Overview

This article shows green coffee buyers how to use the Harvest Buying Calendar to decide when to order samples and when to buy coffee from each origin.

The calendar shows the typical harvest, sample ordering, buying, and exporting periods for each origin. It shows them next to the green volume that you added to your own inventory in Cropster.

Use the calendar when you plan your green coffee purchases for the coming months, or when you want to take that plan into your own planning spreadsheet.

Open the calendar

To open the calendar, you need permission to view the (Green) inventory overview page.

1. In the main menu, click (Green) Inventory.
2. Click the Harvest Buying Calendar tab.

The calendar opens with one row per origin.

Read the calendar

Each row of the calendar shows one origin, your green volume for that origin, and the periods for that origin.

Green volume per origin

The green volume is the total initial weight of the green lots that were added to your inventory for that origin in the selected time frame.

By default, the time frame is the last 12 months. The green volume comes from your own green lot history in Cropster.

The green volume counts what came into your inventory. Lots that were created by a warehouse distribution or by a lot merge are not included.

Quantities are shown in kg or lbs (according to your group’s default setting) and rounded to two decimal places. If a lot was recorded in a different weight unit, Cropster converts it before adding it to the total.

To see the green lots behind a row, click Go to Green Inventory in that row. The (Green) Inventory overview page opens, filtered to that origin.

Periods

Each origin row can show four periods:

• Harvest: the months when the coffee is harvested.
• Sample ordering: the months when you can order samples.
• Buying: the months when you can buy the coffee.
• Exporting: the months when the coffee leaves the origin country. These are departure months, not the dates when the coffee arrives at your roastery.

Each period is drawn as a band on a shared timeline of months. A legend above the calendar names the four periods.

The timeline covers 12 months, starting with the current month. A vertical line on the timeline marks today.

Each band shows its start and end month.

• A period that runs from one year into the next is shown as one continuous band.
• A period can appear more than once in the same row, where it recurs within the timeline.
• If no data is available for a period, the row marks that period as unavailable.
• The periods are read-only. You cannot edit them or add your own.

About the period dates

The period dates are Cropster's recommendation for the typical calendar of each origin, and apply to Arabica coffee only. They are not a confirmed schedule.

Harvest and related periods are approximate. They can shift from year to year, and between regions of the same origin.

The data for the United States applies to Hawaii only. The data for Indonesia covers all regions. An information banner below the calendar repeats these points.

Filter the calendar

Filter the calendar to change the time frame of your green volume, or to show only the origins that you are interested in.

1. Click Filters.
2. In Green volume, select the time frame: the last 1, 3, 6, or 12 months.
3. In Origins, select one or more origins.
4. Optional: To also show origins that have no green volume in the selected time frame, select Include origins with no green lot history.
5. Click Apply filters.

The calendar shows the selected origins, and the green volume reflects the selected time frame.

By default, origins without green volume in the selected time frame are hidden. The calendar covers a fixed list of supported origins, listed in the Origins filter.

To return to the default filters, click Reset filters.

Export the calendar to Excel

Export the calendar to use your green volume and the period dates in your own planning spreadsheet. The export contains the data that the calendar currently shows.

1. Filter the calendar to the origins and the time frame that you want to export.
2. Click Export.

The calendar downloads an Excel file in .xls format. The file name contains the selected time frame and the export date.

The first sheet of the file contains one row for each origin that the calendar shows. Each row contains the following:

• The origin.
• The green volume and its unit. This is the same quantity that the calendar shows.
• The start and end of each of the four periods.

If a period recurs within the timeline, all of its date ranges are in one cell, separated by commas. If no data is available for a period, its cells are empty.

The second sheet lists the green volume that the calendar cannot show. It has one row for each unsupported origin, and one row for lots with no origin.

Numbers and dates in the file use the formats of your own locale. You can export the calendar even when the selected time frame contains no green volume.

Lots missing from the calendar

Some of your green lots cannot appear in the calendar. In that case, a warning banner appears above the calendar. The banner covers two cases:

• Lots that have no country of origin recorded.
• Lots from an origin that the calendar does not support.

For each case, the banner shows the total weight and the number of lots. The totals in the banner reflect the selected time frame and origins.

Lots in either case are not included in any origin row. Both cases are listed on the second sheet of the export.

To include lots that have no country of origin, record a country of origin on those lots (see Managing green inventory).

The banner includes a Bulk upload green lots button, which opens the page for bulk uploading green lots that might be missing entirely.

When the calendar shows no origins or does not load

If no origins match the current filters, the calendar shows a message instead of the rows. The message explains why nothing is shown and how to see more origins.

To see more origins, change the filters. For example, select Include origins with no green lot history, or select a longer time frame.

The information banner about the period dates is hidden while there is no data to show.