What is a forward contract in green coffee?

A forward contract is an agreement to buy a specific quantity of green coffee at an agreed price for delivery at a future date - before the coffee is necessarily available in the market. You might be contracting for a Colombian harvest that hasn't been picked yet, or an Ethiopian lot that's been cupped at origin but hasn't shipped.

For roasters, forwards are how you secure the coffees you actually want rather than settling for what's on spot. Popular micro-lots and well-regarded washing stations can sell out months before the coffee arrives in the UK - a forward contract locks in your allocation. The trade-off is commitment: you're agreeing to take and pay for that coffee regardless of what happens to the C-Market or your own demand between now and delivery.

At GCC, we use forward contracts to secure specific lots from our sourcing partners ahead of each harvest - it's how we guarantee availability of the coffees we list, rather than waiting and hoping.