Fresh Ground Roast

Coffee is about Relationships

Coffee, for most of history, has been a social bonding element. Cafes, campfires, and couches have hosted many a caffeine-inspired conversation spurred on by many varieties of the world's most popular beverage.

But long before coffee gets to your cup, hardworking families battle weather, pests, and other natural and man-made challenges to scrape out a living farming coffee. Their struggle hasn't always been easy.

What Happened?

Most coffee is farmed in third world countries, where both farmers and laborers are surviving at a barely sustainable wage. Over time, the coffee industry in these areas was consolidated into larger and larger groups that cared only about growing more and more and more coffee. Often this was to the detriment of the land, the people, and the quality of the beans.

In the last few years, there has been a growing concern about the social and environmental issues this kind of farming has caused. There have been many efforts on the part of the coffee community to "fix" these social and environmental issues. Unfortunately, those "fixes" often result in simply giving underprivileged people a higher price for their product or rewarding them for helping the environment.

The Solution

FreshGround Roasting is working with importers and farmers who see the importance and benefit of building long-term relationships. Some of our partners, like the Honduran Coffee Allianc and Catalyst Trade invest large portions of their profits back into the families and farms they work with.