As a coffee roaster, the number one question we get asked is, "Where do you get your beans from?" Typically, most people are interested to hear about the various regions and countries from where our beans hail, and that's always a fun topic of conversation!
We love talking about why we primarily use beans from the Huila region in Colombia for our blends, or what stood out to us about the newest Signature Series coffee from the slopes of Mt. Elgon in Uganda, for example.
To take this conversation a step further, however, we want to highlight why sustainability matters to Everette's Coffee. First, a definition from the UCLA Sustainability Committee.
Sustainability is defined as the integration of environmental health, social equity and economic vitality in order to create thriving, healthy, diverse and resilient communities for this generation and generations to come.
In coffee farming, sustainability means leaving the soil healthier than we found it, giving farmers total agency over their livelihood and making sure everyone in the supply chain gets a fair shake.
Now, as a small-batch, specialty coffee roaster, we're just one tiny cog in a massive machine. But our choices still matter!
That's why we purchase our green coffee beans through Genuine Origin, which is Volcafe's U.S.-based specialty coffee company focused on e-commerce. Volcafe is a global coffee trader based in Switzerland, and their expertise spans green coffee procurement and preparation, quality control, risk management and logistics.
Importantly, they have a proven commitment to and strategy for sustainability, including a very cool farmer support program called The Volcafe Way.
Volcafe Way is our farmer support programme, carefully developed since 2014 to provide a holistic response to the challenges faced by coffee farmers. Farm profitability is a core focus of Volcafe Way – when producers see their incomes improve, they’re encouraged to improve farm practices, increase productivity, deliver higher quality and keep farming. We call this farming as a business.
At the end of the day, we're doing what we can to be as impactful as we can when it comes to being part of the coffee industry. It's not much, but we think it's important to hold true to these values as we continue to grow!
So, the next time you buy Everette's Coffee, know that you're taking part in a positive cycle of trying to leave the world, and the people in it, in a better place than we found it.
