“Italian coffee” is a promise that thousands of companies make. Some roast in Italy. Some import Italian-roasted coffee and put their own name on it. Some simply print the word on the packaging because it sells. If you are sourcing for a caf\u00e9 chain, a distribution network or a hotel group, the first job is telling them apart \u2014 and it is easier than it sounds, provided you ask the right five or six questions early.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Start with where the coffee is actually roasted<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Roasting location is not a detail. It determines how fresh the coffee is when it reaches you, whether the supply chain is traceable, and who picks up the phone when a shipment is wrong. Ask for the address of the roastery, not the registered office, and ask whether you can visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A supplier who cannot show you where the coffee is made is an intermediary. That is not automatically disqualifying \u2014 some intermediaries are excellent at logistics \u2014 but it means there is a layer between you and every decision about the product. When you want a blend adjusted or a delivery brought forward, that layer is where the delay lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Check the certifications before you taste anything<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It is tempting to start with the cup, because that is the enjoyable part. In practice certifications are the filter that saves the most time: if a supplier cannot meet the standards your market requires, how good the espresso tastes is irrelevant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ask which certifications they hold, which body issued them, and in which year. Names and dates, not adjectives. A roaster who has held a certification for fifteen years has the documentation ready and the processes embedded; one who obtained it last quarter is still learning what it requires. Our Green line, for instance, comes from Rainforest Alliance certified farms \u2014 a choice we made in 2007, when very few Italian roasters had.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ask how production is organised<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n There is a real difference between a roaster who works from stock and one who roasts against orders. Working from stock means coffee is roasted in advance and shipped from a warehouse: orders leave quickly, and the coffee may be some weeks old. Roasting to order means production starts when your order arrives: delivery takes longer, and what reaches your customers is closer to the roast date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Neither model is wrong, and both are legitimate ways to run a roastery. But you should know which one you are buying, because it changes how far ahead you have to plan your own orders \u2014 and it is the kind of thing that surfaces badly three months into a relationship if nobody mentioned it at the start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Look at the range, not just the blend they show you first<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Every supplier leads with their best blend. That tells you what they are proud of; it does not tell you whether they can serve your market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Your customers will ask for decaffeinated. They will ask for filter coffee. They will want pods for the breakfast room and capsules for the offices, and at some point somebody will want a lower price point for a secondary line. Check that the supplier covers the formats your channel actually sells before you commit, or you will end up managing two suppliers and reconciling two delivery schedules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Find out what comes with the coffee<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In the HoReCa channel especially, the bag is only part of the supply. Equipment, technical assistance when a machine fails on a Saturday, staff training that survives turnover, branded cups and accessories: these are the things that determine whether the coffee is served properly once it arrives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A supplier who provides them is removing work from your operation. One who only sells coffee is leaving that work with you, and it is worth pricing that difference honestly rather than comparing the two on cost per kilo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, find out who you will be talking to<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Over several years of partnership, the thing that matters most is rarely the price list. It is how quickly you get a clear answer when something goes wrong \u2014 a late shipment, a customer complaint, a request for a change of specification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ask who your contact will be and whether that person can make decisions. A supplier where ownership and management are the same people will usually answer faster, because there are fewer steps between the question and the person who can say yes. It is an unglamorous criterion and it tells you more about the next five years than any brochure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" “Italian coffee” is a promise that thousands of companies make. Some roast in Italy. Some import Italian-roasted coffee and put their own name on it. Some simply print the word on the packaging because it sells. If you are sourcing for a caf\u00e9 chain, a distribution network or a hotel group, the first job is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4092,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5422","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guides-and-tips"],"yoast_head":"\n