Sustainability
Environmental and social protection measures to ensure the existence and sustainable development of coffee sources.
what is ‘sustainable coffee’?
The word “sustainability” is thrown around a lot and the understanding of what it is has changed somewhat over the years. But when we talk about sustainability in coffee we are really considering what is known as the bottom line: people and the planet. it’s coffee that is grown in a way that conserves nature and provides better livelihoods for the people who grow and process it.
How we play our part in this journey
We have established our own supply chain through direct-trade relationships with Vietnamese farmers and we roast freshly right here in Auckland, New Zealand. This has a positive impact on both regions and farmers by fostering transparent relationships, fair pricing, and sustainable practices, resulting in improved livelihoods, community development, and of course the freshest and finest coffee for you!
What makes us really stand out? We're all about ensuring our amazing farmers in Vietnam get a fair deal for their hard work, paying significantly over market to ensure the best quality coffee and a sustainable future
Once picked, coffee cherries are processed and packed for a sea adventure
At the core of direct trade is simplicity and transparency. By managing the supply chain and logistics ourselves, we ensure more goes directly to the farmers so they earn a sustainable wage
We're brewing positive change in coffee villages and their communities
Elevating farmers' livelihoods
Bringing you the freshest and finest coffee
environmental impacts of coffee production
Coffee is already the most widely traded tropical agricultural commodity, and demand for it is rising in places such as China and India that have traditionally favoured tea. This rising demand could encourage expansion of coffee production into new areas, leading to more deforestation. Given that clearing natural forests releases the carbon stored in the trees into the atmosphere, unsustainable coffee expansion is a significant contributor to climate change. Coffee will, in turn, suffer from the effects of climate change, as will the communities that depend on the other services that those forests provide.
Right, so how about the impacts that you see at origin - Vietnam?
In a bid to improve their quality of life, many farmers are selling their land to housing developers just to get by, but this means their future generations won't have farmland to continue growing coffee and has significant impacts on the environment. For example, Dalat is a coffee growing region in central Vietnam which used to be a French village during the war, and the effects can be seen throughout the impacted communities here as farms are sold off – we hope you can now see why we're super serious about changing how people see Vietnamese coffee and the impacts it can have on the country, it’s people, and the climate
Very sad, what are you doing to stop this happening?
While we would love to stop the deforesting issue, it relies on a multitude of various economic and societal factors. However we are advocating and elevating the resilient robusta bean as the key to our sustainable coffee future, and by driving greater demand for this underrepresented coffee bean this will in turn improve the viability of it’s production.
Once despised and considered the "ugly sibling", now robusta coffee, named after its strength as it thrives even in harsh conditions, has better yields and requires less rainfall to thrive. Numerous environmental studies have come to an arrestingly dire conclusion: we're at pace to lose 50% of suitable growing areas for arabica coffee by 2050 due to climate change. Vietnam supplies over half of the world's robusta coffee and will be playing an increasingly crucial role in rescuing coffee from the impacts of the climate crisis.
Hold on: you are doing all that but I cannot see you being certified with Rain Forest Alliance or FairTrade?
It was one of our must-haves initially when we started looking for potential farm partners. However, through our search for the very best coffee beans in Vietnam, we discovered that sadly, obtaining these certifications can be both a costly and administrative burden for small scale producers and co-operatives. As such, we have chosen to work with small scale producers over larger farms that have these certifications, and we believe this will have a greater impact on the farms and their communities.
That’s great — but what can I do?
By generating awareness, appreciation and excitement for the resilient robusta bean, we will build consumer demand for a transparent robusta market. Through this increased demand and expectation for quality products, robusta farmers around the world will have the opportunity to improve their coffee and ultimately, their livelihoods. Together, we’re building a better coffee future for all.
Our exciting initiative: donating trees to build an organic coffee farm in the Central Highlands of Vietnam
These coffee trees are now just a few months old, and it typically takes about 5 years before their beans can be harvested. We're dedicated to supporting our Vietnamese farming partner in caring for these trees over their lifespan. While this is our first initiative, we're excited to see what impact we can have in the future, we're just getting started!
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