If you have never set up a wholesale coffee account, the process can look opaque from the outside: rates nobody publishes, deals that all seem to include different things, and the nagging suspicion that other venues are getting something you are not. So here is the whole thing demystified, the three stages of a proper supply relationship, and what should be true at each one.
Stage one: the tasting
Everything starts in the cup, and any supplier who wants to talk contracts before coffee has told you something. The right first step is low-risk and low-pressure: our version is the $40 venue sample pack, coffees run through your own machine, with your own milk, judged by your own palate and your regulars' honest faces. Twenty years running cafes taught us that no rate sheet survives a coffee your customers do not love, so the tasting comes first, always.
Stage two: onboarding and training
Once the coffee has earned its place, the real setup begins, and this is where good suppliers separate from box-shippers. Equipment gets sorted, on-loan machines and grinders where that suits the deal, installed and dialled in properly. Your staff get real barista training, on-site at your venue or at the roastery in Hurstville, because a great coffee poured badly is a bad coffee to the customer holding it. And the recipes get set for your machine, your milk and your menu, not copied from a laminated card.
Stage three: the ongoing relationship
Then comes the part that lasts years: reliable weekly supply of freshly roasted coffee, quality checks as staff and seasons change, and, the true test of any supplier, what happens when something breaks. Our standard is same-day support, because we have stood on the venue side of an 8am machine failure and we know exactly what every silent hour costs. It is the reason 80-plus venues across QLD, VIC and NSW pour our coffee: not the pitch, the Tuesday-morning reliability.
What to have in writing
At every stage, insist on clarity: what the rate includes, whose equipment sits on your bench and who services it, what training is covered and how often, the breakdown response you can expect, and the minimums, payment terms and notice periods. Fair suppliers answer in writing without flinching. That paperwork is not bureaucracy, it is the shape of the relationship you are about to live with.
The next step, sized to fit
If you run a venue and any of this sounds better than what you have, start where every good partnership starts: the wholesale page and a $40 sample pack. Taste first. Everything else is a conversation we are happy to have in the open.
FAQ
How do I start with a new supplier?
With a tasting. The $40 venue sample pack puts the coffee through your machine and your customers before any contract talk.
What should a supply deal include?
Beans at a clear rate, equipment arrangements, real staff training, quality support, and a written answer on breakdown response.
Do I have to commit to big volumes?
No. Minimums and terms should be discussed openly upfront, and the deal should scale to your actual volume.
