FAQ

The production of exceptional coffees is a collaborative, meticulous and multi-faceted effort. All coffees are sourced in freshly harvested lots through direct relationships with producers and cooperatives committed to quality and sustainable business practices. We travel to origin throughout the year, exploring new coffee sources, checking in with cherished producers, and offering premiums for quality. The long-standing partnerships we nurture are built upon trust—trust that our producers will convey to us what they need to thrive and trust that we will do everything we can to support them. Visit Our Company page to learn more about our sourcing practices.

We work to bring forth the unique flavors from each farm or cooperative to your cup in the most humble, efficient, and honorable way possible. We achieve this by taking meticulous care throughout the roasting process. Practicing smaller production methods and sensory roasting allow us to find the best expressions for each coffee. Using our eyes, ears, nose, and most importantly our taste buds, we evaluate our coffees on a regular basis to ensure we are showcasing the very best attributes of each.

Sightglass coffee tastes best up to six weeks after the roast date printed on the back of the sealed bag. Once opened, we recommend you use the coffee within two weeks for optimal freshness. Coffee will taste best when ground immediately before brewing. Grind only the amount of coffee you plan to brew and store the remainder in an airtight container, away from direct sunlight, heat, and sources of humidity. Avoid putting your coffee in the refrigerator or freezer.

For a coffee to be certified organic by the USDA, strict regulations and certifications are enforced at all levels of production. As the farms we partner with don’t always possess the financial resources to gain these certifications, we don’t require our coffees to be USDA Organic or Fair Trade Certified. However, most of the farms we work with practice organic and ecologically conscious growing methods. Through direct trade, we are able to offer producers substantially higher prices for their coffee.

You can use any coffee with any brew method, although some sing better than others when made with different brewing devices. In general, brew methods will either highlight the flavor clarity of a coffee or highlight the body and mouthfeel. For example, a french press, because it has a metal filter, allows oils and insoluble components to enter your final cup of coffee, which enhances the coffee’s overall body. A Chemex, because of its thick paper filter, catches a lot of those insoluble components and emphasizes clarity. At our cafes, we brew all coffees through a V60 or Fetco as we feel that gives us a balanced representation of each coffee without favoring one aspect of its flavor profile. If you want to have fun and experiment, for coffees that are complex and have lots of delicate flavors, like most East African coffees, try a brewer with a paper filter. For coffees with a noteworthy heaviness and mouthfeel, like Central and South American coffees, try a full-immersion brewing method.

Based out of Vancouver, BC, Swiss Water® is an innovative leader in coffee decaffeination. During the Swiss Water Process, green coffee beans are immersed in "Green Coffee Extract (GCE)," water that is super-saturated with soluble coffee components and sans caffeine. Looking for equilibrium, caffeine migrates out of the coffee beans and into the GCE, which is then flowed through carbon filters that trap those caffeine molecules and refresh the GCE to its original state. This process is repeated over the course of 10 hours, while time, temperature and flow are closely monitored. The end result yields a beautifully expressive coffee that is 99.9% caffeine-free, and none the less flavorful than its caffeinated brethren. If you'd like to learn more about Swiss Water and their processes, visit their site here: www.swisswater.com

Because coffee is a seasonal fruit, we source it from origin in tiny, freshly harvested lots. Harvest cycles happen throughout the year, with coffees from different regions landing at different times. Once a shipment arrives stateside, we have a few months to roast and serve the coffee. As a result, you will rarely see a particular single origin coffee on our menu for more than a few months at a time as we will only serve coffees at their finest and freshest. We work to curate a very special coffee experience for you, both in our coffee bars and when you’re brewing our beans at home. If you would like help choosing a coffee, please contact hello@sightglasscoffee.com  and we can provide some recommendations.

Choose your roast, bag size, and subscription cadence, then select how regularly you’d like your order to be shipped and we will auto-bill your card on file. That’s it! We’ve got the rest covered.

Login to you subscription portal here then click "next order date" to change your next subscription or "skip" to skip your next subscription and then resume your normal cadence.

No, but also, you probably should! Creating an account gives you access to your order history, and let’s you manage your orders and subscriptions, create an account using the same email you used to check out.

In order to protect our customers from fraudulent credit card activity, we have implemented some “best practice” solutions within our payment gateway. Any time suspected fraudulent activity occurs, we are alerted by our gateway provider, and look into this activity immediately. If confirmed, we will stop the transaction before it settles, report the incident/IP address, and void the order. ***Please note, in keeping with credit card industry standards, our payment gateway will decline a card that has been used over 3 times from the same IP address within an hour’s time. In the event this happens, please wait an hour and try again.

You can check you order status here

Route's Green Package Protection is a package protection solution that helps cover your order in the event that your order gets lost, stolen, or damaged while in transit while also protecting the planet. We know how frustrating it is to have something happen to your order, so we’ve partnered with Route to offer added assurance that you’re supported, no matter what. Green Package Protection can be added during checkout.

Every time you add Green Package Protection to your order, Route donates to support an agroforestry initiative that removes CO₂ from the air and promotes a flourishing ecosystem.

Sightglass Coffee offers digital gift cards and retail gift cards (for SF stores). 

Our retail gift cards are redeemable for in-store purchases at any of our San Francisco cafes. Please note this Gift Card is not linked to our app platform and cannot be used for mobile coffee pickup orders, online orders, or at our Los Angeles locations.

Please note that our online gift cards are not redeemable on subscriptions or in-store purchases. This Gift Card is not linked to our app platform and cannot be used for mobile coffee pickup orders.

Our coffees are served at a variety of wonderful cafes, restaurants, and other establishments throughout the country. You can also purchase many of our offerings, including seasonal single origin favorites and year-round staples, in our webstore. For more information on where to find our coffees near you, please email hello@sightglasscoffee.com.

If something great or not so great has happened in relation to Sightglass, please tell us directly. This will allow us to either celebrate with you or find ways to rectify any issues and make things right for you.

hello@sightglasscoffee.com

If you’re interested in selling Sightglass coffee, please visit our Wholesale page to explore our program and fill out the inquiry form. Once submitted, a member from our Wholesale team will follow up to learn more about your business.

We do not currently rent out either of our coffee bars for private events, filming, or professional photography. For marketing or press-related inquiries, please contact hello@sightglasscoffee.com.

We accept bulk orders for coffee and may offer discounts based on volume (instant products and merchandise have the same great pricing as seen online). Bulk orders are shipped via UPS Ground for improved traceability and we even accommodate most special requests!

If you’d like to place your bulk order today, please email us at: orders@sightglasscoffee.com.