Our Coffee
Brian
Coffee Cherries about to be processed at our mill
When we started Underground Coffee in 2011, we wanted to be able to use coffee as a way to fundraise and support our missionaries that live and share the Gospel with coffee farmers. The goal has always been for UCI to not only raise support for these missionaries, but also to provide a market for the coffee they grow. Basically the missionaries work with farmers to produce the coffee and then the coffee comes directly to you through UCI. That’s always been the goal (and turns out it’s been a lot harder than we thought).
After we started working with coffee farmers, we quickly realized that it isn’t easy to produce coffee and get it to America. It takes years to grow new coffee varieties and change the customs of farmers who are used to only producing low grade coffee. It also took a lot of equipment and money; since we’re a small organization that doesn’t have millions of dollars, that meant building up all that infrastructure took time. We also had to gain the trust of farmers and for them to try something new is always an ongoing part of the work. And finally, we needed to produce a large enough volume that we could ship it in a container to America.
But back in the summer we were able to complete our first successful export to the US! We’ve been able to partner with a great roaster from Colorado who has helped us to bring the coffee stateside (which was no small task). He’s also started helping Underground Coffee out by roasting and distributing our coffee. This will mean some changes in our coffee selection going forward. We will no longer be able to carry different flavors but instead will have a dark and medium roast option. And the coffee is a little more expensive, but it’s also much higher quality (if I do say so myself). It’s a single origin coffee that comes directly from our farmers and was produced by Underground Coffee missionaries. The biggest reason the coffee is more expensive is because the farmers are paid a respectable wage for their coffee.
So please go and buy a bag of our coffee. By buying a bag, it not only directly funds our mission work here in South East Asia, but it also helps grow the market for our coffee. The more bags of coffee that get sold, the higher the demand, which means we can work with more farmers and produce more coffee next year.
We’re personally been involved with every single coffee bean that now comes through UCI. And that’s pretty exciting!
You can purchase our coffee here: undergroundcoffee.org/products