Green Coffee & Sourcing
Share
Where do your beans come from?
Most of our coffee comes from Honduras, with another large portion sourced from Colombia and Brazil.
We're incredibly proud of the relationships we've built in Honduras through our friends at Mountain Journey Coffee. Working closely with them allows us to source fully traceable coffees from producers we know and trust.
While we source coffee from many parts of the world, Honduras has become a special focus for Moon Boy. We love the people, the relationships we've built and, of course, the incredible coffee they produce.
How do you choose green coffee?
For us, it always starts with traceability.
We want to know where the coffee was grown, who produced it, how it was processed and the story behind it. Coffee doesn't simply appear in a bag - it represents months of work from farmers, producers and exporters, and we think those people deserve to be recognised.
Of course, flavour matters too.
Every coffee is carefully cupped (a professional tasting process used to assess aroma, flavour and overall quality) and evaluated before we decide whether it's the right fit for Moon Boy, but knowing the journey behind the coffee is just as important as knowing how it tastes.
Why don't you buy coffee from just one country?
Because every country produces something unique.
Brazil might offer rich chocolate and nutty flavours. Ethiopia is famous for bright florals and fruit. Colombia often delivers incredible sweetness and balance. Honduras has become one of our favourites for its versatility and consistency.
By sourcing from multiple countries, we're able to create balanced blends, offer a wider range of single origins and continue exploring everything coffee has to offer.
If we only bought from one country, we'd miss out on a huge part of what makes coffee so exciting.
What is washed coffee?
Washed coffee is one of the most common processing methods in specialty coffee.
After the coffee cherries are picked, the fruit is removed from the bean using water before the beans are dried.
This generally produces a cleaner, brighter and more transparent cup, allowing the natural characteristics of the coffee itself to shine through.
If you enjoy coffees with crisp acidity, floral notes or citrus flavours, there's a good chance you'll enjoy washed coffees.
What is natural coffee?
Natural coffee is the oldest processing method used in coffee production.
Instead of removing the fruit immediately after harvest, the entire coffee cherry is left to dry with the bean still inside.
As the fruit dries, sugars and fruit compounds are absorbed into the bean, creating coffees that are often sweeter, heavier and much fruitier than washed coffees.
Natural coffees can showcase flavours like berries, tropical fruit and even wine-like characteristics.
What is honey processing?
Despite the name, no honey is involved.
Honey processing sits somewhere between washed and natural processing.
After harvesting, some of the sticky fruit layer (called mucilage) is left on the bean while it dries.
The amount that's left behind influences the final flavour, but generally honey processed coffees combine the clean sweetness of washed coffees with some of the fruitiness and body found in natural coffees.
They're often beautifully balanced and incredibly sweet.
Does altitude matter?
Absolutely.
Altitude is one of the biggest factors influencing coffee quality.
Coffee grown at higher elevations develops more slowly because of the cooler temperatures. That slower growth allows the coffee cherry to build more natural sugars and develop greater complexity.
Generally speaking, higher-grown coffees tend to produce brighter acidity, more sweetness and a wider range of flavour.
Altitude isn't the only thing that matters, but it's certainly one of the reasons many of the world's best coffees are grown high in the mountains.
What is single origin coffee?
A single origin coffee comes from one identifiable origin rather than being blended with coffees from multiple places.
That origin might be a single farm, a producer, a cooperative or a specific region, depending on the coffee.
The goal is to showcase the unique characteristics of that particular origin.
Blends are designed for consistency and balance.
Single origins are designed for exploration.
If you love drinking black coffee and discovering different flavour profiles, single origins are a fantastic place to start.
Why don't you roast every coffee the same?
Because every coffee is different.
Every coffee arrives with its own density, moisture content, bean size and chemical makeup. Those differences affect how heat moves through the bean during roasting.
For example, our decaf coffees roast very differently to our Gordon Street Blend because they're much denser. A denser bean absorbs heat differently and requires a different roasting approach to bring out its best flavours.
At Moon Boy, we measure the density of every coffee we buy using a density tube. This gives us valuable information about the coffee before we even begin roasting and helps us develop a roast profile that's tailored specifically to that coffee.
There isn't one perfect roast profile.
There's only the right roast profile for that particular coffee.
Why do coffees become unavailable?
Coffee is a seasonal agricultural product.
Unlike many supermarket products, coffee isn't harvested all year round. Farmers harvest their crop once or twice each year depending on the country and region.
Roasters purchase coffee while it's available, but once that particular lot sells out, it's often gone until the next harvest - or forever.
That's one of the things we love most about coffee.
Every harvest brings new flavours, new producers and new opportunities to discover something special.
Do coffee harvests affect flavour?
Absolutely.
Every harvest is different.
Changes in rainfall, temperature, sunshine and growing conditions all influence how the coffee develops throughout the season.
Even coffees from the same farm can taste slightly different from one harvest to the next.
That's why coffee is always evolving, and why roasting is such an enjoyable challenge. Every new harvest gives us another opportunity to learn, adapt and showcase the best qualities of that year's crop.
How important are relationships with producers?
We think they're one of the most important parts of the coffee industry.
Many roasters buy coffee through importers, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. Importers play an incredibly important role in connecting producers with roasters around the world.
But whenever we have the opportunity to build genuine relationships with producers, we embrace it.
Through our relationship with Nicole Bravo and the team at Mountain Journey Coffee, we've learnt that those relationships matter just as much to the producers as they do to us.
When farmers, exporters and roasters know one another personally, everyone benefits. We gain a deeper understanding of the coffee we're roasting, producers receive valuable feedback on their work, and together we can continue improving year after year.
At the end of the day, coffee has always been about people. We never want to lose sight of that.