Fresh Cup Magazine, providing specialty coffee and tea professionals with unique insight into the trends, ideas, products and people that shape their world.
Issue link: http://freshcup.epubxp.com/i/178110
ROASTERS REALM by Nathan Westwick Spanning cofee communities ROASTING AND GIVING: The author's company, Wild Goose Coffee, purchases 10 pounds of food for local food banks for every pound of coffee it sells. I believe that one of the main draws for all of us in coffee, whether we are roasters, retailers, importers or consumers (or likely a combination of all of the above), is that community plays such an integral role in all we do. If you were to throw a room full of strangers together, they'd likely stand in awkward silence and force a bit of small talk with one another. But if you were to place a cup of fresh-roasted coffee in their hands, suddenly you'd have a vibrant room full of conversation, connection and community. It's difficult to pinpoint exactly why this happens in coffee, but I think we are all drawn to the industry, in part, due to this phenomenon. And as people on the industry's "inside," we also take satisfaction in knowing that the cup of coffee in people's hands that sparks so much conversation is an end piece in a very long chain from seed to cup. LOCAL IMPACT As coffee professionals, we all pay close attention to making sure our coffee purchases are helping out farmers at origin, whether through fair trade programs, direct trade or other likeminded initiatives. But what if we could take this mindset a step further to know that the coffee being consumed in that room full of people was helping not just farmers at origin but also our local community? Below are some ways that our roasting company, Wild Goose Coffee, has become involved in our community. We by no means claim to be the authority on community giving, but if our experiences can help spark ways in which you and your neighborhood benefit, then we can reinforce that community element that is so important to us as an industry. DONATE. One of the most effective ways we can help our communities is to set aside a portion of revenue from our sales and give it to a cause. There are many roasters out there that already do this, and the possibilities (and opportunities) are limitless. Some roasters will pick a cause and donate a portion of proceeds from the sales of a particular blend of coffee. (I have seen anything from $1 to $5 per bag donated.) This kind of "cause-oriented" fundraising can help drum up business and exposure, both for your company and for the cause you are looking to support. Another donation model some roasters use is setting aside a portion of proceeds from each and every sale—almost a hybrid business model, where the sales generate revenue for particular causes on an ongoing basis. This is what we have chosen to do at Wild Goose Coffee, where we purchase 10 pounds of food for local food banks for every pound of coffee we sell. We localize the giving so that customers ordering coffee from their local café can support a food bank in their local community. This "food for coffee" model has worked well for continued on page 60 58 Fresh Cup Magazine freshcup.com