Coffee

Volcafe

ED&F Man’s coffee business, Volcafe, has been trading coffee since 1851. Today, we provide beans for 80 billion cups each year and there is only one thing we prioritise above coffee itself – partnership.

For our customers, we provide access to all the major coffee producing origins, from individual farmers selling a few kilos of coffee cherries in Papua New Guinea to large plantations in Brazil that deal in hundreds of tonnes of export-ready product. Our long-term customers value our efficiency, innovation, dependability and market insight.

For our suppliers, many of whom we have known for generations, we provide certainty and support. Our Volcafe Way outreach programme works direct with farmers to train them in sustainable production techniques and good agricultural practices.

At Volcafe, we work hard at being the partner of choice. With 167 years of experience, we know what it takes to keep our customers and suppliers happy.

From farmer to roaster

We’re one of the world’s largest traders for arabica and robusta coffees.

From single-origin micro-lots to mainstream commercial grades and customised blends, we have the expertise and assets to get coffee to you efficiently and reliably.

We source directly from origin and have in-country operations in all main producing countries.
Our wet and dry mills sort and prepare the coffee to meet your requirements.
We store coffee under ideal conditions in our warehouses and hold stocks so crop cycles won´t affect how we supply you.
Our worldwide inventory process lets us switch quickly between supply sources. That way we will always deliver the product you need, when you need it.

Our strength in origins and commitment to sustainable supply mean you’ll always get what you asked for – that’s our promise to you.

Click here to see our role in the coffee supply chain

Strategic partners for the long term

Close partnerships at origin
with key supply-chain assets and ‘boots on the ground’.

Transparent three-way relationships
between you, farmer communities and Volcafe.

Partnerships on rejuvenation and sustainability projects
aligned with our shared values.

A long, deep-rooted heritage
in coffee across the entire supply chain.

Flexible and agile solutions
with benchmark standards of service and market insight.

Innovation and opportunities
for premiumisation.

Supporting sustainable coffee

Through partnerships, sector dialogue, projects and our Volcafe Way programme, we’re working towards achieving our vision of a thriving, sustainable coffee business for all. We support the International Coffee Organization’s objective to develop a sustainable coffee sector. Since the inception of the sustainability movement, Volcafe has built and operated sustainable supply chains across all our origins, addressing key economic, social and environmental issues in coffee farming communities. These efforts fulfil the requirements of major roaster codes of conduct and sustainable certification schemes such as 4C, UTZ, Rainforest Alliance, C.A.F.E. Practices, Nespresso AAA, and more. Our interdisciplinary field teams, called Farmer Support Organisations, advise producers year-round on environmental, social and economic practices.

In the past decade, we’ve collaborated on a wide range of projects across the globe in close cooperation with local and international NGOs, roasters and other partners across our origin countries:

Brazil	Guatemala	Papua New Guinea
China	Honduras	Peru
Colombia	India	Tanzania
Costa Rica	Indonesia	Uganda
Ethiopia	Kenya	Vietnam

For more about our projects – see our LinkedIn here

The Volcafe Way

Our proprietary sustainable sourcing strategy is called ‘The Volcafe Way’.

Drawing on the expertise of our field teams, it pools their collective knowledge within a farmer support organisation that provides direct technical assistance to farmers, helping them to improve their coffee quality, farm productivity and yields.

Our farmer support teams help producers to manage risks, improve outcomes, gather data and focus on measurable results that our customers can monitor and verify. One of our flagship training methods is creating business model farms, which provide local learning hubs where surrounding communities can exchange best practices so that they all learn and benefit — whether they work directly with us or not.