Buyer’s Guide

Green Coffee Shipping

Shipping is where a well-bought coffee can still go wrong. This page covers the routings, what actually drives transit time, and the arrival checks that matter.

Last reviewed August 20262 min read

Quick answer

East African coffee moves by road to Mombasa, Dar es Salaam or Djibouti and then by sea. The inland leg is the largest source of schedule variance, particularly from the landlocked origins. Total time from mill-ready to arrival is driven more by inland transit, port dwell and transhipment than by sailing time.

The corridors

How coffee reaches the sea
Origin	Port	Inland leg
Tanzania — north	Dar es Salaam or Tanga	Road from Moshi
Tanzania — south	Dar es Salaam	Long road haul from Mbeya or Mbinga
Kenya	Mombasa	Road or rail from Nairobi
Uganda	Mombasa (Northern Corridor)	Long road haul from Kampala; Dar es Salaam is the alternative
Rwanda	Mombasa or Dar es Salaam	Very long road haul on either corridor
Burundi	Dar es Salaam or Mombasa	Very long road haul on either corridor
Ethiopia	Djibouti	Road from Addis Ababa

Under FOB the inland leg is the seller’s cost and risk — but its duration is a shared planning problem and should shape the shipment window.

What actually drives transit time

1Inland transit. Hundreds to well over a thousand kilometres by road from the landlocked origins. Weather, border crossings and truck availability all move it.
2Port dwell. Time between gate-in and vessel loading. Congestion at East African ports is a real and periodic factor.
3Sailing frequency. Fewer direct services means waiting for a slot, which can exceed the sailing time saved.
4Transhipment. Most East African routings tranship. Each transhipment adds dwell and a connection risk.
5Destination clearance. Customs, any inspection, and terminal release.

Protecting the cargo

A container from East Africa crosses large temperature and humidity swings. The controls are covered in detail on the container loading page; the essentials are:

Container inspected before stuffing — dry, clean, odour-free, no light through seams.
Kraft lining on walls and roof to keep bags off cold steel.
Desiccant sized to the voyage and the cargo moisture.
Dunnage to prevent stack collapse.
Hermetic liners where the coffee is valuable or the voyage long.
Loading photographs and a seal record.

On arrival

Arrival checks

Step 1
Seal
Check the seal number against the shipping documents before it is broken, and photograph it intact.
Step 2
Container interior
Look for water staining on the roof and walls — the signature of condensation in transit.
Step 3
Bag condition
Damage, staining, and — on lined parcels — liner integrity on a sample of bags.
Step 4
Count and weight
Against the packing list, before the cargo is dispersed in the warehouse.
Step 5
Sample and analyse
Draw an arrival sample to the agreed method; run moisture, water activity and a cupping against the retained approved sample.
Step 6
Document promptly
Any claim depends on evidence gathered at arrival, not weeks later.

Claims have deadlines

Contracts of carriage and insurance policies impose notification deadlines, often short. If something looks wrong on arrival, notify within the deadline even while you are still establishing the cause — a late notice can extinguish an otherwise good claim.

Shipment planning

Tell us your required arrival window and destination and we will work backwards to a realistic shipment plan.

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Frequently asked questions

How long does shipping take from East Africa?

It varies substantially with routing, transhipment and port conditions, and the inland leg from landlocked origins is the largest variable. Rather than working from a generic figure, plan backwards from your required arrival date through clearance, sailing, port dwell and inland transit.

Which port does my coffee ship from?

Mombasa for Kenyan and most Ugandan coffee, Dar es Salaam for Tanzanian and much Burundian and Rwandan coffee, and Djibouti for Ethiopian. Rwanda and Burundi can route via either corridor, which affects transit time and cost.

What is container rain and how do I avoid it?

Condensation forming inside the container as warm humid air trapped at stuffing cools during the voyage, then dripping onto the cargo. It is managed with desiccant, kraft lining, controlling the moisture loaded, and — for valuable lots — hermetic liners.

What should I check when the container arrives?

The seal against the documents before it is broken, the container interior for water staining, bag condition and liner integrity, count and weight against the packing list, and an arrival sample cupped against your retained approved sample. Document everything promptly, because claim deadlines are short.

Tell us the coffee you need

Lots can be specified by origin, region, process, grade, screen, moisture, defect tolerance, crop year and packaging. Send what you know and we will confirm what each origin realistically supports.