I used to sell beans bulk at the farmers markets. It was a pain but it looked beautiful and scooping up the beans and putting them into bags was kind of fun. The problem is that people with obvious colds or hygiene issues would insist on running their hands through the beans while smiling and telling me how good it felt. These were rarely the same people who actually purchased the beans.
As I contemplated going into bags, a fellow vendor insisted I do 10 or 12 ounce bags. “Most people think there’s 12 ounces in a pound.Charge ’em for a pound but give them 12 ounces.” This seemed pretty creepy and although there was a moment’s hesitation, I did what I consider the right thing and stuck with an even pound.
I know our beans aren’t as cheap as pintos from China but they’re still good value and just pennies a serving. I’m seeing competition crop up and while I think more people involved raises the bar and the awareness about heirloom beans, watch the packaging closely. I’m seeing beans the same price or a little cheaper, but when you look, it’s a 12 ounce bag.
Yeah, that and it would have screwed up our recipes. Damned recipes, they’re actually the ones that screw things up.
I’ve only worked a few farmer’s markets and it never ceases to amaze me at the incontinence of others, on our beans, on our charcuterie.
xo, Biggles
I visited your stall at the SF Ferry building market last Saturday and was wondering why you didn’t have bulk — I bought 4 pounds (four different kinds) as some Rainbow doesn’t carry.
But, I would like to (eventually) buy some of them in bulk. Could you not maybe have the ability to do bulk (say in sacks or barrels or whatever you keep them in) by keeping the bulk pile behind you in the stall … and then asking how many pounds someone wants and measuring them out? Perhaps you would need to keep little bowls out in front as visual samples though. I really don’t like the idea of buying beans a pound at a time in a little bag … I actually brought a canvas bag that day for beans! I could buy online, but then again … I just assume go fetch them myself and take them home (on my bike). There’s something far more satisfying about buying them in person.
Also, I can’t believe a someone would actually sell 12oz claiming the package is a full pound. Or is it just the bag would go unlabelled? Or labelled with 12oz but people would assume it is a pound? I think you made the right choice to just do honest pounds.
Anyway, here’s to beans!
I really loathe that whole 12oz thing. It’s mostly coffee companies that I’ve seen doing that. Please, it IS just creepy. Please stick with pounds. Or even liters, but not fake-em-out 12oz bags.
As for price – no, $5 a pound isn’t the cheapest bean you can find, but I’m happy to support Rancho Gordo and more importantly, you really get what you pay for. Think how cheap it works out to be for a wonderful bean pot full! I love that heirloom beans are available period, and thanks to the interwebs I can get them in Seattle too.
I know the mantra isn’t realistic for everybody, everywhere, but if the shoe fits…know your producer. I can buy red scarlet runners at Whole Foods, and a couple of other heirloom beans,too. That’s great, got no complaint. But it’s $6.00 for a 12 ounces bag. RG may have to raise their prices one day, but you ain’t gonna find the bag sizes mysteriously reduced to 3/4 the size at the same price, and no comment.
I saw Soyoung Scanlan of Andante Creamery on a raw cheese panel a couple of months ago, the topic of food safety, and she said, “Every week I look my customers in the eye. I have an obligation to them.”
Huh. “Know your producer”. Never thought about it from the other side.
PS: Steve, as a mere customer, I see all the time how much people love running their fingers through that tub o’ beans (and hear them comment on the sign). Seems you found the perfect compromise…and offer up a little “bean therapy” gratis, to boot.
I look forward to some sort of bulk option in the future. I often buy more than 1 pound (and appreciate the honest labeling!) but would prefer paper over plastic for the container.
Our bags are biodegradable film, not plastic. I know it’s more romantic to buy the beans from bins but the reality is that air and light make for dry beans and it’s not a practical way to sell them if you want to maintain quality. Rainbow goes through so many, I don’t mind selling them bulk.
I was in Brooklyn over the weekend and bought some whole-bean from Gorilla Coffee and noticed they must have encountered this same problem (the 12-oz. problem, not the hands-in-the-bulk-bin problem). On the side of their coffee, the label says “That’s 16 oz., not 14 oz., not 12 oz.” And I thought of Rancho Gordo back home (which I brought east as a housewarming present, by the way).