Pricing Transparency

You will notice on all of our coffees' product pages, we have listed various points of data for you to consider. Some of those may be quite familiar to you - processing method, varietal, region, etc. But some of it may be new to you. Below, we'll go over the details of these data points.

Let's take our first iteration of Bookmark Blend as an example:

  • Green Coffee Costs Per Lb

    $1.07 - Importer Costs (Avg)
    $2.95 - Price Paid to Producer (Avg)
    $4.03 - Total Green Cost We Paid (Avg)

  • Our Costs Per Lb

    $4.03 - Green Cost (Avg)
    $0.16 - Logistics (Avg)
    $9.08 - Operating & Production Costs
    $13.26 - Our Total Costs

    • Importer Costs
      This is what the importer's costs are to get a pounds of this coffee to us. This may include documentation and licensing, ocean transport, truck transport, costs of programs that they operate at origin (i.e. financing for producers, training, operating a laboratory, etc.), their profit margin, and more.
    • Price Paid to Producer
      This is pretty straight-forward. This is what the importer paid the producer for a single pound of processed coffee prepared for export.
    • Total Green Cost We Paid
      The cost per one pound of green, unroasted coffee that we paid. This is typically the above two numbers added together, but sometimes might be more due to additional costs not covered.

    Lastly, you'll notice that "(Avg)" is used here. Because Bookmark is a blend, we take these costs from all of the coffees used in the blend, and average them out according to what percentage they are of that blend.

    • Green Cost
      This will match the Total Green Cost We Paid from the left column.
    • Logistics
      This will include fees accrued in order for the coffee to reach us. This could be transport, pick up fees, etc.
    • Operating & Production Costs
      As you can see, this is typically going to be the largest expense. This includes labor, costs associated with operating and upkeep of equipment, consumable such as municipal gas and electricity, transaction fees and website costs, and a large portion being the loss of weight when roasted (a pound of green coffee can lose anywhere between 10% and 30% weight when roasted). Another large portion of this will be cost of packaging.
    • Our Total Costs
      Perhaps a data point that you'll find surprising. This is our total costs associated with producing a single pound of roasted coffee.

We hope that this has been helpful and informative for you. The calculations that we use are meant to be as precise as possible, so as to provide both you and us a clear understanding of the cost of coffee.

The costs associated with each pound of roasted coffee may be higher or lower than you had previously thought. You may be calculating the profit margin and thinking that we're raking in the dough. While we wish this was true, there are many costs that cannot be easily quantified into a per-pound of coffee. A profit margin helps us to offer wholesale prices to other businesses, and hopefully to continue doing this year after year.

Parallel to how we hold ourselves to a higher standard of purchasing coffee that offers the producers a sustainable profit margin - one that makes it possible for them to earn a decent living, and being able to reinvest back into their livelihood - we, too, must ensure that we secure a sustainable profit margin on our own products.

We want to continue to bring you comfortable, flavorful coffees year after year.