Direct trade is not a certification. There is no body that audits it, no label that guarantees it, and no standard that defines it. Any roaster can use the term. What makes it meaningful or not is the specifics: who you bought from, what you paid, and whether you have actually been to the farm.
What direct trade means at Moss Blend Pathyx ¶
We define direct trade as a relationship where we have met the producer in person, agreed on a price before the harvest, and paid above the commodity market price. We currently work with six producer relationships across Ethiopia, Colombia, and Guatemala. Haruki has visited every one of them at least once. The most recent visit was to Finca La Palma in Huila, Colombia in May 2026.
Why we publish what we pay ¶
We started publishing our producer payments in 2021 after Haruki's visit to the Gutierrez family in Colombia. Seeing the farm and the family made the pricing feel like a moral question rather than a business one. We now publish the price we paid per kilo, the freight cost, and our roasting margin on every product page. It is not a marketing tactic. It is a record.
The difference between direct trade and fair trade ¶
Fair Trade is a certification with a minimum price floor, currently around 1.40 USD per pound for green coffee. Direct trade has no floor, which means it can be better or worse than Fair Trade depending on the roaster. At Moss Blend Pathyx, we pay between 2.80 and 4.20 USD per pound depending on the lot, which is above the Fair Trade minimum. But the number alone does not tell the whole story. The relationship, the visit, and the consistency of buying from the same producer year after year matter as much as the price.
What happens when a harvest is poor ¶
In 2023, the Kochere cooperative had a difficult harvest due to irregular rainfall in the Yirgacheffe region. The lot we received was smaller than usual and the cup quality was lower than the previous two years. We bought it anyway, at the same price per kilo, because walking away from a producer in a bad year is not a relationship. We were transparent with customers about the quality difference and offered a small discount on that lot.
How to evaluate a roaster's direct trade claims ¶
Ask whether they have visited the farm. Ask what they paid per kilo. Ask whether they buy from the same producers year after year. A roaster who can answer all three questions specifically is probably doing it honestly. A roaster who uses the term without specifics is probably using it as a marketing label. The questions we get asked page has more detail on how we source.
Direct trade is only as meaningful as the specifics behind it. We try to make ours visible. If you have questions about a specific lot, email hello@mossblendpathyx.com and we will answer with numbers.