Our Coffee Purchasing Ethos

The way businesses choose to spend their money is one of the most powerful engines of change and influence in our modern society. This is why I wanted to speak a little bit about our coffee purchasing ethos. 

While we briefly speak about it in the transparency report sections of each of our coffees on the menu, these are only glimpses at our overall goal: to enact change in the coffee industry, which we view as part of the larger project to contribute to global decolonization. A heady and lofty goal to be sure, but it is worth talking about here in a little more depth. 

Since very early in Rabbit Hole’s life, we wanted to do coffee differently. In 2019 we worked with coffee producers in Yunnan China to help develop their coffee producing equipment. This was done by asking our customers to pay a little more for each bag of coffee. This extra profit was then transferred directly to the processing stations in Yunnan, which they in-turn bought better washing equipment. 

Another recent initiative we have done is working with the Mexican farmers, Yolanda Dominguez and Josephina Pascual. As we describe in our menu: 

When you buy this coffee, you are a part of something bigger than just a tasty cup of Joe: you help readjust the scale that has been tipped against farmers for decades, and give a good wage to an Indigenous woman producer.

This is how we challenge a status quo that always benefits importers and roasters while neglecting the very people we depend on, the farmers.

But how do we challenge the status quo?

We worked with our exporter Azahar Coffee to pay farmers above local price average. For example, using the Sustainable Coffee Buyer’s Guide to inform our pricing, we paid Josephina 8x the local price for her harvest in 2023. This was a harvest of only 1 bag. However, with such an investment, she was able to double her production and we bought 2 bags this year. 

It was a very similar process for Yolanda, as she doubled her output as well. And both coffees are wonderful and sell well. Proving that one can pay more for coffee and stay profitable. While these individual initiatives are important in demonstrating how individuals can be uplifted when profit isn’t the sole motivating factor in purchasing. We also apply this ethos when choosing to work with other exporters dealing with larger scale coffee buying. 

96B and Semilla are two such importers. Beginning with the former, working with 96B to bring Vietnamese coffees to our menu was a match made in heaven. The owners are committed to uplifting the idea of Vietnamese coffee outside of Vietnam from commodity to specialty. This process begins with the farmers and ensures they get paid fairly. As such, they empower the farmers they work with to be the price setters and not the price takers. Such a commitment to the farmers moved us so much that we jumped on the chance to work with them. No prior sampling required. The commitment to dismantling colonial coffee pricing systems was enough for us. 

Semilla Coffee has set up multiple streams to allow value and equity to be returned to origin. Through building relationships directly with farmers and bypassing middle men, Semilla can ensure value can go directly into the farmers hands. They pay 50-100% more than the local price for the coffee they import. This is always the farmers they work with to bypass the whims of colonial base C-Market pricing system that is always exploitative.

There are other initiatives run by both Semilla and us that collect funds for direct use by farmers. Such as micro-financing initiatives; which will be discussed in another blog. But it is important to remember that one doesn’t have to be exploitative to be in business. 

We take our success and privilege quite seriously. While we are not of a exploitative colonial system, we do certainly benefit from it. It is our responsibility to use our success and privilege to affect a positive change. And this is how we are going about it.

Be the change you want to see in the world. We use the tools and expertise we have to challenge what we see as unfair and unjust. You can too! Whether you buy coffee from us or choose to shop at a local grocer instead of a major chain. One brick at a time.