STiR coffee and tea magazine

26 STiR coffee and tea / Issue 4, 2018 (August / September) P erforming uncanny logistical feats is just part of the job for global coffee traders. Coping with port peculiarities and warehouse options, Byzantine export regulations and shipping company (Hanjin) bankruptcies are everyday challenges compounded, on occasion, by violent regime change, political unrest, and massive volcanic eruptions. Zephyr Coffee Merchants in Connecticut, a subsidiary of the Louis Dreyfus Company, prides itself in sourcing specialty and sustainable coffee from anywhere in the world, but general manager Michael Lutz is equally adept at seeing that these coffees reach roasters unscathed. Coffee roasters with direct trade relations could hire logistics specialists with a mastery of grains—but Lutz says that coffee merchants like Zephyr offer superior service, both in logistics support and financing prior to delivery to the roaster as well as managing the idiosyncratic risks involved in the transaction. It's baked into the business, explains Lutz. Zephyr annually oversees the safe transit of count- less bags of coffee. Monitoring port and coffee warehouse conditions, knowing which shipping lines excel in transport, and consolidating container handling are essential skills honed over years. Direct trade is often thought of as eliminating middlemen but handling the transit logistics for specialty roasters à la carte is a service in demand. "During the past five years direct trade has become more common as consumers become more sustainability conscious and a new generation of roasters market their relationships at origin, a trend many in the industry have started calling 4th wave coffee," Lutz explains. Following the lead of successful direct traders like Intelligentsia, Stumptown, and Counter Culture Coffee en- ables roasters to influence and personally vouch for coffee quality. But once they discover a gem in the rough, most roasters simply cannot bear the full cost of transportation, financing, and logistics on lots of a few dozen bags, said Lutz. "They realize that while finding great local producers and coffee is part of what they want their brand to represent, logistics can be a costly distraction," he said. If transparency is assured and the coffee arrives in good condition, paying a coffee merchant to handle the logistics and warehouse the coffee for a fixed, transparent fee is buying peace of mind, he said. Lutz prefers to sell roasters lots from Zephyr's extensive offer list but for quantities as small as 100 60-kilo bags, Zephyr will deal with the details of direct trade. Direct Sourcing Dealing with the Details Logistics are critical but not a core element that interferes with direct trade agreements, so long as transactions are transparent Michael Lutz, g.m., Zephyr Coffee Merchants By Dan Bolton

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