Halfrat Senior Member Joined: 25 Oct 2012 Posts: 3 Location: edinburgh Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Thu Oct 25, 2012, 7:23am Subject: Buying coffee from a farmer(s) and exporting it overseas for resale
Hi, I am very much inexperienced when it comes to coffee. However I have learned a little from friends and the internet about the different kinds, and about the processes involved in producing it.
I'm planning a trip to South and Central America at the start of next year and I would like to buy perhaps a few kg's of coffee directly from growers, and either, send it back to the UK, where I will return almost a year later to roast, grind, package and sell it, or send to New Zealand where I will be much sooner to do the same. I've read a little about the potential longevity of green beans if stored correctly / frozen, but not sure exactly which would be best.
Obviously it would be ideal to make some of money from doing this, but really I'd be doing it more for the experience. I like coffee very much, and drink it everyday, but this is more about business, and a learning experience in international trade; all be it on a very small scale.
Basically I want the coffee community (you), to poke holes in my plan. Probably not hard, admittedly. I need to know if this is a ludicrous idea before I spend too much more time looking into it.
Posted Thu Oct 25, 2012, 8:59am Subject: Re: Buying coffee from a farmer(s) and exporting it overseas for resale
Depends on the plantation/farm/finca and the farmer/owner, of course, but generally speaking, green coffee is sold is much larger lots than "a few kg". The average 'bag' of coffee is around 60kg, and usually coffee brokers are buying coffee bags by the shipping container load. You might be able to find a farmer who'll sell you a bag, but you'll have to set up the export permits yourself, most likely, and a single bag won't be at a huge savings.
Halfrat Senior Member Joined: 25 Oct 2012 Posts: 3 Location: edinburgh Expertise: I like coffee
Posted Mon Oct 29, 2012, 9:51am Subject: Re: Buying coffee from a farmer(s) and exporting it overseas for resale
Perhaps if a farmer sells his 6000kg harvest for $2 per kg, then I could take one 60kg bag for $5 per kg. Any idea how difficult the export permit is to get? Is it a crime to send small amounts without one?
As for roasting, I've never done it before, but I undersatand it is something you can learn and do at home.
I reckon if I could break even on 1 sack and no experience, then I could turn a profit on 5 - 10 sacks at the second atempt.
Go read all the thousands of posts in the roasting forum. That's the part that'll make or break you in your little business adventure (assuming you know how to run a business). Bean roasting is a science...where seconds matter. Maybe you should buy some green beans from one of the many online sources and try roasting at home, just to get an idea what it involves? Of course, this would assume you want to sell a good product rather than just "feed the masses".
Symbols: = New Posts since your last visit = No New Posts since last visit = Newest post
Forum Rules: No profanity, illegal acts or personal attacks will be tolerated in these discussion boards. No commercial posting of any nature will be tolerated; only private sales by private individuals, in the "Buy and Sell" forum. No cross posting allowed - do not post your topic to more than one forum, nor repost a topic to the same forum. Who Can Read The Forum? Anyone can read posts in these discussion boards. Who Can Post New Topics? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post new topics. Who Can Post Replies? Any registered CoffeeGeek member can post replies. Can Photos be posted? Anyone can post photos in their new topics or replies. Who can change or delete posts? Any CoffeeGeek member can edit their own posts. Only moderators can delete posts. Probationary Period: If you are a new signup for CoffeeGeek, you cannot promote, endorse, criticise or otherwise post an unsolicited endorsement for any company, product or service in your first five postings.
= No New Posts since last visit 