FAQ

What is Specialty Grade Coffee?

All of the coffee items that Iron Horse Roasters sell are measured by the highest global standards and are "Specialty Grade". We use beans that score 80 or higher out of 100 points by certified SCA coffee tasters.  That assures exceptional flavor profiles and their traceable origins. All our offerings meet these high standards, ensuring a Specialty Grade experience in every cup.

What are the Grades of Coffee?

SCA Coffee Grading

The Specialty Coffee Association (SCAA) uses a standardized system to categorize beans based on "defects" found in a 300-gram sample:

Grade 1: Specialty Grade: The highest tier. (This is the grade of our coffee) It must have zero primary defects (like sour or black beans) and no more than five secondary defects. These beans typically possess a distinct attribute in the cup, such as a unique body.

Grade 2: Premium Grade: Very high quality but may have a few more secondary defects. This is common for high-end specialty roasts.

Grade 3: Exchange Grade: (commercial grade) Standard commercial coffee. It allows for some primary defects and is often used for supermarket brands.

What type of grind do you offer?

The right grind makes the right cup of coffee. To ensure you get what you want you can pick the exact grind that you know and love or throw caution to the wind and blaze a new trail...yes you can get Whole Bean.

Standard (Medium-Drip/Percolator with filter)

Coarse (Cold Brew/Press/Percolator)

Espresso (Fine)

Whole Bean (Grind at Home)

What do you mean by Roasted Fresh?

Our specialty grade coffee beans are roasted in frequent small batches by expert roasters. This allows for top flavor quality as it hits your door. Our small batch process ensures your coffee is roasted fresh and shipped immediately, rather than sitting around waiting for a buyer so its never sitting around on the shelf. 

What are Cupping Notes?

Cupping notes or tasting notes describe the flavors, aromas, & specialty characteristics of coffee.

How are you able to ship immediately after roasting isn't there a resting period?

Transit time acts as a built-in "resting period," allowing our specialty grade coffee to naturally degas while it is on its way to the customer. Degassing is a normal process for coffee roasting. We use bags equipped with one way stay fresh, degassing valves. This is a standard but critical component for fresh roast shipping. By the time our customers receive their package, the coffee has moved past the initial, aggressive off gassing stage and is entering its prime window for brewing at peak flavor. Our coffee can't be stale!!

Is it normal for some of the coffee pods to have a bulging lid?

This is very normal for our process. It means the coffee was roasted and sealed so recently that it is still releasing CO2 inside the pod. pods are designed to handle this internal pressure without bursting. Unlike bags, pods do not have one way valves, so the lid remains slightly under pressure until brewed. We use a process called nitrogen flushing during packaging. During the sealing process, oxygen (which causes staleness) is pushed out and replaced with food grade nitrogen.  This process creates a stable environment. Any remaining CO2 that releases after sealing simply mingles with the nitrogen. This prevents the pod from oxidizing and keeps the flavor "locked in" until the needle punctures the lid.

How do you create those amazing flavored coffees?

All of our flavored coffees start as specialty grade single origin coffee roasted in small batches by experts to a smooth medium roast. Each order is then carefully flavored with high-quality natural flavoring oils while still warm.

My Whole Bean Flavored coffee arrived slightly wet is this normal?

Yes. After roasting and grinding your flavored coffee gets mixed with all natural flavorings. Since you ordered whole bean and not a grind there is less surface area for the flavoring to get absorbed into the coffee. Depending on how close you are to the shipping point you may notice the oils have not completely absorbed, give it a day or two and they will.

Can I Return an item for a refund?

If you have any concerns contact us and we will do our best to help. Because of the made to order nature of most of our products we do not offer any returns or refunds at this time. Service is important to us, please let us know if there are any issues.

Do we offer any decaf?

Yes we do Peru Decaf is the variety. You can find it in our single origin collection of our specialty grade coffee or you can search for decaf in the search box at the top right of the home screen. This is the best decaf we have ever tasted. In fact we have brewed a pot in our percolator at home and served it to friends...without telling them it was decaf and they had no idea till we showed them the label on the bag. We only have one variety because its the best no need for others.

Do discount/promo codes expire?

Yes, most discount codes expire in 30 days unless otherwise posted/stated. For instance If you receive a discount code for creating an Instagram reel as a thank you or any other reason that code will expire in 30 days. You can not combine discount codes with each other or other offers and all codes have select products they work with "gear" or "coffee" etc. Codes may be discontinued at any time. You must use our standard checkout and not an express "google pay or amazon pay" type express checkout to use any code. Many codes can only be used once for instance the SimplyGood code is a one time use code. We reserve the right to alter/add/discontinue codes as needed without notice, some will be one time use others may have the ability to be used more than once. We can not apply a code after the purchase is complete.

Why don't I see the discount/promo code entry box at checkout?

If you use the standard checkout button you will see the entry box for discount/promo codes. However, if you use one of the express pay button such as "google pay" or "amazon pay" (which auto loads your payment info for you) you MAY NOT see the discount/promo code box. That is a function of the express checkout programming not our website. This is google's or amazon's fault and there is nothing we can do about it...we tried. The good news is if you want to use a code just hit the plain ole "Checkout" button and then enter your payment info and you can apply the code. We gave you the code...we want you to use it. We can not apply it after the fact...if you ordered and for any reason didn't use your code go ahead and use it on your next order before the code expires.

Discount codes for Gear (mugs,hats,shirts) do not apply to all items.

From time to time we will provide discount codes for gear. Gear is considered to be mugs, hats, sweatshirts, and t-shirts etc. Those Promo codes are intended for Iron Horse branded items and may not apply to any special gear, custom gear, operating session gear etc.