Buying coffee without a broker....

[Alun_evans]

I would work this back in reverse... meaning the actual physical import of the coffee into the USA is probably the very least of your worries. Johns link does cover most of the FDA requirements. You need to register your facility at origin (the warehouse) as well as registering yourself in the USA. This helps streamline clearance. US Customs are fairly fanatical about taking samples...every shipment we send into the USA has at least 12 samples taken from it. I guess this is to varify that fumigation and/or the phyotosanitary certification is correct. Docs you need are (in no particular order)> the OBL from the shipping line, the Invoice, packing list, Phyotosanitary Certificate, ICO Certificate, FDA prior notification (fill out EVERY shipment online). You also need to make sure you correctly line the shipping container you use with card...and check the container prior to loading to make sure the last shipper did not use it for motor parts!!!!!

But... this above is as I mentioned the easy part.

The area I would be concerned about is either end of the shipping. You need to really know coffee to be successful in this part of the trade. (If you are buying avergae greens you are going to be just another broker trying to make a buck$$. You need to be able to offer unique, rare ande/or unusual coffees that attract a premium. To do this really, in all honesty, would require you spending a lot of time at origin sourcing yourself. This, I reckon, is key

Then of course the other end of the equation is being able to get what you have to roasters. You will have the problems mentioned above, especially if you select poor quality containers, poor trans-shipping schedules, lower quality facilities at origin where 'stuffing' a container can go badly wrong and lead to mould/mildew and other humidity damage.

Good luck with this....

[wmark]

Thanks for all the above link and advice. Amazing how the west coast gets the good and harder to find beans.

I was primarily trying to source for myself to use but will probably end up selling off a portion as 37,000 lbs or so is a big committment.

[Alun_evans]

Actually there is no reason why you need to bring in a full conta9iner (18,000kg). You can LCL what you buy and share container space. I know a cafe/roaster in the midwest that brings in 2000kg at a time, mixed sub-origins, all from Indonesia.

[wmark]

Unfortunately for me, with this particular vendor, it is all or nothing.

[Alun_evans]

Hmm... are you committed to the deal?????? I am quite convinced that often buying a FCL (18MT) is thrust onto unsuspecting buyers. It may not be like this in your case, but here at origin I am often happier to make sure a roaster gets what they want... often that may be a lot less than a container load.

[wmark]

I have not committed to a deal as there were outstanding issues that had not yet been resolved. Still need to buy some though (in addition to buying a little from a broker).

[Tony2907]

hi how are you my name is Tony from Los Angeles

estaba leyendo que es productor de cafe me gustaria si nos podemos poner en contacto Tonyg51 es aroba en yahoo tengo unos inversionistas gracias

[PinkRose]

Hello "Tony2907"

Welcome to the Coffee Forums website.

Please, we would appreciate it if you would use all English when you post to this forum. I had to use an on-line translator so I could figure out what you were saying in your post. Spanish Translation | Spanish to English to Spanish Translator

Rose

[ngoccuong]

Dear, My name is Hoang Vinh Tuan from Vietnam. Nice to meet you!

I am coffee exporter from Vietnam. I can supply Robusta, Arabica and pure instant coffee. All are high quality from Viet Nam.

If you are interested, please contact me.

Thanks and waiting for your reply!

Hoang Vinh Tuan

[dstrand]

Thanks for all the above link and advice. Amazing how the west coast gets the good and harder to find beans.

I was primarily trying to source for myself to use but will probably end up selling off a portion as 37,000 lbs or so is a big committment.

Hey Wmark,
May I ask, why do you want to put all the effort into importing the coffee yourself, when there are folks here in the states that you can work with, and by doing so, be able to offer a wide selection of coffees without the headaches or huge commitments?