Ken Fox wrote:Other than the obvious (better packaging, faster shipping, less exposure to extremes of temperature and humidity en route) how do you propose that we deal with that?

I suggest that one time, instead of yet another (and another...and another...) French vacation, you travel to Ethiopia and sample coffee the way it should be sampled.

Since you love the Ethiopians so much Ken, this is actually a serious suggestion.

AndyS wrote:I suggest that one time, instead of yet another (and another...and another...) French vacation, you travel to Ethiopia and sample coffee the way it should be sampled.

Since you love the Ethiopians so much Ken, this is actually a serious suggestion.

That's a cool idea; I'll tell the airlines I want to go to France via Ethiopia. Will I get extra miles for it?

ken

Marshall wrote:That's actually not true. The standard contracts (Green Coffee Association forms) provide a variety of remedies, including price adjustments and (for serious quality differences) rejection of the shipment, and there is an active dispute arbitration system involving certified cuppers. Substandard deliveries of specialty coffees can then be diverted to other markets at a discount.

OK, let's see if I've got it right now. Contracts, which are seldom easy to enforce even among parties in the same country in the developed world, allow the buyer/importer of a given specialty coffee to reject a shipment and be relieved of the obligation to pay. In theory I'm sure this works, and in practice too, if you are talking about a superlative coffee that was purchased, but where a bunch of insect and mold damaged beans interspersed with dirt and stones arrives. But what about something that cupped great at origin that is merely "good" when it arrives?

And how is the supplier of a sometimes great coffee going to deal with buyers who subject his lots to arbitration because this time it was merely "good?" That supplier is going to tell the buyer to go take a hike the next time around, if he loses out and has to dispose of a shipment of coffee at commodity prices when he expected to get top dollar for it. So, except in extreme circumstances, the US importer or roaster is not going to make a fuss, because if he does, he knows he won't get next year's crop which might be "hot."

Yes, Marshall, I agree, the legal system is a great way enforce agreements. Most anyone who has had any personal contact with it can attest to that.

ken

Ken Fox wrote:Yes, Marshall, I agree, the legal system is a great way enforce agreements. Most anyone who has had any personal contact with it can attest to.

99% of the time the legal system is not involved. These are part of the culture of the coffee trade, which has handled its disputes for many, many years without recourse to the courts.