Buyer’s Guide

How to Buy Green Coffee from Africa

This is the process from the buyer’s side, written for a roaster or importer making their first East African purchase — or their first from a new origin.

Last reviewed August 20263 min read

Quick answer

The sequence is: define a specification, request offers against it, cup samples, approve one, contract with an explicit quality and delivery basis, arrange pre-shipment inspection, and confirm the document set before shipment. Most first-purchase problems come from skipping the specification step and buying against a grade name alone.

Before you enquire

The single highest-leverage thing you can do is turn a vague requirement into a specification. "A nice Kenyan" produces a shortlist of everything; a specification produces offers you can compare.

1Volume and cadence. One container now, or six a year? The answer changes which origins and which suppliers make sense.
2The role in your range. Single origin, blend component, or espresso base? This drives species, process and screen.
3Constraints. Certification requirements, traceability requirements, moisture limits, packaging preferences.
4Landed budget. Not a green price — a landed cost, so you can compare FOB and CFR offers meaningfully.
5Timing. When it needs to arrive, worked backwards through transit, shipment and preparation.

Buyer specification received
Origin and lot selection
Samples dispatched
Buyer cupping and approval
Contract issued
Milling to the approved preparation
Pre-shipment inspection
Export documentation
Container loading and shipment

From specification to shipment.

Requesting offers

A good enquiry gets a good offer list. Include the specification, the volume, the destination and the shipment window, and say what you are flexible on — flexibility on screen or grade often unlocks better value than flexibility on price.

See how to specify green coffee for the full field list, or send your requirement through the RFQ form, which is structured around it.

Samples

Request samples of everything on the shortlist, not just the favourite — the comparison is the point.
Ask what type of sample it is: an offer sample is not a pre-shipment sample.
Confirm the lot identity that comes with each sample — station, factory, outturn.
Cup blind, in multiple cups per sample, against something you already buy.
Retain approved samples. They are the reference the contract is enforced against.
See green coffee sample evaluation for the full method.

Contracting

The contract has to state six things. Missing any one of them is where disputes come from — see coffee trade terms for the detail.

Goods: Origin, region, species, process, grade, screen, crop year, packaging
Quantity: Bags and net weight, with tolerance
Price basis: Outright, or differential with nominated month and fixation terms
Delivery term: Incoterm with version and named port
Quality basis: Approved sample; point of determination; consequence of shortfall
Shipment and payment: Window and payment mechanism

Before the container is sealed

1Pre-shipment sample drawn to the agreed method, analysed and cupped against your approved sample.
2Approval or waiver — decide in advance whether loading waits on your approval, and build the courier and cupping time into the window.
3Loading supervision with bag count, weights, seal number and photographs recorded.
4Document set confirmed — see shipping documents.

Landed cost

Compare offers on landed cost, not on the green price. The components that get forgotten are the ones that differ most between origins and terms.

Landed cost components
Component	Who pays under FOB	Notes
Green coffee price	Buyer	The headline number
Ocean freight	Buyer	Varies substantially by routing and season
Marine insurance	Buyer	Cheap relative to the risk
Destination terminal handling	Buyer	Frequently omitted from comparisons
Customs clearance and duty	Buyer	Depends on destination and any preference arrangements
Inland delivery	Buyer	From port to your warehouse
Storage	Buyer	If not taking immediate delivery
Weight loss in transit	Depends on weight terms	Shipped versus landed weight — see the trade terms page

Start with a specification

Send us what you need and we will come back with what each origin realistically supports for the current crop.

Request Current Crop Offer

Frequently asked questions

What is the minimum quantity to import green coffee from East Africa?

Practically, a full container is the efficient unit for ocean freight, though smaller quantities move as part-container consolidations at a higher per-kilo cost. What is workable depends on the origin, the lot and the consolidation options on that routing — it is worth asking rather than assuming.

How long does it take from order to arrival?

It depends on whether the coffee is already milled and on the routing. Preparation, sample approval, inland transit to port, sailing time and destination clearance all add up, and the inland leg from landlocked origins is the largest variable. Work backwards from your required arrival date rather than forwards from the order.

Should I buy FOB or CIF?

CIF is usually simpler for a first import because one counterparty arranges freight and insurance. FOB generally becomes cheaper once you have freight rates and an open cargo policy. See Incoterms for coffee.

What is the biggest mistake first-time buyers make?

Buying against a grade name alone. "Kenya AA" specifies bean size and nothing else — not the factory, the crop, the defect tolerance or the cup. The fix is a written specification plus an approved sample.

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.