4 coffee importers on how to ensure quality
Green coffee importers play a vital role in the journey from bean to cup. As the link between the consuming and producing worlds, it is their job to discover and deliver coffees to roasters on time, and most importantly - maintain quality and consistency.
So how do they preserve the quality throughout the whole process? To find out, we got in touch with four importers; Nordic Approach, Condesa Co.Lab, Sucafina and Mercanta.
Condesa Co.Lab cup multiple times before sending the coffee to their customer.
Monitoring at every stage
Nordic Approach sells green coffee to roasters all over the world from their warehouse in Belgium. We asked what they do in order to ensure the beans are delivered at their best, and their solution is continuous monitoring at each step of the value chain;
“We evaluate and cup coffees at every stage of the coffee's journey from origin to warehouse,” says Espen Stokkan-Smith, QC Lab Manager. “We also publish the latest cupping notes in our offer list so roasters always know how recently we cupped the coffee and its current quality.”
Nordic Approach usually roast samples on ROEST every day to evaluate coffee.
The team of Condesa Co.Lab, a specialty importer in Australia, also highlights the importance of meticulous grading, roasting and cupping of each and every coffee multiple times. They do this before making purchasing decisions, but also repeatedly before it’s shipped, once it arrives and periodically during storage.
“There’s Q-graders who cup between 3 and 6 times before it is approved and ok to go
to a customer.”
- Stephen Bannister, Managing Director at Condesa Co.Lab
Eli Murray, QC Lab Manager, goes on to explain; “moisture, bean density and water activity are noted for each sample received and we look for consistency across all samples ie. type, offer, pre-shipment, shipment and arrival.”
Grading green coffee includes using specific criteria to separate the coffee into different designations.
Correct storage is crucial
Smart transport methods are important, but without correct storage - there’s no use. That said, importers will need proper conditions to store green coffee in a way that protects the beans from any external factors that can mask the unique characteristics.
“Correct processing and storage of coffee at origin is a must, and every purchase should always be checked for correct moisture and water activity. We ensure all our shipping containers are food safe, clean and ship most of our coffees in grain pro
or vac packs.”
- Eli Murray, QC Lab Manager at Condesa Co.Lab
From maintaining good warehouse conditions to proper packaging - green coffee importers always have to keep an eye on the process of transporting their product. Failing to do so can quickly damage the product’s quality.
Long Miles makes sure their samples are properly sealed and ready for transport.
More than logistics
We talked to Elisa Kelly, Green Coffee Marketing Manager at Sucafina - a multinational coffee merchant. She emphasized the importance of good communication; “First step is making sure that we are calibrated with our customers and suppliers to ensure we are all on the same page with regards to what is needed.”
Likewise, Juan Cano, Europe Account Manager at Mercanta, talks about the necessity of constant communication between their offices around the world and sharing results from their daily cuppings. “Not only does it help keep us calibrated, but it also enables us to ensure the coffees we buy globally are of the quality our customers expect.” he says. As they are supplying coffee from 20 producing countries around the world, it is essential for Mercanta to stay in constant communication.
“Quality - at its core - always comes down to good communication and a deep commitment to all of our partners and stakeholders within the supply chain.”
- Elisa Kelly, Green Coffee Marketing Manager at Sucafina
Enjoyed this? Then you might want to know more about the Importance of Global Coffee Importing.