Does Knowing Your Coffee's Origin Really Matter?

If you've read our latest Impact Report, you may have noticed us making some fairly bold claims regarding the ethics of our supply chain - and, most importantly, why we believe our policy is the optimal solution for a roastery of our size.

In this blog, we take a deep-dive into traceability to answer a question at the heart of the speciality coffee industry: Does it really matter where your coffee comes from?

What does origin mean in coffee?

Firstly, we need to define the term origin. At Chimney Fire Coffee, we take this to mean a coffee that comes from a specific place, be that a single farm or a cooperative of smallholders (these can number in the hundreds, such as the JUMARP Cooperative who supply our Peru Classic Espresso).

The opposite of a single origin coffee is a blend. This denotes coffee from multiple places. For example, our Revival Espresso Blend contains coffee from two individual single origins: Peru (JUMARP Cooperative), and Colombia (APECAFEQ Cooperative). When a coffee is a blend it is not automatically of lower quality, it’s simply a term used to describe coffee that comes from at least two different origins.

In the wider coffee industry, the definition of single origin can be stretched all the way to mean an entire country. We feel this dilutes the true intent behind the label - how could the flavour of, say, Brazilian coffee be defined, given there are 220,000 individual farms and terroirs?

In wine, we wouldn't say a bottle is simply from France - in fact, this would be indicative of a cheap, bulk product. We aim to treat coffee in the same way.

How does coffee get from the farm to your cup?

Your morning brew goes through several steps to make it from the farm to your home, summarised as follows:

GROWING → PICKING → PROCESSING → SORTING → SHIPPING → STORAGE → ROASTING → RETAILING

Each of these steps requires complex logistical and transport arrangements, with companies providing services to assist this process.

Is physical traceability important?

The modern speciality coffee industry developed in the early 2000s as a direct reaction to corporate coffee culture. Its ethos is to put the spotlight back onto individual producers, showcasing the hard work they do to produce high quality raw product. As a result, initially the term speciality (or third wave) coffee was a byword for traceability and farmer relationships. 

As the market for this new way of consuming coffee expanded, so too did the availability of intermediary companies who were prepared to do the hard-yards in joining the dots from farm to cup. Speciality coffee importers such as Cafe Imports and Falcon played key roles in building transparent supply chains for physical traceability, and later tech companies (for example Algrano) helped create personal relationships and financial assurance.

These relationships, including in some cases the opportunity to get to know producers on a personal level, are the standard across the speciality coffee industry today. Roasters receive full details of the coffee being purchased, including accurate locations, information on sustainability practices and fertiliser use, employment practices, and local community initiatives. 

Whilst understanding exactly what a producer is paid is not always available, these trusted intermediaries have become more transparent with financial information. In this model, approximately 65% of the final cost to us per kilogram goes back to those who actually grow it. As more people take a bite of the apple, everybody gets a bit less.

It goes without saying that these ethical importers represent a much better method of sourcing coffee than the traditional model of commodity trading, which lacks both traceability and protections for farmers.

Here, we reach a fork in the road. At a fundamental level:

Why does it matter if we know in which field the coffee was grown?

There are many reasons why people drink coffee, be that for its caffeine content, to socialise, for some ‘me time’, and/or for its flavour. It’s only the last of these where knowing the origin of your coffee is of any interest. Parallel to the wine industry, it can be a fascinating and enjoyable experience to build a library of coffee tastes around the world - investigating individual terroirs and why they are that way.

But there are lots of us out there who purchase wine based solely on its affordability or the design of its label. If it’s nice then it doesn’t really matter to us where it comes from, and the overwhelming majority of coffee drinkers in this world are the same. Chocolate also falls into this category, with big brands ruling the roost and smaller companies banging the single origin drum.

It is within this scenario where the coffee industry’s bad actors lurk - sacks are traded as an anonymous commodity, buying when the market is low and selling when it’s high. Profit is made in the middle of the chain, while those at either end are squeezed.

Large commodity traders know that, to many, origin isn’t important. They use their immense purchasing power to influence the global coffee market, and with it the economies of entire regions or even whole countries.

Financial traceability is the key

When there is traceability, there is also accountability.

As we started out (and for smaller roasters around the world), purchasing coffee through trusted speciality importers was the best - and indeed only viable - way to get a fully traceable product. It’s great to know exactly where the coffee comes from, and get some sense of who is being paid what. These brokers have done a great deal to move the needle towards a better deal for producers in recent years.

Eventually, however, there may come a point where the scent is lost. From here, we can only trust that everybody is receiving enough money and support to ensure a sustainable future. Tracking the flow of funds from source to destination can be a challenge, but it is one that has a huge impact.

As Chimney Fire Coffee has grown, it has allowed us to gradually remove the need for intermediaries altogether. Our size and economies of scale mean we can take on the risk of shipping and storage ourselves, negotiating contracts and financing, accounting for every penny right back to the farm gate. Using our method, around 90% of the final cost per kg goes back to the producer.

Everyone benefits

So, back to that fundamental question: Does knowing your coffee’s origin really matter?

The answer is yes, and both physcial and financial traceability are important in different ways.

If you are interested on an intellectual level to know the hows and whys of coffee production, then physical traceability should be a significant factor when choosing where to buy your coffee. Learning the history of the region and story of the farmers helps us connect with the product we’re drinking, and understand the positive impact that purchasing ethically sourced coffee can have. It also can give us some general clues as to how it will taste, encouraging us to further explore the unique flavours of different regions.

But if you find a coffee that you like, and you can be safe in the knowledge that those who grow it are being treated fairly, then no, it doesn’t really matter where it’s from.

In the UK, buying ethically sourced beans from independent roasters (and the cafés who work with them) is still the most responsible way to consume coffee. Finding a brand you feel you can trust is most important of all, whether that’s through a certification such as B Corp™, a personal relationship, or something else. Your taste buds will thank you for it, as will hard-working communities on the other side of the world.