Coffee Data Science
Onyx Coffee Transparency Breakdown
Gathering the data
I really enjoy how many coffee roasters have started to produce transparency reports on how much everything costs. The trouble I have is that usually you can see just one coffee at a time, and it is hard to get a big picture for the entire roaster. I’m not sure if that is by design, but I will assume it is not. Like people using data, some times it is difficult to figure out how to show the data or how much to show without compromising themselves.
I took Onyx as an example, and I gathered some data to take a look. I applaud them for how much data they do present, and even when I find something lacking, they are providing more than most in the industry.
Raw Data
Onyx stores the data for coffee on that coffee page, and their website is very interactive. Generally, this is challenging for data collection because it is slow and laggy.
This example coffee has a report, if you scroll down and tap that shows this screenshot below:
This data is out of context in the sense that these numbers only mean something if you have a reference. They have that reference for Fair Trade Minimum and C-Market, but this reference could be better with respect to the country, cost of living, or other coffees. I would love to see that data, and I don’t fault them for not putting that data in here.
Too much data can be overwhelming unless you’re like me. So I gathered all this data for all their coffees but not their teas.
This amount of data can be overwhelming, but we can analyze it.
Cost Analysis
I assumed the green coffee lost about 10% weight due to roasting. It is probably more than that, but we’re aiming for a simple view of the data.
The top 7 coffees had lot sizes were listed as infinite probably because they are very large and not limited by other factors. I also suspect these coffees make Onyx more money than others.
We have some data on their other lot sizes.
In terms of profile based on lot size and costs, half of their profit is made by three coffees (of the ones with listed lot sizes). I was surprised at how little the most experience lots account for their total profit. In that sense, these smaller, high quality lots like the COE’s (Cup of Excellence) represent providing something of value to the coffee community without as much in return for business purposes.
I applaud Onyx and others for making their data available. I would appreciate if they made their data available in a data table format for easier access. The same goes for other coffee roasters; if you want to be transparent, please avail the raw data to people who want to take a look at the bigger picture.
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