Our Approach to Sourcing

How we figure out what to buy and when to list it.

Our Approach to Sourcing

When we first started, our approach to sourcing was largely spontaneous — we bought what excited us when it was available, and our range reflected that. While that had its own energy, it also meant inconsistency: coffees would appear and disappear without much warning, and it was hard to know what to expect from us at any given time.

We've changed that. Our sourcing is now built around a clear, organised structure designed to give you better consistency on the coffees you rely on, a more predictable picture of what's coming throughout the year, and an honest, upfront approach to availability. You'll always know what we have, why we have it, and when it's likely to run out.

That structure breaks down into three tiers: our year-round Staples, our harvest-driven Seasonal Coffees, and our rare and opportunistic Rare & Special Lots. Here's how each tier works.

Staples

Some coffees are so central to what roasters rely on that we commit to keeping them available year-round. Our current staples — a natural Brazil, a natural East African, a Mexican decaf, and a washed Colombian — form the backbone of our range. That said, the lineup isn't fixed forever; we may swap in a new staple over time if the right coffee earns its place.

Coffee is an agricultural product, and harvests have limits. On rare occasions a staple may temporarily go out of stock while we wait for the next crop to arrive. When that happens, we'll be upfront about it.

Seasonal Coffees

The majority of our range rotates with the harvest calendar. We buy seasonal coffees in limited quantities — once they're gone, they're gone until the following year's harvest comes in.

We replenish our seasonal range quarterly. Here's a rough guide to what's arriving when, useful for planning your range across the year:

Q1 - January to March

Burundi · Mozambique · Rwanda · Tanzania · Uganda · Zambia · Ecuador · Peru · Brazil Mio · Colombia Antioquia (Mi Cafe) · Brazil Cargo · Panama

Q2 - April to June

Ethiopia · Kenya · Uganda · Zambia · India · Guatemala · Colombia Cauca-Huila (Mi Cafe) · Colombia Huila (Minga)

Q3 - July to September

Kenya · Uganda · Zambia · Mexico · China · Thailand · India · Guatemala · Colombia Cauca-Huila (Mi Cafe) · Brazil Bossa

Q4 - October to December

Burundi · Kenya · Rwanda · Tanzania · Uganda · Zambia · Yemen · Timor-Leste · China · Thailand · Brazil Cargo · Colombia Huila (Minga)

Rare & Special Lots

From time to time we bring in exceptionally rare, unusual, or experimental coffees that don't fit neatly into any category. These might be a rare varietal or origin, a single 30kg bag from a tiny producer, a processing experiment, or simply something that caught our attention and felt too interesting to pass up.

Rare & Special Lots exist because great coffee sometimes defies a schedule. Stock levels are very small - often just one bag - and nothing gets restocked once it's gone. These move fast, sometimes within days. If it's interesting, act on it.