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Good of you to keep an eye on the roast date. It's worth knowing exactly what the four-week promise covers:

• For coffee from our own roastery we aim to have the coffee on your doormat within four weeks of the roast date. We roast in small batches and work on a FIFO basis, so the oldest stock goes out first. That keeps roast dates as recent as possible.
• For the other brands we sell those four weeks don't apply. Brands such as Segafredo, Lavazza, illy and Kimbo roast their own coffee and work with a best-before date rather than a fresh roast date. That coffee is made with exactly that in mind.

Is something not right with our own coffee? Let our customer service know, with your order number and a photo of the label, and we'll find out what went wrong and come up with a solution.

One more thing about shelf life: our fresh coffee keeps for a year after the roast date. The four weeks are about peak flavour, not about the coffee going off.

If you order ground coffee, you can choose on the product page which brewing method we should grind the coffee for. The right choice depends on your machine, not on the type of coffee.

• Espresso machine with a portafilter, or a bean-to-cup machine: fine espresso grind.
• Moka pot or percolator: in between espresso and filter, so medium-fine.
• Filter coffee machine with a paper filter: filter grind.
• Hario V60, Chemex and other hand pour-overs: medium to medium-coarse.
• French press or cafetière: coarse.
• Turkish coffee: extra fine, almost powdery.

Rule of thumb: the shorter the water is in contact with the coffee, the finer the grind. Go too fine for your machine and the coffee runs through slowly and tastes bitter. Go too coarse and it runs through too quickly, leaving the coffee watery or sour.

You'll find a detailed overview of all our grinds on the coffee grind size page. Not sure? Let us know the make and model of your machine in the chat and we'll work it out together.

There are several ways of removing caffeine from coffee beans, and which one has been used differs from coffee to coffee. The method is therefore always stated on the product page of the decaffeinated coffee in question. Have a look there under the product information and you'll know exactly where you stand.

Why do decaffeinated beans look darker and shinier? A lot of people notice this. During decaffeination the bean takes up moisture and its cell structure changes. That makes the bean look darker and shinier after roasting than an ordinary bean. It doesn't mean the coffee has been roasted too dark or is extra oily, and it's no problem for your bean-to-cup machine.

Not sure about a particular coffee, or looking for a decaf with a certain flavour profile? Do ask in the chat and we'll look it up for you.

An error message at checkout shouldn't happen. If you do get one, please let us know straight away through the contact form. Please tell us:

• the exact wording of the error message, or better still a screenshot;
• the step at which it went wrong, for example at the address, the shipping method or the payment;
• which device and which browser you're using.

We'll look into it immediately. We can often complete the order for you in the meantime, so you don't have to wait until the problem is solved.

Meanwhile it sometimes helps to empty your shopping basket and fill it again, or to try a different browser. But please do still report it, even if it works on the second attempt. That way we can track down the cause.

The Coffee of the Month changes on the first of every month. Each month we select a different fresh coffee, with a different country of origin and a different flavour profile.

Would you like to know which coffee it is? Sign up for our newsletter. That's where we announce the new Coffee of the Month, along with the flavour description and our brewing advice.

Were you particularly taken with an earlier Coffee of the Month? Do ask in the chat. We can often tell you which coffee it was and whether there's something similar in our range.

No, Kimbo Espresso Bar Extreme is no longer available. We can no longer order these coffee beans from the supplier.

As an alternative we recommend Kimbo Espresso Crema Intensa - coffee beans - 1 kilo. This is also an Italian Arabica/Robusta blend from Kimbo, with a full and powerful flavour, notes of dark chocolate and roasted nuts and a rich crema. That makes it the closest match to the Espresso Bar Extreme.

A percolator in the Irish sense, the moka pot, needs ground coffee with a fine to medium-fine grind, just coarser than espresso. Coffee sold as coarse ground is meant for a French press and gives a watery cup in a moka pot. Espresso grind will do at a push but tends to taste bitter. For advice on flavour and roast, see Which coffee for a percolator?

Fill the filter basket of your moka pot right up to the rim, so the size of the pot decides the amount. Level the grounds with a finger or the back of a spoon and leave them loose rather than pressing them. The base takes water to just under the valve. Using less coffee will not make the brew milder, only uneven, because the water takes the easiest route through.

Yes, although it is not ideal. Espresso grind is made for the high pressure of an espresso machine; in a moka pot those fine grounds slow the water down so much that the coffee can taste bitter and the plate above the basket may clog. If you use it anyway, fill the basket loosely, do not tamp it, and take the pot off the heat at the first sputter.

A moka pot is a stovetop coffee maker in three parts: a base for water, a funnel-shaped basket for the ground coffee and a top chamber where the finished coffee collects. As the water heats, steam pressure pushes it up through the coffee. The result is strong, espresso-style coffee, made with far less pressure than an espresso machine uses. Many people in Ireland call it a percolator.

A filter coffee machine needs a medium-coarse filter grind, made for water that drips through a paper filter without pressure. Gala and Landhaus are already ground that way, and for our own coffee you pick the option "Freshly ground - Filter". Espresso grind is too fine for a drip machine and makes the pot bitter, while a French press grind is so coarse that the coffee comes out weak.

Allow about 7 g of ground coffee for each 125 ml cup. For a full jug, weigh out 55 to 65 g per litre of water: the lower end gives a lighter brew, the upper end a stronger one. Scoops vary a lot in size, so scales are more reliable; if you prefer a scoop, How many scoops of ground coffee per cup? has the conversion.

Filter coffee is coffee made by letting hot water run through ground coffee and a filter, with gravity doing the work instead of pressure. At home that usually means a drip machine with a paper filter, but pour-over and drip bags work the same way. The result is a clearer, lighter cup than espresso; What's the difference between espresso and filter coffee? explains why.

Put a paper filter in the basket, add about 7 g of medium-coarse ground coffee for every 125 ml cup, fill the reservoir with fresh cold water and switch the machine on. Drink it soon after brewing, since filter coffee turns bitter on the hotplate. Tips on water, ratio and freshness are in the blog How to make the tastiest filter coffee.

Freshbrew coffee is coffee that a machine brews fresh for every cup from real ground coffee, instead of mixing it from instant powder. Freshbrew machines are common in offices, canteens and cafés. They take ordinary ground coffee in a filter grind, which means the coffee on this page also works in a normal drip filter machine at home.