Harvest
“Don’t like the weather? Just wait a minute.” Unfortunately, that quip is becoming truer and truer for our partners in the coffeelands, whose once-predictable harvest seasons have been changing year by year as global temperatures increase and other weather patterns alter the usual timeline for coffee growing.
Generally speaking, however, the world of coffee agriculture still operates in two “semesters,” and we are roughly able to assume when we will start to see coffees being harvested, processing, and shipped around the world. The schedule provided below is an estimate, including both main crop and, where applicable, fly crop in places where that smaller secondary harvest occurs.
Following harvest and processing, coffee will typically “rest” at origin for 30–60 days before shipping out of its country of origin—though your mileage may vary. There’s an old logistics joke, “It takes about 6 weeks to get from anywhere to anywhere.” While there are countless variables when it comes to cargo transport, that adage is actually pretty true when it comes to coffee shipments. (Nothing in coffee is hard and fast, however, so always double-check for your own peace of mind.)
The chart also displays a prediction of when our North American offices see arrivals from each country. These estimates, too, are subject to change: When in doubt, ask your sales representative for more accurate, specific information about arrivals.
Specialty-Coffee Harvest Calendar
The Cafe Imports Specialty-Coffee Harvest Calendar is a user-friendly quick guide to the typical harvest and shipment seasons for the specialty-coffee source areas in which Cafe Imports works.
Scroll to the bottom of this webpage for a web store link to the Specialty-Coffee Harvest Chart, and click here or on the photo for a PDF downloadable vertion of the calendar.
Specialty-Coffee Harvest Chart
The Cafe Imports Specialty-Coffee Harvest Chart is a user-friendly guide to the typical harvest and arrival seasons for the specialty-coffee source areas in which Cafe Imports works. In addition to the calendar of harvest and shipment arrival months, it includes a world map depicting the primary shipping routes for many of the coffees that Cafe Imports buys. It also lists the primary port city for all of our FOB (free on board) and FOT (free on truck) coffee shipments.
This chart was created as a collaborative effort between the Cafe Imports marketing and green-coffee-buying teams, with design and direction by Cafe Imports former creative director Andy Reiland. We hope you’ll use it when forecasting your yearly coffee contracts, daydreaming about upcoming crops, or simply showing off your deep knowledge of coffee-harvest seasons around the world.
Scroll to the bottom of this webpage for a web store link to the Specialty-Coffee Harvest Chart, and click the digital elements from this piece below for enlarged views.