# UK Coffee roasters help!!



## Kindle994 (Apr 29, 2016)

Hi, a few friends and i are buying coffee in bulk from brazil. buying it and getting it over here is all figured out and in the process of being set up.

Our plan was to try to sell directly to coffee roasters in the UK, we planned to initially fly over 60kgs and split it into 350g packets to provide as samples.

So, a question we need to ask first is - is that what usually happens? if we cant sell directly to roasters who can we sell to?

Any help would be brilliant, thanks!


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

Is it speciality grade? I think you'll find a lot of the main speciality roasters are buying from established trusted importers already, or direct trade.

Maybe selling it on ebay to home roasters?


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## DavecUK (Aug 6, 2013)

Kindle994 said:


> Hi, a few friends and i are buying coffee in bulk from brazil. buying it and getting it over here is all figured out and in the process of being set up.
> 
> Our plan was to try to sell directly to coffee roasters in the UK, we planned to initially fly over 60kgs and split it into 350g packets to provide as samples.
> 
> ...


I think you will have trouble selling to coffee roasters, there are a number of large and well respected coffee importers already, it's unlikely



> Hi, a few friends and i are buying coffee in bulk from brazil. buying it and getting it over here is all figured out and in the process of being set up.


, is going to really fly that well against roasters who already have accounts of long standing with existing importers. These importers have many grades and countries of origin. In addition they check the coffee before purchase and check again after shipment....If there is a real problem the coffee is priced accordingly and they take the hit. One big problem and you're out of business.

My own personal experience is that the best coffees get snapped up almost before they appear on the offer lists, you will find similar competition at source. If your thinking a bit of import export and a fancy name will make you a quick buck, I'm not sure it will.

You might sell some coffee on ebay as suggested earlier, but the margins (for the quantities you will sell) are unlikely to make it worthwhile. I'd find some other moneymaking scheme.


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## Drewster (Dec 1, 2013)

Isn't 60kg 1 sack? Is that bulk?

I am not an expert, and this is a serious question to those that might know, do coffee importers (and Roasters if they import their own) work in units of single sacks?

I have never really thought about it but always imagined multiple sacks.....


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## Missy (Mar 9, 2016)

Seems odd to me to work out the plan for import but not a plan for sales. Can I ask is this a project for "fun"? Eg to order some coffee for you and your mates to roast and then try and shift the excess? If so it sounds like a good way to learn about the process of a coffee journey!


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## SmithStCoffeeRoasters (Feb 23, 2016)

If you can match or improve on the quality for a better price with 60 days terms & offer single sacks upwards I'll have some samples of you & i imagine others would as well & 350g is fine for roasting & cupping... Good luck


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## Kindle994 (Apr 29, 2016)

Thanks for your replies guys, I'll try to answer some of your questions.

We are 3 friends, one of us owns a farm in Brazil that has been selling beans locally for 3 generations, we decided to try and ship his stock to sell here basically for a better price. His annual crop is 3,600kgs, so 60 sacks. It's for fun mainly, but also we are holding up the option of making it a business and expanding (because who doesn't dream of being a coffee merchant!)

We don't know what the quality is like so we are air-freighting a sack over so that we can send out as many sample as possible to get it appraised and get some opinions.



SmithStCoffeeRoasters said:


> If you can match or improve on the quality for a better price with 60 days terms & offer single sacks upwards I'll have some samples of you & i imagine others would as well & 350g is fine for roasting & cupping... Good luck


if you'd like to take the first order for a sample I'd be happy to get in touch!


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## SmithStCoffeeRoasters (Feb 23, 2016)

Surely a 3rd generation coffee farmer has some indication of the quality of there coffee & works hard to assess & improve it? & explaining yourselfs as a 'just for fun' outfit doesn't really give potential customers confidence in your operation or product, so I'll leave it sorry


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## Kindle994 (Apr 29, 2016)

SmithStCoffeeRoasters said:


> Surely a 3rd generation coffee farmer has some indication of the quality of there coffee & works hard to assess & improve it? & explaining yourselfs as a 'just for fun' outfit doesn't really give potential customers confidence in your operation or product, so I'll leave it sorry


Ok fair enough. But just to explain, his family have never really tried to market their supply before, it's been for the family, the workers and any excess was just sold wholesale. He is not a 'coffee farmer'.

As for us being a group of friends enjoying a venture, we are all involved in business management in our day jobs so are in no way incompetent.


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## foundrycoffeeroasters.com (Jun 19, 2014)

Maybe your best bet would be to approach a commodity grade roaster. Prices are likely to be rock bottom but from what you have described, it sounds really unlikely that the coffee will be good quality.


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## SmithStCoffeeRoasters (Feb 23, 2016)

If I was you I'd try & get a assessment at origin first Google Q grader SCAA find someone who can assess your coffee against there recognised standard, you'll need to find out what variety your beans are & what processing method they have used also altitude, harvesting, soil content, shade, etc matters. Like most things Good quality in coffee doesn't just happen it's a constant process of accessment & modification to produce a elevated product. I'll be interested to hear how you get on


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## Kindle994 (Apr 29, 2016)

SmithStCoffeeRoasters said:


> If I was you I'd try & get a assessment at origin first Google Q grader SCAA find someone who can assess your coffee against there recognised standard, you'll need to find out what variety your beans are & what processing method they have used also altitude, harvesting, soil content, shade, etc matters. Like most things Good quality in coffee doesn't just happen it's a constant process of accessment & modification to produce a elevated product. I'll be interested to hear how you get on


Thanks, this is helpful. I've passed this onto our supplier to get sorted.


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## Thorsten (May 7, 2016)

I think that's a marvellous idea !Everybody in the business started with small steps...as long as your livelihood not depends on it, I'm sure it's a road worth exploring and I hope you enjoy it. I'm a hobby roaster and dealt with a few importers in the past. But I always struggled with 200kg (3 sacks) minimum order. This might be a niche to start a green bean buying club?

I would suggest to have your coffee graded in Brazil first and work from there.

I wish you all the best.


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## Hippoenterprises (Jan 29, 2020)

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## Hippoenterprises (Jan 29, 2020)

Hippoenterprises said:


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 Hippoenterprises.co.uk have 60kg arabica ab green beans available in uk now


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