The Benefits of Farmer Roasted Coffee

Coffee has become a part of our daily lives for most people around the world. It's estimated that there are over 2 billion cups of coffee consumed every day, so it's no surprise that growers and roasters are always looking out for the best beans they can get their hands on. When buying coffee from somewhere outside your country of origin, you might not know what to look for. Sure, some countries already have a reputation for producing high-quality coffee beans, but with over 70 countries producing coffee, there is a lot of delicious specialty coffee out there to try. This brings us back to one question: why should you buy farmer-roasted coffee?

Coffee in the country of origin tastes fresher.

Coffee has a shelf life, and roasted coffee is no exception to this rule. While most people understand that fresh produce and meats are better than their older counterparts, many do not realize that coffee loses flavor after about three or four weeks of sitting around after roasting. Even unroasted coffee beans can lose freshness if not stored within its shell (the outer crispy layer that coats the seed called parchment). Coffee beans can quickly begin to lose freshness (and therefore taste), like the coffee you are purchasing in the grocery store that has been sitting there for a long time (probably longer than you realize). 

With purchasing from the country of origin, make sure to check how that company ships its coffee and how much after it has been roasted. Some farmer-roasted coffee claims to be shipped from origin only to sit in a warehouse until that coffee is sold. 

Things to note: drinking coffee roasted the same day actually is not at its peak flavor. Carbon gasses need to be released. Freshly-roasted coffee is at its peak quality 2-3 weeks after it has been roasted—it will contain more aroma and flavor for a better tasting cup. This is a huge part of why authentic farm-to-cup coffee tastes so much better than traditional roasts.

Authentic farm-to-cup coffee is always roasted in the country of origin.

If you are not familiar with farm-to-cup coffee, it means that your coffee is roasted in the country where it was grown. This impacts the sales cycle and completely removes the middlemen allowing for more revenue to stay in the country of origin. In most sales cycles in the coffee industry, only 10% of revenue stays with the farmers. 

When Gento started, we started with our own family’s third-generation coffee farm. Once we found success with selling farmer-roasted coffee, we started to partner with other producing partners in Guatemala who don’t have access to marketing streams. We create long-term relationships with our partners by purchasing coffee over market value. With stable purchasing, there is less volatility in pricing as we are not depending on the volatile market prices but on a short value chain.

Gento ships all their coffee directly from the roastery to you. 

Farmer-roasted coffee is a part of the culture.

Farmer-roasted coffee is a part of our culture here in Guatemala. Its farming traditions goes back hundreds of years to when coffee was first introduced to Guatemala in the 1800’s with its ideal weather conditions and rich, volcanic soil. Now, Guatemala is the 10th largest exporter of coffee and a large part of our economy. It’s also usually a family business where generations are passing their families’ farm to their children. Our goal is to continue to build on the traditions of coffee farming here by empowering smaller producers to create a quality specialty coffee that is unique to Guatemala, and keeping most of that value added here at the origin.

You'll appreciate the difference it makes in your cup.

With its full body and smooth finish, farmer-roasted coffee has a taste that you can really appreciate and is worth the extra effort it takes to go out of your way and get it. This is because farmer-roasted coffee is real as it comes from a single farm where the beans were grown and handpicked and processed using traditional methods. With smaller lots, there are more options to try and experiment with different varieties and crop sharing to build different flavor profiles within the seeds. 

All that to say,

If you want to get the freshest coffee possible, then farmer-roasted coffee is the way to go. It's roasted in-country and not sitting around for weeks or months on end before making it onto store shelves. This ensures that when you brew this coffee at home, all of its rich flavor will be preserved. Farmer-roasted coffee is also known for having higher quality beans because farms are staying within families for generations who take pride in their products. They care for the environment by producing shade-grown coffee to provide the environment and protecting their land. When selecting coffee, give farmer roasted coffee a try and taste the difference and support the producing country of origin.