20 tonnes of cargo seems a bit much for her. But at 12 dollars a pound
I see's 200K profit per trip.

That much? I'm just curious how you came to those numbers. It seems
that a small coffee company could do quite well with much profit. If
they make say 4 trips a year and get a good loyal following they could
have a nice year. I have heard of people that really like coffee
buying it from special Hawaiian distributors and paying something like
15-20 a pound. As long as its good coffee I don't see how this could
be such a bad idea.

Bill

On Mar 6, 4:49 pm, "Bob Crantz" wrote:
Joe,

Why don't you call Starbucks and see how much they will pay for a few bales
of coffee run in a sailboat. Just think you could load up our boat and
you're in business.

Amen!

Screw that, insert another mast and a 20'X12' cargo bay amidship
RedCloud and launch a web-site, blog, ect catering to the Greenies.

Just take a picture of a group of sailors in tie dye T shirts with
long hair sipping coffee, sell it all mail-order. Why give Starbucks a
slice? Starbucks has become the man, liberal and greenies hate the
man. Hype the green side of sail delivered coffee not tainted by the
evil oil companies and war mongers.

Would you like to invest?

http://www.koacoffee.com/organic.html 30 dollars + a pound

http://www.motherearthcoffeetea.com/...ea-Coffee.aspx
15 - a pound

You can find a many, but all tainted by evil oil...delivered in
pollution emitting vessels fouling the flavor and true aroma while
murdering dolphins and other sea critters.

Joe

On Mar 6, 5:05 pm, "Bill" wrote:
20 tonnes of cargo seems a bit much for her. But at 12 dollars a pound
I see's 200K profit per trip.

That much? I'm just curious how you came to those numbers. It seems
that a small coffee company could do quite well with much profit. If
they make say 4 trips a year and get a good loyal following they could
have a nice year. I have heard of people that really like coffee
buying it from special Hawaiian distributors and paying something like
15-20 a pound. As long as its good coffee I don't see how this could
be such a bad idea.

Bill

Ok 20 US tons of coffee = 40,000 pounds.

40,000 X 12 dollars a pound = 480,000 dollars retail

X 6 trips a year = 2,880,000.00

Crew 150K yr including food
Insurance 30K yr
Coffee investment 600K-800K (looking at a futures mkt, better to cut a
deal with a grower)
Boat maintance 10-20K yr
Pkg & Sales shipping facility 75K
Fuel 3000
Coffee roasting ect?

We will just round it off a 1.4 million operating expenses

That leaves 1,450,000.00 profit, or at 6 trips a year 241,666.66
profit a trip.

Would you like to invest ;0) ?

Joe

Ok 20 US tons of coffee = 40,000 pounds.

40,000 X 12 dollars a pound = 480,000 dollars retail

X 6 trips a year = 2,880,000.00

Crew 150K yr including food
Insurance 30K yr
Coffee investment 600K-800K (looking at a futures mkt, better to cut a
deal with a grower)
Boat maintance 10-20K yr
Pkg & Sales shipping facility 75K
Fuel 3000
Coffee roasting ect?

We will just round it off a 1.4 million operating expenses

That leaves 1,450,000.00 profit, or at 6 trips a year 241,666.66
profit a trip.

Would you like to invest ;0) ?

Joe

Do you think they could make 6 trips a year? I mean even without it
they seem to be able to make a profit. I think they could get more
than $12 a pound if the coffee is good. at least $15. That makes the
profit much higher. 400K per trip because the other expenses stay the
same. If they went that way I might buy a few shares in the company.
I'm an environmentalist but I wouldn't mind some good returns on the
investment either. It just depends on if the company can pull this
off.

You're quoting retail "street price" for the commodity you're shipping
in bulk. That makes no sense at all.

Coffee that sells for $10 a pound roasted up here goes for $2 a pound
unroasted, in 1320 lb pallets delivered here in New England. In
Central/South America that would be $1 a pound or less. Essentially,
the price doubles every time it passes through a hand or is processed.

Even though I buy in small lots, 2 to 5 pounds, because I buy
unroasted green bean I pay only half of the "street price." For
instance, I just bought Kona direct from the farmer for $13/lb
delivered. When I buy from a small lot distributer he's making a 100%
markup, as did the broker that sold to him.

BTW, the "organic coffee" market is a bit of a scam. Most small
farmers are close to being organic because they do not typically use
significant amounts of chemicals. They simply can't afford them, and
they are willing to do the manual work to properly manage the farm.
However, they are financially unable to take the fields out of
production for the three years to be certified organic. However,
large investors can clearcut a rain forest, usually in Peru, and have
it declared organic because is it virgin soil. The quality is not
particularly good. If you buy "Organic Blend" it means there is a
small amount of quality beans to give it some flavor, but the bulk is
low quality grown in a clear cut rain forest.



* Joe wrote, On 3/6/2007 7:03 PM:
On Mar 6, 5:05 pm, "Bill" wrote:
20 tonnes of cargo seems a bit much for her. But at 12 dollars a pound
I see's 200K profit per trip.
That much? I'm just curious how you came to those numbers. It seems
that a small coffee company could do quite well with much profit. If
they make say 4 trips a year and get a good loyal following they could
have a nice year. I have heard of people that really like coffee
buying it from special Hawaiian distributors and paying something like
15-20 a pound. As long as its good coffee I don't see how this could
be such a bad idea.

Bill

Ok 20 US tons of coffee = 40,000 pounds.

40,000 X 12 dollars a pound = 480,000 dollars retail

X 6 trips a year = 2,880,000.00

Crew 150K yr including food
Insurance 30K yr
Coffee investment 600K-800K (looking at a futures mkt, better to cut a
deal with a grower)
Boat maintance 10-20K yr
Pkg & Sales shipping facility 75K
Fuel 3000
Coffee roasting ect?

We will just round it off a 1.4 million operating expenses

That leaves 1,450,000.00 profit, or at 6 trips a year 241,666.66
profit a trip.

Would you like to invest ;0) ?

Joe

* Bill wrote, On 3/6/2007 8:09 PM:
....

Do you think they could make 6 trips a year? I mean even without it
they seem to be able to make a profit. I think they could get more
than $12 a pound if the coffee is good. at least $15. That makes the
profit much higher. 400K per trip because the other expenses stay the
same. If they went that way I might buy a few shares in the company.
I'm an environmentalist but I wouldn't mind some good returns on the
investment either. It just depends on if the company can pull this
off.

In that's the case, I have a bridge you might be interested in. Its,
uh, organic, of course.

On Mar 6, 7:12 pm, Jeff wrote:
You're quoting retail "street price" for the commodity you're shipping
in bulk. That makes no sense at all.

It makes sence if you are also the roaster, retailer. That what makes
it work.

Notice I alloted 75K for the facility and a couple workers a year,
that may be low, maybe not.

We have a burger joint here at my dock that has failed as a resturant
5-6 times.
It would make a perfect processing pkg facility, dock the boat right
next to it.

Coffee that sells for $10 a pound roasted up here goes for $2 a pound
unroasted, in 1320 lb pallets delivered here in New England. In
Central/South America that would be $1 a pound or less. Essentially,
the price doubles every time it passes through a hand or is processed.

I just looked at the commodies market an Coffee sells bulk for around
1.00 a pound.


Even though I buy in small lots, 2 to 5 pounds, because I buy
unroasted green bean I pay only half of the "street price." For
instance, I just bought Kona direct from the farmer for $13/lb
delivered. When I buy from a small lot distributer he's making a 100%
markup, as did the broker that sold to him.

With the internet, and modern marketing ways ... you can cut them out
of the picture

BTW, the "organic coffee" market is a bit of a scam. Most small
farmers are close to being organic because they do not typically use
significant amounts of chemicals. They simply can't afford them, and
they are willing to do the manual work to properly manage the farm.
However, they are financially unable to take the fields out of
production for the three years to be certified organic. However,
large investors can clearcut a rain forest, usually in Peru, and have
it declared organic because is it virgin soil. The quality is not
particularly good. If you buy "Organic Blend" it means there is a
small amount of quality beans to give it some flavor, but the bulk is
low quality grown in a clear cut rain forest.

I would make arrangements to purchace product from an outfit like
this: http://www.ecologicfinance.org/index.html

Joe

* Joe wrote, On 3/6/2007 7:03 PM:



On Mar 6, 5:05 pm, "Bill" wrote:
20 tonnes of cargo seems a bit much for her. But at 12 dollars a pound
I see's 200K profit per trip.
That much? I'm just curious how you came to those numbers. It seems
that a small coffee company could do quite well with much profit. If
they make say 4 trips a year and get a good loyal following they could
have a nice year. I have heard of people that really like coffee
buying it from special Hawaiian distributors and paying something like
15-20 a pound. As long as its good coffee I don't see how this could
be such a bad idea.

Bill

Ok 20 US tons of coffee = 40,000 pounds.

40,000 X 12 dollars a pound = 480,000 dollars retail

X 6 trips a year = 2,880,000.00

Crew 150K yr including food
Insurance 30K yr
Coffee investment 600K-800K (looking at a futures mkt, better to cut a
deal with a grower)
Boat maintance 10-20K yr
Pkg & Sales shipping facility 75K
Fuel 3000
Coffee roasting ect?

We will just round it off a 1.4 million operating expenses

That leaves 1,450,000.00 profit, or at 6 trips a year 241,666.66
profit a trip.

Would you like to invest ;0) ?

Joe- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

In that's the case, I have a bridge you might be interested in. Its,
uh, organic, of course.

Hey I said if they could pull this off. If they can then great I'm
all for making a profit but it is never quite that simple now is it?
I don't drink coffee anyways. Someone is trying to do this so I guess
we will see if it works. If one company can pull it off maybe it will
be more popular in the future. Maybe the age of sail V 2.0 will be at
hand. You never know.

Bill

On Mar 6, 7:09 pm, "Bill" wrote:
Ok 20 US tons of coffee = 40,000 pounds.

40,000 X 12 dollars a pound = 480,000 dollars retail

X 6 trips a year = 2,880,000.00

Crew 150K yr including food
Insurance 30K yr
Coffee investment 600K-800K (looking at a futures mkt, better to cut a
deal with a grower)
Boat maintance 10-20K yr
Pkg & Sales shipping facility 75K
Fuel 3000
Coffee roasting ect?

We will just round it off a 1.4 million operating expenses

That leaves 1,450,000.00 profit, or at 6 trips a year 241,666.66
profit a trip.

Would you like to invest ;0) ?

Joe

Do you think they could make 6 trips a year?

Easy. 2000 miles from Houston to Colombia , average just 100 miles a
day or 5 kts and you have 10 days to load and offload per mo.

I mean even without it
they seem to be able to make a profit. I think they could get more
than $12 a pound if the coffee is good. at least $15. That makes the
profit much higher. 400K per trip because the other expenses stay the
same. If they went that way I might buy a few shares in the company.

I've learned to plan for the worst and fight for the best.

I'm an environmentalist but I wouldn't mind some good returns on the
investment either. It just depends on if the company can pull this
off.

I just like money and sailing and coffee.

Joe


- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

* Joe wrote, On 3/6/2007 8:35 PM:
On Mar 6, 7:12 pm, Jeff wrote:
You're quoting retail "street price" for the commodity you're shipping
in bulk. That makes no sense at all.

It makes sence if you are also the roaster, retailer. That what makes
it work.

Lipton was able to create a vertically integrated tea business, but it
doesn't work very well for coffee, especially on a small scale. The
goal of the small specialty shops is to always have the highest
quality, which means constantly shifting suppliers.


Notice I alloted 75K for the facility and a couple workers a year,
that may be low, maybe not.

We have a burger joint here at my dock that has failed as a resturant
5-6 times.
It would make a perfect processing pkg facility, dock the boat right
next to it.
Coffee that sells for $10 a pound roasted up here goes for $2 a pound
unroasted, in 1320 lb pallets delivered here in New England. In
Central/South America that would be $1 a pound or less. Essentially,
the price doubles every time it passes through a hand or is processed.

I just looked at the commodies market an Coffee sells bulk for around
1.00 a pound.

That would be in container loads. Most high quality farmers don't
come close to that amount in a year, so you're limiting yourself to
low quality beans, suitable for Maxwell House and Starbucks.


BTW, I posted the following 5 years ago; I guess its time again:

In the old days, of course, coffee was transported by sailing ship.
The long voyage from the Dutch East Indies would have a natural
sweating" affect on the coffee in the hold. As a result, the coffee
turned a rare shade of brown that brought a premium at auction. It
was believed that it greatly improved the flavor and body. Captains
that brought in "extra brown" were given a bonus. Coffee brought by
sail was termed "ex-sailing ships."

Unlike tea, where there was a premium for fast voyages, coffee usually
traveled on slow ships. The Dutch style was favored - they were
described by one writer as "a hundred feet long, a hundred feet wide,
and a hundred feet high. Sometimes she sailed forwards, sometimes
backwards, and sometimes sideways. After dark, the lights were put
out, all sail was taken in, and all hands turned in for the night."
Towards the end of this era the Dutch ships were largely replaced by
Norwegian vessels.

After the turn of the century, there were attempts to duplicate the
browning process by steam heating coffee brought in by steamships.
The Pure Food authorities got involved, and the demand for brown
coffee fell off. The last coffee-carrying sailing ship to dock in New
York was on Christmas Day, 1914.

reference - "All About Coffee" by William H. Ukers 2nd ed. 1935