Coffee exporter

What does a coffee exporter do?

A coffee exporter is a company or individual responsible for selling and shipping green coffee from the producing country to buyers abroad, such as roasters or importers. They play an important role in the supply chain:

• With access to coffee from producers (farmers, cooperatives, or washing stations)
• Grading and milling the coffee to prepare it for export
• Handling logistics and documentation needed to move the coffee across borders
• Actively ensuring quality control protocols are met for their customers

In many cases, exporters also work closely with importers or direct trade buyers to align on quality, pricing, and delivery timelines.

Coffee importer vs coffee exporter

A coffee exporter is usually based in the producing country. Their role is to prepare coffee for export: milling, sorting, quality checks, government approvals, and shipping preparation.

A coffee importer operates closer to the market side. Importers manage the journey from customs clearance onwards—warehousing, quality follow-up, financing, and customer service to roasters. Sometimes a company operates in both roles. A quality-driven importer often plays an active role in quality control and building long-term relationships directly at origin—with cooperatives, farmers, or washing stations. But broadly speaking, exporters focus on the origin side of the supply chain, while importers focus on the destination.

Where Nordic Approach fits in

At Nordic Approach, we primarily operate as a coffee importer—connecting roasters with traceable, high-quality coffees from across the coffee belt. However, through our close relationships and teams at origin, we often take on parts of the exporter’s role as well: collaborating directly with producers, overseeing milling, managing shipments, and securing export approvals. We have a strong focus on quality, transparency, and impact, which means being present across all stages of the production cycle is crucial.

This hybrid approach means we can offer more transparency, more control over quality, and deeper support for both sides of the supply chain.

Exporting specialty coffee vs commercial coffee

The main differences between exporting specialty coffee and commercial coffee lie in quality standards, traceability, processing, and the level of involvement in the supply chain. Here's a generalized breakdown:

Quality & Grading

• Specialty Coffee:
  • Must score 80+ points on a 100-point scale (according to SCA standards).
  • Focus on flavour complexity, clean cups, and defect-free lots.
  • Carefully processed, often hand-picked and sorted.
• Commercial Coffee:
  • Lower quality threshold, usually below 80 points.
  • Accepts more physical defects and uniform, basic flavour.
  • Often machine-harvested and bulk processed.

Traceability

• Specialty Coffee:
  • High emphasis on traceability—down to the farm, farmer, or even variety.
  • Transparency around origin, processing, producer, pricing, and payment structure (eg. what is paid to the farmer).
• Commercial Coffee:
  • Typically blended from many sources with little to no traceability.
  • Focus is on volume and consistency, not origin story.

Processing & Care

• Specialty Coffee:
  • More control over the harvest and post-harvest processing
  • Often custom, controlled processing methods (e.g. honey, anaerobic fermentation).
  • Emphasis on product innovation
  • Greater attention to drying, milling, and storage to preserve quality.
• Commercial Coffee:
  • Standardized methods geared for speed and scale.
  • Less concern for post-harvest nuance.

Volume & Pricing

• Specialty Coffee:
  • Smaller volumes; often microlots or curated blends.
  • Sold at higher prices based on quality, relationships, higher production costs.
• Commercial Coffee:
  • Large volumes; priced closer to commodity market rates.
  • Traded with less direct involvement between producer and buyer.

Relationships & Ethics

• Specialty Coffee:
  • Exporters often engage in long-term partnerships with producers and buyers.
  • More likely to support sustainability, community projects, or quality improvement.
• Commercial Coffee:
  • Transactional, with less emphasis on personal relationships or long-term collaboration.