Im in the early stages of openning a specialty coffee roaster which aims to revolutionize the local coffee culture here in the middleeast. And with that we want to source the best coffee availble worldwide without cutting corners in quality and taste.
As such, we feel that Ninety Plus Coffee dedication to the craft and superior product will help us showcase this 3rd wave coffee culture to our community and the region.
But in terms of pricing i think it will be not feasible to just sell and roast Ninetty plus coffee which leads me to my question on what other green bean sources i can import from that can provide me with the quality and taste almost as good or equalto ninety plus and i can rest assued about their coffee grading.
Are you talking about the coffee importer ninety plus coffees (https://ninetypluscoffee.com/) or are you talking about actual coffees that are rated 90+?
Ninety Plus has some amazing coffees but for wholesale would be tough. Can’t comment on shipping but Cafe Imports and Coffee Shrub have always treated me well.
I was contemplating the idea of wholesaling ninety plus coffee but at a wholesale price of around $43 per kilo for their cheapest crop, i think it wont be feasible. AS such, i would like to diversify and source my beans from other sources aswell. But i would like to import beans with same level of quality and taste on ninety plus.
I understand that some might say that you wont find beans of that quality and taste elsewhere but i honestly think that ninety plus coffee have an extra premium on their prices due to there very strong marketing.
I think you’ll be able to find some amazing specialty coffees outside of 90+. You could always use 90+ for the ultra premium (more for retail purposes than wholesale). Frankly, unless you’ve been roasting for a few years in a commercial setting, you may not get the full potential of those beans anyway.
Where? Like for example, Cafe imports have sent me the list of their available coffee but i how can i rate them. Is it through sampling or is it based on the cupping score provided by the supplier? can it be trusted?
My questions might be silly but i just want to be 100% ready once our place opens and i want our roaster to have everything ready by the time he joins our team.
If your going to open a cafe/wholesaler you’re going to need to cup coffees regularly. Specialty is 85points and up. You could always get Q-Grader cert if your that concerned with the grading numbers. I think you’ll find that when you cup with your staff, your palate should weigh your decisions more than a green coffee company trying to sell you coffee. Get a sample roaster, ask for samples then make your purchasing decisions accordingly.
The coffee is just a leg of your coffee program. There are other very important variables that hold a lot of weight when it comes to the quality of the cup.
Welcome to the endless struggle of every Roastery ever. If there was an easy answer there’d only be one green exporter. But even the best exporter doesn’t hit home runs every time.
Best bet is to cast the net wide - approach as many green companies as possible and taste everything they have available as often as you can.
Not to hijack the thread, but it seems to me that roasters (and some baristas/brewers, esp in the competition space) are the ones driving demand for 90+ coffee, which in turn leaves stranded growers and producers who are producing specialty at the lower end. Has anyone done research with their customers about preferences, especially as between super-specialty (90+), high specialty (87+ / 85+) and specialty (80+)? Are we as industry professionals creating distinctions and market distortions that are divorced from our customers tastes?
As a grower I think a lot of great coffee is missed. I see 87/88 coffee get poured into bulk bins because buyers for specialty just aren’t arround. I also think 87/88 coffee is fantastic everyday coffee and am skeptical about grading anything above 90. Lot’s of subjectivity enters in at that level. I have tried a number of 90 and up coffees that struck me as boring. You know major importers recalibrate their points depending on the harvest. It is all less objective than the high end folks want you to think. Buyer beware.
