Sustainability

At the center of our values is fun, and in addition to that, we want to be brave, honest, caring and make sure that everything goes smoothly. We want to be transparent in all our activities. We care about coffee, our employees and our customers. We believe that by acting on the basis of our values, we can serve our customers in the best possible way.

In today's world, this is already obvious for most companies, and that's fine, but let's say it now: responsibility and transparency are very important values for us. When it comes to making coffee, we think "good" and "responsible" are inseparable.

We achieved our full transparency goal in 2017, when we first published all the prices we paid for our raw coffees. This was achieved as a result of finding the right partners and some old fashioned hard work. Since then, transparency has not been compromised.

Kaffa Handshake our purchase agreement is a promise of ethical and fair trade. It is an agreement we make with each of our producers and is subject to the following conditions:

  • Each employee receives at least the minimum wage in the region
  • All work is ethically sustainable, so forced labor and child labor are strictly prohibited
  • The operation itself is sustainable and environmentally friendly
  • The price received by each farmer for their coffee beans must be known and communicated

In general, about 25% of the price of specialty coffee ends up in the producer country, although one could say that 90% of all the work is done right there. Think about it, there are about 7,000 coffee beans in every pound of coffee. Each of these is hand-picked and processed.. 

Salaries below the living wage are not only an ethical challenge but also an ecological one. If farmers need to increase production to earn enough income, it is unfortunately tempting to turn to toxins and fertilisers, or disrupt the surrounding environment by over-cultivating. Coffee is a plant growing near the equator, so it is particularly worrying if the balance of the earth is upset in these areas, which are the most important of all for the health of our planet.

We all want to continue to enjoy delicious coffees, and to do so we must increasingly focus on the origins of coffee. Remember that the price we pay for a full cup of coffee can also be part of the price we pay for a healthier planet!

The process of buying coffee is the base of an iceberg, but running a sustainable and responsible coffee roaster involves much more. We are actively looking for recyclable and recycled materials for packaging and POS, we use renewable energy and drive on electricity and we offer our B2B customers the opportunity to buy their coffee in a circular economy refillable barrel.

We are always happy to hear feedback, ideas and questions related to sustainability and responsibility at Kaffa. So feel free to connect!