How to Choose The Best Wholesale Coffee Roaster For Your Coffee Shop

How to choose a wholesale coffee roaster for your coffee shop

Choosing Your Coffee Roaster

How To Decide On Your Wholesale Coffee Roaster

As a coffee business owner, you have one important question:

Where will you get your coffee shop's coffee from?

Often, it's picking a coffee roaster. Choosing a local, wholesale coffee roaster is one of the most important decisions you'll make as a coffee shop owner. That is, of course, if you're not roasting your own coffee beans.

After all, coffee is your business.

Deciding on which coffee roaster you will partner with can impact your coffee shop business on every level. Even if you sell other items, such as bagels, donuts, or sandwiches, your coffee will be your primary base product.

It represents you and your entire coffee shop business.

I recommend choosing a passionate, local coffee roaster who delivers specialty coffee. 

I say this because some new coffee shop owners might sacrifice quality over cost and buy cheaper, burnt, and what I would call “commodity” coffee. 

You don't really want to be that kind of coffee shop owner.   

Consider the logic with any other retail shop: Would a wine or cheese shop owner only serve low-quality wine or cheese? Probably not. 

Shouldn't the logic hold with coffee shops serving the best coffee?

I believe, yes.

If you are interested in roasting your own coffee beans, read our post, Should You Roast Your Own Coffee Beans?

Where to Get Your Wholesale Coffee Beans

Coffee Roasters Offer a Variety of Coffee Profiles

Let’s start with the taste of the coffee.

Each coffee roaster may offer its own unique coffee flavor profile. Some coffee roasters offer lighter, fruitier coffees, while others offer darker and more chocolatey coffees.

Other coffee roasters might offer a spectrum of roasts depending on whether they use single-origin coffee beans for their profile or blends. Not to be outdone, some coffee roasters may offer different types of coffee blends from espresso blends, while others may stay focused on single-origin roasts.  

• Single-origin beans are where beans from one location (say, Guatemala or Ethiopia) are used for their roasted coffee batches. Single-origin beans are often used for pour-over drinks using coffee equipment such as a Chemex brewer or Hario brewers. 

• Coffee Blends – Roasters will blend different coffees from unique origins (say, Brazil and El Salvador) to create a unique flavor profile.

• Espresso –  Espresso blends are often blended beans roasted much darker and used for making espresso shots on an espresso machine.

Where to Get Your Wholesale Coffee Beans

The Taste of Coffee

Everything impacts the taste of coffee: From the country of its origin (Brazil or Colombia), how it’s processed (natural or washed), and how it’s roasted (dark or light), blended, extracted, and served.

You’re going to want to decide what type of coffee works for you, your coffee shop, and your customers.

One of the best ways to explore coffee in your area is to visit local coffee roasters and hold a coffee tasting or coffee cupping with them. Coffee cuppings are where roasters and coffee enthusiasts sample coffee roasted in a particular way or from a particular origin.

Wholesale coffee roasters are eager to share their coffee with prospective coffee owners and often gladly host a complimentary one-on-one coffee tasting or cupping so that you can try out their coffee.

Local Coffee Roaster Internet Search

If you are looking for a wholesale coffee company, search online. Google search: “Wholesale Coffee Roaster + Your City.” Hopefully, you will have a few options.

If there are no coffee roasters in your area, consider expanding the search on Google. Many coffee roasters can either deliver or ship out their coffee. Consider the long-term commitments to shipping and postage costs.

Additionally, you might want to visit other local coffee shops in your area and determine where they get their coffee. You might be surprised that some coffee shops roast their coffee and offer wholesale coffee beans to other coffee businesses.

Coffee Beans and Your Coffee Shop Costs

The roasted coffee you offer your customers will impact your customer experience and your bottom line.

Besides your rent costs, barista payroll, paper products, and taxes, your coffee beans expenditures will be among the most significant variable expenses you regularly incur as a coffee shop owner.

The quality of your coffee is one of several determining factors of your successful coffee shop business. The higher the quality of coffee, the rarer the crop, the pricier it will cost. This will increase your ongoing variable costs.

In the United States, costs are determined per pound. The fluctuation in prices can impact your bottom line.

Remember that one pound of coffee makes approximately 22 double espresso shots.

The amount of coffee you serve based on every pound of coffee you buy will impact your coffee shop profits.  In another post, we've calculated the cost of selling 100 cups of coffee. It's worth a read.

Many coffee shop owners often choose “cheaper” coffee because it delivers higher margins, but in reality, it may not serve them well in the long run. 

I’d rather serve better, tastier, and higher quality coffee and spread the costs over 22 double espresso shots than serve cheaper coffee and develop a reputation for serving low-grade coffee.

If you are a coffee shop owner, you want to serve the best possible coffee beans available to you. Your customers deserve the best.

Consider a wine shop owner. A wine shop owner wants the most exclusive, fine wines available. Most successful wine shop owners are interested in maintaining high-quality wine.

The same should be valid for coffee shop owners.

Leave the poor-to-mediocre coffees for your competition, fast food joints, and corporate coffee chains. You, on the other hand, should serve the best you can get your hands on.

Choose a Coffee Roaster

Where to Get Your Wholesale Coffee Beans

How To Choose a Coffee Roaster for Your Coffee Shop

In interviews with various coffee shop business owners, we have come up with a few short items below that you may want to consider as you look for a wholesale coffee roaster that is right for you.

We want to encourage you to really spend time considering who your coffee roaster will be as you set out to open your coffee shop. Start getting to know each coffee roaster (all of them)! Meet with them and above all… try their coffee!

Visit with as many coffee roasters as you can. It's a great way to network and meet new people in the local coffee scene.

Each wholesale coffee roaster will have his or her own unique philosophy on coffee – and how to roast their batches. This philosophy will translate to the types of blends they’re creating. As a potential coffee roaster that will supply your coffee to your customers, I believe it’s important to understand their attitudes and philosophy toward their coffee and coffee roast profiles.

Additionally, it is important to share a similar passion for the coffee you are serving, as your customers will feel the difference. Your employees will also gravitate to your passion. The higher the passion, the higher the price point can be. 

Where to Get Your Wholesale Coffee Beans for Your Coffee Shop

Your Roasted Coffee Beans Matter

Today, more than ever, coffee drinkers are educated about the coffee they drink.  Like you, people want quality coffee, and they want to experiment with different roasting profiles.

Many coffee drinkers want to visit a “fancy coffee shop” to experience the best coffee in their neighborhood. Of course, they may also go for the ambiance that you create, the excellent customer service you deliver, and even the specialty pies (or other snacks or food) you might have to offer. But when it comes to coffee… they want excellent coffee!

I cannot count how often I have been in a “decent” coffee shop, and the owner or baristas have no idea what brand or type of coffee profile they serve. This shouldn't be the standard experience that customers get at your coffee shop. This isn't snobbish. Rather, it's appropriate to know what products you are serving. You should know about the coffee you are giving your customers.

Can you imagine going into a cheese shop, a wine shop, or an auto tire shop – and facing employees who have no idea what kind of cheese, wine, or car tires they serve their customers?

The answer is a resounding no!

Sadly, the fact is that a significant amount of coffee shops and often drive-thru coffee stands don't know what kind of coffee they serve, nor does it often seem that baristas care.  But this won’t be your coffee shop. You and your baristas will know which coffee beans are being served.

When it comes to coffee shop success, the little things matter and make all the difference.

Your coffee matters. Simply knowing what coffee you serve your customers already puts you in the “upper half” of existing coffee shops in the United States.

Deciding on a wholesale coffee roaster for your coffee shop is an important step toward opening your coffee shop business.  However, to choose a coffee roaster that's right for your business, you will have to take a moment to consider the items below.

Wholesale Coffee Roaster

How to Pick the Best Coffee Shop Roaster for Your Coffee Shop

Your Coffee Bean Inventory

What to Consider When Choosing Your Coffee Roaster

What should you look for when choosing a wholesale coffee roaster for your coffee shop? If you have contacts with local roasters, you will want to talk with them first. They could give you some advice and recommendations on how to open a wholesale account. However, consider the following variables:

•  Local brand coffee recognition – The coffee you select doesn’t necessarily need to be a household name. Still, in local coffee circles, you want to serve coffee from a reputable local coffee roaster. Additionally, you should be able to justify why you are choosing to offer this specific coffee. It could be because you enjoy their coffee profiles, you like their philosophy, or they work with you to help you deliver great-tasting coffee. 

•  Is the coffee locally roasted? – Coffee is a perishable product, especially after it's roasted. It has a certain shelf-life that is perfect between 7 to 14 days after being roasted. Having locally roasted coffee can often determine freshness. Additionally, supporting local businesses (like your own coffee shop) is always a wise and endearing philosophy to undertake.

• Does your coffee roaster offer free coffee training or coffee equipment? Many roasters, both big and small, offer the use of coffee equipment, coffee education sessions, or training for your baristas and staff members. This perk is very common in the United States. Sending your staff (both new and senior) to regular coffee training can deliver benefits to you and your business.

Where to Get Your Wholesale Coffee Beans

Do the Wholesale Coffee Terms Work for You?

•  What kind of terms do they offer you? Buying wholesale coffee is business. Understanding what the terms of your purchase are will be important. For example, will they require you to pay upon receipt or offer you 30 days to pay for your coffee?

•  How significant are their wholesale discounts? What is their rate per pound, and how does it match their competitors? Additionally, do they provide free delivery? Do they offer free coffee grinders or other drip coffee machines that you may need?

•  Can you work with them? Much of your relationship with vendors is based on whether you like working with them. Can you get along with your coffee roaster? Do you share the same values and philosophy? Are they available to help you and your business grow? 

•  Do you like their coffee? Taste matters. Do you like their coffee? If you like their coffee, chances are your customers will also like them.

Choose a coffee roaster

How to Choose a Wholesale Coffee Roaster for Your Coffee Shop

Tips on Choosing a Wholesale Coffee Roaster for Your Coffee Shop

There are plenty of things to consider when choosing the right coffee that works for you and your café. It’s our advice that you attend a coffee cupping or a coffee tasting with at least three to five local coffee roasters to see which one works for you. Take your time. Enjoy the process! 

Get to know your local roaster. Build bridges with all the roasters in your area. They know that you will have to decide on one (or more?) of them. But they also know that you can switch to their roasted coffee beans at any time.

Explore your options. Coffee, after all, will be your business. We encourage you to serve the best possible coffee you can offer.

If you are looking into roasting your own coffee beans, consider reading our post, Should You Roast Your Own Coffee Beans?

Wholesale Coffee Roasters

Tips For Choosing Your Coffee Roaster for Your Coffee Shop Business:

Choose a coffee roaster basics…

Deciding on a coffee roaster can seem like a difficult choice. There is no “right way” to choose. But we do have some basic guidelines that might help you decide:

•  Start researching coffee roasters (sooner than later).
•  Determine what your competitors are serving.
•  Do you share the same philosophy with coffee and business?
• Are their wholesale rates competitive?

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Based in Seattle, Washington, USA, Coffee Shop Startups is dedicated to providing you with the most relevant information on how to start a coffee shop business successfully. Over the last 11 years, we've helped thousands of aspiring coffee business owners worldwide. We harness the experience, wisdom, and knowledge of many successful coffee shop owners to help you increase your chances of success and profits. We support business owners who want to start a coffee business by providing them with valuable information on starting their coffee business successfully.