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Next time you place your Nespresso capsule into your machine, take a moment to think about the thousands of stories that helped create your perfect cup of coffee.
Imagine with us for a second. You gaze at your sleeves of coffee, make your choice, and place your capsule into your machine. What do you hear next? The click as the lever closes and punctures the capsule. The buttons illuminate, waiting to be pressed. The water passes through the pipes and the capsule at a perfectly balanced temperature, and you hear the steady stream of coffee beginning to trickle into your cup. The steam swells, the liquid rises and forms small bubbles, the golden brown crema, the fragrant aroma permeating your kitchen. As you’ve just imagined, a lot happens in a small amount of time; but even more has happened leading up to your coffee moment.
Our coffee is more than the capsules and more than the machine. Our story begins before your cup, before the packaging, before the beans, and even before the single seed is planted. Our stories begin with coffee farmers and agronomists, with the land they tend, and the generations before them from which they learned the traditions of coffee farming.
Our story begins even before the single seed is planted.
Split Photo of Iswandi (left) and Alba Maria (right) harvesting coffee cherries image
(Left) Iswandi is an Indonesian coffee farmer among the 1,800-plus farmers in the region who have experienced the benefits of community and solidarity in the new coffee cooperative in Aceh. (Right) Alba Maria, and other older generations of coffee farmers, can now feel empowered to pass down the tradition to their children, knowing measures have been put in place to ensure a quality future.
Our story lies in the gentle smile of Iswandi, an Indonesian coffee farmer who has found community and solidarity in the new coffee cooperative in Aceh with the help of Nespresso, Fairtrade, and coffee trader Olam. He is one of 1,800-plus farmers in the region who have experienced improvement in local socioeconomic conditions, increased productivity on his farm, and more consistent coffee quality.
Our story is nestled in the mountainous Caldas province of Colombia, where Alba Maria once considered leaving her 7,200 coffee trees due to uncertainty about a future in coffee farming. She understood the challenges that accompanied working alongside nature; the unpredictable weather patterns due to climate change and what that could mean for her crop. After enrolling in Nespresso and Blue Marble’s pilot crop insurance plan she no longer has to wonder if her future is secure. Her focus can return to her land, its soil, and safeguarding the coffee traditions for her daughter, her granddaughter, and the generations to come.
Out of the regeneration of land springs a regeneration of communities.
Our story is etched in the hands of Tafadzwa Nyakuchena, a Zimbabwean agronomist who has witnessed drought and economic crisis almost wipe out his country’s coffee industry. By working within Nespresso’s AAA Sustainable Quality™ Program, Nyakuchena has been able to provide on-site advice during door-to-door coffee farm visits. He provides tangible much-needed support in essential areas such as hole preparation for planting, pruning unwanted branches, and inspecting for pests and diseases. Now, over two years later, Nyakuchena notices how increased coffee profits are creating positive changes in education, healthcare, and overall economic development.
We wish we could share every story for every cup enjoyed around the world. Our hope is that when we lean in to select our coffee capsule, we would feel connected to the stories that linger beneath the aluminium surface. Can we hear education? Health? Empowerment? Do we hear communities coming together? Generations restoring family traditions? The stories are continuous; and each coffee is a cup of infinite possibilities all rooted in one similar story: the one that values quality, and recognises that out of the regeneration of land springs a regeneration of communities.
And that’s a story worth telling.
