Offering Philosophy

There are thousands of different coffee roasters in the world, each of which purchase green coffee to roast, sell, and brew for you. But how do roasters know what coffees to buy? And how are their purchasing decisions any different from the other players in the industry? This post seeks to clarify what is known as an offering philosophy, and brings to light the differentiating factors of purchasing green coffee.

What is an offering philosophy?

  • An offering philosophy is a company’s guiding principle(s) for making coffee purchasing decisions. You must have a reason for buying the coffees that you do, and not purchasing others. To clarify your offering philosophy, answer the question: what would I like my lineup of coffees to accomplish? (Brown, 2018)

Why is it important to have an offering philosophy?

  • By establishing an offering philosophy, you’re answering the WHY of your coffee buying program. Having an offering philosophy guides your decisions for the type of coffees you purchase. There must be a reason for accepting one sample of coffee and rejecting another.
  • In Dear Coffee Buyer, Ryan Brown states that “your offering philosophy helps determine..
    • What your coffee tastes like
    • Where your coffee comes from
    • Your relationship with producers”

What is Matte Coffee’s offering philosophy?

  • Our offering philosophy is producer based while following certain flavor guidelines.
  • First and foremost, it must taste good. All good will falls short if the product we’re serving isn’t delicious.
  • We source coffee from underrepresented producers that may not have the accessibility of more established producers.
    • For example, have you ever wondered why we don’t offer certified organic coffees?
    • Well the short answer is, organic certification at the farm level (and every subsequent level) is pricey! Organic certification can be up to $1500 per year (USDA, 2021), and for small hold producers that are trying to build something great, that can be an unnecessary dent in their finances. Most times these producers will utilize organic pesticides and practices anyways but because the price and process to obtain organic certification is too steep, they can’t go through with it. My qualms with organic certification (and fair trade certification) will eventually be its own blog post, but for now, I digress.
  • We strive to make coffee EASI
    • Educational - we never want to stop learning
    • Accessible - quality coffee shouldn’t break the bank or be difficult to make
    • Sustainable - there are already too many factors damaging the earth, the coffee chain shouldn’t be one of them
    • Inclusive - anyone anywhere is welcome, because the one thing we all have in common, is our humanity

Do you have any questions, comments, or inquiries? Shoot us an email at ‘matthew@mattecoffee.co’. We would love to connect with you!

 

Resources

Brown, R. (2018). Your Offering Philosophy. In Dear Coffee Buyer: A guide to sourcing green coffee (pp. 3–8), Ryan Brown.

USDA. (2021, February 21). Becoming a certified operation. Becoming a Certified Operation | Agricultural Marketing Service. Retrieved September 9, 2021, from www.ams.usda.gov/