Let us guide you through our offer list vocabulary and frequently asked questions.
Samples
A coffee grower bringing parchment and sampling the bags in Tarqui, Colombia.
We send up to 10 samples at once.
Coffee is a volatile product, therefore, we need to cup it at different stages of the import process. We will indicate the type of sample we are describing in every description to make sure you receive the right information. More often than not, the cupping notes might vary slightly. We have added a glossary down below with the different samples we work with.
Either one! We send 100g green samples or 30g roasted samples.
We have three Roest machines in our lab that we roast most of our samples on. We also have an Ikawa in the lab.
We usually use UPS, but can also send with DHL or Fedex depending on what works best for your country.
Our lab crew is roasting, packing, and sending every working day. Generally, if we have the samples on hand, we will ship within a few days of your request. You will receive an email with a tracking link, and hopefully the samples within 1-2 working days!
We are very limited on the amount of preshipment samples that we get for each lot. We will do our best to share them with as many roasters as possible. Ask your sales rep for the coffees that are most interesting for you
All coffees can be sampled except for special offers and coffees with low availability.
We highly recommend cupping our samples as soon as you receive them to avoid disappointment!
Samples generally arrive within a few days, but we will send you tracking info when they are shipped.
Before we can send you samples, we need to know if you ever imported coffees from Europe before and how is your import plan. Our sales rep will contact you for further details.
Yes, we can! We will need your Turkish ID number (11 digit) to ship the sample to a private person's name. This has yielded the best results with the customs.
Offer samples, pre-shipment samples, and arrival samples:
Samples that exporters or producers send to us.
They represent a specific lot and the coffee might still be on parchment, which requires milling, sorting, and grading.
We may reserve a coffee based on the offer sample, but we will always cup the PSS before confirming the purchase.
Samples we get before the coffee is shipped; milled, screened, graded, sorted, and ready-to-export green coffee.
Before the exporter can actually ship the coffee, we conduct a physical and sensorial evaluation in our lab in Oslo.
We use PSS for the last approval stage. If anything goes wrong with the PSS, we may either cancel the booking or talk to the supplier. Occasionally, it is a matter of re-milling the lot.
Samples we receive after the coffee has arrived at our warehouse.
This is the quality and state of your coffee if you reserve and release it today.
What you cup is what you get!
Logistics
It is a very country-specific question. In the EU, it only requires the invoice and the packing list.
But outside the EU, it will differ from country to country. The best thing is to consult your local customs agent or your sales rep for guidance.
This depends on the location of your roastery and the order size. Contact us directly for a specific delivery quote: coffee@nordicapproach.no
We usually use ocean freight. It will be port-to-port only and you need to do the customs clearance and transportation to your warehouse/roastery yourself.
We don't have the expertise to deal with customs in each different country as the customs regulations may vary and are challenging in most circumstances.
It varies from country to country, so it is best to consult with your customs agent who will clear your shipment. It is important to find a good and reliable customs clearance agent, so you won't get headaches and problems when the shipment lands. Some certifications are nice to have but not necessarily required, so why pay more for something that you do not have to provide? Read our various certification services here.
We don't ship to Turkey. Our Turkish customers arrange their own shipment due to their specific customs regulations.
Generally shipping with ocean freight is less expensive than air freight. This is just an indication as sometimes there is applicable surcharge depending on shipping industry conditions.
Check out our ocean freight cost.
Please, see the information here on our website.
Our coffees
Check out our transparency reports on our website. The price paid to producer and FOB information is also specified for each coffee on CropsterHub.
Check out the origin menu on our website, we have sorted all the details about how we work in every origin. You will also find information about the value chain, the harvest, and processing others.
Yes, you can. Our customers have access to our SmugMug albums, the platform we use to share this content.
Ordering
You will find all the in stock coffees as well as available preships on our offer list. Check out the NA Direct list for 30+ bags, special offers and Buyers’ Picks offer lists.
We can accommodate orders as little as 1 bag or 1 box. Most roasters try to order at least 300kg (5 bags) at a time for more efficient and cost-effective shipment
We send all coffees on EUR pallets, measuring 1.2 x 0.8m. They are strapped and wrapped in plastic.
Up to 10!
At Seabridge in Zeebrugge, Belgium.
Seabridge is a climate and humidity controlled warehouse. It is also mainly solar powered, and connected to the port of Antwerp by rail link.
It's not so complicated - we just need some basic info to start:
-
Official company name
Billing address
Shipping/delivery address
VAT number
Contact person, email, phone
Once confirmed, we will send you the invoice with our bank details. As soon as we receive payment (or copy of payment confirmation from your bank), we’ll get the goods prepared and shipped! It usually takes 2 days to prepare the pallet
We give terms for roasters in Europe. After 3 orders, if you are up to date on your bills, you can have 30 day payment terms. Late payments will result in removal of terms! :'(
How do I open an account to start buying my coffee?
It’s not so complicated – we just need some basic info to start:
Our company
Our headquarters are in Oslo, Norway. We have colleagues based in Russia, Denmark, Germany, Colombia, and Ethiopia.
We are an organic certified company.
Hi there, this is Nordic Approach!
Reservations
Talk to your sales rep -- if we know what you need, and how long you will hold the reservation, we can make a temporary (TBC - to be confirmed) reservation for you.
Please note that we need confirmation before the reservation is binding!
TBC (to be confirmed) means we are temporarily holding the coffees for you, but we need your prompt confirmation. Once a reservation is Confirmed, we consider you to be committed to the coffee. We use this date for calculating financing.
Generally as short as possible, no more than a week. We prefer to get confirmation on your reservation ASAP - so fast cupping is always helpful!
Maximum 6 months. Once a reservation is confirmed, you will start accruing warehousing + financing charges, and the coffee is waiting for you. So we prefer that you take it as soon as you can, while it is fresh!
Talk to your sales rep if you have questions.
Warehousing and financing is free for the first 30 days after reservation. If you reserved before the coffee arrived, you have 30 days free from the date of arrival. After that, we charge 1.5% per month.
We can offer financing for customers who are in good standing (no outstanding bills with us).
Please talk to your sales rep about this. We generally consider PSS approvals binding, but if you really need arrival sample approval, we can accommodate.
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