A green coffee supplier is the single biggest variable in a roasting business. The coffee sets your flavour ceiling, the supplier sets your consistency, and the terms set your cash flow. Choose well and you can plan a year of roasting; choose badly and you discover the problem when a container arrives that tastes nothing like the sample.
We are a green coffee supplier ourselves, exporting Indonesian specialty lots from Medan, so this guide is written from both sides of the table: what we show buyers before they commit, and what we would ask if we were buying. It covers the types of supplier, the spec sheet, samples, price and payment terms, shipping terms, the questions worth asking, and the red flags that should end a conversation.
Last updated: 21 October 2026
Types of Green Coffee Supplier
“Supplier” covers four different businesses, and the right one depends on how much coffee you buy and how much risk you want to carry.
| Supplier type | Who they are | Typical minimum | Strengths | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Farm or cooperative | Producers selling their own crop | Often a full lot or container | Lowest price per kilo, direct relationship, full traceability | Export paperwork, quality control and logistics fall on you |
| Exporter at origin | Licensed company that grades, mills and ships from the producing country | From a few bags to containers | Origin price with export handled, samples, grading, consolidation of several lots | You import; lead time of weeks by sea |
| Importer | Company that lands coffee in your country and holds stock | From one bag | Fast delivery, local currency, spot availability | Margin on top of origin price; less choice of lots |
| Distributor or broker | Resells or arranges coffee without holding much stock | Varies | Convenience, access to many origins | Least transparency on where the coffee came from |
Small roasters usually start with an importer or a coffee bean distributor and move to an exporter at origin once they buy pallets or containers. Our guide to wholesale coffee distributors compares the local options; this article focuses on choosing any green coffee supplier, wherever they sit in the chain.
What a Good Green Coffee Supplier Shows You Before You Buy
A serious supplier sends a specification sheet for each lot before you ask for a sample. If the sheet is missing any of the following, ask for it; if the answer is vague, move on.
- Lot identity: origin region, farm or cooperative, lot name or number, and crop year. “Sumatra Arabica” is not a lot.
- Processing, both steps: the cherry method and the hulling method, for example semi-washed, wet-hulled (Giling Basah), or fully washed, dry-hulled. Our wet-hulled coffee process guide explains why the second step matters for Indonesian coffee.
- Grade against a published standard: in Indonesia that is SNI 01-2907-2008, where Grade 1 allows no more than 11 defects per 300 grams. The SCA green grading standard is stricter for the specialty label: no primary defects and no more than five full defects in the graded sample, with no quakers.
- Physical data: screen size, moisture content (we hold lots at or below 12.5 percent) and water activity, which predicts how the coffee will store and ship.
- Cupping score and notes from a Q grader or an in-house cupping team, with the date of the cupping.
- Certifications and documents: Halal, Organic, Rainforest Alliance or Fairtrade where claimed, with certificate numbers; export licence; and, for EU buyers, the geolocation data required by EUDR.
- Availability: bags in stock, warehouse location and the earliest shipping date.
A spec sheet does not prove quality, but a green coffee supplier who cannot produce one has not measured the coffee, and that tells you how they work.
Samples: The Only Honest Test of a Green Coffee Supplier
Paperwork narrows the field; the sample decides. Four kinds of sample move through a purchase, and knowing the names stops misunderstandings:
- Offer sample. Represents a lot the supplier is offering for sale. Use it to decide whether to negotiate.
- Type sample. Shows a supplier’s usual quality for a product, not a specific lot. Fine for a first look; never buy a container on a type sample alone.
- Pre-shipment sample (PSS). Drawn from the actual bags about to ship, usually blended from every bag. Approve it in writing before the coffee loads.
- Arrival sample. Pulled from the delivered bags to confirm the shipment matches the approved PSS.
The industry norm for a green sample is around 200 to 350 grams, enough to grade the green and cup it at least twice. Grade first: spread 300 grams on a tray, count defects, check screen size and moisture. Then roast within the SCA sample-roast window and cup within 24 hours. Our step-by-step guide to requesting and evaluating green coffee samples covers the method, and our guide to the SCA cupping protocol covers the table itself.
The contractual point matters more than the cupping: make sure the contract says the shipment will match the approved sample, keep a sealed retained sample, and agree in advance what happens if the arrival sample differs. A green coffee supplier who refuses that clause is telling you what to expect.
Price, MOQ and Payment Terms
Price. Specialty green coffee is priced on cupping score, traceability and lot size, not on the commodity market alone. The 2024 Specialty Coffee Transaction Guide, built from more than 100,000 real contracts, reports a median FOB price of USD 2.93 per pound for 80 to 83.9 point coffees and USD 4.18 per pound for coffees at 84 points and above over the 2021/22 to 2023/24 harvests. Use those bands as a sanity check: a quote far below them for a claimed 86-point lot is a warning, not a bargain.
Minimum order. Ask how the price steps down with volume. Ours runs 1 kg for a cupping sample, 60 kg for a microlot rate, 350 kg for standard wholesale, and container loads from 9 MT. Most exporters work in similar tiers; importers sell by the bag at a higher per-kilo price.
Payment. Common structures are a deposit by bank transfer with the balance paid against shipping documents, or a letter of credit for larger contracts. Be wary of any supplier who insists on full payment up front before samples are approved, and equally wary of one who offers long credit to a new customer with no history. [confirm ISC’s standard payment terms and deposit percentage]
Comparing quotes? See our pricelist for current FOB Belawan prices by grade and origin, or contact our team for a container quote.
Shipping Terms: FOB, CIF and Who Carries the Risk
Every quote from a green coffee supplier should name an Incoterm, because it decides who pays for what and when the risk moves to you.
- FOB (Free On Board), for example FOB Belawan. Under the ICC Incoterms 2020 rules, the seller clears the coffee for export and delivers it on board the vessel at the named port; risk passes to the buyer at that moment, and the buyer books and pays for the sea freight. Most origin exporters quote FOB.
- CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight). The seller also arranges and pays the freight and a minimum level of insurance to the named destination port, but risk still passes when the coffee is on board at origin. Useful if you do not have a freight forwarder.
- FCA (Free Carrier). The ICC recommends FCA instead of FOB for containerised cargo, because risk passes when the loaded container is handed to the carrier rather than when it is lifted onto the ship.
- Landed or delivered prices from importers include freight, insurance, duty and warehousing; they are higher per kilo but simpler.
Whichever term you use, ask how the coffee will be packed. Jute bags with a hermetic liner, a lined container and a desiccant protect the beans from condensation on the voyage; our green coffee transport guide explains what goes wrong when they are missing.
Questions to Ask a Green Coffee Supplier
- Which lots do you have in stock right now, with crop year and bag count?
- Who graded and cupped this lot, when, and can I see the cupping form?
- What is the two-step process, and who did the hulling?
- What moisture and water activity did you measure, and on what date?
- Will the contract tie the shipment to the approved pre-shipment sample?
- What is your export licence number and registered company name?
- Which certifications are current, and can you send the certificates?
- What are the lead times from contract to loading, and from loading to my port? [confirm current lead and transit times with ISC]
- How is the coffee packed and lined for shipping?
- What happens if the arrival sample does not match?
A good green coffee supplier answers these in a day with documents attached. A poor one answers with adjectives.
Red Flags in a Green Coffee Supplier
- No lot, no crop year. Coffee sold only as “premium Sumatra” or “Grade A Arabica” has no traceable identity.
- Every lot scores 88 or more. Honest cupping produces a range. A supplier whose whole catalogue is “90+” is either not cupping or not telling the truth.
- Price far below the market. Compare against the Transaction Guide bands and the current commodity price. Coffee that costs less than it could have been grown for is old crop, mislabelled, or not coming.
- Full payment up front, before samples. Deposits are normal; 100 percent before you have cupped anything is not.
- No samples, or a type sample offered as a pre-shipment sample. If a supplier will not send a PSS from the actual bags, do not ship.
- No verifiable company. No export licence, no registered address, no warehouse you could visit, stock photos of someone else’s farm.
- Pressure. “Only two containers left, decide today” is a sales technique, not a supply constraint, in a market with millions of bags.
Most of these can be checked in a week, with a sample, a certificate number and a video call from the warehouse floor.
How We Work as a Green Coffee Supplier
Indonesia Specialty Coffee is an exporter at origin. We buy from farmer groups and cooperatives in Aceh, North Sumatra, Java, Bali, Flores, Toraja and Lampung, grade every lot against SNI 01-2907-2008 in Medan, cup it following the SCA protocol, and ship FOB Belawan with CIF on request. Specialty lots cup at 82 to 88 points, moisture is held at or below 12.5 percent, and every lot is Halal certified, with Organic and Rainforest Alliance available on request.
Before a container ships, the buyer receives a spec sheet, an offer sample, and a pre-shipment sample drawn from the bags being loaded; the contract ties the shipment to that approved sample. Buyers who want to see the process can visit the warehouse or join a cupping by video. Our articles on SCA quality control for Gayo Arabica and buying green coffee beans from Indonesia show what that looks like lot by lot.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a green coffee supplier?
A green coffee supplier sells unroasted coffee beans to roasters, cafés and traders. The term covers farms and cooperatives, exporters at origin, importers who hold stock in the destination country, and distributors or brokers who resell. Each sits at a different point in the chain, with different minimum orders, prices and levels of traceability.
How do I find a reliable green coffee supplier?
Ask for a specification sheet with lot name, crop year, two-step processing, grade, moisture and cupping score, then request samples and cup them yourself. Check the export licence and certificates, compare the price with published specialty benchmarks, and make sure the contract ties the shipment to an approved pre-shipment sample before you pay.
What is the difference between a green coffee supplier and a distributor?
A supplier is anyone who sells green coffee; a distributor is a specific type that resells coffee bought from exporters or importers, usually in smaller quantities and without holding much stock. Exporters and importers typically offer more traceability and lower prices per kilo, while distributors offer convenience and access to many origins from one account.
How much green coffee should I buy for a first order?
Start with cupping samples of 200 to 350 grams, then a small lot such as 60 kg to test a roast profile and customer response. Most exporters price in tiers, for example 60 kg, 350 kg and full containers from 9 metric tons. Buying one tier below your need beats storing coffee that ages before you roast it.
What does FOB mean when buying green coffee?
FOB, or Free On Board, means the seller clears the coffee for export and delivers it on board the ship at the named port, such as FOB Belawan. Risk passes to the buyer once the coffee is on board, and the buyer arranges and pays for sea freight, insurance and import clearance. CIF adds freight and insurance to the price.
What should a green coffee spec sheet include?
A complete spec sheet names the origin, farm or cooperative, lot number and crop year; the cherry and hulling process; the grade against a published standard such as SNI or SCA; screen size, moisture content and water activity; the cupping score with its date; certifications with certificate numbers; and the bags available with the earliest shipping date.
Source Indonesian Green Coffee From Indonesia Specialty Coffee
Indonesia Specialty Coffee exports Grade 1 specialty green coffee from Medan: Gayo, Mandheling, Lintong, Toraja, Flores, Bali Kintamani and Java Arabica, Lampung Robusta, and Liberica. Every lot is graded against SNI 01-2907-2008, specialty lots cup at 82 to 88 SCA points, and all coffee is Halal certified, with Organic and Rainforest Alliance available on request. We ship FOB Belawan, with CIF on request.
Order tiers run 1 kg for a cupping sample, 60 kg for a microlot rate, 350 kg for standard wholesale, and container loads from 9 MT.
See our current pricelist or contact our team to request a spec sheet and samples.
