farmroast wrote:[Tom] also mentions and I've generally found with my farming experiences that somewhere mid-crop harvest can be where the best produce occurs. So there are now several types of centrals on the market.

He's provided a "world cofee production time table" here which highlights best time to purchase based on region:
http://sweetmarias.com/coffee.prod.timetable.php


As to your original question, I've only bought from Sweet Marias because of the excellent information provided. It'd be great if there were a bit more variety. I sometimes hear about a great bean available from so-and-so that Sweet Marias doesn't carry, but perhaps that's the nature of the industry. Tom also doesn't seem too harsh on beans or products, when IMO sometimes these negatives should be highlighted. I see why you wouldn't want to write up a bad review on something you're trying to sell, but reputation is more important. My two cents anyway...

As far as the information I need personally, not that much. A rough flavor profile, how this particular lot or farm might differ from "classic" coffees from this origin. Something that convinces me that this is a good lot that I'm buying.

On the other hand, its a HUGE plus to see that the person giving me this information seems to know what they are talking about. Seeing that Tom from Sweet Marias has been to visit some of the farms and operations that produce the coffee, the years of experience, and the kind of experience he has gives me confidence that he knows how to judge a coffee bean.

I think others have summed up the answers quite nicely here. I too buy almost exclusively from SM's.

It always kills me when people come here and tout the fact that they found greens for (insert trivial amount lower than SM's) and how that saved them a couple bucks for a six month supply of beans. I am more than happy to spend more to 1) know that I am getting great information and quality and 2) support what I view as a real asset to the community. And I live on the east coast so it takes a week to reach me.

I would consider the origin, the farm and the processing the most important. I'd also like to know how the crop was stored and how old those beans are. Other less important factors concern me such as availability and consistency from previous year's crops. Probably most important of all is how the supplier came into possession of the beans. Direct trade, lot auctions, etc. really matter in my book.

Cupping notes are important, but they are someone else's notes (as opposed to your notebook). Sweet Maria's does a nice job of mentioning what flavors are obtainable with their beans using different profiles, but again that doesn't mean you can always replicate this on your roasting setup. I've heard several beans having flavors of blueberry and depending on the roaster's experience you may never actually get that flavor in YOUR final cup.

Overall, the most important information at a macro level is what kind of offering is the supplier marketing themselves as. Are they really a specialty coffee supplier or do they cater towards cheaper, bulk orders?

I know several folks who only care about getting some beans slightly better than Starbucks or Dunkin. For those, any green bean supplier will work. Then there are the hobbyists who want only the best beans they can find. Personally, I would rather get several varieties of exceptional coffee, rather than one big bag of mediocre beans.