Latest publications
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6 min readWhy Different Coffee Origins Use Different Processing Methods
Why does Brazil favour natural processing while Colombia has long relied on washed coffee? The answers lie in geography, climate...
Why Different Coffee Origins Use Different Processing Methods
Why does Brazil favour natural processing while Colombia has long relied on washed coffee? The answers lie in geography, climate and history as much as in technique. This article explores...
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5 min readGreen Coffee BasicsWhat Direct Trade Coffee Actually Means (And How It Really Works)
What is direct trade coffee? Learn what direct trade coffee actually means, how it compares to fair trade, and how...
What Direct Trade Coffee Actually Means (And How It Really Works)
What is direct trade coffee? Learn what direct trade coffee actually means, how it compares to fair trade, and how coffee really moves from producer to buyer.
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5 min readGreen Coffee BasicsCoffee Bean Species Explained: Arabica, Robusta, Liberica, Excelsa, Racemosa and Stenophylla
Learn the differences between coffee bean species including Arabica, Robusta, Liberica, Excelsa, Racemosa and Stenophylla, and how each shapes flavour,...
Coffee Bean Species Explained: Arabica, Robusta, Liberica, Excelsa, Racemosa and Stenophylla
Learn the differences between coffee bean species including Arabica, Robusta, Liberica, Excelsa, Racemosa and Stenophylla, and how each shapes flavour, farming and the future of coffee.
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6 min readGreen Coffee BasicsThe Coffee Trade Explained: How Coffee Is Graded, Priced and Traded Globally
Coffee moves through one of the most complex agricultural trading systems in the world - yet for most roasters and...
The Coffee Trade Explained: How Coffee Is Graded, Priced and Traded Globally
Coffee moves through one of the most complex agricultural trading systems in the world - yet for most roasters and coffee drinkers, the mechanics behind it remain largely invisible. This...
All Articles
6 min read
Why Different Coffee Origins Use Different Processing Methods
Why does Brazil favour natural processing while Colombia has long relied on washed coffee? The answers lie in geography, climate...
Why Different Coffee Origins Use Different Processing Methods
Why does Brazil favour natural processing while Colombia has long relied on washed coffee? The answers lie in geography, climate and history as much as in technique. This article explores...
5 min read
Green Coffee Basics
What Direct Trade Coffee Actually Means (And How It Really Works)
What is direct trade coffee? Learn what direct trade coffee actually means, how it compares to fair trade, and how...
What Direct Trade Coffee Actually Means (And How It Really Works)
What is direct trade coffee? Learn what direct trade coffee actually means, how it compares to fair trade, and how coffee really moves from producer to buyer.
5 min read
Green Coffee Basics
Coffee Bean Species Explained: Arabica, Robusta, Liberica, Excelsa, Racemosa and Stenophylla
Learn the differences between coffee bean species including Arabica, Robusta, Liberica, Excelsa, Racemosa and Stenophylla, and how each shapes flavour,...
Coffee Bean Species Explained: Arabica, Robusta, Liberica, Excelsa, Racemosa and Stenophylla
Learn the differences between coffee bean species including Arabica, Robusta, Liberica, Excelsa, Racemosa and Stenophylla, and how each shapes flavour, farming and the future of coffee.
6 min read
Green Coffee Basics
The Coffee Trade Explained: How Coffee Is Graded, Priced and Traded Globally
Coffee moves through one of the most complex agricultural trading systems in the world - yet for most roasters and...
The Coffee Trade Explained: How Coffee Is Graded, Priced and Traded Globally
Coffee moves through one of the most complex agricultural trading systems in the world - yet for most roasters and coffee drinkers, the mechanics behind it remain largely invisible. This...
5 min read
Green Coffee Basics
Coffee Varietals Explained: Understanding Cultivars and Plant Types
Coffee varietals are the cultivated types of coffee plant that shape how coffee grows and what it can become in...
Coffee Varietals Explained: Understanding Cultivars and Plant Types
Coffee varietals are the cultivated types of coffee plant that shape how coffee grows and what it can become in the cup. Learn what coffee varietals and cultivars mean, how...
4 min read
Is the Strait of Hormuz about to disrupt your coffee supply?
Escalating tensions between the United States, Israel and Iran have pushed the Middle East into another period of deep instability. In...
Is the Strait of Hormuz about to disrupt your coffee supply?
Escalating tensions between the United States, Israel and Iran have pushed the Middle East into another period of deep instability. In response to recent military strikes, Iran has threatened to disrupt...
4 min read
Green Coffee Basics
Coffee Terroir Explained: What Terroir Really Means in Coffee
Coffee terroir describes how climate, altitude, soil and environment shape how coffee grows and tastes. Learn what terroir means in...
Coffee Terroir Explained: What Terroir Really Means in Coffee
Coffee terroir describes how climate, altitude, soil and environment shape how coffee grows and tastes. Learn what terroir means in coffee and how origin influences flavour and buying decisions.
7 mins
Sample Roasting
What is the Best Coffee Sample Roaster? (2026 Professional Guide)
Sample roasting in 2026 is no longer about babysitting 50g batches; it’s about clinical ROI and risk management. We analyze...
What is the Best Coffee Sample Roaster? (2026 Professional Guide)
Sample roasting in 2026 is no longer about babysitting 50g batches; it’s about clinical ROI and risk management. We analyze why the 120g threshold is the new professional standard and...
5 min read
Green Coffee Basics
Washed Coffee Beans Explained: What They Are and How Washed Processing Works
If you’ve been exploring green coffee processing, you’ve likely seen the term washed coffee beans. They are often described as...
Washed Coffee Beans Explained: What They Are and How Washed Processing Works
If you’ve been exploring green coffee processing, you’ve likely seen the term washed coffee beans. They are often described as clean, bright, or structured - but what does that actually...
5 min read
Green Coffee Basics
What Is Natural Process Coffee? A Clear Guide to Natural Coffee Processing
Natural process coffee is shaped by a single, critical choice: drying the seed inside the whole fruit. While this method...
What Is Natural Process Coffee? A Clear Guide to Natural Coffee Processing
Natural process coffee is shaped by a single, critical choice: drying the seed inside the whole fruit. While this method produces unmatched sweetness and a heavy, fruit-forward body, it requires...
12 min read
Green Coffee Basics
How to Buy Green Coffee Beans & Choose the Right Supplier
Green coffee beans sit at the foundation of every roast. Long before flavour develops in the drum, a coffee’s character...
How to Buy Green Coffee Beans & Choose the Right Supplier
Green coffee beans sit at the foundation of every roast. Long before flavour develops in the drum, a coffee’s character is shaped by how it was grown, processed, prepared, graded,...
6 min read
Green Coffee Basics
What Is Honey Processed Coffee? A Clear Guide to the Honey Processing Method
If you’ve been looking through green coffee listings, you’ve probably seen the term honey processed coffee. It usually sits somewhere...
What Is Honey Processed Coffee? A Clear Guide to the Honey Processing Method
If you’ve been looking through green coffee listings, you’ve probably seen the term honey processed coffee. It usually sits somewhere between washed and natural lots, and it’s often associated with...
8 min read
Commercial Roasting
Best 1kg Coffee Roasters for Small Businesses (Under £7,500)
A practical guide to the best coffee roaster machine for small business and cafés, comparing small batch commercial roasters under...
Best 1kg Coffee Roasters for Small Businesses (Under £7,500)
A practical guide to the best coffee roaster machine for small business and cafés, comparing small batch commercial roasters under £7,500. Includes real output maths, running costs, home setup, and...
8 min read
Home Roasting
Best Home Coffee Roasters for 2026 (Beginner to Advanced Buyer’s Guide)
Choosing a home coffee roaster isn’t just about specs. Heat source, temperature sensing, power requirements, and build quality all shape...
Best Home Coffee Roasters for 2026 (Beginner to Advanced Buyer’s Guide)
Choosing a home coffee roaster isn’t just about specs. Heat source, temperature sensing, power requirements, and build quality all shape how a machine performs day to day. This comparison breaks...
3 min read
How the Dutch redesigned the coffee trade
Coffee became a global commodity through colonial expansion, trade networks, and shifting production origins. This article explores how empire, geopolitics,...
How the Dutch redesigned the coffee trade
Coffee became a global commodity through colonial expansion, trade networks, and shifting production origins. This article explores how empire, geopolitics, and labour systems shaped the coffee industry we know today.
3 min read
Land grabbing and coffee: The Kaweri case and how dispossession happens within the law
Land grabbing is a central feature of the industrialised production of agricultural commodities, and coffee is no exception. Large-scale land...
Land grabbing and coffee: The Kaweri case and how dispossession happens within the law
Land grabbing is a central feature of the industrialised production of agricultural commodities, and coffee is no exception. Large-scale land acquisition by private corporations rarely involves genuinely unused land. Instead, these...
4 min read
Home Roasting
Green coffee defects: what they are and why they matter
Green coffee bean defects are physical imperfections that develop before coffee reaches the roaster. They form because of agronomic stress,...
Green coffee defects: what they are and why they matter
Green coffee bean defects are physical imperfections that develop before coffee reaches the roaster. They form because of agronomic stress, harvesting errors, processing issues, or storage conditions, and they influence...
4-5 min read
Brazil’s coffee politics: from Bolsonaro’s neoliberalism to Lula’s smallholder focus
Brazil’s place in the global coffee market is often treated as apolitical. Large producers doing what large producers do and...
Brazil’s coffee politics: from Bolsonaro’s neoliberalism to Lula’s smallholder focus
Brazil’s place in the global coffee market is often treated as apolitical. Large producers doing what large producers do and working with scale and efficiency in mind. That framing, however,...
5-6 min read
Is Asia becoming the new centre of the specialty coffee world?
For much of the modern coffee trade, roles were relatively fixed. Coffee was grown in producing countries and consumed elsewhere,...
Is Asia becoming the new centre of the specialty coffee world?
For much of the modern coffee trade, roles were relatively fixed. Coffee was grown in producing countries and consumed elsewhere, with most value added far from where the coffee was...
2-3 min read
Why the EUDR has been delayed again
Why the EUDR has been delayed again A couple of months ago, we wrote about the EU Deforestation Regulation and...
Why the EUDR has been delayed again
Why the EUDR has been delayed again A couple of months ago, we wrote about the EU Deforestation Regulation and the risks it poses if ambition isn’t matched by practical...
4 min read
What is the best extraction system for small-batch roasters?
Managing smoke is one of the biggest challenges for small-batch roasters. Machines like the Aillio Bullet move far more air...
What is the best extraction system for small-batch roasters?
Managing smoke is one of the biggest challenges for small-batch roasters. Machines like the Aillio Bullet move far more air than most people expect, and without the right setup the...
5 min read
Angola, coffee, and the long shadow of extraction
Angola’s relationship with coffee is often reduced to a simple rise-and-fall story. A former giant of global production, undone by...
Angola, coffee, and the long shadow of extraction
Angola’s relationship with coffee is often reduced to a simple rise-and-fall story. A former giant of global production, undone by war and instability, now trying to find its way back....
3-4 min read
The new CVA: who decides value in coffee?
This year’s move from the 2004 SCA cupping form to the Coffee Value Assessment (CVA) is being presented as an...
The new CVA: who decides value in coffee?
This year’s move from the 2004 SCA cupping form to the Coffee Value Assessment (CVA) is being presented as an overdue modernisation. But it raises a deeper question that has...
5-6 min read
November Unfiltered: What's been happening behind the scenes
Welcome to November’s Unfiltered. This month has been a big one behind the scenes. A lot of what we’ve been...
November Unfiltered: What's been happening behind the scenes
Welcome to November’s Unfiltered. This month has been a big one behind the scenes. A lot of what we’ve been working on isn’t glamorous, but it’s important, especially as we...
4-5 min read
Beyond the C-price: rethinking power and risk in the coffee industry
The rising C-price is dominating conversation in the coffee world. But a higher market price hasn’t translated into better livelihoods...
Beyond the C-price: rethinking power and risk in the coffee industry
The rising C-price is dominating conversation in the coffee world. But a higher market price hasn’t translated into better livelihoods for most producers. The structure of the industry still directs...
3-4 min read
What Trump’s tariff reversal means for the global coffee trade
A turbulent week for U.S. coffee policy The past week has reshaped the coffee conversation worldwide. After months of volatility,...
What Trump’s tariff reversal means for the global coffee trade
A turbulent week for U.S. coffee policy The past week has reshaped the coffee conversation worldwide. After months of volatility, the United States has removed almost all tariffs on green...
4-5 min read
Yemen’s coffee story in the middle of a humanitarian crisis
Yemen’s crisis in context Yemen’s war began as a domestic political struggle, but it quickly grew into a regional proxy conflict...
Yemen’s coffee story in the middle of a humanitarian crisis
Yemen’s crisis in context Yemen’s war began as a domestic political struggle, but it quickly grew into a regional proxy conflict shaped by shifting alliances and competing interests. When the Houthis took...
4-5 min read
Coffee and the development trap: why the system was built to keep value elsewhere
What is dependency theory? Dependency theory emerged in the 1960s and 1970s as a response to the idea that “development”...
Coffee and the development trap: why the system was built to keep value elsewhere
What is dependency theory? Dependency theory emerged in the 1960s and 1970s as a response to the idea that “development” simply meant following the economic path of wealthier nations. Thinkers such...
6 min read
Climate migration and the future of coffee: how climate change is displacing coffee farmers
Climate change is no longer a distant threat for coffee producers. Across Central America, rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, and new...
Climate migration and the future of coffee: how climate change is displacing coffee farmers
Climate change is no longer a distant threat for coffee producers. Across Central America, rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, and new waves of pests are dismantling the foundations of one of...
7 min read
Why F1 hybrids might define the future of coffee
Why coffee needs new genetics Coffee’s gene pool is worryingly narrow. Studies suggest that almost all Coffea arabica plants today...
Why F1 hybrids might define the future of coffee
Why coffee needs new genetics Coffee’s gene pool is worryingly narrow. Studies suggest that almost all Coffea arabica plants today trace back to a single ancestor that evolved around 10–20,000...
6-7 min read
Why coffee breaks the rule of the resource curse
The idea that natural resources create conflict is well known. Economists call it the resource curse - when commodities like...
Why coffee breaks the rule of the resource curse
The idea that natural resources create conflict is well known. Economists call it the resource curse - when commodities like oil or diamonds fuel corruption, inequality, and violence instead of...
6-7 min read
How genocide broke Rwanda’s backbone crop
Coffee is part of Rwanda’s national story. By the late twentieth century it was the country’s main source of foreign exchange...
How genocide broke Rwanda’s backbone crop
Coffee is part of Rwanda’s national story. By the late twentieth century it was the country’s main source of foreign exchange and the cash income for hundreds of thousands of smallholders....
6-7 min read
September Unfiltered - A few pricing tweaks, a new resource hub, and why we’re skipping Black Friday
Welcome to this month’s Unfiltered. The biggest focus this month has been pricing. Not the most exciting topic, I know -...
September Unfiltered - A few pricing tweaks, a new resource hub, and why we’re skipping Black Friday
Welcome to this month’s Unfiltered. The biggest focus this month has been pricing. Not the most exciting topic, I know - but a really important one. At the heart of it...
4 min read
Congo’s conflict and coffee: a fragile future
The Democratic Republic of Congo is more often associated with conflict than coffee. Yet the country’s conditions for Arabica and Robusta...
Congo’s conflict and coffee: a fragile future
The Democratic Republic of Congo is more often associated with conflict than coffee. Yet the country’s conditions for Arabica and Robusta are remarkable. In the 1980s, coffee was second only to copper as the...
3 min read
Excelsa: coffee’s overlooked alternative
A changing landscape Speciality coffee has been built around Arabica, but the cracks are showing. Climate change is pushing temperatures...
Excelsa: coffee’s overlooked alternative
A changing landscape Speciality coffee has been built around Arabica, but the cracks are showing. Climate change is pushing temperatures higher, rainfall is less predictable, and pests and diseases are...
4 min read
Financing coffee’s future: why access to credit matters
Innovation in coffee is often talked about in terms of processing or varietals, but behind every experiment lies a more...
Financing coffee’s future: why access to credit matters
Innovation in coffee is often talked about in terms of processing or varietals, but behind every experiment lies a more fundamental question: can producers afford to take the risk? For...
4 min read
Myanmar’s fragile journey from opium to coffee
Myanmar is beginning to make its mark in the specialty coffee world. Coffees from Shan State have reached international buyers,...
Myanmar’s fragile journey from opium to coffee
Myanmar is beginning to make its mark in the specialty coffee world. Coffees from Shan State have reached international buyers, showing both quality and potential. But this story is fragile....
4-5 min read
Monoculture vs intercropping – what’s in it for coffee farmers?
The way coffee is grown has a direct impact on the quality in the cup, the livelihoods of farmers, and...
Monoculture vs intercropping – what’s in it for coffee farmers?
The way coffee is grown has a direct impact on the quality in the cup, the livelihoods of farmers, and the long-term health of the land. For decades, large-scale monoculture...
7-9 min
July Unfiltered – What’s changing behind the scenes
A Slightly Late Edition This month’s Unfiltered is running a little behind and, in true behind-the-scenes fashion, here’s why. As some of...
July Unfiltered – What’s changing behind the scenes
A Slightly Late Edition This month’s Unfiltered is running a little behind and, in true behind-the-scenes fashion, here’s why. As some of you know, our sister business, Omwani Coffee, supplies a good...
4 min read
How China is reshaping coffee trade as both a buyer and a producer
Global coffee trade is no longer defined only by traditional producing and consuming countries. China is emerging as both at...
How China is reshaping coffee trade as both a buyer and a producer
Global coffee trade is no longer defined only by traditional producing and consuming countries. China is emerging as both at the same time, with a domestic market growing at unprecedented...
5-6 min read
Does higher elevation mean better coffee?
In today’s email, we’re digging into a common belief in the coffee world: that higher elevation equals higher quality. It’s...
Does higher elevation mean better coffee?
In today’s email, we’re digging into a common belief in the coffee world: that higher elevation equals higher quality. It’s a phrase you’ll see on labels, hear in cupping rooms,...
3.5 min read
Brazilian port delays: what’s behind the shipping bottleneck?
In recent months, Brazil’s coffee export industry has been hit by significant delays at its ports, leaving containers stranded and...
Brazilian port delays: what’s behind the shipping bottleneck?
In recent months, Brazil’s coffee export industry has been hit by significant delays at its ports, leaving containers stranded and shipments delayed. This isn’t just a logistical challenge - it’s a...
7 min read
Kaffelogic vs Ikawa: A Roaster’s Deep Dive
When it comes to choosing a home roasting machine, the sky really does seem the limit… and with countless options...
Kaffelogic vs Ikawa: A Roaster’s Deep Dive
When it comes to choosing a home roasting machine, the sky really does seem the limit… and with countless options and even more opinions online, it’s easy to get overwhelmed....
6 min read
A climate fix - or another burden on the Global South? The EUDR and smallholder coffee
The EU’s new deforestation regulation is ambitious - and overdue. It aims to stop products linked to forest loss from...
A climate fix - or another burden on the Global South? The EUDR and smallholder coffee
The EU’s new deforestation regulation is ambitious - and overdue. It aims to stop products linked to forest loss from entering the European market, including coffee. In theory, it’s a...
4 min read
How fair is Fairtrade, really?
Fairtrade was created to ensure buyers in wealthier countries paid fair prices to farmers in developing ones. The idea was...
How fair is Fairtrade, really?
Fairtrade was created to ensure buyers in wealthier countries paid fair prices to farmers in developing ones. The idea was simple: better pay, decent working conditions, and more stable trade...
5 min read
With USAID freezing funds, producers are left in a tough spot
Coffee is a deeply political crop. It’s used to build national identity, attract investment, and shape how countries engage on...
With USAID freezing funds, producers are left in a tough spot
Coffee is a deeply political crop. It’s used to build national identity, attract investment, and shape how countries engage on the world stage. For many producing nations, coffee is tied...
3 min read
Why producers take risks on varietals and processes
The choices that shape your cup often start years before a harvest. For producers, deciding what varietal to plant or...
Why producers take risks on varietals and processes
The choices that shape your cup often start years before a harvest. For producers, deciding what varietal to plant or which processing method to use isn’t just about flavour. It’s...
9 min read
Unfiltered: Angry event organisers, broken weighers, and a community first
Welcome back to Unfiltered, our monthly behind-the-scenes series where we share what’s really happening at Green Coffee Collective. This isn’t...
Unfiltered: Angry event organisers, broken weighers, and a community first
Welcome back to Unfiltered, our monthly behind-the-scenes series where we share what’s really happening at Green Coffee Collective. This isn’t about polished announcements or perfect outcomes. It’s about being honest...
