Our Mission

Quality

Mercanta’s first priority is quality - we only buy coffees that we think are exceptional. To do so, we employ a team of experienced cuppers to seek out coffees that consistently speak for themselves on the cupping table. We blind cup, re-cup and cup again every single lot - before we buy (of course!), before we ship, when the coffee arrives in our warehouse, and again at intervals through the crop cycle. Our offices are equipped with state of the art cupping labs, and much of our time is spent evaluating a vast range of samples.

Relationships

Mercanta believes in the relationship model of sourcing coffee. We want to know who produces the coffees we buy and wherever possible we negotiate our prices directly with growers. Our remuneration policy is simple: we pay premium prices for premium coffees and we treat our producers as long-term business partners. The vast majority of our coffees come from growers personally known to us, many of whom we have been buying from for many years now. Sourcing green coffee is our sole business, and our team spends many weeks of the year visiting farms, mills and exporters across the coffee producing-world.

Mercanta is also committed to building lasting relationships with our customers, large and small. We recognise that every roaster is different - we want to understand your individual green coffee needs and make sure you have the information you need to make buying decisions, roast and market your coffee. We love to hear from roasters and host regular cupping events at our coffee labs in London and Seattle.

Mercanta Lab, London

Spreading the word

We are passionate about specialty coffee, and we want the world to know why! Our partnership with our independent sister company, London School of Coffee, enables us to offer training courses, consultancy services and field trips. The aim is to empower buyers (both roasters and consumers) to make a conscious and informed choice in their coffee purchasing - to buy and taste fine coffees in the same way as they might do with wine. Our challenge is to show people just how outstanding and diverse coffee can be.