One of the things that every company has to deal with these days is questions over sustainability. And rightly so. We are living in a world of such abhorrent mass consumerism that you sometimes wonder how we can continue to sustain ourselves on a planet that is facing climate change, a ballooning population, hunger and ever more crises. Of course, it’s not all doom and gloom but if you read the news every day, you almost cannot escape the feeling that the end is nigh.
Yet, one thing that people don’t often take into account when asking if ‘coffee is sustainable’ is that coffee consumption in Europe is cannot be sustainable by default. The main reason? Coffee doesn’t really grow in Europe. So whatever it is you have in your cup and however much the roaster or brand tells you that it’s sustainable, keep in mind that your coffee had to come to you from some faraway place. Sustainability is a relative term to be enjoyed with caution.
Ok, so now we got the elephant in the room out of the way, let’s talk about how roasters like our wonderful friends from Ineffable in Seville are working towards reducing their impact on the environment none the less. For starters, they only work with growers who have the biggest amount of respect for the natural habitats in which they operate. This is crucial because specialty coffee plants ideally need a lot of shade to develop their biggest potential, meaning that farms with a big biodiversity will automatically have a much lower environmental impact than mega farms where coffee is grown on an industrial scale.
These farmers pick their coffees by hand only when the cherries have reached their ultimate ripeness. This ensures that the coffees have the best flavours and it prevents waste as unripe cherries are often thrown away. The coffee that we picked for our upcoming May 2023 Coffeevine box is a great example of such careful coffee growing practices. Called Project CATA Pacamara, this coffee was produced by around 80 smallholder farmers from the Huila region in Colombia and processed with a washed 90h anaerobic fermentation. It’s a super clean and delicious coffee that offers a lovely cup profile with notes of candy floss, strawberry and sponge cake.
Ineffable also pays a lot of attention to transparency and traceability, and making sure that they bring out the absolute best flavours of each coffee during the roasting process. Since I first came across Ineffable during a visit to Sevilla in 2020, I have been in love with their outstanding coffees and their unwavering commitment to quality. Omar Molinero, José Pacheco and Alejandro Molinero always wanted Ineffable to be different to what you could previously get in Andalucía, which is still largely dominated by dark roasted commercial grade coffee or Italian espresso brands.
They also recently introduced their fully compostable retail bags, another small step towards reducing their carbon footprint. We’re really excited to have Ineffable back in one of our boxes this month and you really shouldn’t miss out on their outstanding coffee.
To receive this delicious coffee alongside picks from Odd Kin and Five Ways, head over to our shop
and place your order before 15.05 / Ships globally on 20.05
