On our new coffee packaging, you'll find ten bold statements that summarize our work as a coffee roastery. We exchange ideas daily with our production partners, who may be far away but are precisely what make it possible for all of us to drink coffee. Through them, we learn what it takes today so we can still drink coffee tomorrow.
Sometimes clear messages are needed. We've prominently placed ten of them on our new coffee packaging.
The back of the new coffee packaging.
1. Coffee without values is worthless.
If we understand the production and consumption of coffee only as a mechanical action, we fail to assign coffee the value inherent to it. Countless hands have picked it, processed it, exported it, roasted it, packaged it, and made it available. Coffee is a product made by people. When we value the product, we can also appreciate the work of the people behind it.
Producers sort coffee cherries by ripeness, Apixtepec, Mexico
2. Our decisions create perspectives for tomorrow.
Coffee is a long-term project – the plant grows slowly and change takes time. Awareness about coffee is developing, but yes: it takes time. And because we work with people, change sometimes requires time. That's why it's all the more important that we shape the future today and understand our decisions as an investment in tomorrow. This way, we create new perspectives together with producers.
Joél turns the coffee in the parchment so it can dry evenly. Apixptepec, Mexico
3. Nature determines our boundaries.
Long-term coffee production is only conceivable in connection with high biodiversity, plenty of shade, and intact ecosystems. Coffee cannot be produced in isolation; instead, it is oriented toward the boundaries set by nature. There are varieties that grow well in Brazil but not at all in Nicaragua. Certain processing methods work consistently in one location – but not in others. Understanding the environment and accepting that nature dictates what is possible and what isn't gives us guidance: what we can influence – and what we should leave alone.
Our partner farm El Arbol from above. The coffee trees integrate into an existing forest.
4. Relationship status: complex, but clear.
We maintain several long-distance relationships with our production partners. In doing so, we always try to clarify mutual expectations early on and think ahead. The collaboration is always context-dependent and sometimes differs significantly from other relationships. Like any relationship, partnership collaboration is complex and varies in certain respects, but clear in communication.
Don Roque is a founding member of the Citlal Kaffen cooperative in Mexico.
5. We promote soil health and give back more than we take.
Soil is a complex system – with many components, but above all: full of life. Microorganisms, minerals, and organic matter ensure that plants develop well and stay healthy. Coffee plants draw their energy from the soil, which in turn must be nourished. Excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides shifts focus away from the soil, even though it is precisely the soil that secures long-term production. We put soil at the center of our collaboration and work to give back more than we take.
Célia Bühler from HAFL wrote her master's thesis on compost production in Nicaragua
6. Strong relationships, strong coffee.
We all love coffee. The taste, the feeling when drinking it, the effect. We love coffee so much that we go to its origin and build relationships with the people who grow it. When we manage to make these relationships strong, enduring, able to overcome crises and constantly renew themselves – then we don't just drink coffee that is strong in flavor, but one that carries a strong story within it. And that's when coffee tastes even better.
We have always connected all points along the coffee chain. Here: our Coffee Farm Training in Nicaragua
7. Joy and risk – we share both.
Someone once said that coffee production is quite simple – it consists of only 100 lessons, and you learn one each year. Every year there is reason for joy, and every year brings new challenges. Sometimes there's too much rain, then none at all. Then ships don't sail or prices explode. Harvest workers are missing, credit is too expensive. But then a partner wins the Cup of Excellence, a natural lot knocks us off our feet, or the sorting has never been better than this year. We listen and take responsibility together with our partners – because that's part of a relationship.
Marcia is a pioneer of organic coffee cultivation in Brazil. She is part of the Apas cooperative
8. We act transparently to drive change.
Coffee has a long history – and it is sometimes dark (Coffee & Colonialism). Today much is better along the coffee chain, but there remains a large knowledge gap and power asymmetry. Producers often only have fragmented knowledge about the coffee market, while buyers have access to a wealth of information. We believe: transparency is the first step toward change.
Mauricio (left) is the managing director of the Apas cooperative. Here he discusses pricing with Philipp
9. We overcome inequalities along the coffee chain.
This knowledge gap often manifests itself in financial starting positions as well. We are working to close it – and are investing strategically on the ground in coffee-producing countries to drive change and work at eye level with our partners.
Miguel (white shirt) in conversation with Don Roque and Doña Alma from the Citlal Kaffen cooperative
10. We build the coffee of the future with the bold and the daring.
The coffee world is sometimes sluggish. Change takes time – or is understood as a risk. Roasteries need security, just as producers do. If both play it safe, many things stay the same. We seek partnerships with the bold and the daring – with those who have their own mind, question what's habitual, and want to help write the future today.
Yazmani is the managing director of the Citlal Kaffen cooperative. He leads with great dynamism and vision
