In the age of digital trading, every merchandise can be found on the e-commerce level, from home appliances, clothes to gift products. For coffee lovers, the best present recommended is specialty coffee beans. But the question is whether to buy specialty coffee online or not?
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Basic knowledge to prepare before buying specialty coffee online
Shopping specialty coffee online has recently become popular with coffee drinkers around the world because of its convenience. Customers should have some basic information to buy specialty coffee online easily and effectively.
Explanation of specialty coffee concept
The term “specialty coffee” was first published in 1974 by Erna Knutsen in the Tea & Coffee Trade Journal. Specialty coffee is a coffee product from a growing area with natural conditions with special care, harvesting, and processing processes. The standard of specialty coffee is scored by the American Specialty Coffee Association (SCAA) from 80 points or more on a 100-point scale with very specific points.
Detail: What is special coffee?
Outstanding characteristics of specialty coffee
Specialty coffee is distinguished by the special characteristics and composition of the soil in which the coffee tree is grown.
It is special and considered a specialty because the taste is completely different for each growing region. Therefore, for specialty coffee, information about the origin is extremely important, consisting of Growing place, Elevation of planting area, Like coffee, Harvest time, Processing method. Moreover, when buying specialty coffee online, customers should look at these factors.
- Growing
The proper confluence of microclimate, soil chemistry, and culture at the ground level is obviously critical because these factors determine the quality of specialty coffee beans. Specialty products cannot be developed if they are cultivated at the incorrect altitude, soil, or climate, and the potential for quality is lost.
- Harvesting
Coffee cherries on a healthy plant must be hand-picked when they are completely ripe. Selective hand selection takes longer but produces better results since the pickers can sense the freshness of the cherries, ensuring the quality of specialty coffee beans for the next stages.
- Processing
Taste and aroma are used to grade specialty coffee. They are derived from the pulp rather than the seed. Processors must figure out how to get them into the bean, which is why it is such a difficult and time-consuming procedure. There have been various new ways of coffee processing in recent years, in addition to traditional processes such as natural, honey, or washed coffee processing.
The top 5 specialty coffee beans in the world
Below are the top 5 specialty coffee beans that are recommended by coffee connoisseurs.
| 1 | Ethiopia
Ethiopia is where the plants are grown. Light body with rich fruit and floral characteristics in taste and flavor |
| 2 | Typica
Ethiopia is where Typica is grown. Taste and mouthfeel: a sweet flavor with a silky texture. |
| 3 | Villasarchi
Villasarchi is grown in Costa Rica’s western valley, Sarchi. Elegant acidity, rich fruit aromas, and strong sweetness characterize the taste and flavor. |
| 4 | Da Lat Bourbon Arabica
Da Lat Bourbon Arabica is grown in the Vietnamese city of Da Lat. Taste and flavor: round, mellow flavor with a smooth mouthfeel and balanced acidity. |
| 5 | Arabica Cau Dat
Cau Dat, Vietnam is where the plants are grown. Taste and flavor: an elegant and truly aromatic perfume that combines the scents of syrup, fresh fruits, honey, toasted bread, and the scent of sunny days. |
Ways to buy specialty coffee online
There are two primary methods for purchasing specialty coffee online: domestic and foreign trading.
How to find a reliable specialty coffee online seller
Before buying coffee beans online, consumers need to find reputable suppliers. Currently, specialty coffee online sellers can be found easily in some countries such as Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia,… As a result, locating a specialty coffee online supplier becomes much easier.
- Using search engines on the internet: Google is the most useful and free search engine. Buyers can locate sales that appear at the top of a Google search page. It’s possible that those are Google-recognized businesses. Furthermore, e-commerce platforms are a viable option for purchasing agricultural products. When buying specialty coffee online, customers should follow some related keywords such as “Vietnam specialty coffee online”, “Vietnamese coffee beans online“, “Brazil specialty coffee online”, “reputed specialty coffee online sellers”,…
- Through a third-party company: Intermediaries frequently have offices in many nations. Therefore, they are aware of both supply and demand. Through an intermediate firm, coffee importers can locate specialty coffee online suppliers.
Domestic specialty coffee online trading
Because the supply of specialty coffee is plentiful in nations with a booming coffee industry like Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, China, Korea, Japan, Australia, the US, or European countries like Germany, Italy,… purchasing specialty coffee online is highly convenient. Consumers simply need to complete purchases with sellers directly through online sales channels like Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms, or through domestic e-commerce platforms. The cost of shipping in the country is affordable, and the price of online specialty coffee to buyers is comparable to the product’s quality.
To buy specialty coffee online, buyers should note the following:
- When purchasing specialty coffee online, customers should carefully review the product details to determine whether the product suits their demands.
- People who order specialty coffee online also should double-check their personal details to avoid losing items or having them sent to the wrong address while in transit.
- Consumers must seek popular specialty coffee brands and ensure that the pricing matches the product in order to avoid purchasing a low-quality product at a high price.
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The steps to place a domestic order:
- Searching for specialty coffee online sales
- Selecting the category of goods want to buy
- Checking product information
- Filling in personal information and delivery address at the request of the seller
- Receiving goods, checking and confirming payment
Foreign specialty coffee online trading
For countries that do not have suitable conditions to grow coffee, importing coffee is inevitable, especially when consumers like to enjoy the taste of specialty coffees from diverse countries around the world. On international e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Alibaba,…, there are many reputable online and guaranteed specialty coffee online suppliers. However, in some nations, consumers will need to buy specialty coffee online through brokers due to shipping issues.
For customers who buy retail specialty coffee online, we recommend buying through intermediary shipping companies or collection companies to optimize shipping costs. Because international traders often supply goods in large quantities, they often give priority to wholesale orders. Even if you buy on large e-commerce sites, you will also encounter lost goods, long shipping, high shipping fees, difficulty to return,…
For customers buying specialty coffee online in bulk, follow the steps below:
- Importer writes a Letter Of Intent (LOI) to a specialty coffee online seller, describing the order’s needs.
- If the specialty coffee online supplier can fulfill the importer’s LOI, the Final Corporate Offer will be sent to them (FCO).
- A specialty coffee online supplier will offer samples to importers so that they may get a better feel for the product and have more faith in the supplier.
- Under both parties’ laws, signing a contract constitutes a legally binding promise. This is the most crucial of the six processes since it lays the groundwork for the two parties to finish their cooperation.
- Tracking to prepare and ship products are important duties that both parties must complete in order for the order process to run smoothly.
- Receive the specialty coffee online merchandise and provide feedback.
Pros and cons of buying specialty coffee online
In general, buying and selling specialty coffee online also has its own advantages and disadvantages.
The advantages of buying specialty coffee online
When buying specialty coffee online, customers will receive some outstanding benefits.
- Because of the Covid-19 epidemic situation that has lasted for the past 2 years, many direct selling stores have had to switch to online form due to social distancing. However, this is also the diversity of customers’ choices when more and more specialty coffee online suppliers are available on the Internet. Moreover, this way of trading will be safer than exchanging directly.
- Besides, there are many specialty coffee lines that can only be ordered online. After a period of shopping and experiencing specialty coffee online, customers can choose for themselves the most suitable place for long-term exchange.
- Especially, when shopping specialty coffee online on e-commerce platforms, buyers will also be given many incentives on product price reduction or shipping cost. This is the most common way for store owners to improve customer service while trading specialty coffee online.
The disadvantages of buying specialty coffee online
Besides the advantages, there are still some limitations. Buyers should be careful and take extreme precautions when buying specialty coffee online.
- The most inconvenient thing when buying specialty coffee online is products are not guaranteed quality, buyers are easily scammed or stolen money.
- Moreover, the high international shipping fee was due to social distancing during the epidemic situation. In addition, when discovering a defective product, the buyer also spends a long time for exchange and return.
The answer to the question: “Should customers buy specialty coffee online or not?”
In conclusion, should customers buy specialty coffee online? This is up to the consumer’s choice. Customers should remember to carefully check the product origin, purchase price, shipping cost, and related information to ensure their own interests.
We will suggest some information so that you can easily buy specialty coffee online.
First of all, customers should check the shop will buy specialty coffee online. A reputed seller evaluated based on the following 7 criteria:
- Have a brand vision.
- Have a matching logo.
- Highly appreciated by previous customers and partners.
- Provide quality products.
- Has a reasonable price
- Always keep promises and deliver a great experience.
- Have the legal capacity and a clear address.
Secondly, the quality of specialty coffee online is very important, evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Highly aesthetic: particles are of equal size, glossy color
- Scent: typical coffee smell, not annoying when smelling close
- Packed carefully, with anti-mold
Finally, if buyers want to optimize shipping costs of specialty coffee online, they can refer to the ways below:
- Finding a reputable transport company with economical costs.
- Consolidating orders for bulk shipping.
- Choosing the right means of transport.
- Optimizing the route according to the transportation area.
- Sharing freight costs with other customers.
If you want to learn more about specialty coffee and how to trade coffee online, please feel free to check out the website: https://k-agriculture.com/ or contact us via +84855 555 837 (Whatsapp available).
