Sustainability and Social Projects
Ethics, sustainability, social projects- these are all becoming very common terms used by coffee companies today. When I discuss our projects with people in our public Cupping Sessions, quite often they tend to look at me as if to say "Yeah, yeah, but what coffee company doesn't do these type of things?" I have to say, most companies do not have such a sincere drive to support the communities as we do here at Campos Coffee.
When we are visitting a farm, we do not simply talk of these things, we act on them. And they are very meaningful projects, not just small change stuff to "make the punters happy". I have a very hard time explaining the significance of funding doctors travelling to Rwanda to repair the hearts of childern with cardiac problems- it just sounds very typical.
But no, this is serious stuff! And it has a big impact on the lives of these children, as well as their families. The stories sound just too good to be true sometimes, but there is a lot of these things out there we can become involved in, and as we grow, our contribution to the communities grows. That is what excites us about growth the most!
Much of what we do with these communities is based around our Campos Superior Blend. Which over the last few years has progressed from being a blend, (a great blend!) to become a project (a great project!).
Here is some information on the Superior, and you can also learn more on our projects by visitting Our Producers page on this website.
The Campos Superior Blend
Our flagship blend, the Campos Superior, is not simply a blend. It is a project.
We at Campos Coffee pride ourselves on our dedication to ethical business practices and giving credit where credit is due. Two years ago, we felt that credit was well overdue to the farmers who work so hard to produce this award winning coffee we enjoy every day. We also felt it was time we confirmed the background of our coffees. Though most of our coffees do have certification – be it Rainforest Alliance, Organic, UTZ or Certified Fair Trade, we decided to visit every producer to confirm the coffee is being produced ethically and sustainably.
We soon found this was not going to be a one-off trip, but an on going presence at origin which would see us form solid relationships and friendships we aim to keep for generations.
The farms we select for the Superior are the leaders in the Specialty Coffee world for their regions. Most are exclusive to Campos Coffee in Australia and the line-up we have is the envy of roasters around the globe- from the United States, to Europe, to Japan. What most roasters have as a “special, one-off” coffee, we use as the standard ingredients within our flagship blend. That is what Specialty Coffee is all about and we will never relent in maintaining these standards.
Ethics in farming is essential and we will always remain diligent on this. Suffice to say, the Superior project hasn’t come without it’s upsets. Some farms we did use in the past had to be cut from the list upon visiting their operations to find unethical practices being used. We have zero tolerance for child labour, inhumane working conditions, or unsustainable farming practices. On the upside, for those whose ideology matches ours, we aim to give back not just in premium payments for coffee, but also by supporting social projects and providing benefits to the communities behind the farms.