Coffee Prices and Logistics

NAVIGATING THE CHALLENGES OF 2022 TOGETHER

What goes into the price of our coffee, and how do these expenditures reflect our values?

We're a small, independent importer - not part of a huge multinational corporation, and we're paying producers in the most ethical way we can.

Financing coffee purchases isn't always easy, but here we don't take any shortcuts. We pay our producer partners in full within 3-5 days of delivering coffee to our warehouse, rather than forcing producers to wait for payment in full. We do this because it's the right thing to do - but as many small roasters know, it can be a challenge to finance purchases especially when the price of coffee soars. Sustainability is the key here - we pay a sustainable price to producers and in turn we price our coffees to cover the costs of doing business in the most ethical possible way.

Warehousing and logistics are a balancing act; our hardworking team works to find options that are as punctual and affordable as possible, even in this environment of rapidly changing logistics schedules and increasing costs.

Container ships skipping ports, eternal customs backlogs, trucker shortages, and prices climbing ever upwards - this is the reality of moving and storing coffee in 2022. Getting coffee to your favorite warehouse in a timely fashion is critical because it's better for coffee quality and helps ensure that roasters can manage their projections as accurately as possible, but we also constantly balance these needs against the spiraling costs of moving coffee quickly.

Shipping costs three times or more what it did last year, and warehouses have continued to hike prices due to inflation and labor costs climbing. It's frustrating for us and for roasters when we have to pay more for less efficient services - no doubt about it. We are always looking for more efficient and cost effective shipping partners to work with in getting our coffee to your roasteries, be it from our warehouses in the UK or the Netherlands.

MOVING FORWARD TOGETHER

Thanks for your support this year as we work through these challenges together.  

Our values help us continue pushing forward despite the challenges we've seen this year, and we appreciate your continued support. We always do our best to compensate producers fairly and share these coffees with roasters around the world in the most efficient and cost-effective way possible. 

We understand that roasters are feeling the strain of high prices this year, so we encourage you to be as engaged as possible with us to understand the work behind each bag of coffee. In our ten years of operation as a specialty coffee exporter and importer, we have seen that there are no silver bullets - and if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. But if you want to talk through your coffee purchasing decisions, understand more about the coffee landscape this year, or work with us to find a coffee that meets your needs, we are here to help. We appreciate you now more than ever!