As First Press Coffee grows and we introduce new products like our Almond Milk Iced Coffee we are exposed to more options for coffee bean sourcing. How we assess these options to make our sourcing choices is intrinsically linked to the core values of our business.
So what do we look for?
Obviously quality is important. We use only specialty grade coffee which isn’t that common for your usual supermarket RTD iced and cold brew coffees. It is something we pride ourselves on, but to us quality is more than just delicious consistent cold drip coffee flavour.
Quality is also about the relationships we have with our suppliers and the relationships they themselves have with their networks and communities. Our coffee roasters Rumble have direct relationships with all producers ensuring quality of supply. They have also developed a unique roast profile for our beans ensuring consistency of flavour for our cold drip. Most importantly though, they purchase all of their coffee via transparent trade. This means they publish all their purchase prices, which are well over market rate, so we can be sure producers are paid a fair price. A price that allows them to reinvest in their people and their land.
One of these producers is O’Coffee in Brazil who supply the 100% arabica beans for our Almond Milk Iced Coffee and our First Press Black Cocktail Mixer range. A big focus for O’Coffee is investing in the livelihood of employees and their families. They support the community in many different ways including providing volunteers and donations to local schools and kindergartens, supplying vegetable seedlings for over 30 families to plant crops each year, and providing a range of training and education courses for all.
Along with quality and community, it is also integral to us that our producers use ethical and sustainable farming practices. Global organisations like Rainforest Alliance and UTZ offer certifications for producers that meet stringent guidelines and standards for categories including sustainable framing and agricultural practises, wildlife conservation and fair treatment and good conditions for workers.
O’Coffee are not only Rainforest Alliance and UTZ Certified, they are also one of the first companies to be Rainforest Climate Module Certified in Brazil.
These certifications have been awarded due to the O’Coffee’s standout Environmental Management Plan which includes initiatives like ecological treatment of pests, large scale waste management/composting programs and most impressively, massive areas of permanent preservation. There are approximately fifteen million square meters at O’Coffee exclusively devoted to preservation and conservation of native species.
As well as our Almond Milk Iced Coffee and Black Cocktail Mix range, our classic range of cold drip uses coffee sourced directly from four farms owned by the Gabarra Teixeira family in Brazil.
We have had the pleasure of meeting the son Pedro who has informed us of how they contribute to the community and the land. Not only are they Rainforest Alliance Certified, but they have built two large aviaries to rehabilitate and release birds (mostly rescued from illegal trade).
They are also doing another project which involves reforestation of 20 hectares of their land. Students from nearby schools are invited to come for planting days and educated about forest animals. They are also focused on research and the relationship between the wildlife and farming practices. Last year there was a research project studying mammal habits along the coffee plantation, and this year studying the relationship between pollinators on different kinds of coffee plantations.
For us, there’s a lot more than cold drip that goes into each bottle of First Press. Quality, community, transparency and sustainability – just a few of the added ingredients that matter to us.
Explore our range of sustainable and ethical cold drip coffee.