We travel to each origin several times a year and we love traveling with our customers. The benefits of going on an origin trip are many.

On a farm visit oriented trip you will learn about the value chain, meet producers and have the opportunity to build lasting relationships. For those already buying from this origin, you get to see where your money goes and meet the farmers or washing station teams who produce your coffee. There will be more time to get to know people, and time to take photos for your marketing material.

On a cupping trip you’ll be a part of our purchasing process. This means getting the first choice of coffees, plus you can save a lot of money by committing to buying your early selections.

Many trips are a mix of farm visits and cupping.

Is this trip for me?

Our origin trips are for coffee professionals with green coffee purchasing responsibilities. You can escape the office/roastery and enjoy some spectacular scenery, however these trips are not holidays. You will work hard, and you are expected to behave as a professional at all times.

Comfort and security

Our coffee origins are all developing world countries with different standards of safety, varying degrees of infrastructure and diverse cultural norms. If you are concerned about your comfort or security on these trips, please reach out to our head buyer, Joanne. We will do everything we can to facilitate safe and relaxed travels.

Planned trips:

No planned trips at the moment due to COVID-19.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost?

This varies. You have to pay for your own flights, hotel, transport and food. Costs can vary from origin to origin, and whether we are staying in a city or rural area. Hotels in cities are about $100-$150 USD per person per night, and in rural areas expect to pay between $60-$80 USD. Transport is about USD 150 per day, which is split between everyone travelling, so this will depend on how many people are on the trip. Food is about $30-$50 USD per day.

Do I have to organise my own flights and hotel?

You will need to book your own international flights. We will organise hotels and transport in origin.

Will I have any spare time?

Once in origin we usually pack as much into the day as possible, so there is limited spare time. You can of course choose to book a later flight home so you have some “tourism days” on your own.

Practical info

You have to organise your own flights, visa, travel insurance and vaccines. We will organise hotels and transport at origin. We recommend bringing USD cash and Visa card.

What do you pack when you go on an origin trip?

Check out our full blogpost on what to pack for an origin trip

We also travel to:

South America:

Colombia

Harvest: October – December (Huila/Antioquia)  April – July (Tolima/Narino)

Arrival: December – February (Huila/Antioquia),

Travel: Travel with us to Colombia in April, July or November/December

Colombia is in our opinion the country in Latin America with most potential in quality and diversity in flavor. As they harvest coffees all year around it makes it a complex origin to work with. We have decided to deal with that through very frequent shipments of fresh coffees throughout the year to always be able to provide roasters with the best qualities.
We are currently buying coffees in Huila, Tolima, Nariño and are just starting with some medium to small farms in Antioquia. Tolima and Nariño are having their main season from May to September, Antioquia October to January and Huila is harvesting all year around.

If you don’t want you don’t have to stock up for more than 6 months as there will be a second harvest coming later. Luckily enough Colombia has two seasons for harvest and purchase. We recommend to plan accordingly and use them while still fresh. As for espressos we think they can last for a little longer.

Brazil

Harvest: May – October

Arrival: November – January

Travel: We go twice a year in July/August and October/November

We generally buy small to medium sized lots of Brazilian coffee that are slightly different and more fruit driven than many other Brazilian coffees in the market. That said, we also have some larger lots at slightly lower prices that are used for volume espressos etc. Brazil has areas peaking in different periods from May to October. Generally the main period will be around July. We are buying coffees from some higher altitude areas (for Brazil) so they are normally coming slightly later than the lower altitudes.

Peru

Harvest: May – October
Arrival: November – January
Travel: We will have trips with roasters in September 

Our sourcing program there is work in development. We are currently active in the north of Peru, in Cajamarca. We are establishing programs across a limited range of exporters that are actively working on quality and sustainability programs as well as small cooperatives. 

We select micro-lots of the high performing coffees at lot sizes between 10 – 20 bags. Additionally we create blends from the same communities where the coffees are exceptional but the lots are too small to buy individually. It’s so far mainly washed coffees. Qualities and profiles can be amazing. As always we pay high premiums for quality, well above the local price, and still the coffees are extremely good value VS the quality and performance.

Central America:

El Salvador

Harvest: December – April

Arrival: April -June

Travel: Travel with us to the Centrals in April

We work with a couple of producers with a very broad selection of different farms and preparation like honeys and naturals. Everything from tiny micro lots of 5 bags to 100 bag lots. They work well as filters and are sought after as espressos. Depending on location and altitude they are harvesting over a longer period of time. Majority will be in February. We have good experience with our Salvadors holding for longer than expected, possibly due to different preparations that the producers are doing for our coffees. Still good to use them within a reasonable amount of time, but up to 9 months at least should fine.

Honduras

Harvest: January – April

Arrival: May – June

Travel: Travel with us to the Centrals in April

We have lately increased our activities and offers from Honduras. The coffees we buy is almost all micro lots from different producers and farms. They are something different than our other coffees from Centrals. Really rich, complex and sweet. Most of what we are buying is harvested in February and March. Both because of the micro climate in the regions and also due to the higher altitudes. Hondurian coffees is by many known for fast ageing, but we are managing that by strict protocols on moisture and water activity, as well as good storage and efficient shipments.

Africa:

Ethiopia

Harvest: November – February

Arrival: May – August

Travel: Travel with us to Ethiopia December – March (can be combined with trip to Kenya)

We always have a very wide range of super complex and characteristic coffees from many different regions. Both washed and naturals. We buy from cooperatives, private washing stations and single farmers. Normally the harvest is peaking in November/December. We are starting to cup and select from January and continue to buy throughout April. There will be some early and some late shipments. Naturals are normally arriving later. Normally shelf life is good and coffees are holding up well. Usually these coffees can be used throughout the year.

Kenya

Harvest: October – January

Arrival: May – June

Travel: Travel with us to Ethiopia December – March (can be combined with trip to Ethiopia)

We are very active in Kenya for one reason, and that is to find and select some of the best coffees in the world. Still, we are working with many of the cooperatives on a permanent basis. But it is about selecting the lots that we find most flavorful. The most interesting stuff seems to generally be harvested in November/December. The coffee normally reach the market to be cupped in January and onwards. We start cupping for selection and purchase early, and try to buy over a time span of 2 months. Normally the coffees hold up very well and can be used more or less throughout the year.

Uganda

Harvest: West: September – November, East: November – February

Arrival: West: December – January , East: March – April

Travel: We are going several times per year and can bring roasters around November as well as in February.

Going in end November is perfect as we will be able to cup for a selection from the west and potentially capture the tail of the harvest and see production there. At the same time they might have started in the east and it’s a good time to visit producers and see production there and plan the main volumes harvested in december and january.  

We are generally focusing on developing concepts around naturals and certain improved fermentation and drying protocols. The idea is to be able to do great recognizable and consistent naturals on scale. But are also buying some amounts of washed from a farm, Kingha Estate in the south west and the surrounding smallholders as well as from small washing stations in the east.

West: The natural coffees are from smallholder communities around the Kasese area in Western Uganda. Kingha estate in the south west is a relatively new farm where they do different processes of washed as well as build medium sized community lots from smallholders.

East: All the coffees are from smallholder communities in the Mbale area in Eastern Uganda, close to the Kenyan border. Besides quality, our main criteria for buying is that the coffees are fully traceable, including the premiums we pay, which must go directly to the producers.

Asia:

Indonesia

Harvest: May – September

Arrival: November – December

Travel: We will normally be able to bring roasters late June or August to see production and do some cupping for profiling

Generally we will go early on to plan the the main harvest and our buying and processing etc. At that time it might be limited amounts to cup. But we will still be able to taste the early pickings and get a good idea of the qualities. We will always have to adapt to the harvest and the ripening of the cherries. Even if the harvest might start early we will normally buy from the later part of the crop.

Indonesia is a new origin region that we started to explore in 2016. We buy a selection of small to medium sized lots from a relatively new farm and surrounding smallholders in Java. And we recently started a collaboration in Sumatra. In general the things we do and processing is very differently than what’s “normal” in Indonesia. It’s both experimental processing of washed coffees as well as naturals. So farm volumes are limited but are gradually increasing volumes. These coffees have so far been performing great on shelf life compared to our expectations. Most of the lots we buy is harvested around June/July. The improved processing and drying helps. It adds a broader selection of fresh coffees to the latter part of the year.