Frequently asked questions
Browse through our FAQs for detailed information on our services.
Not finding the answer to your question?
We don't ship to Turkey. Our Turkish customers arrange their own shipments due to the country’s specific customs regulations.
Yes, contact us for help with the logistics.
Generally, shipping with ocean freight is less expensive than air freight. This is just an indication, as sometimes there is an applicable surcharge depending on shipping industry conditions. Check out our ocean freight costs here.
Yes! We are happy to offer discounts for higher volumes, for the customers who regularly buy from us. Coffee must be invoiced and dispatched in the last 12 months to count towards your volumes.
2 tonnes in 12 months: 3%
4 tonnes in 12 months: 7%
6 tonnes in 12 months: 12%.
Loyalty discounts are accessible for all coffees you buy from Nordic Approach (except for special offers), regardless of the mix of lots, origins, cupping scores, or prices.
Before we can send you samples, we need to know if you have ever imported coffees from Europe before and what your import plan is. Our sales rep will contact you for further details.
It varies from country to country, so we recommend consulting with the customs agent who will clear your shipment. It is important to find a good and reliable customs clearance agent, so you don’t get headaches and problems when the shipment lands. Some certifications are nice to have but are not necessarily required - so why pay more for something that you do not need? You can read our guide to import certifications here.
All coffees can be sampled, except for special offers and coffees with low availability.
This is a very country-specific question. The EU only requires an invoice and the packing list. Outside the EU, it will differ from country to country. We recommend consulting with a local customs agent or asking your sales rep for guidance.
We highly recommend cupping our samples as soon as you receive them to avoid disappointment!
Samples generally arrive within a few days, but we will send you tracking info when they are shipped.
This depends on the location of your roastery and the order size. Contact us directly for a specific delivery quote: coffee@nordicapproach.no.
This depends on the location of your roastery and the order size. Contact us directly for a specific delivery quote: coffee@nordicapproach.no.
We usually use ocean freight. It will be port-to-port only and you need to do the customs clearance and transportation to your warehouse / roastery yourself. We don't have the expertise to deal with customs in every country, as the regulations may vary and are challenging in a lot of circumstances.
Yes we can! We will need your Turkish ID number (11 digits), so we can ship the sample to you as a private individual. This has yielded the best results with customs.
Both! We can either send 100g green samples or 30g roasted samples.
We usually have very limited amounts of pre-shipment samples per lot, but we do our best to share them with as many roasters as possible. Ask your sales rep for the coffees that are most interesting to you.
We have three Roest machines in our lab that we roast most of our samples on, but we also have an Ikawa.
We usually use UPS, but we can also send them via DHL or Fedex, depending on what works best in your location.
Our lab crew roasts, packs, and sends samples every working day. If we have the samples at hand, we usually ship them within a few days of your request. You will receive an email with a tracking link, and hopefully the samples will arrive within 1-2 business days!
Information regarding samples is always available and updated regularly for each coffee. You can request a sample online or via email, and we will send it to you if it is available. Please note that you can still request a sample even if labelled as unavailable. You will not receive it immediately, but it helps us know what you’re interested in so that we can send them to you when possible.
We send up to 10 samples per request.
You will find all in-stock coffees as well as available preships on our offer list. Check out our NA Direct list for 30+ bags and special orders.
We can accommodate orders as little as 1 bag or 1 box. Most roasters try to order at least 300 kg (5 bags) at a time for more efficient and cost effective shipments.
We send all coffees on EUR pallets, measuring 1.2 x 0.8m. They are strapped and wrapped in plastic.
Up to 10!
We use a modern warehouse called Seabridge in Zeebrugge, Belgium. It is one of the few in Europe with specific facilities for specialty coffee.
Yes!
Seabridge is a climate and humidity controlled warehouse. It is also mainly solar powered, and connected to the port of Antwerp by rail link.
It's very easy. You can use your email address to create an account and then you’re ready to go. We’ll just need some basic information for your personal profile:
Official company name
Billing address
Shipping / delivery address
VAT number
Contact person, email, phone
Once confirmed, we will send you the invoice with our bank account details. As soon as we receive payment (or copy of payment confirmation from your bank), we’ll get the goods prepared and shipped! It usually takes 2 days to prepare the pallet.
We give terms for roasters in Europe. After 3 orders, if you are up to date on your bills, you can have 30 day payment terms. Late payments will result in removal of terms!
Talk to your sales rep. If we know what you need, and how long you will hold the reservation for, we can make a temporary (TBC - to be confirmed) reservation for you. Please note that we need confirmation before the reservation is binding!
TBC (to be confirmed) means we are temporarily holding the coffees for you, but we need your prompt confirmation. Once a reservation is ‘confirmed’, we consider you to be committed to the coffee. We use this date for calculating finances.
Generally as short as possible, no more than a week. We prefer to get confirmation on your reservation ASAP - so fast cupping is always helpful!
Maximum 6 months. Once a reservation is confirmed, you will start accruing warehousing and financing charges, while the coffee waits for you. We prefer that you take it as soon as you can, while it is fresh! Talk to your sales rep if you have questions.
Warehousing and financing is free for the first 30 days after reservation. If you reserved before the coffee arrived, you have 30 free days from the date of arrival. After that, we charge 1.5% per month.
We can offer financing for customers who are in good standing (no outstanding bills with us).
Please talk to your sales rep about this. We generally consider PSS approvals binding, but if you really need an arrival sample approval, we can accommodate.
The price paid to the producer, FOB information and the Farmgate price is specified for each coffee on our product pages.
We have a designated product page for each coffee. You’ll find the sensorial information and cupping score, details on the producer, farm, processing info, and more.
You can find plenty of information on each of the origins we source from through the origin menu on our website. We have a designated page for each country, with a lot of details on how we work, the value chain, the harvest, and the processing methods.
Coffee is a volatile product, so we need to cup it at different stages of the import process. In every description, we indicate the type of sample we are describing to make sure you receive the right information. More often than not, the cupping notes might vary slightly.
Yes, you can. We try to have updated information and pictures from all of our producers here.
Tropiq is a product line under Nordic Approach. Together, we form a one-stop sourcing group, pushing boundaries and changing the traditional way high-scoring coffee is traded and perceived. While we used to be sister companies, as of February 2024, we are now part of the same company. Nordic Approach will continue to offer spot and forward booking options from our warehouses in Europe, while Tropiq will facilitate direct shipments from origin for high-quality coffees at scale.
Read more about the merger here.
Our headquarters are in Oslo, Norway but we also have offices and cupping labs in Ethiopia and Colombia. We also have colleagues based in Germany & Russia.
Check our overview at the end of this page. On our homepage, you will also find a dashboard with our latest headlines, including harvest updates.
We are an organic certified company.
No, but we're working on it!
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