As excited as we are about new beginnings in 2021, we wanted to look back on 2020 and evaluate how well we supported the people who make our business and livelihood possible, Bluebeard's coffee growers.
Big Picture Takeaways
Bluebeard paid an average of $3.33 for 51,985 pounds of coffee in 2020. Single origin (not for blending) coffees accounted for 28k of this at an average of $3.74, for those keeping score. For perspective, the coffee commodity price, C Market, fluctuated between $.92 and $1.34 per lb. in a volatile 2020 market and sits at $1.27 in January, 2021. The Fairtrade price floor is currently $1.40 per lb. of washed Arabica coffee and $1.70 for Organic Fairtrade coffee.
Bluebeard is proud of these coffees, growers, source partners and our investment in them. We're fairly certain this places Bluebeard in good company, regarding prices paid per pound by specialty coffee roasters, although it's hard to gauge precisely with limited transparency across the industry.
| Origin | Lot Name | Pounds | EXW Price/lb | Source Partner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colombia | Jose Elmer Olaya Tolima | 1216 | $3.90 | Shared Source |
| Colombia | El Guayacan, Nariño | 3550 | $2.81 | Olam SC |
| Colombia | Dulima Excelso, Tolima & Huila | 1543 | $2.32 | Olam SC |
| Colombia | Finca El Cedro, Diego Botina | 1080 | $4.06 | Olam SC |
| Colombia | Amigos del Huila EA Decaf | 1445 | $4.30 | Shared Source |
| Colombia | Catatumbo, Nariño | 5400 | $2.81 | Olam SC |
| DRC: Congo | Hutwe Washed Organic | 661 | $3.13 | Olam SC |
| Ethiopia | Yukro #7 Washed Agaro | 661 | $4.75 | Red Fox |
| Ethiopia | Nano Genji #9 ORG Washed Agaro | 661 | $4.85 | Red Fox |
| Ethiopia | Danse Mormora | 2910 | $3.79 | Olam SC |
| Ethiopia | Buku Sayisa Natural | 397 | $5.40 | Shared Source |
| Ethiopia | Halo Beriti, Washed, Yirgacheffe | 661 | $4.29 | Olam SC |
| Ethiopia | Danche Chelbesa Washed | 661 | $5.15 | Shared Source |
| Ethiopia | Deri Kochoha, Guji, Natural | 1587 | $4.70 | Olam SC |
| Guatemala | Don Santiago, Lake Atitlan | 5324 | $2.87 | Olam SC |
| Guatemala | Javier Martinez Huehue | 760 | $4.40 | Shared Source |
| Guatemala | Vista al Bosque, Wilmar Castillo, HH | 913 | $4.17 | Onyx |
| Guatemala | Organic Chochajau, Lake Atitlan | 7606 | $2.70 | Olam SC |
| Guatemala | Todos Santos, Huehuetenango | 760 | $3.50 | Shared Source |
| Honduras | Benjamin Paz, La Leona | 913 | $4.00 | Bonaventure |
| Kenya | Wachuri AB | 396 | $5.08 | Olam SC |
| Mexico | Guadalupe Miramar #3 Oaxaca | 1216 | $3.30 | Red Fox |
| Mexico | Yucuhiti #3 Oaxaca | 304 | $3.30 | Red Fox |
| Mexico | San Agustin Loxicha #2 Oaxaca | 4529 | $3.45 | Red Fox |
| Mexico | Brigada Blend Oaxaca | 152 | $5.92 | Red Fox |
| Mexico | Bluebeard Reserva Oaxaca | 1369 | $4.50 | Red Fox |
| Mexico | Organic Comalapa Chiapas | 2738 | $2.35 | Olam SC |
| Nicaragua | Regalo de Dios, El Doctor Honey | 456 | $4.08 | Atlas |
| Papua New Guinea | Kimel River Estate Peaberry | 794 | $2.48 | Olam SC |
| Rwanda | Kopakama Coop FT | 661 | $4.40 | Artisan |
| Tanzania | Heights Estate, AA | 661 | $2.39 | Olam SC |
Importantly, our listed price is the Ex-Warehouse (EXW) price, paid for from the point of entry warehouse in the US. You may also see Free on Board (FOB) price, the price of the coffee when delivered to the boat at the port of origin and ready to ship. As EXW covers nearly the entirety of our contracts and purchases, we utilize it. It's useful in understanding the full cost of a coffee once in lands at its port of consumption, it can tell you less about precisely how a farmer was paid. We recommend Red Fox's super informative series on Paying for Coffee: It's Complicated.
The manner in which our partners at source have remunerated farmers is a fascinating and complex subject, which we won't begin to address here, save to pass along that it varies widely and necessarily by country, community, processor/coop/community/farmer, and stage at which coffee is purchased, whether it be cherry, parchment, bagged and ready for export, etc.
Should you seek it, we would invite you to dive into the web sites of our import partners, who embody many best-in-industry practices in coffee, paying at the top of the market to farmers and communities in the interests of sustainability, living wages, sound environmental practices and value paid throughout the coffee chain.
Thank you,
Kevin McGlocklin
Bluebeard Coffee Roasters
RED FOX COFFEE MERCHANTS | SHARED SOURCE | ATLAS COFFEE IMPORTERS | OLAM SPECIALTY COFFEE | ONYX | BONAVENTURE COFFEE PROJECT