Sustainable Sips: The Eco-Friendly Side of Specialty Coffee

Don’t feel bad if you haven’t thought about what goes on behind the scenes of your favourite specialty coffee. The fact that you’re here tells us that you want to learn - and we’re here to teach!

We are absolutely huge fans of sustainable coffee brands (like ours… Check out Portfolio Coffee for more). We’ve always said that our coffee beans are directly traded, from farm-to-cup. And those aren’t just mumbo jumbo words that we throw around to make our coffee more appealing - we take that to heart because we know that means better coffee for all of us!

So grab a cuppa and let’s talk about coffee and sustainability.

The Impact of Eco-Friendly Coffee

Before we jump straight in, let’s define what sustainability means.

Sustainable: “Capable of being maintained at a steady level without exhausting natural resources or causing severe ecological damage. sustainable development.”

Source: Collins Dictionary

So How Does Direct-Trade Coffee Come Into Play?

We directly source our coffee from farms and cooperatives all over the world. And we maintain a good relationship with them! It’s not just about buying from these farmers. It’s more than that. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship that allows us to get better, traceable coffee and them better prices.

By skipping the usual middleman, the producers of coffee get more money for their beans. This would, in turn, become fair wages. Since the people who grow our coffee beans aren’t strapped for funds and aren’t being squeezed out for every little resource they have, they can grow their crops in a more sustainable and eco-friendly way. Treat everyone fairly and everyone wins.

How Ethical Coffee Is Better? 

Compare our specialty coffee with those mass-produced coffee. The best example we can think of is instant coffee. With the goal of them is to be readily available at all times, coffee farmers tend to have a hard time keeping up with the demand. For the sake of production, they’re squeezed for every last drop they can make. 

Speaking of, that means farmers are treated far less fairly (sometimes not at all) and the environment suffers from having to produce such a large scale of coffee. The environmental effects of coffee production could be grave because of this. Often, this also means that companies like those just take what coffee they can get and offset the low-quality coffee with additives or sweeteners to make them taste better. This is a huge contrast with sustainable coffee brands. 

Ethically sourced and sustainable coffee will taste better. You can taste the quality of the beans themselves. And since your beans are allowed to grow to maturity and harvested at peak ripeness, they deliver the best flavour.

Is There a Way to Make Sure That You Get Ethically-Sourced Specialty Coffee?

The coffees in our portfolio (get it?) are rated 80+ by the SCAA. Coffees rated as high as this means they come from ethical and traceable sources. You’ll be able to know all about the coffee you’re getting like the tasting notes, aroma, and even the farm it's grown it and its region. When we say coffee is single-origin, we mean it.

Can other companies say the same about their coffee production's environmental impact? We think not! There’s no hiding behind anything here. That’s why you’re sure to get top-quality coffee when you shop at Portfolio. Every time you click on a bag of beans, you get an array of information, allowing you to better choose which ones you’ll like. 

Are All Specialty Coffees Sustainable? 

Truth be told, they should be. But there’s really no stopping any other company from declaring that they make or provide specialty coffee without any paperwork. If companies are unethically acquiring their beans, they’re bound to hide that fact from the masses. 

Yes, there are certifications you can get and that’s one of the reasons why we went as far as getting ours rated. Remember, specialty should mean that they’re sustainably sourced. We mentioned it just a while ago, but that’s why you get a load of information about the coffee you get from our site. One of the defining elements of sustainable coffee is transparency!

Beyond the Brew

Now that you’ve taken a look behind the scenes of your favourite coffees, it’s time to get your hands on some. We’re a brand that cares for home brewers and budding baristas. We are approachable and believe that you don’t need fancy equipment and expensive machines to make a delicious cuppa - all you need are the right beans.

And where else can you get better beans than here at Portfolio Coffee? The reviews don’t lie. We supply some of the best the world has to offer. Single-origin, blends, and teas… We’ve even got decaf here!