Coffee Quality Assistant

Who We Are

The Coffee Quest is a young, ambitious, import and export, green coffee company. Our team of around 50 coffee professionals works in four offices around the world: Colombia, Brazil, the Netherlands, and the United States. We value Transparency, Collaboration, and Quality and our goal is to add value to the coffee supply chain and create sustainable and profitable business for farmers and roasters alike.At The Coffee Quest, you will work alongside a diverse team consisting of English, Spanish, Dutch, and Portuguese speaking people. You will be located at our office in Austin but will also interact with our sister companies in Colombia, Brazil, Europe, as well as partners across our supply network.

What We Do and How We Do It

In the United States, we represent the work of thousands of farming families in six countries and we incentivize the production of high-quality coffees by paying premiums. We bring their coffees to roasters with the added value of our quality control process, logistics networks, and traceable producer details. We provide access to coffees across an array of qualities and work hand in hand with roasters in helping fulfill their green coffee needs. In addition to simply paying a premium for each coffee, we also invest in the producers with our impact programs, to build a future-proof, sustainable coffee chain.

As a Quality Assistant, you’ll focus on:

Sample Administration: This includes managing the company’s sample inventory spreadsheet by logging inbound and outbound samples, as well as analyzing the physical quality of select lots (defects, screen size and moisture content). The candidate will prepare sample packages on a bi-weekly basis, based on sample orders prepared by account managers. On any given day, we manage around 20-30 different lots. Quality Assistant will be responsible for preparing and packing each individual sample, printing labels and ultimately packing up bubble mailers to be dropped off at the Post Office or UPS/FedEx. Candidate will also send sample requests to our warehouses when we need refills.Roasting & Preparing Cuppings: Candidate will learn how to roast and digitally profile using the Ikawa sample roaster. In addition to some clients requiring roasted samples, candidate will also roast to prepare for internal cuppings. All coffees will be roasted and cuppings prepared according to company protocol and candidate will have the opportunity to participate in sensory evaluation. All cuppings will be logged by Quality Assistant in our internal system.Flexibility: As part of a young, dynamic company and small team, candidate should be flexible as new duties could be added to the job as they arise.

Qualifications & Skills

Availability: 3 days/week (weekdays), 12-20 hours per week.Detail Oriented (REQUIRED)Desire to learn about green coffee and the entire supply chain surrounding itOrganizational proficiency, good judgment and problem-solving skills a must, as well as the ability to collaborate or request assistance when neededExcellent written and verbal communication.Ability to work independentlyExperience with Microsoft Office and Google Workspace.Ability to learn internal systems (inventory system, shipping software, etc.)Roasting experience preferred, but not required.

We Offer

Small team, amazing colleagues and great coffee!Training in green coffee analysis and sensory evaluation (cupping!)Opportunity to assist with local events.

Essential Functions

Prolonged sitting, standing, reaching, liftingTypingOperating equipment/products (computers, printers, moisture meter, roaster, grinder, coffee samples)

Compensation:$20-23/hour (commensurate with experience)

How to Apply?

Send your cover letter and resume to hr@thecoffeequest.com

We are looking forward to your application!