Just starting out

[javanut]

So I am venturing into the world of coffee, I am working on a business plan and am looking at locations but I am stumped on how to find a good quality roaster in my area. How to determine if they really have Fair Trade coffees ( I recently was told that a certain company claims they are fair trade but actually are not at all). I am also interested in branding and am not sure how to determine which roasters do that. Any suggestions/ideas out there?

 

[John P]

1) Don't limit yourself to local roasters. What if they are all substandard? What if you are buying from your competition?

2) Focus on the Quality of the coffee first, and if it happens to be certified Fair Trade, then that may be a good thing as well. Source from roasters/buyers who buy/cup based on Quality, not on price. Don't buy Fair Trade and hope that is will be quality coffee or you will be sadly disappointed in most cases.

3) Ask the roaster if they do co-branding/private labeling....or if you are a large enough account, a custom blend.