Refund policy

Effective 19 September 2026. This policy replaces every earlier version of our refund policy.

We want you to like what you buy from us. If something is wrong, email hello@stellacoffeela.com and a real person at Stella Coffee will read it and help. Below is exactly how returns, refunds and subscription cancellations work, in plain language.

The short version

You can return most unused merchandise within 7 days of delivery or purchase for a refund to your original payment method. We do not charge restocking fees. We cannot take back coffee, food or drinks once they have left the shop, and gift cards cannot be returned — but your gift card balance is always yours, never expires, and is never reduced by fees.

What you can return

You can return merchandise you bought from stellacoffeela.com or in one of our cafes, as long as it is:

Still in new, unused condition — unworn, unwashed, and free of stains, marks or smells
Complete, with the tags still attached and the original box, sleeve or packaging
Sent or brought back within 7 days of the day it was delivered to you or the day you bought it in a cafe
Backed by proof of purchase, such as your order number, order confirmation email or receipt

This covers apparel, drinkware, stickers and other merchandise. Sale and discounted items can be returned on the same terms as full-price items, and are refunded at the price you actually paid.

We do not charge a restocking fee, a return fee, or any other handling charge on a return that meets these conditions.

What we cannot take back

A few things cannot be returned. This is about food safety and about items that are made for one person only, not about being difficult:

Coffee beans, ground coffee, food and drinks — see the section below
Printed apparel and other items made to order. These are printed for you individually by our printing partner after you order, so they cannot be resold. This does not apply if the item arrives misprinted, damaged or wrong — see below.
Gift cards — see the section below, because your balance is still protected
Items returned used, worn, washed, damaged after delivery, or missing their tags or packaging
Items returned after the return window has closed

If you are not sure which category your item falls into, email us before you send anything back and we will tell you.

Gift cards

Gift cards cannot be returned or refunded once they are bought, because we cannot take the value back out of a card that may already have been shared or spent.

What you buy stays yours:

Stella Coffee gift cards do not expire
We never charge inactivity, dormancy, service or maintenance fees against a balance
We never cancel or take back an unused balance
If less than $10 is left on a card, California law lets you ask for that remaining balance in cash, and we will pay it out at either cafe

If a card stops working or a balance looks wrong, email us with the card number and we will sort it out.

Coffee, food and drinks

Coffee is food. Once a bag of beans, a pastry or a drink has left our counter or arrived at your door, we cannot inspect it, resell it or give it to anyone else, so we cannot accept it back as an ordinary return.

That does not mean you are stuck with coffee you cannot drink. If a bag arrives damaged, opened, past its roast-freshness window, or is simply not what you ordered, email us within 7 days of delivery and we will replace it or refund it. Please do not ship food back to us unless we ask you to.

If something arrives damaged, stale or wrong

Email hello@stellacoffeela.com with your order number and a photo of the item and the packaging. Tell us whether you would rather have a replacement or a refund.

When an item is damaged, defective or not what you ordered, the return is on us. You will not pay return shipping, and you will not lose any part of your refund. This applies to coffee and food as well as merchandise.

How to start a return

Email hello@stellacoffeela.com with your order number and tell us what you would like to send back and why. You do not need a special form. We will reply with return instructions and the address to ship to. Returns go to our Beverly Hills cafe at 6310 San Vicente Blvd, Ste 106, Los Angeles, CA 90048. Please wait for our reply before sending anything, so we can watch for it.

Please wait for our reply before shipping anything. Items sent back without telling us first can go missing, and we cannot refund what we cannot find.

Online orders are handled by email and by post, not at the counter. Our baristas are not set up to process online returns or refunds, so please do not bring an online order into the cafe — email us instead and we will sort it out from there.

Return shipping

If you are returning something because you changed your mind, you pay the return postage. We recommend a tracked service, because we can only refund what reaches us. For damaged, defective or incorrect items, Stella Coffee always pays — you will never be out of pocket for our mistake.

Use a tracked service if you can. Until a return reaches us it is still in your hands, so tracking protects you as much as it protects us.

Getting your refund

Once your return arrives and we have checked it, we will email you to confirm that we received it and whether the refund is approved. We aim to do this within 5 business days.

Approved refunds go back to the card or payment method you paid with. We cannot send a refund to a different card or a different person. Your bank or card issuer then decides how quickly the money appears, which usually takes another 5 to 10 business days.

We refund what you paid for the item, including any sales tax on it. Original shipping charges are refunded when the return is our fault, such as a damaged, defective or incorrect item.

If our email says your refund was sent and you still cannot see it after 10 business days, check with your bank or card issuer first, then email us and we will chase it with you.

Exchanges

We do not run a separate exchange process. The route we can always honour is to return the item for a refund under this policy and place a new order for what you want instead. If the size or item you want is in stock, ordering again is usually faster than an exchange would have been.

Coffee subscriptions

Our coffee subscriptions renew automatically. Before you subscribe we show you the price, how often you will be billed and when the next charge happens, and you confirm that before paying. Your confirmation email repeats those terms. Billing is handled by Stripe.

How cancelling works:

You can cancel at any time, for any reason. There is no cancellation fee and no minimum number of months.
To cancel, email hello@stellacoffeela.com from the address on your subscription, or use the cancellation link on our subscriptions page. Tell us you want to cancel — you do not need to give a reason. We will confirm by email and stop all future charges.
Cancel before your next billing date and you will not be charged again. We will email you to confirm your cancellation.
If we charge you after you asked to cancel, tell us and we will refund that charge in full.

Cancelling stops all future charges straight away. If you cancel after a cycle has already been charged, email us and we will look at where that cycle has got to. If it has not been roasted, packed or sent yet, we will refund it. If it has already been sent — which can happen quickly with items despatched directly by our printing partner — that cycle is yours and will still come to you. If you think we have got that wrong, tell us and we will make it right.

If we ever change the price or how often we bill, we will tell you in advance and you can cancel before the change takes effect.

Your rights in California

This policy does not take away any right you have under California law. A few worth knowing:

California requires sellers who do not give a full cash or credit refund within seven days to post their policy clearly. That is what this page is for.
Gift card balances do not expire and are not reduced by fees. A balance under $10 can be cashed out.
You can cancel an automatically renewing subscription and stop future charges, as described above.
Nothing here limits your rights if a product is defective or not as described.

Changes to this policy

If we update this policy we will change the effective date at the top of the page. The version in force on the day you bought something is the one that applies to that purchase.

How to reach us

Email hello@stellacoffeela.com and we will get back to you. You can also talk to us in person at either cafe.

Stella Coffee is operated by Mentrup Group LLC, 6310 San Vicente Blvd, Ste 106, Los Angeles, CA 90048.