The phrase 'directly sourced' appears on a lot of coffee bags. It is worth being specific about what it means in practice, because it varies a lot from roaster to roaster. Here is how it works for the coffees we serve at Grove Blend Field.
How Fieldwork Roasters sources ¶
Fieldwork Roasters, who roast all the coffees we sell and serve, work with a small number of importers who have long-term relationships with producers in Ethiopia, Colombia, and Guatemala. 'Direct' in their case means the importer has visited the farm or cooperative, knows the producer by name, and pays above the commodity price. It does not always mean the roaster flies to origin themselves, and Fieldwork are honest about that distinction.
What we look for when we cup a new lot ¶
Mara cups every new lot before it goes on the bar, usually on a Wednesday morning before the café opens. She is looking for a few things: clarity (does the coffee taste like itself, or is there something muddy or fermented in the background?), balance (is the acidity pleasant or aggressive?), and whether the tasting notes on the spec sheet match what is actually in the cup. If they do not match, that is not necessarily a problem, but it changes how we describe it to customers.
Why the lot size matters ¶
Small lots from individual farms or small cooperatives tend to have more character and variation than large blended lots. They also run out faster. When a lot is gone, it is gone, and the next one from the same farm will taste slightly different because the harvest, the weather, and the processing conditions will have changed. This is why the filter bar menu at Grove Blend Field changes every four to six weeks rather than staying fixed.
What traceability means for you as a customer ¶
When we write 'Colombia Huila, washed, 1,800m' on the chalkboard, that is not decoration. It tells you the region, the processing method, and the altitude, all of which give you a reasonable prediction of what the coffee will taste like. High altitude plus washed processing usually means bright acidity and clean flavour. Lower altitude plus natural processing usually means more body and fruit. You do not need to memorise this, but it is there if you want it.
If you want to know more about a specific coffee on the bar, ask. Mara or whoever is on the bar will know where it came from and how it was processed. That is the point.