coffee does not reflect the cost of production, & as such producers may end up in a position where they lose money growing coffee. There have been a number of reactions to this problem & the most successful has been the Fair Trade movement, although there are many other sustainable coffee certifications, including those of the Organic Trade Association & Rain Forest Alliance. 

There remains some confusion about exactly how Fair Trade works, although it has undoubtedly become a successful tool to help those who wish to purchase coffee with a clear conscience. Many people presume that the promises of Fair Trade are far wider reaching than they actually are & that any coffee could (in theory) be certified as Fair Trade. This is not the case. To make matters worse, it is easy for detractors to allege that the farmer is not getting the premium because of the complex nature of financial transactions within the coffee industry. 

Fair Trade guarantees to pay a base price that it considers sustainable, or a $0.05/lb. premium above the C-price if the market rises above Fair Trade's base price. Fair Trade's model is designed only to work with cooperatives of coffee growers & as such cannot certify single estates that produce coffee. Critics complain about lack of traceability or true guarantee that the money definitely goes to the producers & isn't diverted through corruption. Others criticize the model for providing no incentive to farmers to increase the quality of their coffee. This has encouraged many in the speciality coffee industry to change the way they source their coffee, moving away from the commodity model, where coffee is bought at a price determined by global supply & demand and little regard is given to its provenance or quality.

What does “mouthfeel” mean?

This is literally the way the coffee feels in your mouth. It helps to compare it to the textures you get from other foods & drinks. It can range from thick & syrupy to juicy and/or tea-like.

What does “flavor notes” mean?

All beans are grown with their own unique flavors, which are enhanced by the roasting process. We don’t add any additional flavors to our single origin coffees & artisan blends. Their flavor notes explain what you can expect to taste in the coffee.

What does “acidity” mean?

Acidity is the sharpness you experience when you take a sip of coffee. This taste experience can vary a lot from being crisp, like apples or grapes, to a higher level of citric acid, such as orange, lemon or lime.

What are the stages of your roasting process?

There are a number of key stages during roasting & the speed at which a particular coffee passes through each of these stages is described as its roast profile. Out Of The Grey Coffee® tracks these roast profiles carefully so we can replicate them to within very tight boundaries of temperature & time. 

Drying. Raw coffee contains 7-11 per cent water by weight, spread evenly through the dense structure of the bean. Coffee won't turn brown in the presence of water & in fact this is true of browning reactions when cooking anything.

After the coffee is loaded into our roaster, it takes some time for the beans to absorb sufficient heat to start evaporating the water & the drying process therefore requires a large amount of heat & energy. The coffee barely changes in look or smell for these first few minutes of roasting. 

Yellowing. Once the water has been driven out of the beans, the first browning reactions can begin. At this stage, the coffee beans are still very dense & have an aroma of Basmati rice & a little breadiness. Soon the beans start to expand & their thin papery skins, the chaff, flakes off. The chaff is separated from the roasting beans by the air flowing through the roaster & is collected & safely removed to prevent the risk of fire.

These first two roasting stages are very important: if the coffee is not properly dried then it will not roast evenly during the next stages & while the outside of each bean is well roasted the inside will essentially be under cooked. This coffee will taste unpleasant, with a combination of bitterness from the outside & sour & grassy flavor coming from the underdeveloped inside. Slowing the roasting process after this will not fix the problem as different parts of the coffee will always be progressing at different rates.

First Crack. Once the browning reactions begin to gather speed there is a build-up of gases (mostly carbon dioxide) & water vapor inside the bean. Once the pressure gets too great, the bean will break open, making a popping noise & nearly doubling in volume. From this point onward, the familiar coffee flavors develop & we can choose to end the roast at any point.

We see a decrease in the rate at which the coffee is increasing in temperature at this point, even though they may be adding a similar amount of heat. Failure to add enough heat can stall the roast & "bake" the coffee, resulting in poor cup quality.

Roast Development. After the first crack stage, the beans will be much smoother on the surface but not entirely so. This stage of the roast determines the end color of the beans & the roast degree. Here we can determine the balance of acidity & bitterness in the product as the acids in the beans are rapidly degrading while the level of bitterness is increasing as the roast continues.

Second Crack. At this point the beans begin to crack again, but with a quieter & snappier sound. Once you reach second crack, the oils will be driven to the surface of the coffee bean. Much of the acidity will have been lost & a new kind of flavor is developing, often referred to as the generic "roast" flavor. This flavor doesn't always depend on the kind of coffee used as it is a result of essentially charring the coffee, rather than working with its intrinsic flavor.

There are terms used in coffee roasting such as "French Roast" or "Italian Roast". Both terms are used to indicate very dark roasts, typically high in body & bitterness. While many enjoy coffees roasted in this manner, these kinds of roasts are usually not suitable for exploring the flavors & characteristics of high-quality coffees from different origins.

Quenching. After roasting, the coffee must be cooled quickly to prevent over roasting or the development of negative or "baked" flavors. In small-batch roasting this is often achieved using a cooling tray, which rapidly draws air through the coffee to cool it down.

Are there sugars & acids in your coffee?

Many people talk about sweetness when describing a coffee and it is important to understand what happens to the naturally occurring sugars during roasting. 

Green coffee can contain reasonable quantities of simple sugars. Not all sugar is necessarily sweet to the taste, though simple sugars usually are. Sugars are quite reactive at roasting temperatures & once the water has evaporated out of the bean, the sugars can begin to react to the heat in different ways. 

Some go through caramelization reactions, creating the caramel notes found in certain coffees. It should be noted, however, that the sugars that react this way become less sweet & will eventually start to add bitterness. 

Other sugars react with the proteins in the coffee in what are known as Maillard reactions. This is an umbrella term covering the browning reactions seen in roasting a piece of meat in the oven, for example, but also when roasting cocoa or coffee. By the time coffee has finished the first crack stage, there are few or no simple sugars left. They will all have been involved in various reactions resulting in a huge number of aromatic compounds. 

Green coffee contains many different types of acids, some of which are pleasant to taste & some that are not. 

Of importance to us are the chlorogenic acids (CGAs). One of the key goals of roasting is to try to react these unpleasant acids away without creating negative flavors or driving off the desirable aromatic components of the coffee. Some other acids are stable throughout the roasting process, such as quinic acid, which can add a pleasing, clean finish to a coffee. 

Most of the aromatics in a good cup of coffees are created during roasting through one of three groups of processes: Maillard reactions, caramelization & Strecker degradation, another type of chemical reaction involving amino acids. These are all brought about by the heat during roasting & can result in the creation of over eight hundred different volatile aromatic compounds that flavor the cup of coffee.  

Although more aromatic compounds have been recorded in coffee than in wine, an individual coffee will only have a selection of these different volatiles. That said, the smell of freshly roasted coffee is so complex that all attempts to manufacture a realistic, synthetic version of this smell have failed. 

Feel Free to contact us with other questions, concerns or ideas!