Sourcing Our Coffee
Matthew Algie spearheaded the use of certifications in the UK and Irish coffee market. We launched the UK’s first Fairtrade espresso in 1997 and the world’s first triple-certified (Fairtrade, Organic and Rainforest Alliance) espresso in 2004. And we dont just support certifications, we work alongside our coffee producers to help them achieve certifications. This helps farmers to operate more sustainably and improve the overall quality of the coffee beans they produce.
Over the years, we’ve developed close relationships with coffee cooperatives and farmers in many countries. We have been sourcing coffee from some of our suppliers for over 20 years and we visit them regularly. These relationships give our producers the confidence to plan and invest in their operations. It also ensures we can consistently source the best quality coffee.
Our Approach
Our approach to coffee sourcing is focussed on ensuring reliable delivery of consistent high-quality coffees from producers who we have developed long terms relationships with. Our world is ever changing and the way we source must also evolve. We are open to change and understand that to ensure we continue to receive a wide variety of high-quality coffees we must remain fully committed to sourcing with sustainability and collaboration at the forefront of our approach.
Quality & Variety
We source coffee from across the globe to ensure we have a variety of coffee available to meet our customers’ needs with both flavour and certification requirements. Brazil, Honduras, Peru, Ethiopia, Sumatra, and Vietnam are our key origins. Some of these coffees will be specifically selected for a single-origin product, but most of our coffee is sourced with blending in mind. Creating blends is fun, but it is also an art which our in-house experts have perfected over many years, and we understand the individual nuances of each coffee; the terroir, varietal and processing methods are just some of the key contributors to the unique flavour of each of the lots we carefully select. We evaluate samples daily, assessing seasonal variations and working with different roast profiles until we reach the sweet spot.
Certifications
A key part of our sourcing has always been built around certifications, over 80% of the coffee we source has at least one certification, whether Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade or organic, and some coffees are certified by all three!
We have been fortunate enough to see and hear first-hand the benefits these certification systems provide farmers, and we fully support the assurances and independent verification these provide us and our customers with.
Long-term Relationships
Ensuring the right quality is consistently delivered involves working closely with our suppliers, including importers, exporters, and producers. Building long-term, stable relationships has always been and will continue to be vital in helping us to achieve this. We understand the importance of communicating regularly and directly with producers to hear their increasing challenges and support them in the best ways possible. Given many of our producers’ distant and often very remote locations, we must be creative in our communication, but in-person visits will always be our preferred option. We regularly visit producers, and our trips are carefully planned to ensure we meet with individual farmers, cooperative leaders, and exporters to experience the coffee journey from seeding to harvesting, processing, grading, and finally exporting.
Sourcing our Other Products
Our commitment to sustainability is not limited to just coffee. We also collaborate with carefully selected third-party suppliers to offer a range of sustainable café products, including drinks, snacks, and equipment. We believe that tea, cocoa, and sugar are just as important as coffee when it comes to promoting sustainability.
We take great care in selecting our suppliers, making sure to choose those with strong sustainable credentials and similar values to our own. To ensure independent validation of our suppliers’ ethical practices, we rely on certifications like Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance.
In addition, we are strong advocates for the use of commercially compostable disposable cups or reusable cups, and we make sure that all of the products and packaging in our Espresso Warehouse range meet our strict sustainability requirements. By championing sustainable practices across our entire product line, we hope to inspire others to make more environmentally conscious choices as well.
