Authors Note: I am indebted to Ryan Brown and his incredible book “Dear Coffee Buyer” for lighting this fire in my mind. The ideas are my own based on my experience. However, I never would have thought to create this framework without Ryan’s inspiration. Many thanks
The quality of the coffee will never make up for the absence of strong, lasting relationships. As a green coffee buyer, it is of absolutely paramount importance that the following traits are cultivated and progressively achieved over time.
1. Humility & Reverence
Most of the people I have spoken with about green buying have a glamorized version of the role in their minds. Images abound of traveling the world, meeting fascinating people and bringing home the most exciting, rare coffees in their carry-on luggage. It’s not to say that those things are untrue (except bringing back coffee in my carry-on, that’s usually illegal) it’s just not the core of the role. In my experience, the job of the coffee buyer is more figurative than concrete. As a green buyer, I spend more time representing and communicating our company’s commitment to coffee quality than actually executing the tasks that make it so. In other words, I spend more time answering emails and looking at spreadsheets than cupping and traveling.
As a person steps into this role, I think it’s incredibly helpful to bring a healthy dose of humility and reverence for the supply chain and the other people who are involved. Though it may not be strictly true, it’s most helpful to think of the green buyer as the least important person in the supply chain. This humility and reverence will (hopefully) manifest itself in many ways from how we discuss the work we’re doing with producers. Everything from the kinds of coffee we try to buy all the way to the number of people cupping coffee. I am personally guilty of overstating my role with producers; it sounds great to say I have “partnered” with Wicho Valdez of Finca Santa Isabel and “brought” his coffee into our roastery. It’s more honest to say I liked it and everyone else did a bunch of work to produce, export, import, ship, roast and package it. I posed for a photo though too so that’s nice.
It’s paramount to remember that we are not omniscient, benevolent coffee saviors. We don’t know everything and we need these amazing people as much or more than they need us. Revering all the work that goes into coffee that I do not do helps me remember I need a lot of help to do my job. A humble posture will also help lay the foundation for long-term, trust-filled relationships. No matter how good my palate is, if I am unable to meet people on the level, we won’t be likely to do business for very long.
2. Hunger for Knowledge & Information
A common trait I have seen in all the green buyers I respect is an insatiable thirst for knowledge and information. When I can humbly realize that hardly anybody really knows what they’re doing, I feel more free to ask lots of questions. And not judgemental questions (e.g. “How come you don’t float your cherries before processing them?”) but exploratory questions (e.g. “I’ve heard some people float their cherries first. What are your thoughts on that?”). Personally, I still attend public cuppings at various roasters around town. I always learn something new.
For travel and green buying, I strongly recommend learning a second language. Not for the purpose of negotiating details of a contract, but to show a willingness to put as much effort into the relationship as possible. In the process you will inevitably learn more about the history and culture of the place you’re visiting and the context you’re stepping into.
3. Communication & Clarity
The role of the green buyer exists to support all the amazing people in the supply chain. It takes a few minutes to cup and purchase a coffee, but I will spend hours crafting content to tell the story. If a green buyer doesn’t have a genuine love of connecting people, of communicating clearly with producers, importers and baristas alike, it’s a pretty tough job. My role requires that I be able to connect with all types of people, personalities and nationalities in a clear, succinct way that demonstrates the essence of who we are.
On the producer/importer side it’s important here to strive to be kind, courteous and honest. This is not a role for a people pleaser; it requires giving credit where credit is due but also being honest when something just isn’t good and why we won’t be purchasing it.
On the barista/customer side, it’s not about the transmission of data and details; the green buyer’s role is about inspiring people with respect to a specific coffee. That takes some skill but mostly just a love for telling stories and the acknowledgment of the importance of that facet of the job.
4. Insight & Understanding
When I make purchasing decisions, the quality of the cup is not the only attribute I’m weighing in the balance. It is important to avoid being naïve; I may have altruistic motivations in the way I purchase coffees but there is always another angle someone is mostly likely working for their own benefit. Aim to look past what is readily evident and grab hold of reality. Knowing the singular quirks of a particular country, including flavors I do not like from that origin, is immensely helpful. Just because a pre-ship sample from Ethiopia from a random exporter tastes amazing doesn’t mean the 15 bags I buy will taste the same or even good.
A measure of insight and understanding regarding what our customer base drinks is also extremely helpful; I may be losing my mind over a super complex Kenya that will end up retailing for over $20+ for a 12 oz bag but I know our customer base is not likely to buy enough of it to make the purchase worthwhile.
5. Patience & Flexibility
It would be difficult to overstate the need for patience in the green buyer job description. It can be hours on planes (or donkeys for that matter), waiting for coffees to arrive or hoping to hear back from a producer, patience has been a nonnegotiable trait to cultivate. It’s often 6-12 months before I realize I’ve made a mistake in purchasing and another 12-18 months before the error can be fully resolved. It’s helpful to take a long-term view of things, listen for a long time before speaking and remember there are a lot of things at play that we’re not familiar with and have no control over.
Along the same lines, flexibility is key. The ability to adapt when things do not go according to plan, or better yet, there was never a plan to begin with. New faces, strange foods, people you might not choose to sit next to in a cramped Land Cruiser for 6 hours, it all requires a certain level of flexibility. If and when everything falls apart, I always assume there has been an honest mix up before I even think someone might be trying to screw me over.
6. Kindness & Approachability
I might preface this with saying that cultivating a bit of self-awareness is helpful here, as most people who are not approachable also do not realize people perceive them that way.
It’s counterintuitive to think that simple approachability is the foundation of long-lasting relationships, but I have personally found this to be the case. The people I dread calling/emailing are the people we consequently do less and less business with. The people who have hosted us in various countries who are approachable are the people I organize more trips with, especially if I’m bringing people from my staff on their first trip. A kind, warm demeanor is cross-culturally inviting and helps build bridges more quickly. Remembering that our role is to connect people, that is easier done when people feel they can approach us in the first place. You will be surprised how often people use you as a sounding board for unfinished, raw ideas because they feel they can confide in you.
7. Organizational & Data Entry
Everyone’s favorite aspect of the job: data entry. Having studied Mechanical Engineering has been surprisingly helpful in the green buying job. Not all of us are blessed with a nearly eidetic memory (I’m looking at you Michael McIntryre) and the ability to reach back into our memories and pull ages old tasting notes out at will. I am surprised how often I have to answer incredibly specific questions about how a coffee tasted, differences between pre-ship and arrival cupping notes or when exactly I first tasted signs of “age” in a coffee… all when my cupping notebook is tucked away somewhere safe. However you choose to keep notes, I suggest aiming to make it easy enough that you’ll actually do it and complicated enough that it’s actually helpful. Too simple and the notes are useless. Too complex and I personally, find reasons I don’t need to do it.
Getting real comfortable with spreadsheets (I know, gross) can be a great goal. In order to keep everything straight like farm details, cupping notes, coffee location vacant slots in your offering line up, it will likely take a methodology unique to your personality and preferences. During farm visits, I record everything on my phone’s Voice Memos and transcribe them on my laptop during the car rides. Cupping notes go in a cheap ledger notebook with simple shorthand I contrived and eventually a Google Sheet I can access from my phone. That’s just me though, your solution will almost certainly be different.
This list is by no means comprehensive; however, I hope if gives you a head start in your green buying journey by laying a firm foundation for your future purchases. You’re working with human beings of equal intrinsic value and worth – they are not less than you, but neither are they above reproach. To paraphrase Howard Thurman, “a person is a person, no more and no less.” That posture alone has framed my work more than any other and I hope it does the same for you.