The call with the roaster goes well. The coffee is excellent. They have a good story, a nice bag, and they're offering you an espresso machine on loan. You're tempted to just say yes.
Before you do, ask these five questions. The answers will tell you everything you need to know.
1. What Are Your Minimum Order Quantities — and What Happens If I Miss Them?
Every roaster has minimum order quantities (MOQs). The question isn't just what they are — it's what the consequences are if you fall below them.
Some roasters are flexible during slower periods: you order less in January, you top up in the spring. Others have contractual penalties, or will require you to make up the shortfall in the following month, or will simply invoke the break clause that voids the equipment loan agreement.
A 3–5kg weekly minimum might sound fine in peak summer. In your first January, or during a fit-out period, or when your location turns out to be quieter than expected, it might be a stretch.
What to ask: "If we miss the weekly minimum in any given month, what's the process? Is there flexibility, or does it trigger a penalty?"
2. Is the Equipment Truly on Loan — or Am I Tied to You for Its Value?
Equipment loan agreements are common and can be genuinely valuable — a quality espresso machine on loan removes £10,000–£20,000 from your opening budget. But the structure of that agreement varies enormously.
Some agreements are straightforward: use our coffee, keep the machine, end of story. Others include:
- A requirement to purchase a minimum volume per year for the duration of the loan
- A buyout clause if you leave early — sometimes based on the full retail value of the equipment
- Maintenance and service included, but only for repairs approved by the roaster's preferred engineer
- An automatic rollover that's difficult to exit without significant notice
What to ask: "Can I see the full equipment loan agreement? What are my obligations if I want to end the relationship before the term is up, and what's the buyout calculation?"
3. Is This an Exclusive Agreement?
Some roasters require exclusivity — you use their coffee, and no one else's, for the duration of the agreement. Others permit you to run their coffee as your house blend while sourcing specials and filter from other roasters.
Exclusivity isn't inherently bad. If you've found a roaster you genuinely love and whose coffee is a natural fit for your concept, an exclusive relationship can simplify your sourcing and deepen the partnership.
But exclusivity means you can't respond to quality issues with alternative sourcing, you can't take advantage of opportunities (a local roaster you meet, a producer lot you fall in love with), and you're entirely dependent on one supplier's consistency, pricing, and stock availability.
What to ask: "Is this an exclusive agreement? If I wanted to run a guest coffee or a separate filter programme from another roaster, is that permitted?"
4. What Does Your Quality Control Process Look Like?
This question is one that many new café owners don't think to ask — and it's one that separates roasters who are genuinely invested in your success from those who are primarily interested in volume.
A good roaster has a QC process: every batch is cupped against a reference profile, outliers are flagged and addressed before dispatch, and you have a clear process for raising quality concerns. They should also be able to tell you what their replacement policy is for a batch that's genuinely off.
Less committed roasters have a looser process. Issues get resolved eventually, but the system for catching them before they reach you is informal.
What to ask: "What does your QC process look like before coffee is dispatched? If we receive a batch that's not performing as expected, what's the process for flagging that and getting it resolved?"
5. What Training and Ongoing Support Do You Provide?
This matters most in the first six months. The best roasters are active partners: they help you dial in your equipment, they visit the site, they respond to troubleshooting calls, and they notice when your coffee might be performing better.
Some wholesale relationships include a setup visit, a dial-in session, and then very little ongoing contact unless you chase. Others include monthly check-ins, seasonal coffee changeovers with support, and a genuine sense of investment in how your café performs.
What to ask: "What does the onboarding process look like? How often would we expect to be in contact with your team once we're up and running?"
A good roaster relationship is one of the most valuable things in your café — it affects your product quality, your team's confidence, your margin, and your flexibility. A bad one is a years-long anchor.
Taking the time to ask these questions before signing isn't being difficult. It's being thorough. Any roaster worth working with will respect the process — and their answers will tell you a lot about the partnership you'd actually be entering.
For a full guide to structuring your coffee sourcing strategy — including how to evaluate roasters, negotiate agreements, and build in flexibility as your volume grows — it's worth working through this before you commit to your first supplier.