By choosing to purchase wholesale green coffee beans (unroasted coffee beans), you’re engaging in the bulk coffee bean business at the most elemental level by providing your customers with the freshest bulk green coffee available.

Still, you may be dependent on your supplier of green coffee beans for both the variety and quality of your raw materials, which in turn will determine the characteristics of your final product.

At Java Bean Plus, we take pride in the opportunity to share our knowledge of all aspects of the coffee business with our customers. Using our extensive network throughout the coffee-growing world, we provide you with the highest-quality selection of both green coffee beans and roasted coffee beans at wholesale pricing.

Increased awareness of food sourcing has positively affected the coffee business by sparking a newfound consumer interest in where and how their coffee is grown. While this has not changed our founder Robert Chabbott’s decades-long commitment to providing the best wholesale coffee beans on the market, it has created an environment in which more and more customers appreciate the nuance and thoughtfulness of the “art of the roast.”

It is this art that ultimately yields the amazing drink that fuels our days, our businesses, and our lives.

Coffee Sourcing

At Java Bean Plus, we take sourcing green coffee beans seriously. Our relationships around the world allow us to provide one of the widest available selections of green coffee at wholesale pricing. Our network also allows us to practice our deep commitment to all members of the coffee supply chain and the environment.

In addition to our regular selection, we proudly carry a wide range of competitively priced organic and fair trade green coffee beans of the highest quality. And while fair trade and organic are great guidelines in helping buyers make responsible choices, there are a number of other equally important contributors to the coffee trade.

• Coffee plantations and estates: These are medium to large coffee growers producing large quantities of green coffee beans. There is always a great deal of labor employed at estates and plantations.
• Coffee co-operatives: These are groups of coffee farmers or individuals who grow on small plots of land, form a cooperative to act as a bargaining collective in selling their coffee beans, and share in the expense and labor of processing the green coffee. Cooperatives are primarily owner operated.
• Small coffee farms: Similar to cooperatives, this is not a certification but rather a term for small farms that are primarily owner operated with smaller amounts of third party labor.
• Organic: This is a set of rules defined by the USDA that must be met in order to achieve certification. From how and where the green coffee is grown, to what it is exposed to during shipment, suppliers must prove that no restricted chemicals or GMO products have been introduced to the green coffee beans. 
• Fair trade: This is a set of rules defined by the USDA that must be met in order to achieve certification. From how and where the coffee is grown, to what it is exposed to during shipment, suppliers must prove that no restricted chemicals or GMO products have been introduced to the green coffee beans.

Roasting Techniques

For small batch roasters, much of the joy in roasting comes from manually operating the roaster. Many small batch roasters will speak of finding the groove, and it is this hands-on experience that allows for experimentation—and ultimately artistry—as they search for just the right timing, air, and moisture to get the most out of each green coffee bean.

Larger retailers, on the other hand, are finding an investment in the newest technologies of roasting to be invaluable. Innovative "smart roasters" utilize computerization, employ newer methods of cleaner fuel, and offer a heretofore-unseen method of controlling every aspect of the roasting environment, from moisture to precise timing of temperature.

These smart roasters, such as the Loring Kestrel and Lilla Smokeless allow for unparalleled consistency, which is ideal for the larger retailer.

Here at Java Bean Plus, our roasting is done with a smokeless Lilla roaster that allows for a finely tuned balance of computer controls and a hands-on approach. This hybrid use allows us to achieve a superior level of consistency while practicing the full artistry of coffee roasting.

Browning the Coffee

Whether you have invested in a drum roaster or prefer to “DIY” using a skillet, oven, or air popper, you must roast green coffee beans. By applying heat in just the right way, carefully controlling the moisture and air, and getting the timing just right, you are utilizing a chemical reaction to achieve the ideal flavor for each coffee bean.

Anyone can see that the dried, grey-green appearance of green coffee beans becomes different shades of brown once roasted. But it is not the actual application of heat or “cooking” that creates this change in color. Rather the heat acts as a catalyst, creating a chain reaction between an amino acid and reducing sugars contained in each bean.

This specific reaction, one of two types of browning that occur without oxidization, is called the Maillard reaction, and was discovered by a French chemist of that name during the course of his medical research. As amino acids combine with the sugars in green coffee beans to create new molecules, the Maillard reaction continues to unleash new elements of colors, flavors, and aromatics.

Caramelization, the other browning process, begins between the first and second crack once the bean is heated. This is a chain reaction between sugars that creates new flavors in a way that is quite a bit more predictable than the complex, layered flavors of the Maillard reaction.

The lightest roasts of coffee minimize caramelization or avoid it completely, while the darker roasts depend on it. This lends the lighter roasts a complexity which, when expertly applied to the finest green coffee beans, will most often appeal to a more specific palette.

A coffee that uses caramelization more liberally, on the other hand, will be more of a crowd pleaser. However, be aware that even in dark roasts, it is vital to properly balance the caramelization in order to avoid ending up with coffee with a burnt or sour flavor.

How to Roast Each Region

Here's a breakdown of some of our favorite green coffee beans and how to best roast them:

• Colombia: These beans are a great choice for a milder taste. They are also good for adding smoothness to more complex flavors without having to resort to a deep darkening.
• Brazil:  Brazilian coffee beans are a great option for roasting a single origin espresso.
• Indonesia: When searching for full body and the ability to stand up to a dark roast, try Indonesian beans. We offer multiple types of Indonesian green coffee beans.
• Kenya: Kenyan beans are filled with flavor and brightness, including an acidity that imparts pleasant citrus notes.
• Ethiopia: The birthplace of coffee produces what is as close to wild coffee as possible, with complex flavors ranging from bittersweet chocolate notes to full fruitiness. This is the reason many roasters take special delight in experimenting with Ethiopian beans. We offer multiple types of Ethiopian green coffee beans.

Cupping Coffee: Constant Tasting to Ensure the Best Beans

Java Bean Plus constantly tests its wholesale coffee beans to make sure we are providing our customers with only the very best.

While coffee cupping may be one of our favorite parts of the job, our experts take every aspect of the cuppings seriously, from measuring the whole coffee beans into each cup to meticulously grinding the beans. Using all of their senses before the water is even poured, our cuppers carefully evaluate the aroma and texture regularity of the coffee beans.

We consistently use water that is 202° F, and once the water is poured, our experts again evaluate the aroma before waiting a full four minutes while the grinds settle. They then evaluate the aroma for a third time as they break the crust. It is only then that we begin the actual coffee tasting, carefully evaluating the flavors of each spoonful and noting the alterations that time and cooling temperatures have on both the flavors and the aromas of the coffee. 

We also monitor how the flavor begins, and which notes linger. The aftertastes of different temperatures are what determine an unpleasant taste left in the mouth versus the fondest memories of an exceptional cup.

We at Java Bean Plus are committed to taking our cupping seriously in order to ensure that any wholesale coffee bean you choose to purchase will always meet the highest standards.