Can Coffee Prices Be Set Without the C Market? (Felipe Croce & David Bray) | EP1133 Part 3 of 5 (Map It Forward)
Advertising Sponsor
This episode is brought to you by Arcadia Green Coffee, Colombian coffee exporters taking fresh green coffee from Colombia to the world, farm to roastery, direct. New office now open in the UK.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arcadiagreencoffee/
WhatsApp: https://wa.me/353877871523
Episode Description
This is part 3 of a new 5-part series on The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward, hosted by Lee Safar. Our guests on the podcast for this series are Felipe Croce from FAF Coffees in Brazil and David Bray from Blue Butterfly Coffee Roasters in Ireland, co-founders of The Common Ground Collective.
The theme of this series is A New Way of Building Coffee Supply Chains.
What changes when coffee farmers, exporters, and roasters begin working together before the coffee is even grown?
In this episode, Felipe and David explore how The Common Ground Collective could fundamentally change the way their supply chains operate, from production planning and financing to pricing, traceability, and risk management.
David explains how becoming involved at the farm level gives roasters an opportunity to participate in decisions about production, quality, investment, and market access much earlier than traditional sourcing relationships allow.
Felipe discusses the importance of predictable business relationships, building slowly with aligned partners, and creating a stronger value proposition for consumers through regenerative agriculture and greater transparency.
The conversation then turns to one of the most significant aspects of their proposed business model: determining coffee prices using actual production costs and business fundamentals rather than relying primarily on movements in the C market.
They also explain their plans to track financial performance, share profits, and navigate the practical challenges of international coffee trade.
Finally, Lee, Felipe, and David consider what happens when things go wrong, including crop losses, extreme weather, and the financial consequences of sharing risk across producers, roasters, and farm workers.
The Common Ground Collective remains an evolving experiment, but its founders are working toward a supply-chain model built on shared responsibility, greater predictability, and long-term commercial relationships.
Connect with Felipe Croce, David Bray, and The Common Ground Collective:
The Common Ground Collective: https://www.instagram.com/thecommongroundcollectivecgc/
FAF Coffees: https://www.instagram.com/fafcoffees/
Blue Butterfly Coffee Roasters: https://www.instagram.com/bluebutterflyireland/
Felipe Croce: https://www.linkedin.com/in/felipe-croce-42180829b
David Bray: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-bray-53731b6b/