I have noticed that Coffee is a level 0 product, but is made from a cans which are a level 33 product. In the current game, there is no product that is made from higher level products.
I do not think that this is a manufacturing problem, but it may be for the cafe which sells the product. A company at research level 0 can open a cafe and sell coffee, but they cannot produce any coffee. They may loose shopping worth on a product that they cannot make.
Then again, this may be a "feature" like product research. It is possible to do product research at a low research level, but may bankrupt the company if it is done.
Anyways, the idea of a market for tea leaves, coffee beans and cocoa beans is a novel idea. I hope that it works well. It will add another dimension to this game. The game will now act as a supplier as well as a consumer.
Walter