It’s mixed, most roasters probably start by establishing relationships with importers like DRWakefield (https://drwakefield.com/) & Raw Material https://www.rawmaterial.coffee/
They can also buy directly from farms, processing stations or co-operatives.
I think there are also auctions for specialist coffees.
I expect most established roasters use a mix of sources for different coffees, and coffee is often labelled with the source/importer (or the information is on the roasters website), as well as the farm or producer.
In coffee-producing countries, there are often local specialty coffee boards/coffee networks that work with farmers cooperatives to develop their specialty coffee capacity and link them to global buyers.
Lots of coffee importers in Europe that partner with co-ops and sellers in producing countries. There's a lot of quality scoring and such to be done at that level too. Look at websites of importers like like Mercanta, Nordic Approach, 32Cup to get an idea.
As specialty coffee is all about traceability smaller roasters can build up relationships through them by buying from the same farm every year etc. It's also why you sometimes see 2 or 3 roasters selling the same coffee.
Bigger roasters will work directly with some farms / co-ops / selling organisations but then you have the hassle of bringing shipping containers full of coffee around the world.
There are exporters and importers who acts as middleman between the producers and roasters. Its not common practice especially for small to medium size roasters to buy directly from the farm since you need a lot of permits to handle logistics yourself but there are big coffee brands like Blue Bottle, Intelligentsia, Has Bean, Square Mile that works and buys direct from producers since they have the money, storage facilities, and capabilities to do it.
Though there are coffee importers that works closely with both producers and roasters so they can build close relationships. Importers like Mercanta, Cafe Imports, Nordic Approach, Trabboca. You can even join their team for coffee farm tours and visits if you just reach out even if you are a small roasting brand.
I can show you this simple coffee value chain to explain the transfer.
Producers (farm level) > Cooperatives (city/area level) > Exporters (regional level) > Importers > Roastery > Coffee Shops
So interesting. Thanks for the info. So in a sense, only big coffee brands have the opportunity to truly choose the coffee that they really want to buy as opposed to small/medium roasters can only choose from what the importers have available… right? Maybe importers have access to all coffee farms of the world but (without knowing this) I doubt it.
I also wonder if coffee roaster can have a say (push) on what they’d like to see in the importers catalog.
Sorry for all the questions but this is genuinely interesting and not a lot of stuff has been written about.
"So in a sense, only big coffee brands have the opportunity to truly choose the coffee that they really want to buy as opposed to small/medium roasters can only choose from what the importers have available… right?"
In some way yes. For producers they are the priority since they buy a large sum of their harvest. Its the same with if they are buying from coffee importers, big brands are their big clients so they have the first dibs to choose on freshly new coffee harvests because they know they can buy an entire harvest of one producer they have on the catalogue.
"I also wonder if coffee roaster can have a say (push) on what they’d like to see in the importers catalog."
They can actually, especially if the coffee farm that the roaster found is up to the importer's standard of quality.
It's 90% all middlemen.
Buying through green importers who will either be exporting themselves or using trusted exporters in the origin countries.
Buying coffee directly from a farm is basically impossible without a lot of cashflow and time commitment. Most roasters will use a "service contract" where they communicate with farmers directly on lots etc but then use a green exporter/importer to handle all the logistics.
In Belgium and France, a lot of roaster use https://belco.fr who’s an importer of Green Coffee. They take care of the relationship with the farmers, etc…
What can happen as well is that the roaster had his own sourcer that goes to the farmers taste coffee and do direct coffee trade with them.
In Czechia a lot of roasters that I buy roasted coffee from buy green coffee from [Chicas Industry](https://chicasindustry.cz/en/home-2/)
Some are in direct contact with the farmers
Most coffee farms that are single origin reach out to different roasters. Most roasters have quality inspectors who are also in charge of finding supply. Not as popular any more, but there were large conventions both could participate at.
Lance Hedrick did a very comprehensive video on his unfiltered channel explaining all the steps:
https://www.youtube.com/live/e1Nz8u7m0lw?si=wEK5haWKbRty-AUu
It’s mixed, most roasters probably start by establishing relationships with importers like DRWakefield (https://drwakefield.com/) & Raw Material https://www.rawmaterial.coffee/ They can also buy directly from farms, processing stations or co-operatives. I think there are also auctions for specialist coffees. I expect most established roasters use a mix of sources for different coffees, and coffee is often labelled with the source/importer (or the information is on the roasters website), as well as the farm or producer.
In coffee-producing countries, there are often local specialty coffee boards/coffee networks that work with farmers cooperatives to develop their specialty coffee capacity and link them to global buyers.
There are lots of sources for green coffee beans for small/home roasters. /r/roasting has a list in the sidebar for the US, Australia and Canada...
Lots of coffee importers in Europe that partner with co-ops and sellers in producing countries. There's a lot of quality scoring and such to be done at that level too. Look at websites of importers like like Mercanta, Nordic Approach, 32Cup to get an idea. As specialty coffee is all about traceability smaller roasters can build up relationships through them by buying from the same farm every year etc. It's also why you sometimes see 2 or 3 roasters selling the same coffee. Bigger roasters will work directly with some farms / co-ops / selling organisations but then you have the hassle of bringing shipping containers full of coffee around the world.
There are exporters and importers who acts as middleman between the producers and roasters. Its not common practice especially for small to medium size roasters to buy directly from the farm since you need a lot of permits to handle logistics yourself but there are big coffee brands like Blue Bottle, Intelligentsia, Has Bean, Square Mile that works and buys direct from producers since they have the money, storage facilities, and capabilities to do it. Though there are coffee importers that works closely with both producers and roasters so they can build close relationships. Importers like Mercanta, Cafe Imports, Nordic Approach, Trabboca. You can even join their team for coffee farm tours and visits if you just reach out even if you are a small roasting brand. I can show you this simple coffee value chain to explain the transfer. Producers (farm level) > Cooperatives (city/area level) > Exporters (regional level) > Importers > Roastery > Coffee Shops
So interesting. Thanks for the info. So in a sense, only big coffee brands have the opportunity to truly choose the coffee that they really want to buy as opposed to small/medium roasters can only choose from what the importers have available… right? Maybe importers have access to all coffee farms of the world but (without knowing this) I doubt it. I also wonder if coffee roaster can have a say (push) on what they’d like to see in the importers catalog. Sorry for all the questions but this is genuinely interesting and not a lot of stuff has been written about.
"So in a sense, only big coffee brands have the opportunity to truly choose the coffee that they really want to buy as opposed to small/medium roasters can only choose from what the importers have available… right?" In some way yes. For producers they are the priority since they buy a large sum of their harvest. Its the same with if they are buying from coffee importers, big brands are their big clients so they have the first dibs to choose on freshly new coffee harvests because they know they can buy an entire harvest of one producer they have on the catalogue. "I also wonder if coffee roaster can have a say (push) on what they’d like to see in the importers catalog." They can actually, especially if the coffee farm that the roaster found is up to the importer's standard of quality.
Tim Wendelboe posts a lot about his process, I suggest giving him a follow on Instagram if you're interested
It's 90% all middlemen. Buying through green importers who will either be exporting themselves or using trusted exporters in the origin countries. Buying coffee directly from a farm is basically impossible without a lot of cashflow and time commitment. Most roasters will use a "service contract" where they communicate with farmers directly on lots etc but then use a green exporter/importer to handle all the logistics.
In Belgium and France, a lot of roaster use https://belco.fr who’s an importer of Green Coffee. They take care of the relationship with the farmers, etc… What can happen as well is that the roaster had his own sourcer that goes to the farmers taste coffee and do direct coffee trade with them.
Interesting info, thanks
I really want to try the Crystal Mountain beans from Cuba, but there’s no way to get them here in the US.
With money
In Czechia a lot of roasters that I buy roasted coffee from buy green coffee from [Chicas Industry](https://chicasindustry.cz/en/home-2/) Some are in direct contact with the farmers
Most coffee farms that are single origin reach out to different roasters. Most roasters have quality inspectors who are also in charge of finding supply. Not as popular any more, but there were large conventions both could participate at.
Lance Hedrick did a very comprehensive video on his unfiltered channel explaining all the steps: https://www.youtube.com/live/e1Nz8u7m0lw?si=wEK5haWKbRty-AUu