How much green coffee do I need for a sample roast?

Commonly 100 g to 300 g per sample, depending on your sample roaster and how many cups you set.

Are green coffee samples free?

Suppliers often send small samples free to established buyers; some charge, or charge postage. Arrival and pre-shipment samples are part of normal trade practice.

Green coffee samples: offer, pre-shipment and arrival

Three samples protect a green coffee purchase: the offer sample you choose from, the pre-shipment sample you approve, and the arrival sample you check against it. How to roast, cup and record each.

7 min read Updated 9 October 2026

Samples are how the green coffee trade agrees what is being sold. The coffee you roast in six months must match the coffee you tasted today, and the only evidence is a sample, roasted and cupped in a consistent way and recorded.

The three samples

Sample	When	Purpose
Offer or type sample	When a supplier offers lots	Choose what to buy; typically a few hundred grams
Pre-shipment sample (PSS)	Drawn from the actual lot before it ships	Approve the lot; the contract usually says delivery must match it
Arrival sample	Drawn from the sacks when they land	Check the delivered coffee matches the approved PSS, and its condition after transit

For spot coffee already in a UK warehouse, the offer sample is drawn from the landed lot, so it serves as the arrival sample too. Ask for the lot reference so you are sure it is the coffee you will receive.

Sample roasting, step by step

Log each sample on arrival: supplier, lot reference, origin, process, date received, weight.
Measure moisture (and water activity and density if you can) on the green. See moisture and density.
Roast each sample to the same standard: a light-medium roast in a set time range. Cupping protocols such as the SCA's specify a roast of roughly 8 to 12 minutes to a light-medium colour.
Record the roast: charge weight, time, end temperature, and colour if you have a meter.
Rest the samples, then cup them within the protocol's window, blind and side by side with a reference coffee.
Score and note them, and record the decision: approved, rejected, or held for comparison.
Keep a retained sample of the approved green, sealed and labelled, until the coffee has been delivered and roasted.

Sample roasters

A dedicated sample roaster roasts 100 g to a few hundred grams at a time, often with several barrels running together. It saves production batches and green coffee, and it gives repeatable results when you follow a fixed method. Some roasteries sample roast on a small production machine, which works if the method is consistent.

When the arrival sample does not match

Cup the arrival sample against your retained, approved PSS. If it is clearly different, or shows defects such as mustiness, contact the supplier at once, within the contract's claim period, with your notes and samples. Do not roast the lot for customers until it is resolved.

Sample discipline

Every sample logged with its lot reference
One consistent sample roast method, written down
Blind cupping with a reference coffee
Approved samples retained until the lot is used
Claim period noted for every contract

Where Roastnet helps

Questions roasters ask

How much green coffee do I need for a sample roast?: Commonly 100 g to 300 g per sample, depending on your sample roaster and how many cups you set.
Are green coffee samples free?: Suppliers often send small samples free to established buyers; some charge, or charge postage. Arrival and pre-shipment samples are part of normal trade practice.

Official sources

Specialty Coffee Association: Cupping protocols

Rules change. These sources were checked on 9 October 2026; always confirm the current position with the body that publishes them before you act.