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c Origin

The Process it. I call the importer as soon as possible to confirm that I
want to take this coffee at the price quoted. We agree on
The following is an example of my personal buying 3 month terms, and I tell them I want them to arrange
process. Every coffee is different, and every buyer and seller delivery logistics and insurance.
relationship is different. Please use this as a learning refer- Terms, written contract, and logistics - The
ence to create your own process for buying green coffee! importing company sends me their contract with
Identify the need - What type of coffee, how delivery fees added to the cost, I will need to pay
much, and when do I need it. In this example I for the coffee over the next 3 months. Since I have
am looking for 25 bags of a sweet, balanced Co- enough space to store the 25 bags of coffee in my own
lombian coffee. I know that harvesting for Colombia just store I don’t need them to deliver over time. I sign the
finished a month ago so there should be some samples contract and fax it back. I have coffee which will be de-
ready to be shipped very soon. I want this coffee in the livered soon. If the coffee is still being shipped overseas,
next month to be ready for roasting. it will take a bit longer for customs and delivery.
Request sample - I talk to a couple of importers Final assessment – As soon as the coffee arrives
about what they have coming soon. 2 have fresh I visually inspect the bags to make sure there is
spot coffees they recommend, and 1 importer no breakage or water damage. If there is a problem
has a lot that just finished harvesting that I can pre- it needs to be identified immediately to have insurance pay
contract. I request samples from all 3 importers. for lost product. After accepting the coffee, I take a green
Receive samples - I get samples from all im- sample from multiple bags in order to test and collect the
porters. The first 2 importers send samples, and same data as the original sample. Looking for differences
the sample from the 3rd importer is a “type in density, water activity, or moisture level will help ensure
sample” from last harvest of the same farm. consistent flavor. (A good importer will do many of these
Data collection and roasting – The next day steps too) I will then roast a sample to ensure the flavor
I copy the product number, origin, importer quality is similar to the original sample. If there is a small
name, farm name, processing, moisture level, deviation in quality I may try to negotiate a discount per
water activity, density, and visual notes about each cof- pound or kg. If there is a large (more than 4 points) de-
fee on my data sheet. I sample roast all samples, and let viation in quality I may have to reject the coffee.
them rest to de-gas overnight before cupping. The next
day I cup the coffees, score them on a score sheet, copy
all notes to my data sheet, and make my initial order of NOTE: you should expect small variations or a
preference (which samples do I like the best, and what drop in flavor intensity, as this is not a good
priority to pursue them in). In this case 1 sample is ex- reason to reject the coffee. Rejecting coffee is
ceptional, and 3 other samples are of good quality an extreme step, and you must weigh the consequences
equally, with 2 other samples being below the quality to your relationships if you decide that you must take
level that I am looking for. this action!
Importer responses – The day after cupping I
email all of the importers with my data (from
their samples, not all results) and request current Pete Licata
pricing. Since the green price is often connected to the 2013 WBC Champion. After winning the WBC title Pete formed
C-Market price in the US, this price may change each day. Licata Coffee Consultants, coaching and advising competitors, including
My favorite sample is priced at $5.25/lb, and the other Hidenori Izaki the 2014 World Barista Champion. Recently Pete and his
3 good samples are priced $5.00, $4.65, and $3.75/lb. team opened a coffee training center in Qingdao.
These prices are only good for the next 24 hours.
Verbal commitment - I chose the good
quality coffee at the $3.75/lb price.
Because the moisture activity was
low and it was still a very dense cof-
fee I feel confident that this coffee will stay
good in quality for the next 3 months as I use

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