What is a microlot coffee bean? Will the quality of microlot coffee beans be better than that of regular batches?

What is a microlot coffee bean? Will the quality of microlot coffee beans be better than that of regular batches? Now, when drinking single-origin coffee, it is very easy for us to trace back to which country, which producing area, and even to the hands of which farmer it comes from. Of course, we have also heard the concept of “microlot coffee” (Microlot coffee). So what is a microlot coffee bean?

Literally, it means “a small batch of coffee beans”. But from our consumption perspective, the microlot coffee beans must have a better or rather special flavor.

Why does “microlot” emerge?

As a bulk commodity, coffee beans, for example, the output of Brazil in 2020 was 61.6 million bags (60 kilograms). Such a huge amount of coffee beans is more cost-effective to be transported by sea, and sea transportation requires renting containers. Taking the 20-foot container as an example, its capacity is 17.5 tons, which means that if your batch is too small, the freight cost will increase, and under the same quality, it will lose market competitiveness.

From this, it can be known that the “microlot coffee” in the circulation and consumer market will have a higher price than the same category of goods, and its quality also has a certain guarantee. Generally, the traceability information of microlot will be more detailed and accurate, which also brings the coffee producers closer to the consumers, reflecting the refined development of coffee.

So, what are the several situations of “microlot coffee”?

Generally, the microlot coffee is mainly in some small estates, especially in places such as Central and South America, such as Colombia, Panama, and Costa Rica, where the area of the estate is not very large, so it especially values the variety, planting level, and processing technology.

New-style processing characteristic batches

For example, some estates themselves use washed coffee beans as the usual products, and suddenly one year experimentally carry out a batch of experimental other processing methods (mainly various innovative processing methods), then this small batch of coffee beans naturally cannot be mixed with the washed coffee beans for sale, and it must be separated into batches. And because of the small batch, it can be brought back by coffee bean hunters from all over the place to observe the market’s reaction, as a reference for next year’s production plan.

Carefully selected selected microlot

For example, the Emerald Estate is divided into 22 plots, and every year, several batches of the best-flavored micro-batches will be selected through cup testing for auction. Each batch only has a slight 50 pounds. This is just the operation of a well-established and famous estate, and there are many small and medium-sized estates that have similar operations, and select the coffee beans with better flavor and better quality in the estate to be separated into micro-batches for sale.

Private custom micro-batch

There are also estates that process a batch of coffee beans that meet the requirements of customers according to the requirements of customers, or a new project batch jointly developed by the estate, traders, or roasters.

A small batch that gives a sneak peek

When the coffee-producing area has a good harvest every year, we always see that the market has already started to sell the new production season coffee beans from a certain producing area. This is a small batch of coffee beans transported by shipping in the producing area to warm up the market, and the normal batch under the normal sea transportation may be postponed for 1-2 months.