Ethics & Sustainability

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If you are looking for a coffee company that sources carefully and responsibly and has good long-term relationships with coffee growers, you’ve found it. All our beans are ethically traded, and the farmers are paid premium prices. and we have worked hard. 

Here at Tamesis Coffee Group, we believe in transparent and ethical sourcing. 100% of our volume is bought directly from origin through our own relationships, with our sourcing team travelling directly to our farmers and partners, creating and maintaining partnerships and ensuring our buying program delivers across the three pillars of economic, environmental and socially sustainable trade. We work closely with co-operatives, private exporters, NGO’s and Indigenous Rights Groups to ensure that the coffees we sell are ethical, free from exploitation, and truly traceable.

Three pillars of sustainable coffee

Still, the core of sustainable coffee is permanently established on three main criteria: 

 Social Responsibility, Environmental Conservation, and Economic Value.

Typically, the concept of sustainable coffee is supported by three main pillars:  

People, the environment  (Planet)  and the economic benefits of the product  (Product).

Farmers are at the heart of the first category. All sustainable coffee initiatives focus on increasing economic benefits, health care, and education for children and indigenous workers in the region coffee farming.

Environmental concerns are propagated through the practice of organic coffee farming,  without the use of agrochemicals, deforestation, water conservation, wildlife conservation, etc.

Finally, to ensure the economic backbone, forms of direct trade or fair trade are applied: firstly, to provide economic value for farmers; The second is a commitment to the quality of coffee to customers.

What is the most eco-friendly coffee?

The Fairtrade scheme does not require coffee to be organic or environmentally friendly – that’s not its purpose. It’s true a lot of Fairtrade coffee is grown by small farmers and communities in a sustainable fashion, but for independent verification, we work with schemes such as Rainforest Alliance and organic food labelling bodies such as the Soil Association.

A large proportion of coffee is ‘sun-grown’ to maximise yield, which results in deforestation, increased use of fertilisers and pesticides, and a reduction in biodiversity. Rainforest Alliance aims to combat this by supporting shade coffee plantations and forest conservation to encourage biodiversity, protect wildlife and minimise soil erosion.

Choosing organic coffee is simply a different way to support biodiversity around the world. Organic coffee tends to be shade grown by small farmers, but not always. What’s guaranteed is that the farming methods minimise the use of pesticides and build healthy, resilient soil.