Custom Printed Coffee Bags for Roasters, Cafes and Subscriptions

What makes a coffee bag different from any other pouch?

Roasted coffee gives off carbon dioxide for days after roasting. Seal it in a plain pouch and the bag swells like a balloon; leave it open and oxygen gets at the oils and the coffee goes flat within a fortnight. A coffee bag solves both with a one-way valve.

The valve is a small disc set into the panel, visible as a ring of tiny holes on the bags in our photos. Gas inside pushes the valve open and escapes. Air outside cannot push it the other way. The bag stays flat and the beans stay in their own carbon dioxide.

Around the valve, the bag is a high-barrier laminate with a zipper or tin tie. The valve itself is explained in our guide to coffee bag valves and degassing.

Which roasters and businesses use printed coffee bags?

Small batch roasters are the main buyers, from a one-drum roastery in Cornwall selling 250 g bags online to a wholesale roaster sending 1 kg bags to cafes every week. Coffee subscription brands need a bag that survives the post and looks good on arrival.

Cafes that roast their own, farm shops selling a local roast, and tea and coffee merchants with a house blend all order the same bags in their own print.

• Speciality roasters selling single origin by the 250 g bag
• Wholesale roasters supplying cafes in 1 kg bags
• Subscription coffee brands posting monthly
• Cafes with their own roast on the counter
• Farm shops and delis with a house blend
• Cold brew and coffee bag makers who need a valve-free version

Flat bottom, side gusset or stand up: which coffee bag?

The three styles hold the same coffee and differ in how they stand and how they are filled. Flat bottom bags are the current favourite for retail because they stand square, show five printable faces and sit well on a cafe shelf. Side gusset bags are the traditional roaster's bag, cheaper per bag and fast to fill, usually closed with a tin tie. Stand up pouches are the lightest and suit smaller 100 g to 250 g bags.

What size coffee bag holds 250 g, 500 g or 1 kg?

Whole beans take more room than ground coffee of the same weight, by roughly a fifth. The sizes in our table are for whole bean. For ground coffee you can go one size down or keep the same bag and accept more headspace.

A 250 g flat bottom bag at 95 × 230 mm with a 65 mm gusset is the common retail size. A 1 kg side gusset bag at 135 × 340 mm with a 95 mm gusset fits a cafe's weekly order. Allow 40 mm above the fill for the zipper or the tin tie fold.

Dark roasts are less dense than light roasts, so a 250 g bag filled with a dark roast sits fuller. The pouch size guide for UK fill weights gives the dimensions behind each weight.

Laminate and barrier for roasted coffee

Coffee needs the full barrier: oxygen, moisture and light all shorten its life. PET / foil / PE with a true aluminium layer is the usual choice for a roaster who wants beans to taste right six weeks after roasting. Metallised PET / PE costs less and suits bags that sell within a month.

Kraft / foil / PE gives the brown paper look that many roasters prefer, with the foil hidden behind the paper. Matte black metallised PET is the other classic, with a one or two colour logo. Food-contact, high-barrier and compostable film options are available on request and confirmed on the quote.

Where does the valve sit and how does it behave on a filling line?

The valve is fitted before the bags reach you, usually about 80 mm below the top of the front or back panel, above the fill line so it never sits under the beans. Our bags ship with the valve in place and a small filter behind it to keep coffee dust out of the mechanism.

On a filling line, the valve needs nothing from you. Fill, close the zipper, heat seal the top. Within a day the bag will have released its first gas and settled flat. If you nitrogen flush before sealing, the valve lets the excess out just the same.

Side gusset bags with a tin tie are sometimes ordered without a valve for pre-ground coffee that has already rested. We make both. Our coffee pouches with a valve fitted page covers the stand up version in more detail.

Print and artwork on a coffee bag

A flat bottom bag gives you five faces: front, back, two side gussets and the base. Roasters use the front for the brand, one gusset for tasting notes and origin, the other for brew guidance, and the back for weight, roast date space and the barcode. The orange bags in our photo use a plain white band at the base for the roaster's details.

Full colour digital print suits a roaster with six origins at a few hundred bags each. Plate print suits a house blend in the thousands. White under-print goes beneath the colours on foil and kraft. Matte and soft touch matte are the usual finishes, with spot gloss on the logo.

Leave a plain panel for the roast date stamp. Our designers set all of this out on the free proof. The guide to preparing artwork for printed pouches covers bleed and seal margins.

How do I fill and seal coffee bags by hand?

Many roasters start with a scale, a scoop and a bench top sealer. The routine below keeps the seal clean and the valve clear.

1. Open the base of a flat bottom bag by pressing the gussets outward so it stands.
2. Weigh the beans into the bag through a wide funnel, keeping them below the zipper.
3. Tap the bag on the bench so the beans settle away from the valve area.
4. Flush with nitrogen if you use it, holding the nozzle below the zipper.
5. Close the zipper, then heat seal the top strip above it.
6. Stamp the roast date on the plain panel and stand the bags upright in a carton.

What mistakes do roasters make when ordering bags?

Ordering a bag sized for ground coffee and filling it with whole beans. The beans will not fit below the zipper. Size for beans and the ground version will always fit.

Leaving the valve out to save a few pence. A valveless bag of fresh beans either swells or has to be rested before packing, which costs more in shelf time than the valve.

Printing the roast date rather than stamping it. Dates change with every batch, so keep a plain panel. For wholesale bags, the side gusset bags for 1 kg fills page shows the tin tie version most cafes expect.

How do I order custom printed coffee bags?

Send your logo or artwork, the fill weights you sell, whole bean or ground, and the number of bags per size. Quantities are quoted per order, from £0.25 per unit, and the written quote confirms the price with the valve included.

You get a free design proof showing the valve position and the roast date panel before anything is printed. After approval, production takes 4–6 business days and the bags arrive free with tracking anywhere in the UK in 2–3 business days.

Misprints or damage reported within 10 days with photos are reprinted or refunded. Use the quote request for printed coffee bags or send a photo of your current bag on WhatsApp.