Theoretically, yes. Real-world, not so much.
Have you actually found that the difference between being a 80lb-a-week and being a 40lb-a-week customer severely changes your bargaining position with your supplier? Is there any PRICE bargaining power…
One could argue that the additional expense in terms of time and money is buying competitive advantage. We brew EVERY cup to order. Sure it would be easier and more cost effective to brew a big urn of swill, but would I have as many customers?
We sell beans from each roaster they way the sell them. We even go as far as having our baristas wear shirts from other coffee houses and we have been toying with the idea starting a "disloyalty card" here in Chicago.
As articulated elsewhere here it is simply much more economical to buy quantity from one source at as steep a discount as possible. That means one coffee order instead of many, a training regimen suited to one coffee and presumably a volume discount…
Why would anyone settle for one roaster?
How could having multiple roasters put a business at a disadvantage?
On our 'today's coffees' menu we identify the coffee by estate / farm / co-op /whatever, certifications, region & country of origin, varie…