Help & F.A.Q.
Questions about…
Our Company, Cafes and Roastery
Our Coffee
Our Online Shop
Our Subscriptions
Our Subscriptions For Work
Our Gifts
For questions about shipping and returns, head to:
About Our Company, Cafes and Roastery
When did you start roasting and serving coffee?
As Sample Coffee, in 2011. But Reuben roasted coffee for other companies before that. Learn more our story and journey (and also read the history of Sample Coffee’s brand and looking back from our 10th birthday).
Where are your roastery and cafes located?
Our roastery is in St Peters, where we also have a cafe. We have another venue in Surry Hills. Check Sample Coffee’s cafe addresses and opening hours
What other venues serve and/or stock Sample Coffee?
Explore venues serving and stocking Sample Coffee
About Our Coffee
How do you source your coffees?
We source our coffees through trusted importing companies. Our main partners are Caravela, Condesa Co Lab, Cafe Imports and Melbourne Coffee Merchants, but we also work with others. Learn more about our sourcing and everyday values
What’s your roasting style?
You can check the roasting style on each coffee’s own page. Summing things up, we currently roast all our single origins as ‘omni’ (meaning that roast is designed to suit both filter and espresso) and our blends are roasted specifically for espresso (designed to taste perfect when had with milk).
How long does it last fresh and tasty?
Our coffees taste best when brewed between days 10-50 post-roast date (which is indicated on each coffee bag label). After 50 days, flavours may start to fade and lose acidity. Learn more about recommended brewing window
We currently do not use any nitrogen flushing—the coffee is bagged as is when it comes out of the roaster.
Do you have more than 1 decaf option?
Not at the moment.
Do you have any recommendations for brewing your coffees?
We have plenty of detailed coffee brewguides for different brewing methods. If you can’t find a specific method or answer to your question, please send us an email, and we’ll reply as soon as we can so you can start making a perfect brew.
About Our Online Shop
How come your bags are 400g/420g instead of a neat 500g?
Most logistics companies have a simplified price structure for different weight ‘windows’. We currently work with Australia Post, and their price is X for parcels under 500g, Y for parcels under 1kg and so on.
By the time we add a shipping box and a brewing card, our 400g and 420g beans orders stay just under the 500g tier. This maximises the amount of fresh beans you receive at the lowest shipping cost.
Do you offer ground coffee?
Yes, we can send all coffee bean bag orders ground and sealed. Grind options, depending on the brewing style, can be selected during the checkout process.
If I place my order now, when will you roast and ship it?
We roast on demand and ship every Monday morning (or Tuesday if there is a public holiday). We also send retail orders on Wednesdays and Thursdays, if the coffee and gear you order are available (if not, the order will be fulfilled the next Monday).
The date your order will be shipped will be shown during checkout. If you wish to have it sent earlier than that, send us an email and we’ll do our best to do so.
Can you gift-wrap my order?
Send us an email stating which order you’d like to have wrapped or made extra special with a personal note. Surely we can arrange something!
About Our Subscriptions
When will I be charged?
Your card will be charged 3-4 days before each delivery (you can see your next billing date on your user homepage). If you change your mind and pause or cancel after this date, we’re usually able to refund your payment unless we’ve already roasted and packed your order. Bundled products (coffee and/or gear) get charged immediately.
Can I add additional one-off bags of coffee and gear to my next delivery?
Yes! You can add anything in our online shop to your next delivery so you save on shipping. We call this “bundling”.
You can add anything in our Coffee Gear and Goods section by diving into each product page and clicking on the “Add to your next delivery” button.
You can add a bag of Pacemaker blend or Sweet Tooth blend, or La Serrania Decaf, by heading to https://samplecoffee.com.au/coffee, diving into their own page and clicking on the “Bundle with next delivery” button.
If you want to add a one-off bag of single origin, you can do so by diving into any of the single origins on our buy coffee online shop and bundling the “roasters’ choice”. For logistical reasons, these are not open for bundling as there’s a chance the coffee lot you want has run out by the time your next delivery is due. However, we always have delicious coffees on the menu and we’ll make sure we add something very different to what you’re already getting with your subscription.
Can I have different subscriptions at the same time?
Yes, you can set up different subscriptions under one same email and postal address. You can manage these independently, changing, pausing or cancelling as you need.
To set up an additional subscription, you just need to be logged in with your user details and head to samplecoffee.com.au/plans, where you can start the same process.
When you have different subscriptions shipping on the same day, they’ll arrive in the same parcel.
Can I have different subscriptions sent to different addresses?
Unfortunately not, our current system doesn’t let us set up that option.
Until we find a way to integrate this feature, we suggest using an alternative email address (that can redirect emails to your main one) or creating something Google calls “aliasing"—for Google mail clients only (it may be available with other providers, too).
Essentially, this means adding a tag at the end of your current Gmail address so it can work as a separate unit (our system recognises it as a different email address) but it is still linked to the main one (read this guide on how to set it up.)
For example, imagine you’re a current Brew Crew weekly subscriber and your email address is maggie.simpson@gmail.com. You’re a nice kid, and you want to set up a monthly Pacemaker blend for your parents, delivered to their address but managed and paid by you. You could set up an alias such as maggie.simpson+parents@gmail.com, and create a new dedicated subscription under that email and their postal address. Any related emails will still arrive at your main email address, maggie.simpson@gmail.com. We know it’s not so simple, but it’s the best option/solution we can offer yet!
Can you pack and send my 1kg subscription as multiple smaller bags?
Unfortunately, we can’t do this because it kinda messes up our current packing and logistic systems (plus it would incur extra costs to cover the extra packaging and handling).
If you need/want smaller format bags, we suggest any of the following:
- Change your subscription to a smaller quantity, more often.
- As soon as your big bag of beans arrives home, pack it into smaller zip bags or containers (and even place them in the freezer to keep them fresh).
- Purchase as many one-off bags as you want, in the format you wish, through our online store instead of a subscription.
Can I pick up my subscription for a cheaper price?
No, sorry. Please email us if you want to pick up your parcel, but the price for the service remains the same.
In Brew Crew, do you send a different single origin every week?
We send a different single origin every fortnight.
Weekly subscribers get the same origin twice; those who receive coffee every 2, 3 and 4 weeks get a new single origin each delivery.
When do you roast and send the subscription coffees?
Every Wednesday. You can see and adjust your next delivery date on your subscription dashboard.
What is the cut-off date/time for any subscription changes?
It’s 11:59 pm AEDT prior to your next delivery day. This allows us to register any changes such as pauses, cancellations or bundles. If you apply any changes after that, we can’t guarantee we can make them due to such short notice.
Can I cancel my subscription anytime?
There are no lock-in contracts or minimum terms: you can cancel your subscription anytime before 11:59 pm AEDT prior to your next delivery day to allow us to process that change.
There’s a cancel button on each of your subscriptions’ dashboards (but if you’re going away, we recommend pausing deliveries so you don’t have to sign up again).
Can you leave the parcel on my door if I’m not there when the postie comes?
We can tell Australia Post to leave your parcels in a safe spot if no one is home; for that, tick the checkbox ‘Leave this ticked if you’d like Australia Post to leave your delivery in a secure location if you’re not at home.’ when you sign up.
Please bear in mind that post-people may not consider your doorstep/hall/mailbox a safe location, so they’ll return the parcel to the office for your collection (even if we told them to leave it). You can read more about this here.
My tracked order doesn’t seem to be moving. What should I do?
Once it’s out with Australia Post, there’s not a lot we can do except lodge enquiries. However, if you have concerns or questions about the status of your parcel, please email us and we’ll help you out. We’ve got your back.
About Our Subscriptions For Work
What’s the difference between this and the main subscription?
You need an ABN and you get 15% off your subscription (the minimum delivery is 1kg).
Does this discount apply to bundled items?
The discount applies to bundled beans (anything in our buy coffee online shop) but not to gear and goods.
About Our gifts
How do gifts work?
When you purchase a gift subscription, you’ll receive a gift certificate with a unique code that you can send/give to someone. They can claim it and start getting coffee delivered by entering an email and delivery address—they won’t need to enter a credit card number (unless they want to continue with the subscription when the gifted period runs out). Your gift subscription is valid for redemption up to a year from the date of purchase.
Will the recipient receive an email or deliveries immediately?
No. We won’t contact the recipient of your gift: that’s up to you, so you can choose the best time to present them with your gift.
They’ll need to enter their email address and a delivery address to start receiving deliveries.
Is a credit/debit card to redeem a gift subscription?
No card information is needed to redeem a gift subscription. Once your gift subscription expires, the recipient can choose to add their own card details to continue receiving deliveries.
You can’t find an answer to your question? Write us at [email protected] and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.