Regional Coffees

Regional coffees are a mixture of small microlots from a particular growing region of a coffee producing country.

Producers, small and large alike, rarely produce coffee that is all of the exact same cup score and flavour/profile. Even producers capable of achieving 87+ or even 90+ will usually have lots that cup around 83-85 as well.

Those lower scoring specialty lots still have great features but are often better turned into a more complex regional lot by combining with other coffees. This bigger regional lot is more user friendly to the end roaster, and the producer receives a premium price as well because the cup quality was still specialty level.

Three main reasons:

Smallholder farms who are not big enough to have their coffee exported independently, or who don’t have direct contact with an international buyer would typically sell their coffees to a collection station. In Africa this is how almost all coffee is sold, via collection stations like Guji Masina in Ethiopia or Thageini in Kenya. In Central and South America this is one option for producers, but otherwise they can connect with an exporter who will help find international buyers for their coffees.

Producers, small and large alike, rarely produce coffee that is all of the exact same quality. Even producers capable of achieving 87+ or even 90+ will usually have lots that cup around 83-85 as well. This could be first pickings or last pickings of the harvest, or the weather might impact cherries during picking or drying causing quality issues. This coffee still needs to be sold and often goes to collection stations.

Producers, regardless of size, may need to be paid for their crop urgently rather than wait for an international buyer to sample and select their coffee, ship it, and then pay for it when the container arrives to them (which is usually 3-6 months after harvest ends). If they sell within their own country to a collection station the price they receive is usually lower but they get paid immediately.

For regional lots that deliver consistent specialty quality, Project Origin pays 50-150% above the commodity price (for reference, Fair Trade pays around 20-50% above commodity price).

Regional lots provide producers an outlet to sell their lower quality specialty coffees and still be paid reasonably well.

Regional lots can help producers get introduced to exporters and international buyers that will create longer term relationships

Regional coffees are created at harvest time by cupping several lots, combining those that will work well together to meet the flavour profile, and then shipping soon after.

The reason some regionals, like Project Origin’s Regional Samba from Minas Gerais in Brazil, are available all the time is that we put lots of care into cupping and combining lots that match the flavour profile our customers expect of the Samba coffee.

We do our best to ensure it is available all year round, even though harvest happens once a year. This is done by careful selection of coffee lots and ideal storage of the coffee to maintain its quality year-round. This is useful to roasters who need consistency and are looking for coffees that meet a certain flavour profile in a set price range.