Booking opens for our first container

Ethiopian coffee,
direct from origin.

RIFT pools small roaster orders into shared sea containers, making direct-trade Ethiopian coffee accessible at 60kg, not 17,000kg. Full traceability. Transparent staged payments. No minimums that lock you out.

Join as a roaster See how it works
First Container Booking opens soon
Four origin lots secured — Yirgacheffe, Guji, Sidama, Bench Maji. Founding roaster status opens first.
60kg
Minimum order
4
Origin lots secured
20/50/30
Staged payment
Djibouti
→ US, by sea
The Problem

Direct trade was never built for small orders.

A full container of Ethiopian coffee is 17,000kg. Most specialty roasters buy 60–500kg per origin. That gap has locked small roasters out of direct trade entirely, forcing a choice between air freight at 5–10x the cost, or a commodity importer with no story to tell.

The old way
✕
Full container minimums lock out roasters buying under 17,000kg
✕
No visibility into farm origin, process, or who grew your coffee
✕
Cash on delivery, or Net-30 reserved only for large accounts
✕
Air freight on small orders costs more than the coffee itself
RIFT
✓
60kg minimum — your order shares a container with other roasters
✓
Full traceability — farm, cooperative, altitude, process, cupping score
✓
Staged payments — 20% to book, 50% mid-transit, 30% on arrival
✓
Real sea freight economics — a fraction of air freight cost per kg
How It Works

From farm to your roastery, one container at a time.

Named for the Great Rift Valley, the geological spine running through Ethiopia's coffee-growing highlands. Every lot on RIFT follows the same route: origin, aggregation, sea, delivery.

01
Lots are sourced directly
RIFT works with named cooperatives and washing stations across Yirgacheffe, Guji, Sidama, and Bench Maji. Every lot on the platform is one we've sourced, cupped, and can trace back to its origin.
02
Roasters book what they need
Reserve a lot from 60kg. Pay 20% to lock your allocation. No pressure to fill a full container alone, you're sharing space with other roasters on the same origin lots.
03
The container ships
Once bookings close, coffee moves through ECX, is stuffed and sealed at Djibouti, and departs by sea. 50% payment is due before departure, timed to when your coffee actually moves.
04
Your coffee arrives
Final 30% is due on arrival. You receive your allocation with full documentation, origin certificate, phytosanitary cert, cupping report, every step visible the whole way.
This Container

Four regions. One container. 2026/27 harvest incoming.

These are the origins we're sourcing from for our first container. The 2026/27 harvest is underway in Ethiopia now.

🌱 Harvest incoming
Washed
Yirgacheffe Cooperative
Yirgacheffe, SNNPR

Jasmine, lemon zest, bergamot. Bright acidity, tea-like body.

Altitude
1,800–2,200m
Cupping
88 pts
🌱 Harvest incoming
Natural
Guji Highland Farm
Guji, Oromia

Blueberry, dark chocolate, wine. Heavy body, long finish.

Altitude
1,900–2,400m
Cupping
90 pts
🌱 Harvest incoming
Honey
Sidama Sun-Dry Collective
Sidama, SNNPR

Stone fruit, caramel, mild florals. Balanced sweetness.

Altitude
1,700–2,000m
Cupping
87 pts
🌱 Harvest incoming
Natural
Bench Maji Wild Source
Bench Maji, SNNPR

Tropical fruit, honey, spice. Rare wild-grown genetics.

Altitude
1,600–1,900m
Cupping
89 pts
Explore all lots in detail →
First wave gets founding status

Be a founding roaster,
not just a customer.

Every roaster is welcome — there's no cap on who we serve. But the first roasters in shape what RIFT sources next, and get recognized for it.

PRIORITY
First pick on lot allocation before general booking opens
TERMS
Net-30 on your final balance — a founding benefit, not earned over time
VOICE
Direct input on which Ethiopian origins we source next
ACCESS
A direct line to us throughout your first container cycle
Join as a founding roaster
Full Transparency

You should know exactly what happens to your deposit.

A new platform asking for a deposit is a real ask. Here's precisely what happens between your booking and your coffee arriving.

01
You book & pay 20%
Reserves your allocation on a named lot. Non-refundable, it's what locks the farmer's coffee for you.
02
50% before departure
Due when the container is about to ship, not before. This triggers farmer payment release on our end.
03
Track it at sea
Live container status from departure to arrival. You always know where your coffee is.
04
30% on arrival
Final payment when your coffee is confirmed delivered, with full documentation attached.
Ready?

Join before samples ship.

2026/27 harvest is underway now. Get on the list, or explore the origins first.

Join the Waitlist Explore the Lots