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Sustainability

 
Our vision is to pursue coffee perfection by creating partnerships that ensure prosperity for all people, improving the natural environment and operating efficiently to minimize our environmental impact. Photo: Waghi Valley, Papua New Guinea, by Counter Culture Coffee.
Building a sustainable business is central to Counter Culture Coffee's mission. We strive to be leaders in sustainable coffee and combine our commitment to buying high-quality coffee with respect for the natural environment.
 
Since the beginning, we have sought coffee that not only tastes good but also does good—for our local community and for all of the communities around the world where our partners grow coffee—and we continue to raise our standards as we make progress. Whether through our our Counter Culture Direct Trade Certification or our projects aimed at reducing our environmental footprint, our day-to-day decisions reflect our dedication to real environmental, social, and fiscal sustainability.
 
Our vision is to pursue coffee perfection by creating partnerships that ensure prosperity for all people, improving the natural environment and operating efficiently to minimize our environmental impact.
 
CUPS Initiative Sustainability Scorecard
Photo by Counter Culture Coffee. Photo courtesy the SPREAD Program at Michigan State University.
Sustainability Scorecard
Environmental Sustainability
Photo by Counter Culture Coffee. Photo courtesy U.S Fish & Wildlife Service.
Photo by Counter Culture Coffee. Photo by Counter Culture Coffee.
Social Sustainability
Photo by Counter Culture Coffee. Photo by Counter Culture Coffee.
Photo by Counter Culture Coffee. Photo by Counter Culture Coffee.
Fiscal Sustainability
Photo by Counter Culture Coffee. Photo by Counter Culture Coffee.
Sustainability News and Events

Update on the Roast-Your-Own-Coffee Program in Rwanda

5-7-09

A simple coffee roasting and brewing kit aimed at helping more Rwandan coffee farmers to consume and appreciate the incredible coffee they grow. Photo by Counter Culture Coffee.Knowing that I spend a lot of time in coffee-producing countries, Counter Culture Coffee customers and friends occasionally ask me if there’s a downside to traveling at origin or if it’s all as wonderful as I make it sound in my trip reports. There is a downside, I say, but they’re always surprised to find out that it’s not the bus rides, the sleeping arrangements, or the guinea pig for breakfast that gets to me, but the coffee. Yes, the coffee, which is almost always terrible. With the exception of Ethiopia, which, in addition to being the birthplace of Coffea arabica also has a longer history of coffee consumption than other country in the world, it’s hard to find a good cup of coffee in most of the countries that produce the world’s most delicious coffees. Around the world, most coffee growers do not drink the best of what they produce but rather save the second- or third-tier coffees for themselves while selling their higher quality coffee for sale and export. Many drink instant coffee, if you can believe it.

More Articles...

  1. Our Position Paper on Shade
  2. Our Position Paper on Organic Agriculture
  3. Counter Culture's Sustainability Committee Recycles Old Metal
  4. Alternative Transportation = Ice Cream
  5. Holiday Blend Program
  6. Natural Decaffeination Processes Explained



FEATURED COFFEE

MAY FEATURED COFFEE
Finca El Puente
Finca El Puente
Catuai
Counter Culture Direct Trade Certified
Finca El Puente is a special coffee and truly close to our hearts. We discovered it on our very first trip to Honduras, fell in love with it then, and have been head over heels ever since. Moisés Herrera and Marysabel Caballero – the couple who run the farm – have become like family, and this year they continued the tradition of refining an already-great coffee. This harvest of Finca El Puente brings lighter purple-lavender and plum notes, black cherry, sugar cane sweetness, and toasted nut in the finish. View map.

Regularly $15.75

$14.75 (per 12 oz bag)

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