Coffee Journal

Verify My Roaster

Not all “specialty” is equal. We rate every SA roaster on transparency, freshness, and fair sourcing.

Roast date stamped Origin transparency SCA score reported Sustainability certs Community vote

The Community's Top 3 Beans

Built from the favourite beans our members share when they join.

How the Coffee Journal Trust Score works

Each roaster is evaluated on 4 factual criteria (20 points each, max 80) plus a community vote score (scaled to 20 points). The combined score out of 100 is displayed on every supplier card.

80–100
Highly Trusted
50–79
Verified
1–49
Needs Review
0
Unrated

Why South African coffee needs a trust score

“Specialty” is not a protected word. Anyone in South Africa can print it on a bag, and plenty of coffee sold under that label has no roast date, no farm information and no way for you to check either. I got tired of paying premium prices for beans that turned out to be four months old, so I started scoring the things a roaster can actually prove.

The four criteria here are deliberately factual rather than aesthetic. Each one is either on the bag and the website, or it is not. That makes the score checkable: if you think I have marked a roaster wrong, you can go and look, and I would rather be corrected than politely wrong. The fifth component is the community vote, which is the only subjective part and is capped at a fifth of the total on purpose.

What each criterion actually means

Four factual checks worth 20 points each, plus the community vote scaled to 20. That is the full 100.

  1. 1

    Roast date stamped — 20 points

    The bag carries the date the coffee was roasted, not a "best before" date twelve months out. This is the single most useful thing a roaster can print, because it lets you judge freshness yourself instead of trusting a shelf.

  2. 2

    Origin transparency — 20 points

    The roaster names the country and, ideally, the region, farm or washing station, plus the process and varietal. A bag that says only "single origin" tells you nothing you can compare, remember or ask about next time.

  3. 3

    SCA score reported — 20 points

    A published cupping score shows the coffee has been graded rather than just described. The number itself matters less than the willingness to publish one, because a score invites scrutiny that marketing copy avoids.

  4. 4

    Sustainability credentials — 20 points

    Certification, a direct-trade relationship, or published farm-gate pricing. This is the criterion most open to debate, and a small roaster buying honestly without paperwork can score zero here while doing the right thing.

  5. 5

    Community vote — up to 20 points

    Anyone can score a roaster out of 10 and leave a comment. The average is scaled to a maximum of 20 points, so opinion can move a roaster between bands but never carry it on its own.

What the Trust Score is not

It is not a taste ranking. A roaster can score 100 here and produce coffee you dislike, and a roaster on 40 can be roasting the best beans in your city. Transparency and deliciousness are different things, and I have had both surprises more than once. If you want my opinion on flavour, that lives in the Top 5 and the individual roaster profiles, not in this number.

It is also not an accusation. A zero in the sustainability column usually means I could not find published evidence, not that a roaster is behaving badly. Very small operations often have the most direct farmer relationships and the least paperwork. Where I know that is the case, the roaster profile says so even though the score cannot reflect it.

Finally, it is a snapshot. Roasters change their labelling, add roast dates, publish origin detail, and I update the criteria when they do. If you spot something out of date, the fastest fix is to leave a comment on the roaster below so it is visible to everyone rather than sitting in my inbox.

Trust Score questions

How is the Coffee Journal Trust Score calculated?
Four factual criteria are worth 20 points each: roast date stamped, origin transparency, published SCA score and sustainability credentials. That gives a maximum of 80. The community vote average out of 10 is then scaled to a further 20 points, for a total out of 100.
Can roasters pay to improve their score?
No. There is no paid placement anywhere on this site and no affiliate links. The only way a score moves is by a roaster publishing more information, or by the community voting. I have never taken money from a roaster to appear here or to rank higher.
Do I need an account to vote?
No account is needed. Pick a roaster, choose a score from 1 to 10, add a comment if you have something specific to say, and submit. Voting is rate limited to keep one person from stacking a roaster, so give it a moment between submissions.
Why does a roaster I love have a low score?
Almost always because they publish less, not because they roast worse. Missing roast dates and vague origin information cost 40 points on their own. Vote for them and say why in the comment — that is exactly the signal the score is designed to pick up.
What does “Highly Trusted” mean on a supplier card?
It means a combined score of 80 or above. Between 50 and 79 shows as Verified, 1 to 49 as Needs Review, and 0 as Unrated. Unrated normally means nobody has voted and I have not yet been able to confirm the factual criteria either way.
Who decides which roasters are listed?
I do, and I add them as I find them. The directory leans towards roasters selling beans to the public in South Africa. If a roaster you rate is missing, tell me and it goes on the list — there is no fee and no minimum size.

Use the score in practice

SA roaster directory

Every roaster profiled, each card showing its current Trust Score and how to buy from them.

Coffee price index

Cross-check a trusted roaster against what its beans actually cost per 250g in Rand.

Community setups

See which roasters real South African members keep naming as favourites.