2024 Transparency Report
We are very happy to be publishing our transparency report for last year's buying. For anyone that follows the commodity market and specifically the commodity price of arabica, it is clear that it has been a very tumultuous year. That said, a lot of that market volatility and coffee prices reaching all time highs will not affect our coffee prices until later this year as we buy all of our large volume coffees ahead of time on pre-agreed contracts.
Transparency reports are important to us for a number of reasons;
First and foremost they show you the reader; whether customer or industry peer, that we are putting our money where our mouth is and buying in a way that matches the ethical practices we espouse; sustainable, fair and consistent buying. Also it is an opportunity for us to reflect on our buying and see where it can be improved, for example it is clear that some of our supply chains are more transparent than others, which begs the question, are those less transparent supply chains ones we want to continue to participate in? It is an opportunity for us to reflect on our buying and see where it can be improved, for example it is clear that some of our supply chains are more transparent than others, which begs the question, are those less transparent supply chains ones we want to continue to participate in
What the report shows
We hope it is clear from the report as with others that we’ve published in the past that the majority of the coffee we buy comes from a small core of producers we have relationships with. Our largest volumes come from Familia Garcia in Brazil, followed by Estrella Divina in Peru, then Caballero in Honduras and finally Juan Saldarriaga in Colombia. With those core producers we buy large volumes for our Circles and Unit Fourteen coffees that make up the bulk of our buying but we also always purchase complimentary smaller lots that showcase what those producers do, this year in particular we loved the extended fermentation naturals from Familia Garcia, the Confite from Caballero and the El Encanto from Juan Saldarriaga. This is what Round Hill is all about, showcasing the work of the producers we buy from. That core of buying isn’t the only buying that’s built on consistency though, we also aim to return to some of the farms we buy from year on year for smaller microlots and exciting guest coffees, this year saw us once again buying coffees that are for us synonymous with Round Hill, washed coffees from the Mahembe company in Rwanda, fantastic experimental coffees from Diego Robelo’s farm Aquiares and Ethiopian coffees that we are always excited for like Chelbesa and Danche.
A growing company
The UK coffee industry as a whole is having to face many obstacles, Liz Truss’ mini budget tanked the pound against the dollar, the currency that most coffee is traded in, meaning that people lost a lot of money paying for coffee they’d already reserved. Additionally, the energy crisis meant that similar to people's homes, energy costs astronomically increased, in our case 275% increase. In many ways, 2024 was a big turning point where we overcame a lot of these problems and grew. We roasted 50.69 tonnes of coffee versus 42.17 tonnes in 2023. It’s exciting to feel like things are on an even keel again and progressing quite healthily. We hope that with this growth we can continue to double down on our core supply chains and even expand our buying a bit from some of the other producers we love. As our volume grows, microlots that we might have bought 120-345kgs of we now will be in a position to buy 400-600kgs of, and when it comes to our largest volume coffees from Brazil we are now in a position to buy a full container (18 tonnes). This is exciting but also a daunting responsibility. Again, it is a reminder of the importance of working transparently and accountably. Something that we are completely committed to as we grow.
