#9 Importance of an Importer - with Jean Heylen from 32 Cup

Have you ever wondered what coffee importers do besides taking our hard-earned money? Well if you did, this episode is for you. In this episode, Jean Heylen from 32 Cup will tell us how the coffee gets from its origin to our roasters. I asked him his opinion on direct trade--when roasters buy coffee directly from the farmer. He will give you the good and the bad aspects of this kind of relationship. I tortured him with questions about samples: when is he happy and when he's not happy to send out samples to his customers. If you decide to go and source your own coffee, listen to him explain his ways of finding gems in the coffee-producing world. I get so many requests for helping to unload green coffee, and finally I had the chance to ask how farmers and producers can contact a coffee importer who can help them to sell their coffee. Finally Jean will reveal what is the ideal customer relation for a coffee importer. Enjoy! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit valeriancoffee.substack.com