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Coda Coffee, a Denver-based specialty coffee roaster and sustainable wholesaler, today announced its Farm2Cup program.  The program aims to continuously improve Coda’s coffee quality and positively impact farming communities around the world.  Through the Farm2Cup program, Coda Coffee invests money and works directly with coffee farmers, who then reinvest in their coffee and community.  Coda expects Farm2Cup participants to use the funds they receive for research, development, experimentation, best practice sharing and sometimes inner-village or cross-community competitions to improve coffee quality.  The program also requires farmers to give back to their local community.

Coda Coffee informally implemented the program as a business practice about two years ago, but is now formalizing the program, launching www.farm2cup.org and labeling the coffee bags for customers and partners.

“By simply drinking Farm2Cup coffee, you know you’re enjoying a product that supports people around the world,” said Tim Thwaites, Coda Coffee co-founder.  “In addition, the coffee exceeds taste and quality expectations because of best practice sharing and the traceability of the coffee from farm to cup.” 

Farm2Cup can drastically impact the livelihood of the farmer’s family, employees and even an entire village.  Coda Coffee works with farmers around the world, in countries such as Guatemala, Ethiopia, Brazil and Honduras.  Some examples of how Farm2Cup funds have helped farmers and communities include:

• El Salvador: Coda Coffee held fundraisers for a school in Ayutepeque, which funded a new kitchen, utensils, desks and chairs for the children. Additionally, the community is working on plans for a school library.
• Guatemala: In Guatemala, Coda purchases high quality micro lots of coffee to encourage overall product improvement.   The community has also held cupping competitions, where the local coffee farmers come together to have their coffee graded.  The premium that Coda Coffee pays for the best coffee has helped build a road to A’Achimbal, a school, church, community center and 80 homes with electricity and running water.

• Las Capucas, Honduras: Cupping competitions in Honduras also helped improve coffee quality, which increased the coffee’s price and allowed one community to build cupping labs, a wet mill and a dry mill.

Coda Coffee performs site visits and its importer, Atlas Coffee Importer, assists with annual quality control checks.  The trips are to make sure that farmers are spending time and money on improving their products and communities, which allows them to stay in the Farm2Cup program.

“There is a great story behind every cup of Farm2Cup coffee,” added Tommy Thwaites, Coda Coffee co-founder.  “This program helps personalize those stories and makes a global purchase feel local.  A better quality of life for our farmers actually does make a better cup of coffee for our customers.”

To learn more about the program, visit www.farm2cup.org.  To find Farm2Cup coffee, look for the Farm2Cup logo at coffee shops.  Farm2Cup products are available where Coda Coffee is sold.  To find a retail location near you that serves Coda Coffee, visit www.codacoffee.com.

Today I Would Like To Celebrate That Same Awareness. The Farmers Still Need Your Support Every Day, To Ensure That The Communities In Which They Live Thrive. They're Not Looking For Handouts, Or HYPE Programs Of Supporting Them. Farmers Look For And Depend On Authentic Connections And Rely On Fair, Even More Than Fair Solutions That Provide Lasting Sustainability. This Allows Them To Feel Proud Of The Products They Produce And Not Look Like The World Is Doing Them A Favor by Buying Their Products. It Really Is Mutuality. Simply Put,We Give Farmers What They Need And They Can Support Their Own Communities. I Will Say On A Side Note,"We The People" Have Our Own Problems In Our Own Communities. It's Hard To Speak Of Awareness And Not Touch Home. Any Reader That Would Like To Make A Difference, And is Unsure Where To Start, I Work With Several Companies And Individuals. It's Really The Small Steps We Take That Matter. Every BODY Chips In.

Today I Would Like To Celebrate That Same Awareness. The Farmers Still Need Your Support Every Day, To Ensure That The Communities In Which They Live Thrive. They're Not Looking For Handouts, Or HYPE Programs Of Supporting Them. Farmers Look For And Depend On Authentic Connections And Rely On Fair, Even More Than Fair Solutions That Provide Lasting Sustainability. This Allows Them To Feel Proud Of The Products They Produce And Not Look Like The World Is Doing Them A Favor by Buying Their Products. It Really Is Mutuality. Simply Put,We Give Farmers What They Need And They Can Support Their Own Communities. I Will Say On A Side Note,"We The People" Have Our Own Problems In Our Own Communities. It's Hard To Speak Of Awareness And Not Touch Home. Any Reader That Would Like To Make A Difference, And is Unsure Where To Start, I Work With Several Companies And Individuals. It's Really The Small Steps We Take That Matter. Every BODY Chips In.

Stockton Graham & Co. publishes two biweekly newsletters, Stockton's Souvenirs and Graham's Gazette. The Gazette contains articles written with coffee retailers in mind. I'll post some of my work for the Gazette to this blog. If you like what you see, sign up for our mailing list!

You may have noticed that fewer customers are visiting your shop, and those who are still coming may be spending less. Many people are trying to save more money, and cutting out unnecessary expenses is the first step in saving. That's bad news for luxury items, but specialty coffee is a relatively low-cost indulgence that probably won't be the first thing consumers give up.

The key to retaining their business is giving them a lot of value for their money. The further a consumer's dollar can go at your shop, the more likely he is to spend it there. Below are some tips for making your customers feel like they’re getting the most for their money.

1. Don't skimp on the good stuff. You're probably looking to cut your own costs, but make sure you aren't cutting quality. It's tempting to use cheap chocolate sauce in your mochas to save a few cents per drink, but your customers might taste the difference. If they're accustomed to getting cane sugar for $3.25, they probably won’t pay the same for high-fructose corn syrup. You could miss out on profits due to lost sales.
2. Encourage habitual buying. Regular customers mean regular income, and they tend to bring friends and family. Reward loyalty with targeted discounts. Discounted mug refills work well with morning commuters. Percentage discounts on larger orders encourage groups. Policies like these create incentives to continue visiting your shop.
3. Throw in low-cost extras. A dollop of whipped cream or a sprinkle of cinnamon on top of a drink can add a lot to a drink's appeal and consequently its value. Offering a free cup of drip with the purchase of a pound of whole-bean coffee would cost you very little, but to the customer, it adds another $1.50 in value to a $14.00 purchase, and that can make a huge difference in his buying decision.

If you have any questions about operating a retail coffee business, feel free to send them to info@stocktongraham.com.