A relational approach to sourcing

Many roasters buy from different producers annually, depending on price, quality and trends. At Blossom, we prefer to take a more intentional approach. Our focus is on building long term relationships with producers, working exclusively with just one supply chain per origin and committing to buy from these same producers every year.

This approach is certainly more challenging than simply buying microlots from the most famous producers, but we believe that by taking a long term view we can provide our producer partners with the stability needed to invest in the sustainability of their own businesses and, ultimately, the quality of their product. As we grow, we are committed to demonstrating loyalty to these producers by purchasing more of their coffee each year so that their businesses can grow alongside ours.

Transparent pricing

Ever since starting Blossom, our mission has been clear: we want people to fall in love with speciality coffee and encourage them to be part of a movement that helps to protect it for future generations.

As speciality coffee roasters, it is the choices we make when buying coffee that will have the biggest impact on the future prospects of our industry. We have always chosen to take a long-term, relational approach to sourcing and we’re proud to have been transparent about the prices we pay since our first year in business.

Why transparency?

We feel a responsibility to work in a way which ensures financial stability for the producers with whom we work, as it is only by increasing sustainability throughout the value chain that we believe speciality coffee production can be secured. We see transparency as absolutely central to this.

By publishing our data and openly communicating how much is being paid for our coffees, we hope to be part of a movement which normalises prioritising living incomes for producers and increases awareness for consumers, while in doing so distinguishing ourselves from those that use ‘transparency’ only as a marketing tool.

The Pledge

In 2022, we became just the second UK coffee roaster to sign The Pledge.

The idea to create The Pledge was developed during the transparent trade colloquium in Hamburg in 2018. As a group of like minded professionals in the coffee supply chain, signatories of The Pledge feel that transparency should necessarily mean one thing: transparency of pricing in coffee negotiations.

“Companies that sign The Pledge agree to share a fixed set of variables when reporting on green coffee purchases. Together, we aim to create a common standard for transparency reporting that is applicable throughout the coffee world. By disclosing additional information like the name of the producer organisation, the lot size and the cup quality of the coffee, we add context to our transparency reports that makes them comparable and truly transparent.”

To sign The Pledge, a minimum of one coffee that we have bought must be considered transparent according to the agreed criteria. However, we are proud to have published data for 100% of coffees bought since 2021.