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Background Information
SpecialtyCoffeeAuctions.com provides the ideal environment for creating a competitive marketplace for the Specialty green coffee industry, enabling supply and demand to come together and create balanced opportunities for both buyers and sellers.
By connecting a larger number of coffee buyers with a
wider variety of Specialty Coffees directly from each country of origin, we can help create fair prices for both sellers & buyers.
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Specialty coffee roasters have been frustrated with the lack of supply, high prices and old inventory when evaluating domestic sources for quality coffee.
SpecialtyCoffeeAuctions.com helps to streamline the buying process by connecting buyers directly with sellers in the country of origin.
The market expands when more buyers and sellers are able to compete in an open market without the restrictions that occur caused by limited knowledge of product availability and from the limited channels that exist for exposing the available inventory to qualified buyers.
Coffee Pricing References
Although not directly related to Specialty coffee pricing supply or demand; commodity coffee prices directly affect overall prices for the coffee industry. Often coffee producing countries set prices at a standard amount above or below the New York Board of Trade spot and future prices. Becoming familiar with the references below can be useful for understanding historical trends and potential future pricing activity.
International Coffee Organization - Historic Prices
How the Commodities Market Works to Set Coffee Prices
Current Prices - International Coffee Organization (ICO)
For the current green coffee prices, refer to the ICO's trends in the daily prices reports.
The ICO is recognized as the maintaining the most comprehensive database of coffee prices from around the world. You can review prices from the previous day and back for months and years.
Notice that prices are presented as "cents per pound", so that 117 is equal to US$1.17 per lb.
Future Prices - New York Board of Trade (NYBOT)
NYBOT is the world's exclusive global marketplace and designated futures market for coffee futures and options on futures contracts.
NYBOT functions to set today's spot prices and future prices for the world's Arabica coffees. The cash market determines prices for coffee purchased today, while the futures market helps to establish prices for transactions to taking place at a date in the future.
As a futures market, NYBOT is primarily used for hedging (or protecting) the price paid for coffee received in the future, not for actual purchases at today's (spot) prices. In fact, only 1% of the future contracts actually result in the delivery of coffee. Even so, future prices are the best predictors of the general direction of coffee prices.
That being said, this coffee commodities market can be used as a barometer to determine pricing for coffees sold all over the world.
Coffees are usually sold at either a premium or discount to NYBOT prices and are presented as cents per pound, based on the purchase of 1 Unit or 37,500 lbs/230 bags. Purchases for larger or smaller quantities will demand the premium or discount paid for any type of coffee.
Coffee Classifications and Grades
Coffee is classified as one of five grades and Specialty coffees being a Class 1, and sold at a premium to NYBOT prices; other coffees are sold at exchange grade or at discounts. In addition, each country's coffee may also be broken down further according to their own criteria.
For example in Kenya, coffee is sold at various prices depending on the quality which falls into the following levels and priced per 50 Kilos (110.23 Lbs). Even so, coffees listed for sale on SpecialtyCoffeeAuctions.com will be listed in various quantities, but priced and bid on a per pound basis.
Most coffees are graded according to screen size. The Kenya example:
| Grade |
Standard |
Screen Size |
| AA |
1-10 |
16-18 |
| AB |
1-10 |
| PB |
1-10 |
| C |
3-10 |
| E |
| TT |
Notice that each of these grades can be further broken down according to several standards, each commanding a different price.
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