Green Coffee Importer Catalyst Trade Launches Small-Bag Line

A 10-pound bag of green coffee in Catalyst Trade’s Small Bag program. All images courtesy of Catalyst Trade.

Portland, Oregon-based green coffee trading company Catalyst Trade has entered 2023 with a new play in the home- and nano-roaster market: the launch of a small-bag line.

Catalyst’s direct-to-roaster’s-door green coffee line includes 10-pound Ecotact bags of coffees sourced by the importing company, which launched in 2019 with a partner in Ethiopia. Last month, DCN reported that the company had expanded its sourcing operations to Peru and Kenya.

According to an announcement from Catalyst, offerings in the small-bag line will represent a cross-section of all of Catalyst’s commercially available coffees, while coffees from the three different countries of origin will rotate in and out on a seasonal basis.

Currently, the Catalyst Trade shop shows eight offerings in the line, each originating from Ethiopia. Orders are available in 10-, 20- or 30-pound increments, as inventory allows. Among the eight current offerings, prices range from $71.25 to $87 per 10-pound bag. According to the company, standard-rate UPS shipping applies, although buyers in the Portland area can coordinate pickups.

Orders are being processed and shipped from Catalyst’s brand new headquarters in Portland.

Catalyst joins an increasingly busy small-volume, direct-to-roaster green coffee market in the United States. In recent years, this market has welcomed: larger traders offering smaller bags or boxes to small commercial roasters (Sustainable Harvest, Cafe Imports’ La Bodega, Royal Coffee, Ally Coffee, Genuine Origin, etc.); commercial traders appealing squarely to home roasters (Bodhi Leaf, Theta Ridge, Showroom Coffee, etc.), and sellers focused exclusively on the home roasting market (Sweet Maria’s, Burman, etc.)

In its launch announcement, Catalyst said its 10-to-30-pound line will allow different types of roasters to try “a wide variety of the most beautiful coffees in the world.”

Said Catalyst, “The Small Bag selections are targeted offerings based on buying patterns and value propositions that will most benefit small-to-medium sized roasters, nano roasters and home roasters.”

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