First of all, you can use any web browser you like, except for Internet Explorer. Because of its many security breaches, this browser is less and less supported by a majority of websites. Once you’re on the description page of your chosen coffee, choose a roast from the drop down menu (if applicable) and the desired grind. Then select your quantity in the quantity field and Add to Cart (you cannot add to cart if all available options are not selected).
When you are done choosing your products, click on View Cart. Make sure your order is correct: products, quantities, roasts, grinds. Then choose a shipping option and click on Proceed to Checkout.
Please take note that if you have ordered 2lb or more of the same coffee and you would prefer to have them in 1lb bags, let us know in the Order Notes at checkout (right beside your name).
Enter all the required fields (name, address, create password, payment information, etc.) and use the Order Notes if you have additional information to give us. If you want to subscribe to our newsletter, check the box while you’re there and click Place Order. Shipping is guaranteed within 1 to 3 business days. There you go! Your account will be automatically created with your first order.
You will receive an order confirmation in your inbox. Check to see that everything is OK. If you spot any mistakes, please let us know right away so we can adjust your order before we ship it (preferably within 24 hour).
If you’ve subscribed to our newsletter, you will also receive an email in which you have to confirm your subscription by clicking the link (it’s the law). Once confirmed, you will receive our newsletters with our latest news and promotions.
If you have any other questions or are experiencing any difficulties, please don’t hesitate to contact us by email or with our toll-free number 1-877-820-0255 and it will be our pleasure to assist you!
We always send you an email confirmation of your order. It is imperative that you check your order confirmation when you receive it to see if everything is OK: your choice of coffees, their quantities, roasts, grinds and all personal information. If you spot any mistakes, please let us know right away, either by email or our toll free number 1-877-820-0255 so we can adjust your order before we ship it (preferably within 24 hour).
Please take note, that if your order has already shipped and it is too late for us to make any changes, we cannot take back unwanted coffee and pass it on to another customer. That would completely go against our company values. The freshness of our products is what distinguishes us from our competition and when we say « roasted and shipped the same day », we mean it. We simply cannot be held responsible for mistakes made by our customers or the expenses they may incur (shipping and handling, product loss, etc.).
Even though our customers’ satisfaction is extremely important to us, if the mistake is not ours, we cannot take back unwanted coffee and pass it on to another customer. That would completely go against our company values. The freshness of our products is what distinguishes us from our competition and when we say « roasted and shipped the same day », we mean it. We simply cannot be held responsible for mistakes made by our customers or the expenses they may incur (shipping and handling, product loss, etc.).
However, if the mistake was made by us, please contact us right away, either by email or our toll free number 1-877-820-0255 so we can rectify the situation or make compensation. Sometimes, proof such as photograph might be required.
If this is the case, it’s very probably because your transaction was not completed. When you’re on the Northern-Coffee website, check to see if your selected products are still in Your Cart.
Click on View Cart and check your order, select a shipping method then Proceed to Checkout. Make sure you fill in all the required fields then click on Place Order. Please do not leave the site until the page is done refreshing.
There you go! You should receive your order confirmation email. And if you’ve paid via PayPal, you should also receive a payment confirmation from them.
When you place an order, there’s a box you can check (on the checkout page) if you want to receive our newsletters. You can also go to our blog page and subscribe. Either way, you will receive an email that will ask you to confirm your subscription by clicking a link (it’s the law). Many people overlook this step. If your subscription is not confirmed, your email address is not added to our list and you will not be receiving our newsletters. You say you did confirm but you still don’t receive our newsletters or your order confirmations? In that case, check your SPAM folder to see if our communications are being filtered there.
- Go to the My Account page. Login to your account if you haven’t already done so (username and password)
- In the left menu, click on Orders
- Click the View button of the order in question
- Scroll down the page and click the Order Again button
Once in your shopping cart, you can modify or complete your order.
Unfortunately, we only ship in Canada. Maybe one day we will cross borders or oceans or American customs, but not for now.
Yes it is possible for you to order for someone living in Canada. Simply put the person’s Canadian address as the billing address and put your own with your phone number in the Order Notes on the checkout page. If it’s a gift, let us know if you would like us to add a personalized note.
Apart from our Discovery Bag, we sometimes have requests for office parties, wedding showers or simply a gift to a loved one. We also sometimes collaborate with Boutik Electrik when someone would like to offer a quality coffee maker but don’t know which model to choose. It all depends on your budget!
You can also create your own Discovery Gift Bag by getting our ruggedly beautiful reusable bag and filling it with your own selection of coffees. Add some decorations and voilà!
As for gift certificates, since the demand for them is minimal and we like to personalize them, we do not offer them on our website. Contact us to let us know the amount you would like to give and the person you would like to give it to. You can pay with your credit card or by PayPal. We can send you your certificate by regular mail or email, which you can then print yourself. Your choice! The guidelines are written on the certificate itself, so the lucky recipient can easily enjoy his gift (so kindly given by you).
Absolutely! It would be our pleasure to become your coffee suppliers! We can offer you 1lb, 2lb and 5lb bags (many restaurants/bistros really appreciate the 5lb bags). However, you should know that we do not offer any leasing of equipment.
In transactions such as these, it is always better to contact us so we can discuss what your needs are and how we can best fulfil them. Please call us on our toll free number 1-877-820-0255, Monday through Friday, preferably between 1pm and 5pm.
Unfortunately, we cannot compete with big companies who uses huge roasters that can cook many hundreds of kilograms of coffee in about 10 minutes. For us, each batch represents a maximum of 25lb – the minimum being 12lb – and a roasting time between 25 and 35 minutes.
The other very important question is, are you buying 100% Arabica beans or Robusta (a lesser quality coffee)? We only offer the best quality coffees, i.e. 100% single origin Arabica beans, roasted by a master artisan roaster according to the orders received that day – so you get guarantied freshness! Combined with our low operating costs (permits, shipping, website, etc.) and delivery right to your door… you will not find a better value for your money!!
Give us a try and see if you can taste the difference. But if the price and quality of your other coffee suits you, then by all means, continue with them.
Absolutely! However, please take note that your order will be processed (roasted and shipped) only when we receive the money order. If you prefer, you have the option of paying with a credit card (VISA and MC) or PayPal.
We sometimes send promo codes in our newsletters or on social media. We never use newspaper adds to do our promotions, our loyal customers, such as yourselves, do it for us!
Of course! All of our coffee are available green, except for our blends. The prices shown on our site are for roasted coffees, but we offer a 20% discount on all unroasted green coffees. Shipping fees are the same, 5$ for any order of 4lb to 9lb and 9$ for orders of 1lb to 3lb . You just need to choose the Green – unroasted option as the Roast. The price for each coffee will automatically be readjusted. Needless to say that the Grind will be Whole beans, and your coffee WILL NOT BE ROASTED.
If you would like green coffee for its (supposed) health benefits, please consider that there is still no conclusive scientific study on the benefits of this method and that you would have to ingest a good daily dose for the desired effect (weight loss, lower cholesterol, etc.) to maybe be noticeable after two to three months.
Also note that, according to our research, drinking an infusion of ground green coffee is completely “disgusting” in terms of taste and European nutritionists recommend taking it in capsules as a dietary supplement.
In short, we will gladly send you your order of green coffee, but you should know that green coffee is very dense – as hard as a rock – and very difficult to grind. We don’t even do this in our big industrial grinders for fear of damaging our blades. If you absolutely want to get some to drink, note that there are several recipes using whole beans, including this one.
That said, all of our coffees are available green, with the exception of our various blends and the Discovery Bag. You even get a 20% discount automatically. All you have to do is choose the coffee (or coffees) you want – with the exception of the coffees mentioned above – then select the Green – unroasted option as the Roast. You will have to grind it yourself if you so desire.
There are many choices on the market and also many school of thought. However, please take note that all of our coffees are pure arabicas and they all make great espressos. Indeed, from the smoothest to the most exotic and everything in between, even our decafs. It’s all a question of taste! Refer to our product descriptions to choose the coffee that corresponds to the taste your looking for.
To answer your question, you have to take into consideration the fact that our roasting process is artisanal, so not always exactly the same. Also, some of our coffees – such as the India Malabar Monsooned or our decafs – have a particular colour to begin with. You should also know that all of our coffees offered as dark roasts are never roasted to the extreme. We believe that when you do so, you lose all the distinctive qualities and subtle aromas of the coffee. Furthermore, “burnt” coffee become very oily very fast.
So, generally speaking, these are what our roasts correspond to:
- Light Roast = between cinnamon and medium
- Medium Roast = between high and city
- Dark Roast = between full city and french
Surprisingly, many people ask us this question which is understandable, considering the wide variety of coffees you can choose from. Since taste is so personal, it is difficult for us to suggest a particular coffee. Which is why we wrote this blog article, to help our present and future customers.
That being said, coffee, much like wine, can be subdivided into 3 main regions, each with a distinct flavour profile. Maybe this will help:
The Americas
- Smooth and delicate
- Honest and balanced
- Often fruity with a spicy note
Africa/ Saudi Arabia
- Sharp, spicy and wild
- Higher acidity but lower bitterness
- Often with a fruity and moderately sweet note
Pacific Islands
- Pronounced cinnamon and chocolate aromas
- Smoky and intense flavour with a nutty hint
- Thick and almost syrupy in consistency
We also have the Discovery Bag which contains 10 smaller bags of our most popular coffees, offered in our ruggedly beautiful reusable bag. This way, the next time you place an order, we can better advise you according to your preferences.
There are so many different types of coffee makers on the market, it’s hard for us to keep up! You might want to get advice from the company that sold you your machine, to make sure you get THE perfect grind! However, here is a small list of the most popular:
- Breville Manual: #4
- Breville ROMA with dual wall filter: #4.5 *
- Paper filter coffee makers: Paper Filter (#5)
- Permanent metal filter (reusable) coffee makers: Permanent Filter (#6)
- Depression glass coffee pot: between Permanent Filter (#6) and Bodum (#7)
- Delonghi presurized filter: #4.5
- Delonghi automatic or non-pressurized filter: #3
- Keurig : Permanent Filter (#6)
- Saeco Aroma : #3
- Coffee Press or Bodum: #7
- Bodum – Trudeau brand: between Paper Filter (#5) and Permanent Filter (#6)
- Aeropress Type: #5
- Moka, Italian or Bialetti coffee makers: #4
* Breville ROMA with dual wall filter: Please note that non-pressurized cups are available for this model. By using these, you can use a #3 grind (espresso) to get a more intense taste!
Can’t find the grind that you’re looking for? Let us know your preferred grind in the Order Notes, that you will find on the right side of the checkout page.
That would be an excellent idea! Whole coffee beans will keep twice as long as ground coffee, about 4 to 5 weeks without much loss of aromas.
As for what kind of grinder, well, this is where it can be confusing. There are grinders in all price ranges and for every budget, but try to get a burr grinder, not a blade grinder. Blade grinders (often used to grind nuts and spices) are not precise and do not always give the desired results. However, they’re fine for drip brew coffee makers.
For burr grinders, you can choose between flat or conical. Conical grinders are the preferred choice because of their longer duration of use, but also because the coffee being ground will not overheat as much. This helps to better preserve the coffee’s aromas. But expect to pay a bit more.
Indeed, grinders do not like oily coffee beans (dark roasts). Because of their longer roasting time (although we never roast them to the extreme) the beans have a tendency to become oily which can, with time, clog up your grinder. Many of our clients are aware of this and still prefer to choose dark roasts. Cleaning your grinder regularly is always a good idea and in this case, you just have to do it a little more often.
We suggest you try medium roast coffees or ½ – ½. But if you really love dark roasts and you would like to prevent your grinder from getting clogged up, we can add a portion of lighter roast coffee in the amount of 10-15-20 or even 25%. Just let us know in the Order Notes at checkout. The lighter roast, no matter the amount, will help to clean your grinder.
You should know that when the coffee is being harvested at a plantation, a first inspection is made. Then comes a first rinse to eliminate unwanted leaves, unripe cherries, rocks, sand, and other impurities; a washing of the beans; then the drying process, usually in the sun (sometimes on dryers, on the ground, on huge wire mesh or on canvases); and finally, the beans are put in burlap bags. At every step, an inspection is made. Despite all of this, it is possible that a small rock or piece of debris slipped through and found its way with the coffee and that unfortunately, it was not caught by their vigilant eyes or ours.
Indeed, despite a rigorous inspection on our part, it sometime happens that an unwanted foreign object finds itself in a batch. Usually, a last visual inspection before bagging the coffee lets us know if there are any unwanted intruders, but we never know! That is why we urge you to please be vigilant yourself! Because it also falls upon you to check your coffee beans before you put them into your grinder, so as to avoid any unfortunate mishaps that could break your machine, because we cannot be held responsible.
Freshly roasted coffee produces up to 6 litres of roasting gas per kilogram, which can inflate the bags or even make them burst. That is why we use Ziploc type bags equipped with escape valves. For your drinking pleasure, your coffee is put in our hermetically sealed bags minutes after it has been roasted (just time enough for it to cool). These bags let the gas go out but does not let the oxygen back in, preventing premature oxidation and preserving the coffee’s qualities and aromas. If you wish, you can squeeze the bag to let some of the gas out, but the bag will do it regardless (unless there is something wrong with the valve).
Simply put, keep them in their bags. Our Ziploc type bags are specifically made to keep your coffee fresher longer. They are opaque and equipped with a unidirectional valve designed to let the gases out. You can also keep your coffee in hermetically sealed containers that have a rubber gasket. In both cases, you should always keep your coffee in a cool, dry place, away from sunlight.
If you wish to keep your coffee in your refrigerator or freezer (not recommended!), make sure the bag is not opened so that it does not absorb unwanted smells from your food. You should know that the cold adversely affects the coffee’s natural oils. Each time you take the bag out of the freezer, the abrupt change in temperature creates condensation and provokes a crystallization of the moisture in the beans when it is put back in the cold. You can place your bags in the freezer, but once out, do not put it back.
In a perfect world, coffee should ALWAYS be freshly ground right before brewing to get the most of its flavours and aromas, but a majority of people do not own a grinder or a coffee maker with built-in grinder. That is why we offer our customers a variety of different grinds according to their preference.
And even if we grind your coffee before we ship it, it will always be fresher than anything you can buy at the grocery store! Because who knows when that coffee was roasted (no roasting date, most of the time). For more information, you can read this blog article.
Certainly! You can create your own personal blend by choosing the coffees you would like to mix together (minimum of 1lb per coffee). We can also do it for you if you wish! Just let us know in the Order Notes at checkout.
For example, you can order 5lb of Colombian medium roast, 3lb of Ethiopian Yirgacheffe dark roast and 2lb of Guatemala Antigua light roast and ask us to mix them together. That would give you 10lb of your own personal blend, made of 50% Colombian, 30% Yirgacheffe and 20% Antigua. The only limit is your imagination!
Unfortunately, K-cups go against Northern-Coffee‘s company values. Single-serve coffee pods are an absolute blight on the environment.
However, many permanent (metal) filters are available for Keurig. There is the Keurig My K-Cup (one is often offered when you buy a new machine), there is the ekobrew and our favourite, the Perfect Pod, that is easier to clean and also lasts longer. There are many others, but those mentioned above are of better quality and performance.
With a permanent Keurig filter, you can fill it with any coffee you want and control the amount i.e. the strength of your cup. That’s something to think about: your favourite freshly roasted coffee, ground (if desired), delivered right to your door, for a lot less money (like 5 times less!) than those single-serve pods and so much better for the environment! What could be better!
Unfortunately, we do not have, or will we ever have flavoured coffees. The method most used for flavouring coffee is a spray that contains chemical products, usually concentrated artificial essences added to already roasted beans. Having myself had the experience of preparing some in the past, you have to wear gloves and a mask and the cloths you wear will still smell of it, even after you wash them!
It is our professional opinion that it is preferable to flavour your coffee yourself, with almond, hazelnut or vanilla extracts. Or before brewing, add a piece of vanilla bean to your ground coffee, or cardamom pods, cloves, anise or fennel seeds. You can also sprinkle a dash of cinnamon, chocolate or nutmeg on top of your hot coffee.
Coffees that are 100% pure, such as our arabicas, do not contain gluten. Coffees that do contain gluten are: flavoured coffees, grain coffees, instant coffees or any other coffee substitute and we do not offer any of them.
Furthermore, none of our coffees – green or roasted – are in contact with nuts since we do not sell any. The subtle nutty flavour of certain of our coffees is naturally occurring and we guaranty that no artificial flavours are added. That said, we can never be 100% certain that our green coffee was NEVER in contact with nuts before its delivery to us, but we’ve been doing business with the same producers/distributors since 2001 and we have never had any such problem, so we absolutely trust them in this matter.
Coffee has many wonderful properties and coffee grounds can be used for many things. If you visit our blog page, we have 4 different blog articles on the subject. Many people eat roasted coffee beans, chocolate-coated or not. Maybe it all depends on the quantity you eat?
But seriously, we are only coffee aficionados. If you have health concerns, you should really be discussing them with your doctor.
That depends on your region and the shipping option you choose: *Purolator or Canada Post.
With the exception of the far north and the farthest provinces, time estimates are usually:
- Purolator: 1 to 2 working days (*where the service is available and accessible)
- Canada Post: 1 to 6 working days and up to 13 days for remote areas
We reserve the right to change the method of delivery at any time if the one chosen is inadequate for your region. Also, please know that there are sometimes additional, uncontrollable delays due to weather conditions or holiday seasons.
Please Note: Additional charges are also added for remote areas.
Safe Drop from Canada Post is chosen by default, which means that the delivery person will leave your parcel in a safe place if you’re not home. Please know that we cannot be held responsible if something happens to your order. If you prefer not to take the risk, then let us know in the Order Notes at checkout that you wish your parcel not be left at the door, and your order will be waiting for you at your nearest post office.
For Purolator, it’s the opposite. They will never leave your parcel at your door, unless you advise us otherwise. You should also know that they do not have access to PO and Postal Boxes and that their service does not extend to certain regions, specially remote areas. Which is why we might change your method of delivery if such is the case.
You will receive an email from Canada Post, or if you chose Purolator, an email from us called “Note added to your Northern-Coffee.ca order”, where you will find your tracking number and, if you’ve selected Canada Post, your estimated time of delivery. Canada Post guaranties the delivery of your order in the amount of working days estimated.
To track your order, go to the website of your shipping provider (Canada Post or Purolator) and enter your tracking number to check the status of your delivery. Please take into consideration the holiday seasons or bad weather conditions. If however, there is a problem, we suggest that you contact us of course, but also that you contact them to file a claim (Canada Post or Purolator).
We are sorry for any inconvenience that may have been caused by the shipping option used. Please know that we usually try to follow your preferences according to what shipping option was selected on your order.
It’s always a good idea to check your order confirmation and let us know as soon as possible if there is a mistake, whatever it is. This way, we can better rectify the situation and avoid any unnecessary inconvenience.
So for future orders, make sure the correct shipping option is selected and check your order confirmation right away. Because if you don’t choose, the system will choose for you and it may not be the one you want!
Since we do not have a bricks-and-mortar store, our place of business is not opened to the public unfortunately. We have been selling exclusively online since 2001. That, combined with the fact that we recycle boxes as much as we can and that we only use plain, quality bags without any fancy designs is why we can keep our prices so low! And shipping is only 5$* for orders of 4 to 9 lb and FREE* for orders of 10lb or more (*except for remote areas).