Stumptown Coffee Roasters

Who is Stumptown?

The roaster on this site that tells you the most about what is in the bag.

Stumptown publishes a Direct Trade programme built on three principles: pay higher prices tied to quality, work with producers they know and maintain those relationships over many years, and strive to build truly collaborative partnerships. It states most bags show both a "roasted on" and a "best by" date, that its bags keep coffee fresh for 90 days unopened, that coffee should be finished within 2 weeks of opening, and that it achieved B Corp status in 2018.

The roast date is the specification that separates this from everything else here

Almost every roaster on this site prints a best before and nothing else, and those are not the same thing.

A best before date tells you when the roaster thinks it stops being sellable. A roast date tells you when the coffee was actually made, which is the only fact that lets you judge freshness yourself.

Coffee degasses for a few days after roasting and is generally at its best from about a week to a month after. Past that it flattens steadily, and it flattens fastest once ground. Without a roast date you cannot tell whether a bag is three weeks old or seven months old, and the best before will look reassuring either way.

Lavazza and Kicking Horse both publish a best before only. That is normal, and it is the single biggest practical difference between supermarket coffee and specialty coffee.

Direct Trade is a policy, not a certificate, and that cuts both ways

It is stronger than a slogan and weaker than an audit.

Fairtrade, which Kicking Horse carries, is a third-party certification: an outside body audits it and there is a published minimum price. You do not have to trust the roaster.

Direct Trade is the roaster's own programme, with its own standards, verified by nobody but itself. Stumptown's version is unusually specific: higher prices tied to quality, long relationships with known producers, collaborative partnerships. Those are checkable commitments rather than adjectives.

But it is still self-reported, and this site records that distinction rather than treating the two as equivalent. Compare it to a coffee simply labelled "ethically sourced" with no body and no principles named, which is a claim with nothing behind it at all.

Which Stumptown to buy

Four blends here, and they separate cleanly on acidity.

Hair Bender is the flagship and the one to judge the roaster by: citrus, dark chocolate and raisin from three continents. Homestead is the fruitiest, on cherry and orange from fully washed lots. Founder's Blend is the easy one, organic and chocolate-forward. French Roast is the dark one, organic, and roasted for malt rather than char.

All four are blends. Stumptown sells single origins too, and none of the four here is one, so this hub does not represent that half of the range.

The freshness advice on the bag is worth following

Ninety days sealed, two weeks once opened.

Stumptown publishes both figures, which is more than most roasters will commit to. The two-week figure is the one people ignore: an opened bag is exposed to air every time it is used, and the difference between week one and week four is obvious in the cup.

Practically that means buying the size you will drink. These are sold as two 12oz bags, so open one and leave the other sealed rather than decanting both.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Stumptown print a roast date?

The maker states most bags show both a roasted on and a best by date, which almost nothing else on this site does.

Is Direct Trade the same as Fairtrade?

No. Fairtrade is audited by a third party with a published minimum price. Direct Trade is the roaster's own programme, self-reported, though Stumptown states its principles specifically.

What is B Corp?

A certification of a company's social and environmental standards as a business. Stumptown states it achieved it in 2018. It is about the company, not the coffee.

Which Stumptown blend should I start with?

Hair Bender. It is the blend the roaster is known for and the one its reputation rests on.

How long does the coffee stay fresh?

Stumptown publishes 90 days unopened and recommends finishing within 2 weeks of opening.