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Blog: The Source
Your gateway to all things green coffee buying, selling, and coffee markets. Education, real stories, and market updates to help roasters and producers build true direct trade relationships.
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Your gateway to all things green coffee buying, selling, and coffee markets. Education, real stories, and market updates to help roasters and producers build true direct trade relationships.
The next few months are going to be key in figuring out if coffee prices stay high and just how tight supply will be. For now, green buyers might need to prepare for more price swings. Waiting it out is getting riskier, so a lot of roasters are already raising their own prices.
Brazil is producing and exporting a lot of coffee but things are far from smooth. While volumes are good, producers need more cherries to build exportable coffee lots. With crop failures lurking in the forecasts, here’s what green buyers need to know to talk coffee with suppliers.
Exporters and cooperatives from Peru are seeing a surge in contracts despite high parchment prices. Leaf rust has led to a short supply of clean cup lots—just when Peruvian coffee became the go-to option to cover shipping delays from Ethiopia. Get the full picture here.
Fresh samples from Rwanda are on the way. They will be available between the end of May and early June, as the country’s harvest moves to its final stage.
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Discover the behind-the-scenes of coffee export and import, learn the lingo of contracts, nail quality protocols, and hear directly from producers about direct trade — all in our two-day workshop in Zurich.
Struggling to find a volume coffee from Brazil that fits your budget? You’re not the only one. Learn about how coffee is graded in this origin and discover what options you have to source a good lot at a price that works for you and the producer.
Arabica futures have risen since November 2023, hitting lockdown levels and leaving buyers at a standstill. But origins like Brazil and Peru are in season and waiting might be a bad call. Let’s explore what’s happening in the market and the solutions to help you secure supply.
FOB is the standard for coffee contracts but it doesn’t tell you how much farmers get paid. Yet, farm gate prices are not always available to begin with. Yes, it’s tricky. We explain why FOB is the norm and how you can use it to make the right sourcing choices.
Your 18-month guide to shipments and arrivals, helping you plan ahead and enjoy the unique benefits of working directly with producers.
Discover how roasters in Europe and the USA are buying green coffee and how industry leaders are tackling today’s economic challenges. Available in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
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The report highlights the stabilising effect of long-term relationships on coffee supply and prices with more than 60% of surveyed coffee roasters and producers wanting to invest more in direct trade practices in 2022.
Cafesmo, in Ocotepeque, hosted an intensive course with fermentation specialist Lucia Solis this February. Instead of only learning how to produce 88+ micro-lots, they want to push the quality of their standard blends and make specialty a strategy that can be scaled up to benefit the entire community.
Third generation Costa-Rican coffee producer Facundo Madrigal is bringing samples to Europe for the first time this March! Graduated in International Business, the 24-year-old is in charge of exporting for the family and has one thing in mind: building direct relationships with roasters.
Spot coffee is convenient. We get it. But forward-buying can help you scale the roastery with a consistent offer. We’ll explain why and share advice from two seasoned roasters: Plot Roasting in the UK and Coffee Architects in Switzerland.
New to direct sourcing? Read Niko's story. The Irish roaster messaged Brazilian producer Heron on Algrano after a small micro-lot order and quickly connected. Now in the 2nd year of their relationship, Niko has 160 bags on the way. He also secured his favourite anaerobic coffee before the harvest even started and become one of Heron's key partners…
Bright Java Coffee is the first supplier of high-end Indonesian coffee on Algrano. The man behind the operation is Troy Kiper, an American with a long journey into coffee that started in Afghanistan. This is his story.
Learn what causes Potato Taste Defect and how processors in Rwanda are doing to avoid it. In the end, the risk of finding PTD beans in retail bags is pretty small.
Learn what European coffee roasters in 15 countries plan for the future and the prices they’re willing to pay for green coffee. Know where roasteries expect to grow and how the rise of e-commerce is affecting their purchases.
