What is Free on Board (FOB) Price in Coffee?

Economic Sustainability: Part 1 – FOB Price Free on Board (FOB) price is becoming a standard reporting metric in the specialty coffee industry. Basically, this is the price paid for coffee once it gets on a container ship for transport. This price is listed on the shipping documents and is verifiable. The FOB price is […]

Bunum Wo’s Unique Processing Method

We had the pleasure to chat with Vikram Patel of Benchmark Coffee Traders about Bunum Wo, a new coffee from Paupa New Guinea with a very unique method of processing.

Transforming the Kenyan Coffee Industry

How Francis Kungu of Jamii Coffee and his team are addressing the disparity in price and cost, the dropping quality level, and the threat of climate change to Kenyan coffee in a unique way. Francis’s Story It’s not often that we come across a coffee importer that is doing something genuinely different, but Francis with […]

African Coffees for the Fall

Why can African coffees be so difficult to source and maintain? There are companies out there that specialize in only offering coffees from Africa and yet, especially in the United States, those companies seem far and few between. Firelight has almost always had something from Africa available, but often just one or two offerings at […]

Sustainable Farming with Daniela & Valdir

“I am very happy with what I have now, I want to improve quality, provide for my family and my kids – to live happily and in peace”. The quote above was just a part of my conversation with Daniela and Valdir, the farmers behind our newest microlot from Brazil. I asked what their dream […]

Bloom – Spring Seasonal Blend

We love springtime here at Firelight. The newness of the earth coming back alive after the frosts of winter. The slow waking from hibernation like a teenager on a Saturday morning. It makes us want to have a good cup of coffee while watching the grass grow! This spring, however, we wanted to be a […]

Responsible Sourcing and Rosa Gutierrez

Rosa Araly Gutierrez Rodriguez is a small business-owner trying to establish a profitable and sustainable enterprise that provides for her family and adds value to her community. She struggles some from year to year, as does every small business, but in general she has a consistent product and some years, if her predictions prove correct, she […]

Welcoming Las Lomas!

We chatted with Nelson Raul Amador from De La Finca Coffee Importers to learn all about our newest single origin offering – Las Lomas, from the San Marcos region in Guatemala.

DRC Mapendo – Love from Africa

Every coffee travels a journey and some coffees have journeys that are longer and more complex than expected. The journey of our newest single origin began over 8 months ago when we at Firelight Coffee Roasters had the privilege to sample a few coffees from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This was not an […]

Country Highlight – El Salvador

Let’s talk about El Salvador. More specifically, let’s talk about how El Salvador has shaped coffee as we know it today. There are a number of countries that are inextricably linked with the development of coffee throughout the past two centuries. Among them are giants in the industry like Brazil, the top producer of coffee […]