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Today's coffee market is more competitive than ever. Large chains use sophisticated...
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🎁 The gift for the coffee lover. Gift certificates arrive in minutes, never expire
Train more, pay less — bundle 2, 4, 5 or 7 days
For coffee roasters. The application takes about four minutes and there is no fee.
Before you start, have ready: your website, the city and country you roast in, and the postal address where we should mail your window stickers.
Every statement in the Roaster Pledge must be true of your roastery. If one of them isn't, don't work around it — tell us instead. We would rather have an accurate list than a long one.
One point before you start, because it is the one most often argued with: green coffee must be current crop. Green held past its harvest year does not meet this standard, whatever it is called. “Aged”, “vintage”, “rested”, “mature” and “cellared” are marketing terms for old coffee, not a style of it, and deliberately aged lots such as monsooned coffees sit outside the standard regardless of how good they taste. If you are carrying past-crop through a real gap between harvests, say so in the final question rather than ticking the box — we would rather know.
Not sure this is the right form? The café application is for businesses that serve coffee rather than roast it. If you do both, use this one and tell us about your café in the final question. New to the standards? Read them here first.
Most browsers will fill your name, business and address in one click. Start typing in the first box and accept the suggestion if one appears.
Your name
Your role
Roastery name
Contact email address
Phone Optional. Only used if something needs a quick conversation.
Website
Instagram handle Optional.
This is both where we list you and where your window stickers go, so the postal details matter.
Street address
Unit, suite or floor Optional.
City
Province, state or region
Postal or ZIP code
Country
Send the stickers somewhere else? Optional. Leave blank and we will mail them to the address above. Every approved location gets two stickers — the round window seal and the square one with a QR code — at no cost, wherever you are. Want more than two? Just ask.
How should your business be named on the Approved list? Exactly as you want it to appear, including any accents or punctuation.
Number of locations
Ownership structure Select one Independently owned — single location Independently owned — multiple locations CBI Approval is reserved for independently owned businesses. Franchise-operated businesses are not eligible.
Every statement below must be true of your roastery for approval. Your submission serves as your electronic signature.
We buy and roast current crop-year green coffee. We do not buy past-crop, old-crop, aged, vintage, or “rested” green, and we do not sell any such coffee as specialty. Current crop means the most recent harvest from that origin. Green held past its harvest year does not meet this standard, however it is described — “aged”, “vintage”, “rested”, “mature” and “cellared” are marketing terms for old coffee, not a style of it. Deliberately aged coffees such as monsooned lots are outside the standard regardless of quality. Carrying past-crop through a genuine gap between harvests? Don't tick this box — tell us in the final question instead. We would rather know.
We roast specialty-grade 100% Arabica coffee, scoring 80 points or higher on the original cupping system.
We do not blend Robusta into any coffee we sell as specialty, in either espresso or filter offerings.
We print a roast date — not a best-before or expiry date — on every bag of coffee we sell.
We do not sell flavoured coffee under our specialty line, whether the flavour was added after roasting or introduced during processing. Infused, soaked and co-fermented lots may be made and sold — as their own product, not as plain specialty coffee.
We can tell a customer where a coffee came from, and we do so honestly rather than through marketing language.
We roast on our own equipment. We are a roaster, not a reseller of someone else's roasted coffee under our label.
Two things make a review quick. Paste a link to each, or send them by reply once you have submitted — whichever is easier.
A photo of one of your retail bags showing the roast date
A recent green offer sheet or invoice showing crop year
I confirm I have read and understood the CBI Approval Standards, and that our business meets them.
I understand CBI Approval is ongoing rather than time-limited, that we will be asked once a year to confirm these statements are still true, and that approval may be withdrawn if they are not.
I confirm the information in this application is accurate to the best of my knowledge.
Anything you'd like us to know? Optional. Your green sourcing, your roasting approach, anything that gives us useful context.
Submit application
We review applications by hand. You will hear back within ten working days. If approved, you'll receive your CBI Approved logo files by email, your listing goes up on the Approved Roasters page, and two window stickers — the round seal and the square QR sticker — go in the mail at our cost, wherever you are. Want more than two? Just ask. You can see the marks and the usage guide before you apply.
