Your Guide to Sourcing and Selling Green Coffee Directly

Over the last five years, an increasing number of coffee roasters have been sourcing green coffee directly and building relationships with producers. These roasters-turned-green-buyers get to cup the most exciting coffees, have first dibs on micro-lots to build unique portfolios, learn about the supply chain in-depth, and lead the industry’s discussions on prices, transparency, and sustainability. 

We lack a comprehensive industry overview of direct sourcing practices. However, the growth of Algrano, a marketplace launched in 2015 to facilitate direct sourcing, is proof that direct sourcing is here to stay. Every year, the number of orders placed on the platform more than doubles. In 2020, 70 producers sold coffee for the first time and 111 roasters bought for the first time despite COVID-19. The biggest driver of growth has been recurrent businesses or, as they’ve become known in the industry, “relationship coffees.”