India as an origin
How to Buy Green Coffee From India
Buying direct from an origin you have never used is mostly a sequencing problem. Do the steps in order and very little goes wrong; skip one and you find out which one it was on arrival.
This is the practical version: what happens, in what order, and what to pin down at each stage.
1. Enquiry
Tell the exporter what you actually need, not what you might like. The four facts that let anyone quote you sensibly:
- Volume — bags or tonnes, and whether that is a trial or an annual figure.
- Species and grade — arabica or robusta, and roughly where in the grade ladder.
- Process — washed, natural, honey, monsooned.
- Certification — organic, Demeter, none, or "must be EUDR-ready".
Say if you are new to the origin. A good exporter prices and packs a first trial differently from a repeat container, and will tell you so.
2. Type samples
A type sample is representative of a grade rather than drawn from a specific lot. It answers one question: is this origin worth pursuing at all?
Ask for 200–350 g so you can sample-roast and cup properly. Expect to pay courier costs; most origins will waive the coffee itself.
Roast these against something you already buy. The useful comparison is not "is this good" but "what would this replace or complement".
3. Offer samples
If the type sample earns a second look, ask for offer samples from specific lots currently available, with the full specification alongside: grade, screen, moisture, altitude, harvest, process, packing, bags available.
This is the point to read the offer list properly and ask which numbers are contractual.
4. Contract
Get these in writing. Vagueness here is what turns into an argument in week ten.
| Term | What to state |
|---|---|
| Quality | Grade, screen, moisture at shipment, and "as per approved PSS" |
| Quantity | Bags and net weight, plus tolerance |
| Price | Per kg or per lb, and the currency |
| Incoterm | FOB, CFR, CIF or DAP, with the named port |
| Packing | Bag size, jute, and whether a barrier liner is included |
| Shipment window | A month, not "as soon as possible" |
| Documents | Including who supplies EUDR data and by when |
| Payment | Terms and instrument |
The Incoterm and the packing are the two most commonly left loose and the two that most change the landed cost. A price "FOB Cochin, 60 kg jute" and a price "CIF Antwerp, GrainPro" are not comparable numbers.
5. Pre-shipment sample
A PSS is drawn from the actual bags about to ship. You approve it, and the shipment is then contractually held to it.
Do not skip this. It is the single control that separates buying a specification from buying a hope, and it is the reason most quality disputes never happen. Allow one to two weeks for courier and cupping.
6. Shipment
The container is stuffed and sails. Expect four to six weeks port to port to Europe, plus inland legs and clearance — see shipping green coffee from India to Europe.
From December 2026 you will also need a Due Diligence Statement filed before the goods are placed on the EU market, using origin data you should already hold by this point. If EUDR is new to you, start at what you must hold.
7. Arrival
Draw an arrival sample and cup it against the approved PSS. Check moisture. If something is wrong, raise it immediately and in writing — claims have time limits, and a claim raised three months later is a much weaker claim.
If a container is too much
A 20-foot container holds roughly 18–19 tonnes. That is a lot of coffee for a first order from an unfamiliar origin.
Reasonable alternatives: LCL, sharing a container with another roaster, or buying the first few bags from a European importer who already stocks the origin and going direct once you know you want it. Nobody sensible will think less of you for starting small.
Buying from Hoysala
The estate grows, cures and grades its own coffee in Chikmagalur, so the chain between a named block and a bagged lot is short. The offer list carries the full specification per SKU with separate bag counts for India and the EU.
Hoysala grows, cures and grades its own coffee in Chikmagalur and ships from India to the port of your choice. Tell us what you are looking for and we will start where this article starts, at samples.