Our Sources

Located in the mountainous region of the Cajamarca province in Peru, Aprocassi was founded in 2000 by 800 small farmers committed in earning a fair price for their coffee. This region of Peru is also marked by national and international mining companies who often do not pay laborers a fair wage. Aprocassi also formed to give people an alternative to the mining industry.
 
Aprocassi continually seeks to produce high-quality coffee and improve its members’ standard of living through higher prices. They regularly invest in programs that teach members how to improve coffee quality and productivity. Most families work on approximately seven hectares of land and grow a variety of products, including coffee in the higher elevations.

The region of Ouro Fino, which is a city situated in the south eastern Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, is known for growing Blue Washed coffee beans.. A collection of five producers within the region, harvest and sun dry this coffee for export. The coffee is commercialised by Comexim S.A. who are a private exporter operating from a central warehouse in Ouro Fino, south of Minas Gerais state. 

The warehouse has a storage capacity of 150,000 bags of 60 kilos each, of which 60,000 bags are stored in bulk silos and 90,000 in 1 tonne bulk bags. Regardless of the harvest and variations in the coffee market price,Comexim S.A. maintain a homogeneous quality throughout the crop year.

OROMIA Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union (OCFCU) is the largest Fairtrade coffee producer in Ethiopia. OROMIA was founded in 1999 when 23,691 members of 35 small Ethiopian cooperatives came together with the goal of exporting their coffee directly to the specialty market.

Their union is a farmer-owned democratic organisation in which every member has the right to elect and vote freely, where democracy is fully exercised. They also give 70% of the net profit back to the coffee grower who uses the premium for the construction of schools, health centers and infrastructure such as water points.

Located in the lush green hills of southern India lie the regions of Coorg, Chickmangulur and Hassan. Abundant with scenic beauty these regions are also home to India's largest coffee plantations. The natural elements here are conducive to good coffee growth. Fertile soils, favorable climate and rainfall combined with scientific cultivation and strict quality control contribute to the production of the finest Robusta in the region. 

The unique mild flavour profile of this variety is due to the relatively low altitudes at which the coffee is grown while the natural processing and sun drying contribute to the lower acid profile and rich earthy notes common in Robusta cultivars

Bugisu Washed Arabica is the most renowned of the Ugandan Arabicas. Grown in and around Mbale, they compare very favourably with other East African high grown coffees. The crop is grown on the slopes of the Elgon mountain range in three distinct areas, namely in the Mbale, Sironko, and Kapchorwa Districts, and is thus found at varying altitudes, ranging from 1300 metres in the South, climbing up to 1900 metres in the Central and Northern Districts.

The Bugisu crop is intercropped alongside other crops on the 'kabanjja'. The area of the kabanjja under cultivation for Arabica averages 0.36 hectares, with an average yield of approximately 600 kilos clean per hectare. The harvest season starts in September, completing around February each year.

Ipanema was established in 1969 by two determined and visionary engineers, Luiz Cyrillo and Carlos Moacyr, who pioneered coffee growing on the shores of Furnas Lake, around the City of Alfenas. In less than 10 years from its inception, Ipanema became known as the largest farm in Brazil & still today is regarded as the largest producer in Brazil with 5,500 hectares dedicated to coffee production across three farms.

From seed to cup Ipanema can provide full traceability coffee beans --from the care of their nursery, the production, the milling and finally the shipping of its  coffee, thereby guaranteeing consistent quality. Ipanema's quality differential has been its constant search for improvement in its production.

Chiapas, located in eastern Mexico near the border of Guatemala is home to the city of Yajalon where this well-known coffee is derived. The climate here is tropical with high humidity and rainfall, often enveloping the upper mountains in cloud and fog. The lowland regions of Chiapas were once home to abundant lush rainforest, however most of this land has been cleared for agriculture including the production of fruit, vegetables and cattle.

Also found in the Chiapas region is the largest indigenous Mexican population and the ancient Mayan ruins of Palenque, Yaxchilán, Bonampak, and Chinkultic. The coffee farms of this high grown regional selection are governed by approximately fifteen small shareholder farmers each with less than 5 hectares of land. Each farmer hand harvests their crop which is then washed and naturally sun dried to give the typical winey fruit aspects found in this coffee type.