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Why freshly roasted coffee often tastes better at origin

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wpadmin

On August 22, 2025

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Green coffee typically stays fresh for six to 12 months – much longer than roasted coffee.
When packaged and stored correctly, green coffee arrives fresh at its destination after weeks in transit.
Roasters at origin are geographically closer to coffee farms, meaning their green coffee is inherently fresher.
As a result, freshly roasted coffee at origin often tastes more vibrant, bright, and complex.
Consumers in non-producing countries have an opportunity to try coffee roasted at origin – and competitions like the Global Coffee Awards are helping raise awareness.

Freshness, a prerequisite for quality roasted coffee, is equally essential for green coffee.

Many agree that green coffee retains its freshness for up to a year when packaged and stored correctly. This is especially true during transit; shipments spend weeks on board cargo ships to reach importers and roasters in majority-consuming countries.

But for roasters at origin, it’s a different story. Much closer in proximity to coffee farms, they have access to fresher green beans. In many cases, this means freshly roasted coffee at origin often tastes more vibrant and complex, with more distinct flavour notes.

There are opportunities for consumers in majority-consuming markets to experience freshly roasted coffee at origin, but logistical challenges often deter people from trying.

Coffee consultant Jayson Galvis, Joseph Wilkie Campillo Ong of High Peak Roastery, Raul Rodas of Paradigma Coffee, and Anup Singh of GB Roasters explain how competitions like the Global Coffee Awards are recognising and rewarding roasting excellence at origin.

Why freshly roasted coffee often tastes better at origin

Why “roasted at origin” means fresher green coffee

If you’ve tried freshly roasted specialty coffee in a producing country, chances are you were impressed by what you tasted even more than usual.

There’s an obvious reason for this experience; roasters at origin are simply much closer to the start of the supply chain, so their green coffee is significantly fresher.

“We can control the environment at origin, skipping freight transportation, for example,” says Raul Rodas, the founder of Paradigma Coffee in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Raul is also the 2012 World Barista Champion and a multi-time Guatemalan Barista and Brewers Cup Champion. “We typically roast current harvest coffee, which helps maintain the flavours.”

Although it’s more stable than roasted coffee, green coffee is still affected by the environment in which it’s stored.

“Green coffee can absorb moisture, odours, and volatile compounds from its surroundings,” says Anup Singh of GB Roasters in Bangalore, India. “The temperature and humidity fluctuations during transit, as well as longer storage periods, can impact the flavour notes.”

It’s important to note, however, that properly packaged green beans can stay fresh for up to a year. Beyond this timeframe, many deem green coffee “past crop”, a term that describes coffee with undesirable cereal or aged flavour notes.

According to the International Coffee Organisation’s latest report, 10.23 million bags of green coffee were exported in July 2025, up by 3.3% on the same month in the previous year. Most of the world’s coffee ends up in majority-consuming and non-producing countries, including key markets like the US, Europe, Japan, and Australia.

To reach these destinations, green coffee is usually transported in freight containers on cargo ships, which are responsible for the carriage of around 90% of world trade. Given that many non-producing countries are located far away from origin countries, it usually takes between four and 12 weeks for shipments to arrive. This timeframe can vary depending on specific origin countries, shipping delays, and even political volatility.

As part of maintaining strict quality standards, exporters must package and store green coffee correctly when in transit. Temperature, oxygen, humidity, and light are the four key variables that impact freshness and quality. Hermetic packaging, as well as optimal storage conditions, helps minimise extreme exposure to these factors.

People on a coffee farm in the Philippines.

Fresher coffee means better flavour

Whether you roast coffee at origin or in a non-producing country, it needs to have the correct moisture content to maintain quality and allow nuanced, complex flavours to shine through.

The International Coffee Organisation recommends that between processing and shipment, the moisture level of green coffee should stay between 8% and 12.5%. Similarly, water activity should stay between 0.5% to 0.7% aw in line with food safety protocols.

Humidity should be around 60% to 65% during storage, and the temperature should stay at or around 20°C/68°F (+/- 5°C/9°F). Pending other factors, green coffee should stay fresh in these conditions for up to a year.

But for roasters in producing countries, their proximity to coffee farms gives them access to freshly milled green beans that don’t spend weeks in transit. This often results in more noticeably vibrant, bright, and delicate flavours in the cup.

However, it’s still essential that you store green coffee in optimal conditions.

“You need to have the best storage facilities for green coffee,” says Joseph, the head roaster at High Peak Roastery in Subic Bay, the Philippines.

Fresh green coffee stored in a hot, humid warehouse for a week before it’s roasted at origin, for example, will yield significantly worse results than green beans kept in cool, dry conditions in hermetic packaging on shipping containers for weeks or months.

Additionally, roasting freshly harvested green coffee poses its own challenges, largely because the beans have less time to “rest”.

“I compare it to riding an untrained horse; you know you have to put the coffee in the roaster, but you don’t know where you might end up with it,” says Jayson, an independent coffee consultant, a former Coffee Quality Institute instructor, and COE judge.

Addressing the logistics of coffee roasted at origin

For consumers in coffee-producing countries, there is an ever-growing number of specialty roasters to choose from, driven by growing demand for higher-quality coffee.

The recent edition of the World’s 100 Best Coffee Shops is an indication of this. In a list that roasters in non-producing countries would typically dominate (given the coffee industry’s colonial history), more than 35 of the finalists were based at origin. Although there’s certainly room for improvement, it’s a sign that international representation is increasing.

Roasters like Colombia’s Tropicália, El Salvador’s Alquimia Coffee, and Peru’s Puku Puku claimed three of the top 20 spots, awarded for their dedication to coffee quality and excellence.

As more consumers, including those in majority-consuming markets, seek out high-quality coffee, there’s an opportunity to try coffee roasted at origin. For people in the US and Canada, for instance, ordering coffee from roasters in Mexico and Central America is the most feasible option.

Logistical challenges often deter people from trying, however.

Freshness is often the biggest barrier when roasting coffee at origin. The flavour compounds in roasted coffee are much less stable than in green coffee, so there’s a higher risk of degradation over a shorter time period.

Air freight can overcome this, but it’s often costly, especially when transporting larger quantities of roasted coffee.

Ultimately, this means roasters at origin can experience significantly less global exposure and recognition than their peers in non-producing markets. Competitions like the Global Coffee Awards, however, are working to change this.

The prestigious competition addresses a gap in the coffee industry, recognising the world’s best roasteries and the producers who grow their coffees. In addition to the US & Canada and Europe categories, the GCA includes the Origin Roasted category, open exclusively to roasters based in producing countries.

This unique format levels the competition playing field. Roasters in producing countries have an opportunity to go head-to-head with their peers in the US, Canada, and Europe, and win the title of world’s best on an equal footing.

“It’s not a competition of who can submit the most expensive coffees, but one that awards roasting skill,” says Joseph, who will compete in the Origin Roasted category at the GCA. “There’s a price cap, which is great because, generally speaking, different producing countries target different price points.

“This means more countries can participate with a reasonable chance at doing well or winning.”

Unlike other coffee championships, the GCA rewards the overall brand rather than an individual roaster, allowing companies to strengthen their brand identity. The competition also recognises skills and expertise beyond roasting, including green coffee sourcing and quality control.

“The GCA is reframing quality not only by focusing on skill, but also by highlighting the nuances of roasting coffee at origin,” Anup says, who will compete in the Origin Roasted category. “Roasters at origin work directly with producers, buying and roasting with intimate knowledge of terroir.

“The Origin Roasted category recognises this skill and care in sourcing and roasting, highlighting how sourcing plays a bigger part in maintaining quality across the coffee value chain.”

Shining a spotlight on coffee roasters at origin

One of the biggest criticisms of the global coffee industry is that value is traditionally added once coffee leaves a producing country. Roasting coffee at origin is one of the many ways in which producing countries can retain more value, thereby benefiting the industry professionals who work in them.

Moreover, as a growing number of specialty coffee roasters at origin mature and expand, honing their roasting expertise and branding, it’s crucial that they have the opportunity to promote their brands on an international scale, similar to their peers in countries like the US, UK, Europe, and Australia.

Competitions like the Global Coffee Awards fill this gap. By including an Origin Roasted category, roasters from Central and South America, Africa, and Asia have an equal opportunity to win against European, US, and Canadian brands.

Additionally, the Origin Roasted category highlights the differences in flavour notes and sensory attributes between coffees roasted in producing and non-producing countries.

“It’s an opportunity to showcase the other side of the sensory spectrum of coffees developed by producers and roasters in countries of origin, where consumer preferences in terms of flavour and roast profiles are often different from those in export countries,” says Jayson, the Lead Judge for the Origin and US & Canada competitions at the GCA.

This serves to recognise localised flavour preferences, which can often be underrepresented or considered “undesirable” in the Global North. Fermented flavours, for example, are highly prized and enjoyed in many Asian countries, but might be considered defective by coffee professionals and consumers in the US and Europe.

“We always need to learn from each other, and every country has its own way of roasting and consuming coffee,” Raul says, who will compete in the Origin Roasted category. “The GCA allows more producing countries to showcase their roasting skills and business acumen that people may not be aware of.”

Closer to the source, freshly roasted coffee at origin often tastes more vibrant, bright, and complex – and roasters in producing countries deserve more global recognition for it.

Competitions like the Global Coffee Awards serve to address this, highlighting the expertise and skills of roasters at origin and recognising them on an international scale.

For the first round of the GCA, there will be three regional competitions:

US & Canada: 29 & 30 September 2025 in Houston, Texas, hosted at Copan Trade
Origin category: 1 October 2025 in Houston, Texas, hosted at Copan Trade
Europe: 28 & 29 October 2025 in Bordeaux, France, hosted at Belco

Regional gold winners will then proceed to the global finals, which will be held at Producer & Roaster Forum El Salvador in March 2026, where the world champion will be announced.