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Post by eanbean on May 13, 2011 13:31:36 GMT -5
Does anyone have experience buying beans directly from farmers and coops?
Are there any pointers/best practices/be careful about/avoid at all costs recommendations you can give me?
I will be having an initial meeting and getting beans to evaluate. If the beans are good, I will look at buying more and larger volumes in the future.
Any suggestions you may have about pricing beans, etc. would also be very much appreciated.
Thank you so much.
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Post by cheebs on May 13, 2011 14:03:48 GMT -5
By virtue of my location, ALL my cacao purchases are made directly from the producers. You need to be very well versed in what makes a "good" bean, and if you're buying multiple bags, make sure you inspect them all.
Some farmers are notorious for giving very high quality samples and then sending terrible beans once you buy from them.
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Post by eanbean on May 13, 2011 14:31:26 GMT -5
Thank you Cheebs.
Any pointers on pricing the first 20 lb samples?
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ivan
Neophyte
Posts: 4
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Post by ivan on May 13, 2011 15:33:12 GMT -5
Hi eanbean, I offer cocoa beans from Ecuador, is considered the best cocoa in the world for its fine flavor and excellent quality, also offer cocoa paste top quality, if you want you can write to dissupp@yahoo.com and will be happy to assist you .
Sincerely, Iván.
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Post by eanbean on May 13, 2011 16:17:58 GMT -5
Thank you Ivan. I am looking at many different options right now for my beans. I will keep you in mind. Are you currently shipping directly to the Pacific Northwest area (Seattle)? I would really like to work directly with the farmers and tour their farms with them as much as possible.
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Post by cacaufarmer on May 14, 2011 7:40:09 GMT -5
eanbean, I am preparing a container shipment of cacau beans to be delivered to the pacific Northwest in August. If you have a requirement for partial container lots i would be interested in exchanging ideas. 20-30kg purchases are almost impossible to service as the customs paperwork, sanitation certs, postal fees are prohibitive. You can chat with Brad Churchill at SOCHOKLAT in Calgary for details pertaining to our beans and ways of conducting business.
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ivan
Neophyte
Posts: 4
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Post by ivan on May 14, 2011 10:46:12 GMT -5
eanbean, I have no problem to send anywhere in the U.S., please send me my mail your request and will respond immediately. I work directly with small farmers to avoid the big brokers.
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Post by Brad on May 14, 2011 18:17:21 GMT -5
Eanbean;
Asking for 20lbs samples is quite a bit, unless you pay for the samples and pay for shipping.
Standard in the industry is 1-2kg samples.
With regard to cacaufarmer's products, the quality is nothing short of exceptional and the flavour is exceptional. I would not hesitate to wire him payment in advance for product, trusting that it will arrive in good order, and in fact will be doing that again in the next couple of months for my third order from him in 2 years.
Cheers. Brad.
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Post by FeralOne on May 20, 2011 13:00:08 GMT -5
Where are you located cacaufarmer?
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Post by cacaufarmer on May 20, 2011 15:02:16 GMT -5
We are located in the North Eastern Brazilian state of Bahia. Our farms are centered about the Google Earth coordinates
14 deg 49min 02 sec South 39 deg 39min 16 sec West
This spot is located on the western edge of the Atlantic Rain Forest and has been producing cacau for the same family for 95+ years. I and my wife have been operating and managing the farms activities for the past 16 years.
Where are you located? What do you do with cacau beans?
You can get in touch direct e-mail at cacaufarmer@yahoo.com or jimlucas1940@gmail.com
Thanks for the inquiry
Jim Lucas
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Post by FeralOne on May 20, 2011 21:38:42 GMT -5
Oh geeze! I didn't realize it was you. It's been a while since I have been on here and I must have forgotten some of the names that match the monikers. Way back when I first started on this site I Google Mapped your location, it's beautiful where you're at. I would love to make a trip there sometime in the future.
I'm in Utah right now, hopefully not too much longer. I'm an at home chocolate maker, but it seems that lately I am having a LOT of people trying to get me to open a shop. It takes a lot more money to do that than I have though. Maybe in a few years. I'll see where the Military sends us next and maybe it will be somewhere I would want to stay. Then I will go through the steps to get a commercial thing up and running. No point of opening a business and then moving and I really don't want to stay here.
Hope all is well with you,
Andrea
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Post by Sebastian on Oct 19, 2011 8:56:19 GMT -5
Say hi to Tom from me - he'd sent me some of his chocolate years ago to take a look at ... i was just in hawaii, but didn't have a chance to hit 'his' island and stop by
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Post by hamakuadan on Oct 19, 2011 13:45:15 GMT -5
hi Sebastian,
I will say hi to Tom for you.
Sharkey asked that I pull my posting for him from Chocolate Alchemy because he did not want to be in competition with John for selling Hawaiian Beans.
If you have other suggestions where I could post for him I would appreciate it.
cheers
Dan
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Post by reelchemist on Oct 20, 2011 0:14:56 GMT -5
try on TheChocolateLife in the 'classifieds' group
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