If coffee sourcing was a spectrum, you could think of buying SPOT from a trader on one extreme and direct trade on the other. The first process is fully managed by a middleman. The second, by you. Many roasters sourcing on Algrano’s marketplace use this terminology but we prefer to use something else. To be honest, we don't get too hung up on the names. The practices behind it are more important. We just think that direct trade isn't the most accurate way to talk about the reality of this kind of business. From our perspective, it should involve a direct financial transaction, which doesn’t happen most of the time.
We believe the terminology “direct sourcing” is a more accurate way to describe what the supply chain actually looks like on Algrano. It means that the sourcing process itself, from contacting the producer and receiving samples to getting an offer and agreeing on quality, is managed by you, the roaster. Everything else, from booking the container to making the payment, is done by us on your behalf. You give the order to buy. We execute it. But - and this is a big but - we understand that roasters might want to call their coffees "direct trade" because their consumers already have an idea of what it means.
We believe the terminology “direct sourcing” is a more accurate way to describe what the supply chain actually looks like on Algrano. It means that the sourcing process itself, from contacting the producer and receiving samples to getting an offer and agreeing on quality, is managed by you, the roaster. Everything else, from booking the container to making the payment, is done by us on your behalf. You give the order to buy. We execute it. But - and this is a big but - we understand that roasters might want to call their coffees "direct trade" because their consumers already have an idea of what it means.