Sourcing and preservation

Collection: How we source

In selecting lots for purchase there are many factors we take into consideration, including the physical features of the green coffee, the sensory aspects including cup score, flavours and the overall potential for the profile to improve, the traceability information, cultivation, processing and drying techniques and the potential of working with the producer again in upcoming seasons.

We maintain an open dialogue with our suppliers to understand their costs of production and ensure the prices paid for the coffee are fair and equitable. We also don’t chase exclusivity on lots that might shrink the potential for a producer to market and sell their coffee to other roasters if we are unable to buy the entirety of their volume. Rather than purchasing coffees anonymously, which could have been produced through exploitative means, we are committed to learning as much as possible about the production and provenance of the coffees and the people we work with. This means travelling around the world to visit growers and maintaining buying relationships with as much transparency and communication as possible. When we buy ‘spot’ coffees or leverage relationships we’ve built over many years from our chosen export/import partners to help us in our sourcing they are through reputable green coffee suppliers with whom we have nurtured a professional, open dialogue over the years. We do our due diligence to ensure they also place a strong emphasis on traceability, sustainability and paying fair prices to coffee growers, as well as undertake supplementary practices and implement programs to support coffee growers through agronomical support and access to pre-financing. In sourcing our green coffee, we ensure:

We are not supporting child or slave labour
We are paying premiums for quality
We maintain our buying relationships
We are working as directly as we caN
No deforestation in our supply chain
Waste waters are responsibly treated
We are supporting organic coffee growing
We are supporting biodiversity and shade grown coffee

There are a multitude of factors that we consider when choosing to purchase and showcase a coffee, including agronomical practices, the cultivars planted, the workers involved, approaches to picking, processing and drying, export and import parties involved, sensorial aspects and more.We work to amplify every cup profile, looking for coffees with a clean character and lots of sweetness. At origin this can even mean earmarking potential lots that are not tasting their very best yet, but are hinting that they will evolve over time and blossom. Balancing consistency with variety, we always seek to offer a spread of coffee profiles so that our range is as diverse and interesting as the customers who drink them.

FAIRNESS

Creating an ongoing cycle of quality means reinvesting time and money to improve year on year, and that begins with us. It is only through receiving premium payments for coffee that producers are encouraged to reinvest some of their income into improvements to infrastructure.

TRACEABILITY

We procure many of our coffees by directly travelling to coffee producing countries, visiting farms and mills in order to learn everything we can from the grower first hand. We also work with green coffee exporting companies who actively invest in the coffee growing communities within the countries they operate in, paying high prices for high quality green coffee and offering agronomical training, financial support, community initiatives and providing access to a discerning market. These checks and balances within our process guarantee a product that not only supports excellent flavour, but fair and ethical practices behind it — ensuring there are no blind spots in our pursuit of more conscious coffee.

ONGOING RELATIONSHIPS

Our commitment to quality and consistency begins at origin and is reinforced by working with the same producers year after year. We choose to work with ethical and dedicated importers to secure coffee that upholds our value of traceability. A holistic approach to sourcing, it’s important to us to form long-term partnerships with our producers to ensure they’re receiving not only a good price for their product, but are able to maintain a safe and secure future in coffee production for years to come.

More collaborative coffee.

How we Source

With quality at the core of our sourcing programme, our partner farmers, producers and collaborators push our product potential further
Who we partner with

At Workshop we pride ourselves on our community of like-minded, dedicated creators at every level.