In our direct coffee trade, we focus on sustainable, honest and responsible dealings with our partners and producers. We want to build long-term trading relationships and thus achieve the highest possible quality for our coffees. In doing so, we also support the improvement of living conditions in the growing regions.
Direct and fair coffee trade
There
are a lot of certificates, awards and seals that you won't find on any
of our coffee packaging. Often these have been developed by the EU and
cost us, and frighteningly the producers, a lot of money that is then
missing for the development of sustainable and good farming methods. We
believe in control through collaboration and that is why our goal is to
buy from farmers that we know, have visited and with whom we have
already philosophized about coffee.
We also place a lot of emphasis on sustainability in our production, but
also on site with the farmers when it comes to cultivation, harvesting
and processing. We want to offer excellent products, where the producers
are paid fairly and which are not grown at the expense of destroying
the environment. We share this conviction with many other partners in
our industry and that is why we use the same logistics companies
together to help us get the coffee to Berlin safely and well packaged.
We make the trade directly with the farmers on site whenever possible.
There is usually and depending on the country still a small celebration
and we love that.
Direct coffee trade - what does that mean for us?
Directly
traded coffee means for us to stand in a lively exchange with the
farmers, to buy directly from the farmers and coffee growers and to
visit the farms and fincas at regular intervals.
Through numerous trips to our partner producers in the countries of
origin, we have not only learned a lot and but also developed a feeling
for the work on the plantations and "Beneficios". We have established
very close and personal business relationships whose goal is
sustainable, honest and responsible dealings with each other, far away
from and independent of scurrilous stock market speculation.
Our regular work at the origin gives us an indispensable insight into
the work of the producers. There we acquire valuable knowledge about the
differences in the cultivation of individual varieties, about
preparation, drying and processing, optimal storage and logistics. This
knowledge enriches us and helps us in our work. In roasting,
distribution and preparation of coffees, we live, love and appreciate
the best coffee quality.
Because our first and highest requirement is quality to this day. And
this is for us only given and expandable if the farmer can live from his
work. In the direct coffee trade, it is therefore not only about fair
prices, but also about long-term partnerships between coffee farmer and
coffee roaster.
What happens after the coffee has been harvested, the price negotiated and the beans prepared for export?
In
some cases, we handle all the logistics, from the farm, to the port, to
shipping, to import and then to our roaster. In other cases, we
outsource export and import logistics to friendly companies whose work
is transparently and comprehensibly integrated into the logistics chain.
Thus, the price is transparently composed of the negotiated price with
the producer, the logistics and transport costs, the insurance of the
transport and the current exchange rates. Transparency, close personal
ties to producers and sustainable fruitful cooperation are the
cornerstones for us to produce the best possible coffee quality.