All products must be returned within 30 days of purchase.
If you change your mind after receiving your freshly roasted coffee, those freshly roasted products may not be able to be resold by the time a returned item is received back at our facility.
In other words, if you purchase freshly roasted coffee and then request a return days, weeks, or months after receiving it, the packs of freshly roasted coffee will not be in the same condition as when they were originally shipped to you when fulfilling your order.
Freshly roasted coffee differs from generic products such as apparel, appliances, gadgets, toys, or other merchandise merchants may return and resell.
Why you must return freshly roasted coffee promptly
Freshly roasted coffee is unlike many other foods, so it is important to know how packs of freshly roasted coffee products rapidly deteriorate over time.
A fresh-roasted pack of coffee that is still sealed or unopened does not mean the contents remain fresh.
Quite the opposite.
Freshly roasted coffee in an unopened pack continues to degrade or deteriorate after it is packed and sealed.
That means freshly roasted coffees will continue to lose vital essence and the desirable attributes that make freshly roasted coffee products attractive and valuable, even inside the sealed bag.
Therefore, any returned item of freshly roasted coffee will no longer be identical (or similar) in quality, value, or condition to the coffee when it was originally packed.
A returned pack is inferior in terms of freshness.
Each pack has a marked roast date.
As freshly roasted coffees are unlike any other fresh food ingredient, this degradation in quality occurs from the moment raw coffee is manufactured, e.g. roasted.
Sealing inside a bag does not stop or halt the staling process; it only slows down the degradation.
Nothing can retard or halt the oxidisation process of fresh roasted coffee, except for specialised high-pressure nitrogen chambers.
Fresh-roasted coffee is extremely volatile and, therefore, will exhaust significant levels of carbon dioxide, a process often called de-gassing.
This de-gassing is why fresh-roasted coffee is stored in special types of packaging. Coffee bags are a complex packaging solution consisting of a 3-layer metal-film bag heat-sealed with a 1-way valve that allows the natural process of CO2 gas to exhaust slowly.
Coffee packaging is remarkably more complex and different to most other food ingredients.
Volatile compounds stored inside fresh-roasted coffee beans lose their vitality each day, which is how coffee ultimately becomes stale, lifeless, and flavourless.
Those volatile compounds stored inside fresh roasted coffees are a critical essence (or magic) for how fresh roasted coffee generates an attractive or enjoyable experience.
Fresh-roasted coffee exhibits intense levels of aroma, body, crema, sweetness, flavour, acidity, etc. These attributes decline over time as coffee ages, even inside sealed bags.
A declining level of freshness also means declining value and quality. We will not risk our hard-earned reputation of freshness by re-selling returned packs of coffee.
For these reasons, we place time conditions upon returns of fresh-roasted coffee.
Time is critical; otherwise, the product will be scrapped as it cannot be resold.
When we issue a Return Authority (RMA) to a customer, we expect the customer to post our approved return within five working days from receipt of our Return Authority confirmation.
If a previously authorised return item does not arrive within 30 days of issuing that Return Authority, we reserve a reasonable right to cancel or decline any claims and compensation.
How to Contact Us
Please use our Contact Us page.
Our support team monitors and tracks every email message.
Most of our staff work in a loud warehouse environment at various times throughout the day. We can't answer calls 24/7, but we check messages left on our answering service, and emails are always monitored.
If you call and we can't answer, please ensure that you leave a clear message with a reason for contacting us.
It is important that you leave a reason for contacting us, as we receive dozens of nuisance calls from unsolicited marketers daily.
Asking us to call back without a reason or explanation is not a valid message these days, unfortunately.
Please use common sense here.
No reason in your message means there will be no callback; it's that simple.
After making contact with us, we will endeavour to understand your issue.
This may involve asking questions so that we can ascertain a better understanding of your problem or difficulty.
We may request photos from you.
Photos assist our experts in identifying the cause of an incident.
Viewing images could also assist in developing the options available to resolve your incident.
Our primary target is always to avoid wasting more of your time.
Return Authority Process
The very first step is to establish email communications about your incident.
If you send back an order to us without first attempting communication (phone and email), your refund may be automatically declined.
You must always obtain our Return Authority from us before attempting a return.
Ground Coffees are not accepted for refunds or exchanges
We do not hold, store or stock any ground coffee products.
Ground coffee items are managed as a "customized" product in our store, meaning the ground coffee item you purchased has been made specifically for you and your order.
Ground coffees deteriorate rapidly, even for unopened and sealed products.
Ground coffee may lose up to 80% of its essential volatile compounds within 10 days.
For this reason, we do not accept refunds or exchanges of ground coffee items, unless we have made a mistake in processing your order.
Please understand that any returned ground products cannot be resold by us.
Returned ground coffee is no longer fresh or meets our high-quality standards.
It is also unfair to the person who might receive an item containing ground coffee that has been returned - it could be many weeks old and lost most of the essential compounds.
Opened Products
For products sold or purchased in bundles of multiple quantities, e.g., packs of 15x, etc., such as pods or capsules, these products are treated as a single unit.
For example, a bag of 15x Nespresso-compatible capsules is considered a single product, so if you use one(1) capsule from that 15x pack, you cannot return the remainder as it is a food safety risk.
Returns are only available with unopened packs.
Suppose you return an item containing less than the original quantity. In that case, we cannot resell it, and no refund is available for that item, even if any remaining contents are OK.
If you open a sealed product, then it cannot be returned.
Costs of returns
The return costs will depend upon the agreed conditions or cause of the return of that product.
For example, if we make a mistake, we will cover all costs of return shipping unconditionally.
If the reason for a return is buyer's remorse, a customer change of mind, or a mistake, then the customer will pay all costs associated with organising the return shipping.
Freight damage.
All our mycuppa.com.au parcels are sent without insurance using the Australia Post, Couriers Please or StarTrack Express parcel network.
We use carefully engineered methods to ensure your products are properly packed for safely during transit.
After 17 years of almost 1 million parcels, we definitely know what it takes to ship goods in the parcel networks so they arrive safely.
By using brand new, heavy-duty, custom-designed cartons for all our orders, wrapping delicate items in extra protection, etc., we can avoid the problems associated with orders sent in satchels.
If you are concerned about loss or damage in transit, please contact us before your parcel is shipped so that we can arrange insurance coverage on that consignment.
We are not responsible or liable for damage in transit.
What can be returned?
When it is our mistake:-
If we make an error with your order - we apologise.
This may include scenarios like accidentally ding you the wrong coffee with sufficient quantity or not grinding the coffee when you selected a grind option on the coffee product during ordering.
Please get in touch with us; we will offer options to resolve this at our cost.
Sometimes, a wrong label might be applied to the coffee bag. That happens, but we wish it didn't.
All our fresh roasted coffee beans are packed without labels on the bags. The labels interfere with our machinery and the suction cups holding the bags during the various stages of filling and sealing the coffee bean packaging.
Labels are only applied to the coffee bean bags when the order is placed in a carton.
Whilst it's rare that the wrong label is applied to a bag, mistakes happen as label application is the only human task in our production process. After reviewing the scan codes and inventory records, we can verify that the correct coffee was sent.
Damaged Items:-
If coffee bag packaging is damaged during transit, this type of damage is completely outside of our control.
As noted in our Delivery Policy, all consignments sent from our warehouse are only insured if you arrange insurance with us before we ship your parcel.
Transit damage is not our responsibility to rectify - please get in touch with AusPost.
We respectfully ask our customers to understand this important point: the seals on the bags were in perfect condition when your coffee was packed, stored, picked, processed for parcel shipment, and left our warehouse.
It's impossible for us to place a busted coffee bag leaking coffee beans or ground coffee into a carton - common sense always prevails.
Some products are extremely delicate and can pop or break during transit. We wrap these fragile products in extra layers of protection to prevent damage. We take these additional steps to care for your shipment.
The customer orders the wrong product.
If you order the wrong whole bean product and it has not been opened, you can return the whole beans promptly after contacting us to obtain approval for a return.
Please be aware, ground coffees are custom made specifically for your order and since they have been ground for your order, there will be a significant degradation in product quality due to the grinding of whole beans resulting in the product no longer being fresh.
We do not accept refunds or exchanges of ground coffee products except if we have made a mistake in processing your order.
If you received free shipping on your order, we reserve the right to deduct the original shipping costs from any refund. Shipping is never free, there are costs involved.
Taste
Our products are sealed in special packaging within 1hr of roasting.
This preserves all of the quality and freshness of roasted coffees.
Suppose you don't like the taste of a product after opening and sampling. In that case, it's not able to be returned as the opened product will be exposed to oxygen and potentially other contaminants. Standard food safety rules apply - opened products are not able to be returned.
Taste is subjective and varies among individuals. Nothing leaves our facility without rigorous Quality Control.
Our extensive Quality Assurance means each batch of coffee is precision roasted by an industrial computerised system. It's impossible to either under or over-roast the coffee.
What one person may enjoy, another may not and so on. The taste of coffee also comes down to how it is extracted or brewed by the end-user. These sorts of variances or perceptions do not mean a roasted coffee product might be defective.
Coffee taste is also highly dependent upon how it is handled and brewed. Failure to adjust or clean equipment, incorrect brew temperatures, and other factors all contribute to poor taste experiences, not the ingredients.
During summer's higher heat levels, roasted coffee stored in delivery vehicles may slowly "bake," which could lead to a slight reduction in the quality of the coffee product.
Our facility is maintained at a constant 20 degrees throughout summer. We also employ coolers and cool rooms specifically for storing roasted coffee.
Where to send it back?
The first step is to contact us via the Contact Us page or call our office and leave a message explaining your concern.
After we have assessed a reported incident, we will decide, after communicating with you, if a Return Authority is warranted.
The Return Authority will include a shipping label. This label will be emailed to the customer, or we may decide to include it in a carton if we ship replacement products to you.
How are items returned?
Items can only be returned to us with a valid Return Authority - please be aware of this condition.
We kindly ask that you contact us in the first instance if you encounter an incident that requires resolution.
When we issue a return label, please ensure the items are packed well in a carton so they arrive back to us in reasonable condition. Suitcases are not allowed for returns.
We will not accept a returned item shipped in a satchel due to the risks of damaged contents.
Credits for returns
Depending on the circumstances, we may discuss options that include a credit, a replacement, or a refund. The final selection of methods for compensation depends upon our discussions with you and your preferences.
Payment or credits will be applied depending upon the method used for order payment. For payments such as PayPal, refunds are almost instant. For credit card payments, the timeframe for refunds to arrive into your Bank or card account is controlled by Shop Pay.
