Origins sell out. I can always guarantee my costumers ‘Brazilian’ or ‘Guatemalan’ coffee. In commodity this is the most specific level products are defined on. Actually, often this is even way more specific than the supermarket blends where sometimes you wonder, if it is 100% coffee at all…
In specialty its different. Here transparency is key. Which is great. At least for the customer 😉 Don’t get me wrong. Its great. The only challenge is that good coffee sell out. Quickly that is… So in order to get the good coffee, you have to be quick when the coffee is released and land at your green coffee suppliers warehouse. Otherwise it is sold out when you need it. Often your are enchanted with a specific coffee from a specific farm and get the whole story form your supplier. You tell passionate about Jose who is 8th generation farmer in the family business and how he have improved quality by working hard with longtime strategy and investment in quality and so on. You invest in a whole pallet to supply your customers with the coffee you have been praising so high. Only to find out that there is no more left, when your first pallet is sold. “It will be 4 months before we get the new crop from that farm” your green coffee supplier tells you. “But my customers expect this on Thursday!”… And there is nothing you can do…
Except planning. If you just knew when the harvest is scheduled, you can prepare for when to be first to order fresh crop green coffee samples to get your hands on the fresh crop. If you know the schedule you can also estimate how much coffee you need from the different origins to not run out between harvests and not to store to much past crop when the fresh crop is coming in.
So planning is the key. And the below pdf I hope you find useful for exactly this. Print it out, frame it and hang it in your office to have it always at hand when planning green coffee contracts with your green coffee supplier!
Get your pdf here: Coffee harvest calendar