Whether you’re a seasoned roaster with decades of experience or you’re just starting out, seasonality impacts every aspect of green coffee purchasing and planning. Understanding coffee seasonality isn’t just about timing—it’s a key factor in building a reliable inventory and offering consistent quality to customers. Mike Ward explains the critical role coffee seasonality plays in shaping the supply chain, roasting schedules, and purchasing strategies.
Coffee Seasonality & Harvest Cycles
Coffee is an agricultural product, meaning its availability and quality are directly tied to harvest cycles. Different producing regions harvest at different times of the year.
For instance, Central America’s harvest begins in late fall and runs through early spring, with fresh shipments arriving from February to May. South America has staggered harvests, such as Brazil’s peak harvest from May to August and Colombia’s multiple regional harvest cycles per year. In East Africa, countries like Ethiopia and Kenya harvest between October and January, with shipments landing from March to June. Southeast Asia, including Sumatra, typically harvest twice, first from March to July and again from October to January.
By understanding these timelines, you can anticipate when certain coffees will be fresh and plan purchases accordingly. For a look into this year’s shipments, check out our 2025 Guide to Green Coffee Origin Arrivals.
Why Seasonality Is Important
Seasonality matters for a few reasons. First, buying coffee closer to the harvest period ensures freshness, which translates to better flavor profiles in the cup. Additionally, seasonality affects how long coffee will remain vibrant. Aligning purchases with production schedules can help you avoid quality degradation and better manage inventory. Lastly, seasonality allows you to match offerings with customer preferences, such as featuring fresh Central American coffees in spring or vibrant Ethiopian coffees in summer.
Working with Coffee Seasonality
Utilize Reserve Contracts
One way to navigate coffee seasonality effectively is by utilizing reserve contracts, which allow you to prebook specific lots or quantities of coffee for future delivery. Reserve contracts offer several benefits. They stabilize costs by locking in pricing and ensuring budget predictability, secure supply for high-demand coffees that often sell out quickly, and enable smoother inventory management by spreading deliveries throughout the year.
Plan Ahead
Incorporating seasonality into purchasing strategy starts with planning in advance. Diversifying origins with staggered harvest seasons ensures a steady rotation of fresh coffee. Collaborating with your trader for insights into harvest timelines, shipping schedules, and potential delays is another critical step. Your trader can also help identify cost-saving opportunities or recommend substitutes if a preferred coffee isn’t available.
For larger quantities purchased during harvest season, you should evaluate storage needs to maintain quality over time. Additionally, communicating with customers about seasonality—such as highlighting the arrival of fresh coffees or explaining why certain origins aren’t available year-round—can build trust and excitement for new offerings.
Focus on Specific Origins
For new roasters, starting small and focusing on a few key origins that align with customer preferences is a smart approach. Tracking how long it takes to sell specific coffees and adjusting purchase volumes over time will also help refine your strategy. For experienced roasters, optimizing blends by using seasonal coffees strategically and securing exclusive lots through a good relationship with your trader can help set your menu apart. Exploring experimental processing methods like anaerobic or honey during harvest periods can add variety to offerings and justify higher price points.
Final Thoughts on Seasonality in Coffee
Seasonality is a cornerstone of coffee purchasing. By planning ahead, leveraging reserve contracts, and staying in tune with harvest cycles, you can ensure that you’re delivering the freshest, highest-quality coffees to your customers while managing costs and inventory effectively. Whether navigating a first coffee-buying cycle or refining a decades-old strategy, incorporating seasonality into purchasing decisions is essential.
