The Beans

Shipping
For too long people have thought of the processed green coffee bean as a hardy commodity with a long shelf life, however, we are finding this could not be further from the truth. In light of this, our method of shipping beans from producing to consuming countries is in need of an upgrade.

Traditionally, green coffee has been stored in jute bags (around 150 pounds) and shipped in large cargo containers very slowly. This is bad on many counts. First, jute provides very little protection against environmental contamination (to which coffee is incredibly sensitive).  Also, although green coffee certainly stays at peak longer than its roasted counterpart, it too has a shelf life and is really at peak for no more than 4 months or so. Many times the shipping of coffee is so slow and inefficient that the coffee doesn’t arrive at the consuming country until after the peak flavor time.

Some smaller, high-end estates have attempted to get around the shipping problem by pack in vacuum sealed mylar bags (which gives excellent protection from environmental contamination) and even air-freighting to get the coffee to the consuming country within peak time. While these processes have excellent results in the cup, there are environment sustainability concerns using a non-reusable, non-recyclable product like mylar and air-shipping small quantities which creates a fairly large carbon foot print. Research continues to seek sustainable transportation methods that preserve the coffee's terroir characteristics.