Sourcing and buying green coffee is certainly a big part of this, but efficient inventory management is also paramount. When stored and used improperly, green coffee will quickly lose its freshness, and thereby its quality as well.

However, with many medium or larger-sized roasters often having anywhere up to a year’s supply of green coffee, how can they manage their inventories as effectively as possible?

To find out, I spoke with Giorgio Mosca, the Export Manager at IMF Roasters. Read on for more of his insight.

You may also like our article on how coffee roasters can design an appealing and efficient roasting space.

Why is preserving coffee freshness and quality so important?

Many coffee professionals often talk about coffee freshness in terms of roasted coffee – and rightly so.

The roasting process (essentially applying high temperatures to green coffee) causes a great number of chemical reactions. These reactions then create irreversible changes within the cell structure of the coffee beans – helping to develop flavours and aromas.

Roasting also enables us to grind and brew coffee as the beans become more brittle. However, at the same time, roasting makes coffee a much less stable product. Green coffee can stay fresh for between six months and one year after harvest. Roasted coffee, however, only remains fresh for a matter of weeks.

Once roasted, coffee is more susceptible to a number of environmental factors, such as heat, light, moisture, and oxygen. Ultimately, when exposed to these variables for a significant amount of time, coffee loses its distinctive flavours and aromas more quickly. Eventually, it will taste stale and flat.

Green coffee freshness

However, despite having a longer shelf life, we also need to remember that green coffee can lose its freshness, too. Prolonged exposure to oxygen, water, and extreme temperatures will have adverse effects on green coffee quality and freshness. 

“During roasting, the moisture content of green coffee beans will influence the chemical reactions, and therefore the formation of flavour,” Giorgio tells me.

According to the International Coffee Organisation, the ideal moisture content for green coffee is between 8% and 12.5%. In turn, if the moisture content was to fall outside of this range, roasters wouldn’t be able to get the best out of their coffee.

Moreover, green coffee freshness can depend on a number of other factors. Some of these include:

• Origin country
• Harvest date
• Variety
• Processing method
• Bean density

In line with this, roasters need to ensure they store their green coffee in dry, cool conditions to best preserve freshness and quality.

Avoiding and mitigating contamination

Not only is preserving green coffee freshness vital for roasters, but maintaining the integrity of green coffee is equally important.

“It’s essential to prevent green coffee from becoming contaminated in the same way as any food product,” Giorgio says. “You need to store green coffee away from excessive humidity and extreme temperatures to avoid the formation of fungi or moulds, as well as to not attract any insects or pests.”

According to European Union regulations, the roasting process is considered a “kill step”. This is a term used in the food safety industry to describe the point where dangerous pathogens and microorganisms are removed from the product. However, it is still possible for green coffee to become contaminated in other ways, which can have a negative impact on quality. What’s more, it could have harmful effects on consumers.

Food safety regulations vary from country to country, so it’s important for roasters to check which ones apply to them. Water activity in green coffee should remain between 0.5% and 0.7% aw (a measurement of vapour pressure between the food product and the vapour pressure of distilled water) in line with food safety protocols.

It should be noted that many food safety laws and requirements fall within the responsibility of green coffee importers and exporters. However, roasters also have a duty to make sure their green coffee is free from contaminants before it arrives at their roastery using a set of quality control checks. Moreover, roasters are also responsible for food safety while the green coffee is in storage, and beyond.

What equipment do roasters need to preserve green coffee freshness & quality?

First and foremost, upon arriving at the roastery, specialty coffee roasters have to ensure their green coffee is fresh and of a certain quality. Checking for any primary and secondary defects is also important, which can include:

• Broken beans
• Black beans
• Signs of pest infestations
• Presence of mould
• Physical contaminants, such as stones or small sticks

“For roasters, it’s crucial that green coffee meets their desired quality standards, especially to maintain consistency throughout the roasting process and in the final product,” Giorgio explains.

Secondly, roasters need to make sure they store their green coffee in optimal environmental conditions. 

For example, to maintain a green coffee moisture level of 8% to 12.5%, a roastery’s storage space should have between 60% and 65% humidity level, with a temperature range of 15°C to 25°C (59°F to 77°F). In order to do this, roasters can invest in a well-designed ventilation system.

In terms of storage equipment, green coffee silos are a popular solution for many roasters. These are specially-designed storage containers which are available in different shapes and sizes. Some silos are polygonal-shaped, while others are circular.

“IMF’s silos help to preserve freshness and quality by preventing green coffee from coming into contact with moisture and oxygen,” Giorgio says. “This way, roasters can protect green coffee from excessive humidity to maintain its inherent organoleptic qualities.”

He also adds that alongside storage solutions, IMF also provides equipment for roasters to precisely measure a number of environmental factors, such as humidity and exposure to light.

How do specialty roasters manage their stock?

As well as investing in the right equipment, roasters also need to use proper techniques for green coffee inventory management.

Most roasters use a “first in, first out” (FIFO) system for storing and roasting green coffee. This involves roasting coffee in line with when it first arrived at the roastery, while also ensuring all orders stay on track and are fulfilled.

For instance, if a roaster receives a new batch of Colombian coffee from an exporter or importer, they first need to roast any Colombian beans which predate this new batch. As a result, roasters will minimise waste and make sure that the older batch of coffee doesn’t stale and taste flat.

Storing green coffee in silos can assist with the FIFO method, as they are typically designed to dispense coffee beans to be transported to the roaster.

However, prior to roasting, green coffee must be cleaned and sorted. These processes help to remove any defected beans or contaminants.

“IMF’s cleaning and sorting machines remove contaminants based on size or weight, such as twigs, stones, dust, and materials from green coffee packaging,” Giorgio explains. “We also provide optical sorting machines which use infrared refraction and multispectral cameras to recognise any foreign objects based on colour and shape which aren’t visible to the naked eye.”

Ultimately, cleaning and sorting systems ensure that green coffee – and thereby roasted coffee – are consistently free from contaminants and impurities.

What are the benefits of managing green coffee supplies effectively?

Firstly, it’s important to point out that roasters are obliged to follow food safety regulations, and should therefore always make sure their coffee is free from contaminants and debris.

However, alongside this, many specialty roasters pay high prices for green coffee, so they need to maintain and preserve the quality of their products as much as possible. That way, the end consumer will experience the full range of the coffee’s flavours and aromas – building trust and brand loyalty.

A large part of this lies with consistency. Let’s say a customer orders a bag of Kenyan coffee, and then orders the same coffee again three months later. The customer naturally expects the coffee to taste similar, so proper storage and inventory management is essential to this.

Moreover, if a roaster fails to store green coffee correctly, it can undo the hard work of producers and exporters who have helped to maintain coffee quality throughout the supply chain. Similarly, the coffee will lose its unique characteristics, and may even drop a few points on the Specialty Coffee Association’s 100-point quality scale.

Reducing waste and labour

Finally, proper green coffee inventory management helps roasters to minimise waste, and thereby costs – improving the efficiency of their business.

“IMF offers customisable solutions which help roasters manage their green coffee effectively,” Giorgio says. “We design storage and dosing systems which optimise both space and workflow.

“Our automated systems also help to minimise labour, while the centralised filtration system ensures a cleaner and safer workplace,” he adds.

For any roaster to be successful, proper green coffee inventory management systems are crucial. Without these methods in place, green coffee can quickly become old, stale, or even contaminated.

To ensure that they are always selling high-quality coffee, roasters need to invest in the right storage equipment and implement a set of reliable and consistent stock management techniques. 

Enjoyed this? Then read our article on how heat retention & recirculation can help specialty coffee roasters to improve efficiency.

Photo credits: IMF Roasters

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But alongside this, roasters also need to make sure all their coffee stays fresh – no matter how many they are selling at any given time. To do this, they need to carefully manage and rotate their stock of green coffee.

Although stock rotation can be challenging, there are several ways in which roasters can do this effectively, sustainably, and profitably. To find out more, I spoke to Richard Sandlin, Director of Business Development at Royal Coffee. Read on for more of his insight.

You may also like our article on whether you can freeze green coffee.

Why do specialty coffee roasters need to rotate their beans?

In simple terms, green coffee rotation is done in two ways:

• When roasters sell previous harvests of a particular coffee to customers and then purchase a new harvest of the same coffee.
• When roasters sell a previous harvest of a particular coffee to customers and then buy a new harvest which currently isn’t on their menu.

“It’s mainly about ‘first in, first out’,” Richard says. This is when coffees which were bought first need to be sold first to make sure that stock stays as fresh as possible, but it is often more complicated than this.

“Buying green coffee isn’t as simple as buying 60kg bags or lots,” he explains. “Coffee is a seasonal product – it’s harvested at different times around the world, it ships at different times, and arrives at different times. 

“Because of coffee’s inherent seasonality, I always encourage roasters to equally consider three key pillars: price, availability, and quality,” Richard adds. “When one of these three pillars moves in a more drastic direction, sourcing the right coffee for your needs can be more difficult, so rotating your coffee and thinking more strategically can be the perfect solution.”

Preserving freshness

In order for customers to experience the full spectrum of the flavours in coffee, it must be fresh, so it’s important to rotate them. This is because as coffee ages, it oxidises and becomes stale, thereby losing its flavours and aromas.

Roasted coffee is much more susceptible to staling than green coffee as the roasting process causes a number of irreversible changes in the beans’ cell structure. However, green coffee can still age and lose its freshness, so roasters need to also take this into consideration.

Generally speaking, green coffee stays fresh for six to 12 months, so roasters should purchase coffee with this in mind.

“In a perfect world, a roaster’s coffee will arrive in an importer’s warehouse about one to three months before they need it,” Richard says. “Moreover, roasters ideally contract or buy enough green coffee to last them between three and six months.

“Rotating your green coffee efficiently ensures that you always have access to the freshest coffee, without buying 12 months of coffee upfront,” he adds.

Inventory management

Whatever size a roaster may be, stock management is an essential part of operating a business as effectively as possible.

Ultimately, roasters need to understand how much storage space is available before purchasing larger volumes of coffee. Furthermore, roasters must also be aware of which green coffee needs to be roasted first so that they can sell it sooner rather than later.

Richard, meanwhile, tells me that managing stock is also about much more than storage space.

“You need to know how to look for core coffees that are dependable,” he says. “For example, you can buy coffees from Honduras, Guatemala, Peru, and Colombia almost year-round to create a consistent profile for your blends.

“It’s best to focus on flavour first and origin second,” he adds. “This allows roasters more room to manage not only their inventory, but also their cash flow.

“For this particular reason, Royal Coffee launched the Royal Gem collection – 50lb (around 22.6kg) boxes of green coffee curated by our expert traders,” he continues. “Our goal with this collection is to help streamline green coffee buying and logistics to make it easier for roasters to scale their businesses by offering reliable, affordable, and delicious coffees.”   

Variety

Maintaining coffee freshness and selling a variety of different lots at the same time can often be something of a balancing act. Today’s specialty coffee drinkers expect a range of origins, varieties, processing methods, and roast profiles.

While blends are an essential part of many roasters’ offerings, single origins are also popular.

“Single origins can allow roasters to be more flexible,” Richard says. “Your single origin range can be as broad as you want it to be.”

As part of this, some roasters choose to sell much smaller quantities of coffee – including micro and nano lots. These lots can often be unique selling points for roasters as they tend to have much more distinct and complex sensory profiles.

“Royal Coffee’s Crown Jewels are process and variety-specific, micro-milled lots which are chosen specifically to sell as top-shelf offerings,” Richard says. “Each Crown Jewel lot comes with a five-part analysis which explains the producer’s story, specifications about the coffee, and a range of optimal roast profiles and brew methods, as well as cupping notes from our team.”

Micro and nano lots are available in much smaller quantities than most coffees. In turn, roasters can sell them more quickly, which not only creates a more exclusive and limited-edition product, but means that roasters can manage their stock and rotate coffee more efficiently.

How should roasters rotate their specialty coffee?

When it comes to roastery management and green coffee rotation, there can be many challenges and risks. However, there are also several ways which roasters can overcome any potential issues.

Buy smaller volumes of coffee

Although larger roasters will still need to purchase significant volumes of coffee to keep up with demand, smaller lots can help them to stay flexible. This is because they will sell – and in turn can be rotated – more quickly.

“Roasters should develop their own monthly usage calculator to understand more about their menu slots,” Richard explains. “For example, at any one time, a roaster could have three single origins, two blends, a decaf option, and then a ‘roaster’s choice’ coffee.

“Once you have more of a grasp of how much of these coffees you need every month, you can then calculate the number of full-size bags that you have to buy for any given period, as well as any 22lb (around 10kg) Crown Jewel boxes or 50lb Royal Gem boxes,” he adds.

Balance costs

For any coffee business, knowing how to manage costs is vitally important. However, roasters also need to sell coffees which will be popular with a broad range of consumers, which also means offering a broad spectrum of quality.

“For most roasters, it’s far easier to build a business on buying US $3 to $6/lb coffees than US $8 to $12/lb coffees,” Richard tells me. “If you compare quality and cost, roasters typically sell much more mid-tier priced coffee than more expensive coffee.

“However, there are also times when roasters need to buy more top-quality coffee, like Geshas or experimental processed coffees, but this is typically the exception rather than the norm,” he adds.

Packaging

When it comes to green coffee rotation, Richard explains that another important factor which can often be missed is packaging. 

With the increasing need to stand out from competitors, packaging design has become more of a focus for roasters and consumers. However, roasters still need to be mindful of how much packaging they are ordering for particular coffees.

“The more flexibility you have with your packaging, the better your ability will be to rotate your coffee,” he says. “In turn, you can then sell the freshest possible coffees.”

Purchasing packaging with lower minimum order quantities and shorter lead times can help roasters to keep on top of their stock. Moreover, doing so can also make sure roasters are managing their costs more effectively.

What are the benefits of rotating coffee?

It’s clear that when roasters rotate their coffee on a regular basis, there are a number of advantages.

Menu curation

As part of remaining competitive, every roaster needs to develop their own unique menu, while also making sure they can balance costs and remain profitable.

Moreover, a roaster’s offerings need to cater to a wide range of consumers. These include preferences for more traditional flavour profiles to people who are interested in more complex-tasting coffees.

“Many roasters look to the higher-end coffees, such as Royal Coffee’s Crown Jewels, as marketing opportunities to push the boundaries of quality,” Richard tells me. “This can pay dividends because even though these coffees are less profitable per pound, they still gauge a lot of interest from customers and wholesalers.

“Conversely, however, the more flexibility you have with your menu, the easier it will be to move coffees which perhaps aren’t as fresh,” he adds. “Even if you predominantly focus on single origins, having one or two core blends is critical to selling older coffees.

“What might taste a little older to one roaster might be in the sweet spot for another, so there isn’t one general rule of thumb to follow,” Richard continues. “Understanding your quality control process is the best place to start – the more you know your coffee, the easier it will be to catch when it is starting to taste less fresh.”

Creating more consistency for customers

For some roasters, rotating coffees can pose some risk – especially when it comes to maintaining consistent sensory profiles. This can be particularly apparent with blends, which customers often rely on for more dependable flavours.

“Coffee rotation is about thinking more strategically, diversifying your needs, and finding coffees that can wear multiple hats on your menu,” Richard explains.

“For example, honey processed Honduran coffees aren’t available all year round,” he adds. “However, honey processed coffees – or coffees which have similar flavour profiles – from other Central American countries are.

“Basing some portion of your business around blends, in tandem with single origins, means you can have something for everyone,” Richard continues.

To run a successful and sustainable roastery, stock management is clearly an important factor. However, it’s also clear that rotating coffees in a regular, structured manner is a key part of this.

“There’s no need to reinvent your entire menu every month, but rotating new items in and out every few months keeps your offerings fresh and allows you to change with the seasons,” Richard concludes. “Source and contract coffee with the seasons, which guarantees freshness while keeping a healthier cash flow.”

Enjoyed this? Then read our article on how much green coffee you should order for your roastery.

Photo credits: Royal Coffee

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Although the coffee industry’s sustainability efforts tend to focus more on production and coffee shops, it’s also important that we consider other aspects of the supply chain, including roasting.

In line with this, more and more roasters are working to reduce their emissions, as well as their costs, by investing in more efficient and sustainable machines.

To find out more, I spoke with Production Engineer at roaster manufacturer IMF, Lorenzo Mosca, and Australian Sales Manager at IMF, Will Notaras. Read on to learn more about how you can reduce emissions during roasting, and why it’s so important.

You may also like our article exploring the environmental impact of coffee roasting.

Sustainability issues in coffee roasting

As with any other area of the coffee supply chain, there are a number of sustainability concerns about roasting.

Along with the production of smoke and other harmful particulates, arguably the biggest issues are carbon emissions and hazardous gases.

“During the roasting process, several gases are released into the atmosphere, including carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and nitrous oxide – as well as dust,” Lorenzo explains. “In larger quantities, these gases and particulates are harmful to human health and the environment.”

For coffee professionals who often work in close proximity to roasters, prolonged exposure to these gases and particulates can be dangerous. Moreover, carbon emissions are known to have a significant impact on global warming.

“Ultimately, this means machines need to include emissions reduction systems,” Lorenzo adds.

Now more than ever, roasters from across the sector have been monitoring their emissions levels, as well as looking for ways to reduce them. However, in order to do so, roasters need access to specialist equipment.

“You can test emissions from roasters using a flue gas analyser,” Will tells me.

“However, roasters should also seek the assistance of expert analysts who use specialist equipment,” Lorenzo says. “In fact, some roasters are obliged to carry out these tests based on laws in their respective countries.”

As a result of the growing need for reduce emissions during roasting, more and more roaster manufacturers are integrating efficient and sustainable technologies into their machines.

Why do roasters need to reduce their emissions?

With the effects of climate change becoming increasingly prevalent, it’s essential that roasters look for ways to reduce their carbon footprint. Research shows that global warming is having a significant impact on coffee production: experts predict that up to 50% of the world’s suitable coffee-growing land could decrease in size and suitability by 2050.

“Reducing your emissions means your carbon footprint is lower, which is much better for the environment,” Will explains. “It can also reduce your gas consumption, therefore your energy bills could decrease, too.”

As a result of the ongoing energy crisis, many coffee shops and roasters around the world are dealing with high gas and electricity prices. Ultimately, investing in more efficient and sustainable machines could help to keep these costs down.

Some newer and more modern roasters include energy-efficient technologies, such as heat recirculation systems, for instance.

“At IMF, we invest in research to develop innovative sustainable technologies,” Lorenzo says. “One example is the heat recirculation system, which recycles clean hot air using a dual function heating chamber.”

Will explains how this technology works:

“The machine uses a single burner to simultaneously incinerate emissions and create the heat source to roast the beans, resulting in lower emissions and reduced gas consumption,” he says.

“This technology is able to generate energy used in the roasting process and reduce emissions at the same time, thereby reducing energy and production costs,” Lorenzo tells me.

Furthermore, as sustainability becomes more and more important to coffee consumers, roasters need to take this into account in order to remain competitive.

“For roasters, there are several benefits to using more environmentally-friendly machines and equipment,” Lorenzo says. “For example, it shows customers that they are committed to reducing their environmental impact, which is especially important to younger generations.”

In fact, research has shown that Gen Z consumers are willing to spend up to 10% more on sustainable products – including coffee. Moreover, along with millennials, Gen Z consumers are much more likely to prioritise social and environmental factors as part of their purchasing decisions.

“Ultimately, investing in more efficient and environmentally-friendly machines means that you are adopting more sustainable business practices,” Lorenzo adds.

How can roasters reduce their emissions?

There are several ways to cut down on emissions during roasting, but one of the most notable methods is to invest in a more sustainable machine.

“More traditional and older roasters use a burner to create heat to roast the beans, and then use a separate burner (or afterburner) to incinerate the emissions,” Will tells me. “However, the afterburner releases higher levels of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

“This is because it uses higher volumes of gas than the machine needs to roast the beans, as well as the high temperature which is required to incinerate the emissions,” he adds. “IMF roasters only use one burner to carry out both functions, which in turn reduces gas consumption and emissions.”

Will explains that when investing in a new machine, roasters should look out for a number of key features.

“Heat recirculation technology is essential to reduce gas consumption and lower emissions,” he says. “As well as this, we use a patented vortex and equaliser system which allows for more consistent roast profiles.”

However, for smaller roasters, paying the upfront cost to purchase a new machine could be a challenge. Moreover, switching from a more traditional roaster to a newer machine could have a big impact on roast profiles – forcing roasters to significantly change how they roast their coffee.

Lorenzo explains that in these cases, roasters can instead invest in more efficient additional components for their machines

“There are options to upgrade your original machine so that you can lower its emissions,” he says. “This can include installing a number of different gas abatement systems, such as thermal or catalytic converters.”

Gas abatement systems help to change the chemical composition of gases, thereby effectively reducing or removing harmful emissions and air pollutants.

“Installing these systems means roasters can be in compliance with any emissions rules and regulations, as well as reducing their energy consumption,” Lorenzo adds.

He also explains other ways in which roasters can reduce their carbon footprint, which also includes adjusting their roast profiles.

“With more traditional machines, emission levels tend to be higher when you roast at higher temperatures or with darker roast profiles,” he says. “If you want to reduce your emissions, try reducing the roast temperature or total roast time, as well as roasting to more medium roast profiles.”

Furthermore, Lorenzo explains why ventilation systems are so important in making roasting more sustainable and efficient.

“More flexible ventilation systems make airflow management easier during the roasting process,” he tells me. “They reduce air volumes, especially in the final part of the process, which can help reduce the level of emissions released into the atmosphere.

“Roasters should also clean chimneys and ducts regularly to keep them free from oils and other particulates to reduce emissions,” he adds.

Ultimately, any roaster looking to minimise their emissions should start by reviewing their setup – and looking for any inefficient or underperforming equipment.

There’s no denying that the coffee industry’s focus on sustainability is going to become more and more prevalent in the years to come. As part of this, the need for roasters to invest in more energy-efficient machines is only going to increase.

However, alongside reducing their emissions, using more modern machines often means that roasters are also able to cut costs by improving energy efficiency – which is especially important at times like these. 

Enjoyed this? Then read our article on how coffee roasters can design an appealing and efficient roasting space.

Photo credits:  IMF

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By taking these factors into account, roasters can design an efficient workspace that will improve their workflow and help them to remain profitable. However, in many cases, roasters want to design a roasting space that is as suitable for customer tours as it is for roasting coffee – a trend that is becoming more and more prominent nowadays.

To learn more about how roasters can do this, I spoke to one of the Sales Managers at IMF, Giorgio Mosca, and owner of Fausto Kaffeerösterei, Klaus Wildmoser. Read on for more of their insight.

You may also like our article on streamlining quality control in your coffee roastery.

What should you consider when designing a roastery?

Giorgio explains the first and most important step to take when designing your roasting space – consultation.

“When we plan to redesign an existing roasting space, or design a new roastery, we must first establish a relationship with the customer,” he says. “We arrange a consultation to meet the client and fully understand their needs and level of roasting experience.

“Once we establish their needs, IMF can find the best possible solution for their business, based on the provided information,” he adds.

Every roaster has different needs, so these must be taken into consideration when designing a roasting space. For instance, some roasters may need to host workshops or cuppings for wholesale customers, so adequate space is necessary.

The ultimate goal is for the roaster to reap as many benefits as possible from their workspace – no matter the size and style of the company.

Storage

In order for a roastery to be efficient, the design of the space must be carefully planned, with a number of factors taken into account. These include deciding where the green coffee will be delivered and stored, to where roasted coffee will be packaged and stored, for example.

“Roasters need quick and easy access to green coffee at all times,” Klaus says. “We have ten silos at our roastery [which allows the roasters to dispense green beans].”

From here, roasters need to consider how green coffee will be moved to their machine – which means ensuring they have the space to move large volumes of green beans around the roastery.

“We spent several months optimising the design of our roasting facilities, as well as considering how we operate throughout the space,” Klaus explains. “We follow a rigorous day-to-day production plan to streamline operations.”

“Our production area is well organised so that green beans can be easily transported to the roaster,” he adds. “Once the coffee is roasted, it then needs to be moved to the roasted coffee silos.”

Roasted coffee is a much less stable product than green coffee, which can stay fresh for up to 12 months when stored correctly. However, it’s important that both are stored in optimal conditions – namely cool, dry, and dark environments with minimal contact with oxygen and no contaminants. Ultimately, this makes storage a very important consideration when first designing an efficient roastery.

Size of the roaster

As well as other considerations, the size of the roaster itself needs to be accounted for. 

“When designing a new roasting facility, IMF considers the size and capacity of the roaster, as this machine is at the heart of every roastery,” Giorgio says.

While the capacity of sample and small-batch roasters can range from 2kg to 30kg, batch size for larger commercial roasters can be up to 240kg. Ultimately, the size of the roaster will also influence which type of ventilation system is needed – meaning careful design of the workspace is essential.

“After we have accounted for the footprint of the roaster, we need to design the space around it so that there is sufficient room for other operations,” Giorgio explains. “Roasters often need designated areas to package coffee, so we must factor these in, too.”

Why should roasters make their workspace visually appealing?

Although efficiency is rightly the biggest priority when designing a roasting space, more and more coffee professionals are ensuring their roasteries can be customer-facing. 

This can be important for a number of reasons; roasters may regularly bring customers in for tours or want to host educational events, for instance.

Ultimately, this means that as the specialty coffee sector has grown, creating unique spaces has become more of a requirement for many roasters and coffee shops.

Klaus tells me how creating a visually appealing roastery helped to change the atmosphere of Fausto’s space.

“As we designed our new roastery, we were conscious that Munich is a very modern city,” he says. “IMF helped us make our roastery modern and functional, as well as eye-catching for our customers.

“Our roasting space is located next to a river, [so we included] large windows in our roastery [for employees and visitors to enjoy],” he adds.

More and more roasters are incorporating café areas into their design, too, which means creating a visually appealing roasting space is important. Ultimately, striking and well designed roasteries can leave a lasting impression on customers.

Furthermore, as consumers continue to become more educated about higher-quality coffee, designing a space where customers can view the roasting process can also add significant value to your business. Many customers are likely to be interested in understanding more about how coffee is roasted, so incorporating a viewing area into your roasting space could be beneficial.

“Many of our visitors are interested in the roasting process, but they also enjoy seeing the espresso machines we have in our coffee lab area,” Klaus tells me.

However, he adds that attracting customers is about more than just a visually appealing roastery.

“The whole package is important,” he says. “A well-designed space, friendly and welcoming baristas, and the quality of your beans.”

Considering branding when you design your space

With more and more specialty coffee companies launching in many countries around the world, branding and marketing are becoming more important than ever.

Specialty roasters and coffee shops must be able to demonstrate to the consumer how their business is different from others in the industry – typically through brand authenticity. 

The design of a roaster or coffee shop is a large part of this. Business owners need to consider how the style of their roasting space ties in and complements their brand. 

One of the ways that they can do this is choosing which materials and colours to include in their roastery.

“Today, many industrial elements are incorporated into roasting spaces,” Giorgio says. “Inspired by 1950s New York, this style is a combination of materials such as wood and metal; specifically stainless steel and black metal.”

However, while this design style may suit roasters who opt for more rustic branding, it may not be suitable for all kinds of roasters. Some may prefer a more minimalist design, while others may be looking for more vibrant colours.

“It’s important that we can produce a specific design style for each client, while prioritising functionality at the same time,” Giorgio says. “For more modern coffee shops and roasters, we need to balance aesthetics and efficiency.

“The biggest challenge is finding the right balance between the materials we use and the needs of the client,” he adds. “For example, with a previous customer, we had to use stainless steel pipes instead of rubber [to coincide with their branding].

“Meanwhile for other clients, we designed particular shapes and included certain colours to be more in line with their branding,” he says. “A significant part of this is recognising that the space is shared between many people, including roasters, baristas, and consumers.”

Every roastery owner will have their own approach to designing their space, so partnering with a tailor-made roaster design solutions company like IMF will ensure that the space is both efficient and visually appealing.

Efficiency in a roastery is essential to create a profitable, successful business. While the roaster may be the heart of the company, other operations also need to run smoothly. As such, designing your space around the roaster will only serve to streamline workflow.

Ultimately, while efficiency is vital, more and more roasters are starting to focus on the visual appeal of their roasting space. By customising the colours, materials, and styles of your roastery, you have the opportunity to align the premises with your brand and communicate brand authenticity more effectively.

Enjoyed this? Then read our article on equipping your coffee roastery: where to start.

Photo credits: Fausto Kaffeerösterei 

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Managing price risk might seem much more difficult for smaller roasters (who simply don’t have access to the same kind of tools and expertise), but that doesn’t mean they’re unable to do so.

To learn more about how coffee roasters can manage and minimise the impact of price risk, I spoke to some industry experts to learn more.

You might also like our article on how we can bridge the gap in coffee education.

What is price risk? 

Whatever way roasters buy coffee, it is a fact of life that their costs will be affected in some capacity by the C market.

Usually, this is a direct correlation, as many roasters either pay the C market price or a differential (a specific number of cents above or below the C market price).

Kat Nolte Ferguson is a Specialty Managing Trader for Sucafina North America. She says: “By our estimations, 96% of all coffees sold in North America are determined by the C market at some point.”

While some roasters do buy coffee outright – at a fixed price determined between the roaster and the co-operative or producer – the vast majority of coffee is not bought outright, and is therefore tied to the C market.  

Since the C market is driven by global supply and demand, the price of coffee can change significantly. This change can affect roasters in three ways:

• If the C price goes up, roasters may have to pay higher prices for spot coffees (available to ship immediately from the warehouse) and future coffees (contracted for delivery at a later date). Right now, since the market is so high, with little indication that it will fall significantly, most roasters have to pay high prices for coffee. 
• If a roaster “locks in” a price at a specific C market level, they can lose money if the market changes. If the price goes down after a roaster secures a price, they’re left holding a more expensive contract than the current futures price. 
• Finally, if a roaster signs a contract that doesn’t secure a specific market price (with the plan being to secure it later) and the price goes up, then they’re left with a contractual obligation to buy coffee at a higher price than they had expected. 

For all of these scenarios and more, roasters can exercise something known as price risk mitigation. This encompasses a range of tactics that can help coffee roasters soften the impact of price changes.

Price risk mitigation for coffee roasters

For larger roasters, market-based mechanisms like hedging are the most common ways to mitigate price risk. 

When hedging, companies sell a coffee futures contract when they purchase a “physical” coffee contract at the C price. This typically means that if the C price falls, these companies can buy their futures contract and use the profits to offset the price of their “physical” coffee.

Conversely, if the C price rises, these companies end up taking a loss on their futures contract, but can ultimately sell their coffee at a higher price.

However, a single coffee futures contact can be an entire container of coffee (roughly 17,010kg or 37,500lbs). As such, this kind of investment isn’t something that many coffee roasters are able to make.

“Buying and selling futures for small to medium-sized roasters is not really feasible,” Kat explains. “This is because a single futures contract is sometimes their entire annual volume.” 

But it’s important to note that when a roaster buys a contract, they don’t actually pay for the entire volume of coffee upfront – although they are responsible for the full value of the coffee if they go ahead with the contract.

Ultimately, this means that small and medium-sized coffee businesses should be more mindful when hedging, as purchasing one contract without careful consideration could pose a lot of risk.

#1: Know your market

Keeping an eye on the origin markets that are most important to your business can give you advance warning when markets are on the rise. 

Al Liu is the Vice President of Coffee at Colectivo Coffee. He says: “Four years ago, the Sumatra market went crazy. 

“Sumatra is our number-one origin; we basically need to have it all the time,” he adds. “So, when the internal market spiked and I heard that was happening, I snapped up all the spot and nearby FTO (Fair Trade and organic) lots that I could, especially from our producing partners.

“This allowed us to bulk up our inventory before the pricing really skyrocketed.” 

By keeping an eye on movements at origin, Al was able to foresee the price changes that would come for Sumatran coffee in the near future, and get out in front of them.

For cases like those we’re experiencing in 2022 (when coffee prices are on the rise in general), a little advance warning can make a big difference, and enable you to purchase enough stock to “ride out” a price spike. 

“You can find coffees that are good for you and do a lot of good for the farmer,” Kat explains. 

Prices can rise for a variety of reasons, but buying coffee at lower prices doesn’t have to mean lower prices for farmers. 

When prices rise at origin, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the producer is getting more money. Price increases can occur during other stages of export, because of transport or shipping costs.

Ultimately, roasters buying directly from co-operatives can help ensure a higher portion of the sale price goes back to the co-operative and ultimately, the producer. Beyond that, roasters also can share second payment and quality premiums to thank co-operatives and producers for their hard work. 

#2: Maintain good relationships with importers

A good relationship with importers in your region can make a huge difference in knowing when to book, how much to book, and how to hedge costs. 

Importers, especially those with contacts and sister companies at origin, keep their fingers on the market’s pulse so they can access insights that would otherwise be unavailable to roasters. 

“Know your importing partners and work closely with them to understand what might happen in the market,” Kat says. “Understanding specific supply and demand pain points is super helpful.

“If you’re working with a well-informed importer, they may even be able to alert you to incoming supply shortages or surpluses from a specific origin. That could lead to an opportunity to forge a new relationship that’s beneficial for both you and the producers.” 

Another thing that importers can help you with is hedging risk on the C market. As mentioned above, it’s difficult for smaller roasters to hedge prices by purchasing stock in the C market. But importers can aggregate smaller hedges from several customers and build hedging into smaller contracts on behalf of their roaster clients. 

#3: Embrace flexibility

Being flexible about origins and lots, especially for blends, can be another way to offset price changes and keep costs affordable. 

Al acknowledges that it’s easy to get stuck in the mindset that your blend needs to have specific origins and specific proportions.

However, he says: “If you can achieve the same cup profile using coffee that’s from an origin you haven’t used and it costs less, why wouldn’t you do it?”

“As a green buyer, it’s important for us to be flexible and look for new opportunities that already exist that we may not be aware of.”

#4: Link sales contracts to the market

If you have a wholesale business, make sure you can fix wholesale contracts and market prices for the same time period. 

James Dargan is the Head of Asia Pacific Arabica for Sucafina. He says: “If your sales contract is fixed for one year and your purchase for three months, that’s a risk. You should look to match sale and purchase terms as closely as possible.” 

One potential approach is to renegotiate wholesale contract lengths so they are shorter and match the length of time for which you fix prices. Another is to fix contract prices further out to match your wholesale contract lengths. 

“Ultimately, your business and your sales will influence how far out you should fix your purchase side,” James says. 

Another aspect of wholesale contracts to consider is currency. 

If you’re operating outside the US and have wholesale contracts fixed in your local currency, you may want to consider using hedging techniques to offset potential currency changes. 

This is worthwhile as most coffee is traded on the C market in US dollars. This means that currency and foreign exchange rate changes can affect the price you pay for coffee and thus, your overall profit. James notes that if you find this difficult, you can work with banks or importers to help hedge currency risk.

Making sure things stay good for you and good for the farmer

At a time when the C price is volatile, there are several ways for small to medium-sized roasters to mitigate price risk.

Furthermore, with strong supply chains, better prices for roasters don’t have to mean lower prices for farmers. 

“Just because it’s a good deal for you doesn’t mean it’s ripping off the farmer,” Kat explains. 

Coffee can be cheaper for the roaster for a number of reasons, so building positive relationships with suppliers can help you understand just how ethical your coffee is. 

“A coffee can be cheaper because someone on the harvest side hedged a lot or because a bumper crop, such as those we see frequently in Burundi, drove the prices down,” Kat explains.

On the importer side, vertical integration can also reduce costs. For instance, Kat explains that Sucafina has washing stations in Uganda that work directly with farmers.

“This means that we’re able to provide affordable, high-quality naturals that can be substituted for more expensive Ethiopian naturals in blends.”

Another important benefit of vertically-integrated supply chains is the way in which they connect the roaster to the farmer. 

“At Sucafina, we’re working to allow a window from the farmer to the roaster that can enable them to contribute to farmer livelihoods through second payments,” Kat says. 

She adds that the company’s Farmgate Initiative is connecting roasters with specific projects that can significantly affect farmer livelihoods, as well as providing an option to deliver quality premiums directly to producing partners. 

By leveraging these four tips, roasters can minimise their exposure to changes in the C market, and better insulate themselves from price risk as a result.

Ultimately, you will need to remember that the right technique for your business will depend entirely on its size and customers. However, whether it’s embracing flexibility, tweaking wholesale contracts, maintaining good importer relationships, or a combination of these three, it’s worth remembering that managing price risk isn’t something that only larger roasters can do.

Enjoyed this? Then read our article on the Chinese coffee supply chain.

Photo credits: Sucafina

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In the roastery, this is usually a process referred to as quality control, or QC for short. These typically describe procedures that monitor and maintain coffee quality, to ensure that the first bag of coffee leaving the roastery tastes as delicious as the last.

To learn more about QC processes and how roasters can streamline them, I spoke with Sandra Elisa Loofbourow, Director of Coffee Content at The Crown, Royal Coffee’s Lab & Tasting Room. Read on to find out what she said.

You might also like our article on the different types of heat used in roasting equipment.

What is quality control, and why is it important?

For the most part, quality control is as simple as its name suggests. In a coffee roastery, it means maintaining both quality and consistency to make sure each batch that is roasted meets established quality standards.

This is important for the roaster’s reputation, as customers will expect the same quality from each bag of coffee they receive.

The focus for most QC processes is simple: removing any margin for error in the roasting process to guarantee repeatability and consistency.

While automation is a good place to start in this regard, it is not always the right solution. As such, many roasters implement quality control “stopgaps” throughout their process. These are points where the quality of the coffee is reviewed, allowing any potential problems to be addressed.

How is quality control carried out in a roastery?

As part of her work at The Crown, Sandra explains that Royal’s Tasting Room has divided roaster quality control into two areas. 

“Roasted coffee quality control falls into two categories,” she says. “The first is how the coffee behaves in the roaster (i.e. how closely it matches the desired profile). The second is how it tastes once it’s roasted.”

“Ultimately, the most important thing is to identify your goals for each coffee, and make sure they were achieved by the production roast in question.”

Sandra also notes that many roasters employ technology to manage QC processes.

“Many roasting software applications include features which allow the roast operator to indicate roast goals,” she explains. “These can include development time, end temperature, total roast time, and can even include post-roast goals like end weight and colour track value. 

“If the roast fails to meet any of these, it can be automatically flagged as a ‘failed’ roast even before cupping.”

By using technology like this, and logging the results of each batch, roasters can store details such as the time, date, batch number and roast profile. When a failed roast does flag, as Sandra says, this data can be reviewed to see if there was any obvious reason for it.

This first level of quality control gives production roasters and anyone else working in quality control the chance to understand how even the slightest deviation from a set profile can change the flavour of the coffee.

The second level, as Sandra mentioned, is cupping. By cupping coffee regularly, you can train your palate and become able to identify any off flavours. These might be undesirable (such as vegetal or grassy notes) or simply an indicator that the roast is too developed (such as smoky or ashy notes).

Cupping coffee once it’s roasted can help members of the QC team discern more about the origin of a sensory issue. By evaluating the cup profile of a batch, roasters may be able to tell if the issue is with the green coffee or their roasting process, for instance.

“Don’t forget that roast goals are usually tied to flavour, too,” Sandra adds. “This coffee might need to fulfil a specific role on the menu, for instance. Maybe it needs to taste chocolatey on espresso, or perhaps it needs to be easy for wholesale accounts to dial in. Though these goals may seem less concrete, they can still be evaluated. 

“As always, quality control professionals should set clear goals before approaching the cupping table. In the case of a production cupping, this can be as simple as asking whether or not the coffee is suitable for shipping.”

At this point, Sandra notes that having QC team members with developed palates and good sensory education is key.

“There may be times when they need to spend a little more time at the cupping table analysing new potential roast profiles, batch-to-batch consistency, or even roast defects.”

The more skilled your cuppers are, she says, the more able your QC team will be to decide whether or not a coffee meets quality standards.

Sandra adds: “Like all sensory endeavours, the wider the panel, the more salient the data. While the roaster may have a clear idea of what she wants her coffee to taste like, other people’s sensory experience of the product will still provide valuable information.  

“This can range from soft feedback (quibbling over small details about roast curves and percentages) to crucial sensory information that could have been missed, whether due to human error, palate fatigue, or specific sensory blindness,” she says.

“Having the same team cup day-to-day is important for this, but make sure the room isn’t too crowded and the process is still efficient.”

How regularly should quality control procedures be carried out?

This is difficult to judge. Quality control is important, but it needs to be implemented as part of a wider system, and keep timeframes in mind. 

Think of it in terms of helping efficiency, by cutting down on the time spent rectifying problems pre-emptively through quality control.

Sandra says: “Like everything else, the frequency of QC sessions should be linked to your ability to execute them successfully. 

“However, there are some industry standards to bear in mind. Firstly, coffee should be cupped within eight and 24 hours of roasting. Secondly, every batch that gets roasted should be cupped.”

Setting a regular, routine time to cup coffee can help with this. Carrying out QC regularly might seem like a distraction from other, “more important” areas of the roastery, so doing it in small sessions on a regular basis will mean you won’t become overwhelmed. 

“Every production roast day should have a cupping scheduled for the following day,” Sandra says. “In addition, including QC as part of your production protocols can be helpful.

“Take roast samples immediately after your post-weights, and use software to flag roasts and make notes for the next day’s cupping,” she says. “Get production cuppings out of the way early in the morning so there’s time to make adjustments and, if necessary, re-roast.”  

By cupping the previous days roast before production roasting starts, those in charge of roast profiles can form a plan to roast the coffee differently.

“Meanwhile, service QC – evaluating what the roast tastes like on a specific or intended brew method – can be done less frequently as part of your quality assurance program.”

For service quality control, keep an espresso machine and filter coffee brewer somewhere in the roastery to check how the coffees work on different methods.

“There’s simply no replacement for human sensory abilities,” Sandra says. “No machine or roast curve can tell you what the coffee tastes like with the absolute certainty of your palate.”

For most coffee professionals, quality control is an enjoyable and educational way to work directly with freshly roasted coffee on a regular basis. 

Getting the right equipment & processes

When setting up a QC programme in your roastery, having the right equipment & processes helps to keep everything streamlined and efficient. 

Sandra says she has a simple “checklist” for roasters and QC teams to run through before they get started:

• Your cupping setup
  • How many cups per batch?
  • Will you use a control sample?
  • Which cupping form are you using?
  • How many people will be involved?
• Feedback
  • Where do notes get logged?
  • Who has access to them?
  • What is that information then used for?
• What happens to coffees that fail?
  • Are they recapped?
  • Reroasted?
  • Repurposed?
  • Or ground and composted?

She also says that your head roaster or head of coffee should have the final say on whether or not a coffee meets your standards. 

Coffee roasters know that quality control is important, but establishing a formal, regular, and efficient QC routine is easier said than done.

By streamlining your quality control processes, minimising workload, and using professional roasting software where possible, you can track, log, and rectify problems with a roast before they become a major issue. 

Make sure your cupping team has the right sensory knowledge to identify defects or issues, and set out a clear process to follow when something goes wrong. In the end, you’ll find this makes everything much more efficient, saving your roastery time and money.

Enjoyed this? Then try our article on switching from home to production roasting.

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Photo credits: Evan Gilman

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Moving from a tried and tested setup arguably has its challenges. Adapting your workflow and making sure you stay consistently high-quality can be a challenge. However, with the right planning and equipment, you can seamlessly transition from old to new while maintaining that artisan, hand-crafted feel.

To learn more, I spoke to some of the team at Taf in Athens, Greece. They told me why they felt it was time to modernise their roastery and how they integrated their new machinery into the existing production line. Read on to learn more.

You might also like our article on what a production roaster’s day-to-day responsibilities are.

When & how should you modernise your roastery?

Yiannis Taloumis is the CEO & Head of Quality at Taf. He tells me more about when the team felt it was time to upgrade their roast space.

“Without exception, we’ve always aimed to improve and evolve at Taf,” he says. “As we saw demand grow, we naturally started roasting more coffee, but wanted to ensure we were maintaining our exceptional quality standards.”

However, Yiannis explains that there were a number of reasons behind their decision to upgrade.

“Our main goal was to upgrade the equipment and get our roastery meeting its full potential,” he says. “But this benefited us in a number of ways: increased efficiency, higher production capacity, better consistency and quality standards, and more assurances regarding health and safety.”

Efficiency & workflow

There has always been a certain romance attached to coffee roasting. However, the work is long and hard, and often requires a lot of manual labour. 

While many roasteries look to upgrade by simply buying a new roaster, it might not be necessary in every situation. Yiannis explains that in Taf’s case, modernisation meant bringing in equipment that streamlined workflow.

“We have improved our routine and modernised a number of key processes,” he tells me. “One in particular is the transport of both green and roasted coffee – this is now much more efficient.”

Not only does this increased efficiency translate to more time and higher profitability, it also takes away some of the physical stress from the process of roasting. 

Raising coffee quality by minimising human error

Thanks to modern equipment, quality control can now be improved at every step in the production line, starting as soon as the fresh coffee arrives at the roastery. 

This is largely achieved by the automation of existing processes, which can help reduce and ultimately minimise human error throughout the roastery. Doing so can help a roaster maximise quality across the board.

Ilias Taloumis, Taf’s Head Roaster, explains that their upgrades don’t just eliminate human error with roasted coffee – they can address any inconsistencies or issues with sorting and grading as soon as the green beans arrive at their site.

If the beans are not sorted, these inconsistencies can affect the quality of the final roasted batch. As well as potentially affecting the reputation of the roaster, this can also detract from the farm’s profile.

“Our coffees are checked at the farms with which we hold long and direct relationships,” Ilias explains. “They are often sorted by hand before they come to our roastery.”

However, no matter how meticulous the sorting is, there is always an element of human error to consider. Ilias says that with this in mind, their recent upgrades have helped to address any issues with sorting.

“In order to decrease the proportion of human error with green coffee, we added a Satake sorter in our green coffee room,” he explains. “That sorts the coffee again, before transferring the green beans to multiple silos.”

Using the SCA grading scale for coffee, green beans are evaluated closely and sorted based on size or defects. With a 350g sample of green beans, only a certain amount of the beans can have defective issues before the grade of the coffee is lowered. 

However, even some of the highest-scoring coffees you can source will have some defective beans in a bag. Even if it only affects a minuscule percentage of the lot, one or two customers may end up with undesirable flavours when they brew them. 

By using specialised equipment to filter out unwanted beans, Ilias tells me that quality standards can be 100% upheld, improving consistency across the board.

“We know that it is impossible to avoid unintended mistakes in every case – that is human error,” he says. “However, we do aim to reduce them to a minimum.” 

New equipment & blending

So, we know modern equipment can help to improve quality standards for roasting single origin coffees. But what about blends?

For more established roasters, signature blends can make up a significant part of the business. Roasting a well-balanced and repeatable coffee at a more affordable price can be a great way for specialty coffee roasters to appeal to larger markets.

However, to get the most out of the beans used in a blend, most roasters roast each constituent coffee separately and then mix them. 

Overall, this can be taxing, with plenty of extra steps compared to roasting single origins. 

In pursuit of a more efficient workflow and looking for ways to cut outdated procedures, Yiannis tells me that Taf has significantly improved its blending process. 

“We were, and still are, using a Probat P60 and an R120,” he says. “This equipment has not been replaced as it is not only fully functional, but it is also designed to roast high-quality coffees for an extended period of time.

“However, to improve our blending, we added another roaster, a Probat G120 Retro, which substantially increases our daily production capacity. We connected the existing P60 and R120 to the G120, and created a ‘chain’ between them with a system known as Cablevey.”

Yiannis explains that the Cablevey system actually automatically transports the roasted coffee across the roastery for blending, before moving the completed blend to the packaging area. 

Automatically moving large batches of roasted coffee from the individual roasters also removes the need for people to carry large quantities of beans around. Once they’re transported by Cablevey, all the production roasters need to do is fill and seal each bag.

Staying authentic

With automation becoming the name of the game across the coffee sector, there are concerns that new equipment can detract from the authenticity and craft that characterises specialty coffee culture.

Yiannis, however, disagrees. He says that the equipment they have added to their set up has, if anything, allowed Taf’s roasting team to focus more on the quality of their products. 

“Our artisan and craft has not been affected in any shape or form,” he explains. “The upgrade has only facilitated the steps we take on a daily basis. 

“We control the roasting process step by step, and the head roaster is always on top of everything.”

For instance, in a commercial coffee roastery, the head roaster has additional responsibilities, which are typically administrative or logistical in nature. Minimising these allows them to instead focus on the quality of the coffee they’re roasting. 

Yiannis also notes that the new workflow implemented will benefit the company by increasing production capacity without increasing labour in any way.

“The upgrade and expansion benefit us by increasing efficiency, consistency, quality, and safety, as well as improving flexibility and speed,” he says. “We are happy and proud to say that our roastery keeps growing, and we’ve found a way to use the advanced technology to our benefit.”

Around the world, specialty coffee roasters are rightly proud of the quality of their coffee as well as the authenticity and craft with which they roast it.

However, continuing to leverage this as you grow in both reputation and size is easier said than done. While many roasters will be able to accommodate a certain amount of growth, there is always a point at which additional workload becomes a problem.

By using modern equipment in the right way, roasters can maintain quality and drive up efficiency while still keeping that same artisan, hand-crafted ethos and holding the same values.

Enjoyed this? Then read this article on the role of a Head of Coffee in the roastery.

Photo credits: Taf

Please note: Taf is a sponsor of Perfect Daily Grind.

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However, as home roasting has become more popular and with the emergence of more and more micro roasters, we have started to see a greater need for solutions when storing smaller amounts of green coffee. 

To learn more, we spoke to coffee professionals who understand green bean storage. They told us what to focus on and where to start when storing smaller volumes of green beans. Read on to learn more.

You might also like our article on how green coffee becomes contaminated.

Why is it important to store green coffee properly?

Green coffee must be stored in the correct way to maintain its freshness and therefore its quality. 

While it can retain its quality for a matter of weeks or months, green coffee is still a hygroscopic product. This means that it is particularly sensitive to moisture in the air. 

As green coffee is intentionally dried to a target moisture level (around 11% or 12%) before shipping, it’s important to make sure that it doesn’t take on any excess moisture while it is stored. This can cause quality to deteriorate or even lead to mold development.

In addition, because it is so absorbent, improperly stored green coffee can also take on any particularly strong odours or flavours that might be present nearby.

Finally, it’s also important to keep it out of heat and direct sunlight, which can affect green coffee’s quality and freshness.

Renaud Cuchet is the Managing Director of EFICO Central America, a green coffee trading company that has operated in the coffee sector since 1926.

“We have done tests,” he says. “As a result, we know that the critical moments when conventionally packed coffee (i.e. in jute bags) is exposed to quality degradation are inland transportation, port delays (sometimes, the containers are left at dock under the sun), and extreme temperatures and humidity during transshipment).”

As these circumstances are often entirely out of a trader or roaster’s control, making sure that you minimise their impact is crucial.

However, these factors aren’t just a problem during transit. Even once green coffee arrives at the roastery, buyers should take care to store their beans properly, in cool, dry, low-moisture environments and out of direct sunlight.

Hanuman Jain is the CEO and founder of Ecotact, a packaging manufacturer that offers a variety of 9-layer hermetic packaging solutions for a range of agricultural products, including specialty coffee. 

He explains that because of this, there is a growing need in the coffee sector for “specialist high-barrier packaging”.

Storing smaller volumes of green coffee

Around the world, green coffee is commonly traded in 60kg bags. When we talk about a “bag” of green coffee, there’s a fairly good chance that it will be 60kg in size.

However, in recent years, importers have started to offer a variable range of sizes, such as 10kg and 25kg bags and boxes, to appeal to the growing micro and home roaster market. These may also be coffees which are slightly rarer or higher in quality.

“Usually, this increase in quality implies a higher price,” Renaud explains. “Subsequently, importers and roasters want to protect the value of, say, micro lots, because they can cost more than double than a conventional coffee.”

Losing any nuance during the shipping process will have a knock-on effect on how the coffee is evaluated and scored. This means that there is always the risk of losing substantial amounts of money if storage is not adequate.

In addition, sending and receiving green coffee samples is part of the buying process for traders and roasters. The quality of these samples will play a vital role in any purchasing decisions. As a result, it’s important that it’s maintained appropriately.

Sweet Maria’s is a company that specialises in supplying home roasters with green coffee and a range of related products. Co-owner Thompson Owen tells me that they have raised the quality of their service by investing in better green coffee storage to improve quality control.

He tells me that it can take months to evaluate a sample, and making sure it’s stored properly is key.

“Storing our green coffee samples from importers in our coffee lab has been important,” he says. “People might not know, but many importers and sample services actually ship green coffee samples in paper bags. 

“That’s great because we can put them in our paper recycle bin; however, we often need to store our samples for a longer period of time and refer to them later.”

Even if coffee is kept at the right temperature, keeping air away from green beans is one of the best ways to maintain its freshness.

“Even in our climate, which we consider pretty ideal for green coffee storage, a sample stored in paper will change quickly,” Thompson explains. “If we need to refer to a sample when the coffee we’ve bought lands at the Port of Oakland several months later, a reference sample stored in paper is pretty useless.

“In the beginning, we realised that one of the most important aspects of coffee trading is the sampling exercise,” he tells me. “It creates a lot of value; billions of dollars of trade rest on these samples. However, we saw that a lot of the packaging which was used for the samples was in disarray.

“Because people were using paper bags and other ordinary alternatives, samples would get damaged in transit.”

Tips for storing smaller quantities of green coffee

There are a number of best practices to follow when storing samples or small quantities of green coffee. Following these will make sure the coffee stays fresh for longer, and tastes delicious after it is roasted, ground, and brewed.

These include:

• Store your coffee in a cool, dry, dark place, away from direct sunlight and heat
• Elevate your coffee and keep it off the ground (by storing it on shelves, for instance)
• Keep it in a neutral-smelling environment
• Keep it away from any water sources or humidity
• Make sure you don’t store it near anything with a strong odour (such as chemicals or pungent food products)

However, in combination with these tips, the best thing to do is simply use higher-quality packaging from brands such as Ecotact. 

“Without good barrier packaging, damage to green coffee can occur very quickly,” Thompson explains. 

“We have customers all over the US and to some degree around the world,” he adds. “If we’re shipping to a super hot and arid location or an extremely humid state in the US, we know that green coffee could degrade in a few weeks without proper storage.”

Once a coffee arrives with a roaster, Thompson recommends that they use any kind of hermetic packaging. For home roasters, he says a sealable glass jar, such as a mason jar, is a good place to start.

However, there is no substitute for specially-designed coffee packaging.

Navneet Jain is the Director of Exports at Ecotact. He tells me that the company designed its Troiseal range of bags for both commercial and home roasters, supporting them when they buy small lots of green coffee.

Karishma Sharma is the company’s Head of Marketing. She says: “The Troiseal bag can be reused three times, but at the same time, it’s tamperproof. If somebody tries to break the seal, you get a notification on the seal system, which says the seal has been void. 

“The bags are also made from hermetic 9-layer, high-barrier packaging, which keeps coffee farm fresh,” she adds. “This also means that for home roasters, you don’t have to roast, say, 25lbs at once; you can do so in multiple batches.”

How does using better packaging support producers?

Coffee producers invest a lot of time and resources into bringing out the full potential of what their farm has to offer. To fully represent the quality of their coffee, a solid solution for transporting and storing green beans is important.

Ashok Patre is the owner of Ratnagiri Estates, a pioneering specialty coffee farm in India. He says: “A lot of roasters and buyers in the last couple of years have been asking me about vacuum packaging. This is because when we sell a container, it is generally bought by an importer, who then distributes it to individual small micro roasters.

“However, there’s been a delay getting coffees to them, because of all the import problems caused by the Covid-19 pandemic,” Ashok adds. “This means freshness has become a problem; roasters are actually getting the coffees eight or nine months after harvest.”

As a result, this can cause reputational issues for producers with both buyers and roasters alike. Even though the coffee is high in quality when it leaves the farm, extended delays at the port can cause freshness to degrade and leave a bad first impression.

Ashok says that using high-quality packaging for green coffee has been key during the pandemic.

“There has been a lot of positive feedback,” he says. “Using Ecotact packaging has been a great step for us; it’s helped us push and market our coffees. A lot of roasters have come forward to buy our coffees because they’re [small-batch and properly packaged].”

He goes on to explain that smaller bags of coffee are more popular with home and micro roasters for a number of reasons. While the cost, accessibility, and flexibility are all important, the size and physical burden of moving a smaller bag also makes it popular.

“The feedback I got from micro roasters who have used these smaller bags has been positive, and they’re super thrilled because they’re easy to handle,” he says. “They don’t need too much physical force to lift bags and load one.”

If micro or home roasters are operating with as little as one person on shift at a time, lifting 60kg or more can be dangerous.

Ashok adds: “Most of our customers also only do batches of 15kg, as they’re small roasters. For them, the bag size is ideal, and then they don’t end up opening a bag and keeping it exposed for a long time.”

Considering how the home and micro roaster market segments have grown in recent years, finding solutions for storing smaller quantities of green coffee has become essential.

Ultimately, the main priority continues to be freshness. By making sure you store your coffee properly, you can guarantee that your customers’ green beans stay fresh – and make sure they keep coming back for more.

Enjoyed this? You might also like how to protect green coffee from excessive water activity.

Photo credits: Ecotact, Unsplash

Please note: Ecotact is a sponsor of Perfect Daily Grind.

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This means that there are millions of people around the world who rely on coffee production as a source of income. Today, the sector is more aware than ever of the challenges that coffee farmers face in producing countries, including price fluctuations, income instability, labour shortages, and climate change, to name just a few.

As such, it’s important that roasters operate in a way that leverages profit and social impact to change things for the better both at home and in the countries they buy coffee from. To learn more about how this is possible, I spoke to Jennifer Yeatts, Head of Coffee at Higher Grounds Trading Co., and Ed Canty, General Manager at Coop Coffees. Read on to find out what they said.

You might also like our article exploring the DRC as a coffee origin.

The Soil Generation workshop by Coop Coffees, underway at the Sidama Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union in Ethiopia

Examining the relationship between roaster and origin 

“Every roaster has their own connection to a coffee’s origin,” Jennifer tells me. She says that for the person operating the roaster, that connection and the story behind the coffee really do matter.

“It can tell a story of elevation, variety, soil quality, harvesting, and processing methods, all of which inform the roasting process.

“For a roaster [like us], a particular origin might represent why that company exists at all – and that’s our story at Higher Grounds. Mexico, specifically Chiapas, represents our own origin story; [we have] a 20-year friendship with coffee producers there. That friendship was the seed [that started] our coffee journey.” 

Similarly, Ed says that a good relationship between a roaster and their partners at origin drives long-term commitment and investment. “What’s the benefit from having that long-term commitment? [Well], once people see it, it’s like a snowball effect,” he tells me.

He says that when roasters choose to buy coffee from a certain origin, they are effectively championing particular farms, regions, and even countries as a whole. That is a “vote of confidence” for the origin within the wider coffee sector. 

To illustrate his point, Ed uses the example of the Democratic Republic of Congo. “Once a few importers [start] offering DRC coffee and it gets popular, others are going to ask: ‘Why don’t I have that? I need to have this new offering in my supply chain.’”

Coffee buyers with producers in Peru

How do roasters support different origins? 

There are a number of ways for roasters to support and promote a particular origin. One of the simplest is just ensuring that the coffee is roasted well. By doing so, you showcase the unique characteristics that a certain origin has to offer. If quality is high, people will keep coming back and trying that coffee, driving greater demand for a certain farm, country, or region.

However, Jennifer tells me that roasters vary in how they support a certain origin. “Some will hone in sharply on the quality of the coffee as the main selling point… cup scores, wild taste descriptions, exotic-sounding processing methods – these data points appeal to a certain specialty coffee audience,” she tells me. 

However, she adds that roasters should be straightforward. “Promotion of origin, I think, should focus on straightforward storytelling,” Jennifer explains.  “[Roasters should look at] demystifying coffee and where it comes from, sharing its human side, and ultimately drawing consumers into the collaborative cycle that is the global coffee trade.

“I’m not saying it’s easy – but we should strive for it.”

On the other hand, establishing long-term relationships and contracts with co-operatives or groups of producers gives them more financial security. They will then be able to reinvest profits in their farms to scale and improve the quality of their crop.

“Our purchase of a full container from the Kawa Kanzururu co-operative in North Kivu in 2017 represented the first major sale for those farmers,” Jennifer says. “That was a big deal for a group of young farmers who had newly formed their co-op. [Today, three years on, they are] still growing and improving.”

Ed agrees, noting that providing any kind of long-term stability is a great way to drive positive change. “The sale of coffee and the relationships [that lead to] them really is a lifeline for a lot of [coffee-producing] communities,” he says. “Just having that established relationship is really how producers can see their [livelihoods] changing in the long term.”

A Coop Coffee origin trip to Peru

Why is supporting or promoting an origin important? 

“Promotion is important for every coffee origin,” Jennifer says. “Each country, even [specific] regions within each country, has a distinct character and culture relevant to its coffee’s story.”

She emphasises that this is important because it gives producers a face within the coffee community. “They become real, tangible, demonstrable personalities,” she says. “This consequently means it becomes more and more difficult to view coffee as a commodity.” 

Promotion also helps to highlight emerging origins. Take the Democratic Republic of Congo, for instance. A few decades ago, the country was one of Africa’s largest coffee producers in terms of volume. However, after years of conflict, political instability, and war, coffee exports in the DRC plummeted.

Today, however, coffee is returning as a symbol of hope and economic progress in the DRC. Initiatives such as Saveur du Kivu, an annual coffee conference and auction in Bukavu, South Kivu, are giving the country more visibility in the global coffee sector.

“[This] has led to increasing exports of DRC coffee, and much wider visibility of and familiarity with the origin on a global scale,” Jennifer explains.

“We want to keep the momentum going and continue to promote and share the DRC’s amazing coffee so that more and more importers and roasters will buy it as well. We believe that coffee is an essential element of the DRC’s path forward to economic and social stability.”

Celebrating an organic farming certification at COMSA, Honduras

How can roasters drive change on a greater scale?

Both Jennifer and Ed agree that long-term relationships are key. “If you want to invest in the community, you’ve got to stay there,” Ed tells me.

When roasters build long-term relationships at origin, producers can secure future sales and count on financial stability in the future. While this is crucial, Ed adds that paying good prices for coffee is a critical part of the equation. This way, producers are able to reinvest in their farms and sustainably grow their business. 

Jennifer notes that Higher Grounds is dedicated to paying prices that are “beyond fair” for the coffee they buy. Rather than simply paying above Fairtrade floor prices when sourcing coffee, she says they guarantee a minimum FOB price of US $2.20. This is more than double the average 2019 FOB price of US $1.02 for commodity coffee on the New York Stock Exchange.

Additionally, she says that they pay differentials and premiums for higher quality, organic certifications, and any coffees that drive social impact at origin. If the C price is within US $0.30 of this figure, she tells me that they make sure they pay $0.30 above that, instead.

Transparency in the supply chain is also becoming increasingly important. Ed explains that while traceability might give visibility to an origin, it doesn’t necessarily guarantee any benefit for the producer.

“[With] transparency, you’re getting an understanding of whether that price is good or bad for that producer and whether they can hit quality targets,” he says. 

Additionally, he tells me that using certifications (such as being a B Corp) has helped Coop Coffees to formalise its working structure and “stay true to its values”. Jennifer adds that Higher Grounds is also a certified B Corp, which has supported them to deliver value and drive social impact across the coffee supply chain, specifically in the DRC. 

She adds: “Our relationships there have grown into opportunities for literacy and financial planning workshops, gender equity programming, and health-related initiatives. These have included installing hand-washing stations at coffee processing facilities via Coop Coffees, our non-profit work with On the Ground, and other collaborative partnerships.”

Coop Coffees and Higher Grounds also collaborate to provide producers or co-operatives with pre-financing options and open contracts. This gives the farmer more power if the C price is low.

In addition, Ed tells me that for every pound of green coffee bought, US $0.03 goes to Coop Coffees’ Impact Fund. This fund supports farmer initiatives to combat climate change. Similarly, where possible, Jennifer says Higher Grounds works in partnership with non-profits (such as On the Ground) to drive further development projects in coffee communities. 

A coffee cupping team at Saveur du Kivu 2018

Balancing profit and purpose isn’t always easy, but with the right focus, roasters can drive change at origin while remaining a successful business.

Jennifer concludes by saying that it all comes back to a focus on the people behind the coffee. “I believe that’s what it means to be ‘socially conscious’,” she says. “We need to be fully aware of human society and its struggles.

“By conducting business in the coffee sector in that way, we can confront inequality and cultivate humanity’s vast potential.”

Enjoyed this? Then read our article breaking down the DRC’s coffee sector.

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Please note: Higher Grounds Trading Co. is a sponsor of Perfect Daily Grind.

Photo credits: Saveur du Kivu, Higher Grounds Trading, Coop Coffees

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Once you reach that point, however, you need to consider what a more suitable setting might look like. Many roasters start out in simple or humble surroundings. It is not at all uncommon to find a small or medium sized roaster in the back of a coffee shop. And this might work for quite some time.

However, if you keep selling more coffee and increasing your revenue, you will eventually need to relocate.

To learn more about the challenges that roasters face when looking to upgrade their roasting space, I spoke with two industry experts. Read on to find out what they said.

You might also like our checklist for planning your new roastery site.

What are the signs that you need a new space?

While some roasters will start with dedicated roasting premises, many use an existing space (at home or in a coffee shop, for instance) out of necessity. This means that they may struggle to realise that they need to expand, or won’t know what they should look for in a new space.

Kyle Ramage is the founder of Black & White Coffee Roasters in Raleigh, North Carolina. He tells me about the situation that caused his business to relocate.

“We were operating out of the back of one of our cafés at that time; it was the only café we had in operation, for almost two years, maybe more.

“We just got to a place where we needed to store more green coffee, but didn’t have any space for our paper goods. We had to rent a storage locker for all sorts of things, like coffee bags and so on.”

As creative as you can be with a small space, at some point it will become untenable if your business keeps growing. Bags of green coffee (60kg) are big. They take up a lot of space, especially if you’re constantly diversifying to offer a wider range of varieties and origins.

The consequences of this aren’t just a cluttered or untidy workplace, either; over time, it can cause bottlenecks and other inefficiencies across your team. 

For example, Kyle says that simply receiving green coffee deliveries required so much more effort and planning than it needed to.

“The truck would come to the end of our street, and the driver would need the coffee out of the truck as quickly as possible.  

“So, we would throw it all into our van, drive up to the front door of the café, and then wheel the coffee through the coffee shop, past the customers and into the roasting space. It was a lot of work just to move green coffee.”

What do you want from a new space?

For roasters, choosing a new space in a high footfall area might be appealing; this is especially likely if you’re selling roasted coffee direct to the consumer, or have an attached coffee shop.

However, it isn’t always that simple. An ideal location for a high-turnover coffee shop will be totally unsuitable for a commercial roastery.

For starters, the building should have easy freight access for regular deliveries of green coffee. Beyond that, you want to make sure there’s enough space for possible expansion. Finding both of these in areas with high foot traffic at a reasonable price is difficult, if not impossible.

Kyle says: “We really wanted a 4,000 to 5,000 square foot space. But they just weren’t available in our area. Everything was either 1,500 square feet, or 100,000 square feet. And a lot of the time, the smaller ones would be in what they would call a ‘flexible use’ space. 

“Now we’re next to some offices, a church, and other businesses… a lot of them are newer, flexible use space. This means their rent is much closer to retail rent per square foot [rather than the costs of a] warehouse, which was what we needed.”

The additional freedom that comes with the extra space can mean you’re able to add new equipment to your setup, too. As roasteries scale up, they require more and more space. This isn’t just for larger roasters, but also auxiliary equipment, a bigger gas supply, venting runs, and so on.

“We were basically operating on a Loring S15 Falcon (capacity 15kg) and that’s about it in terms of equipment,” Kyle tells me. “Now, in the new space we added an optical sorter, a Loring S35 Kestrel, a vacuum loader with a huge compressor, and the weigh fill machine.”

Nicholas Flatoff is the Director of Special Projects for Usonian Systems. He says that when looking for new premises, there are a few things to keep in mind before you choose.

“Nine times out of ten, the vast majority of coffee roasters need more space,” Nicholas says. “The first obvious detail to consider is the financial side, if you go out and sign a lease that might be five or ten times the cost of your current lease. 

“You have to realise that those commercial leases are generally going to be a minimum of three to five years, sometimes longer.”

Additionally, Nicholas notes that setting up a roastery is challenging enough in the best of spaces. He says that there are certain types of premises that roasters – especially those who are increasing their square footage – should steer clear of.

“The kind of spaces that you don’t want to go into are basements or multistorey buildings. Thirty-plus floors are not ideal, especially when you’re cutting out a wall and basically putting a roaster through a window.”

As for other features to look out for, Nicholas says: “[If you’re moving to larger premises], you’re getting to the point where you need a loading dock. You need to either have a level entry, so that you’re able to bring green coffee in and out with a forklift very easily, or have a loading dock or a trucking bay, so you can pull the pallets out easily.

“You [effectively] want to have an open space to run an assembly line, where you’re going right [through] from green coffee to filling bags.”

Things to be aware of when relocating

Finding the right space is only the beginning. Once you’ve chosen your new premises, you need to prepare to relocate. Nicholas explains that Usonian have a wealth of experience that they leverage to support clients at this stage. 

For example, he notes that during facility moves, removing equipment from an existing space can prove to be just as challenging as installation – sometimes even more so.

Nicholas tells me that Usonian supported Kyle and the Black & White team with their facility move. He explains that they were able to work around a number of obstacles during the process. However, many of these only became apparent when they started moving equipment out of the old premises.

“[Black & White had a] space we couldn’t get a forklift into… there were only two person-sized doors as access. [And then] there were challenging angles that we had to work around,” Nicholas explains.

“There was also very uneven loading on the hill (outside the original premises), which was the only way to actually get the roaster into the truck.”

He says that the creativity and adaptability the situation demanded was where Usonian’s expertise came in handy.

“Completing the job required a lot of creative thinking, and a little bit of forethought on the site visit,” Nicholas adds. “We were able to bring a pallet jack under both the front and rear of the roaster, which allowed us to effectively twist it 360° in place. 

“We were able to manoeuvre through those doors because we had a centre point of turning under the roaster, with two operators on each side.”

Ultimately, Nicholas says that the best way to prepare for facility moves is to be ready to accept whatever obstacles might arise. Some challenges you will simply have to deal with on the day.

“When it comes to trying to get a coffee roaster into a tight space, you have to be ready for very complicated situations, where we have to deal with moving around obstacles.

“[We also do a number of] international jobs, where we have to [adapt to] logistical situations or new and unknown supply chains.”

Making the decision to upgrade your space and relocate to a larger facility is often something that arises out of necessity, rather than choice.

However, for growing businesses, once this necessity arises, moving to a bigger location can prove to be a highly beneficial long-term decision. 

But when you do decide to move, keep in mind your aims, and consider any possible challenges. Look for a space that suits your needs, and one that won’t cause logistical issues in the long run. Futureproofing is key.

Enjoyed this? Read our guide to choosing the right ventilation system for your roaster.

Photo credits: Usonian Systems, Black & White Coffee Roasters

Please note: Usonian Systems is a sponsor of Perfect Daily Grind.

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