kiss the hippo coffee

Here are some coffee brands that perform social good either here or across the world, rather than just raking in profits. Also read of coffee brands that help animal sanctuaries.

NHS says to have 1 or less cups of coffee a day if pregnant (note chain stores usually serve coffee higher in caffeine.

Use a sink protector mat to stop coffee grounds clogging drains. Latest research says that caffeine could harm harm compost bin creatures, so just bin the bags to naturally break down at landfill.

Coffee That Pays 50% More Than Fair Trade

kiss the hippo coffee

Kiss the Hippo is England’s most innovative coffee roastery. Before the coffee beans even arrive in England, this company pays at least 50% above Fair Trade prices, then the beans are treated at the world’s most environmentally-friendly coffee roaster, before being quality checked then packed into plastic-free coffee bags, then sent to London cafes.

With rising costs of growing worldwide, big companies have not really reflected this, by paying coffee farmers more (a bit like big energy companies raising bill prices and blaming the war, while they continue to send out massive dividends to shareholders).

This coffee company is different, and visits the farms yearly, checks in that the farmers are doing okay, and pays way more than the ‘minimum Fair Trade price’ to ensure they are fairly rewarded for their work, to grow coffee beans. Wholesale orders are also available, helping this company to thrive in a sea of coffee companies that put profit before people.

kiss the hippo coffee

The coffee roastery in London is powered by clean energy, to help make this company carbon neutral. This one does not heat the stainless steel drum, and uses 80% less fuel than a traditional roaster.

Anything not used at the end of the day is donated locally, used coffee grounds are made into bio-fuel and all packaging is easy to break down or recycle. Lastly, all employees are paid a proper living wage (above the government’s minimum wage).

The range includes coffee packs, coffee pods (compatible with Nespresso machines), decaff coffee and taster packs/bundles. Some are innovative flavours, like fruity coffee!

Coffee (that Donates Solar Lamps to Africa)

the little coffee company

The Little Coffee Company is a woman-owned company that sells beans grown by women, paying female farmers up to 125% more than the Fair Trade minimum. Choose from a small range of single-origin coffees.

The company also sells biodegradable coffee pods (or you could simply use their coffee in reusable steel coffee capsules reusable stainless steel coffee capsules – one purchase lasts a lifetime). The range includes:

  1. Cameroon (pecan, spice)
  2. Tanzania (chocolate, caramel)
  3. Ethiopia (blueberry, apple)
  4. Jamaica (apple, cherry, milk chocolate)

This company also donates solar lamps in remote areas of East and West Africa, for each purchase sold. Just 1 solar lamp can increase reading time and decrease carbon emissions (and save money).

But also help to prevent pollution and fires, by not using dangerous kerosene (families often spend 25% of income on kerosene, which can also cause lung cancer).

A Non-Profit Coffee Brand from Brighton

skylark coffee

Skylark is the world’s first non-profit coffee brand (the roaster spins at the foot of the South Downs), which pays twice the Fair Trade rate to coffee bean growers, and then gives other profits to environmental organisations and those seeking to stop exploitation in the coffee trade.

The founder (who has operated several successful coffee companies) works with a former political journalist who blogs on the coffee industry. This means that between them, they are experts in how to avoid ‘coffeewash’, and can see through the big companies offering guarantees like ‘Direct Trade’ that actually don’t really mean very much.

It’s the roasters that usually make the most profit, and after paying staff, this company are giving all theirs to help solve the issues.

the lost words

The company has key artistic support! The poetry on their bags is from Robert Macfarlane and the art by Welsh painter Jackie Morris. If you’ve never read it, treat yourself to a copy of their gorgeous book collaboration The Lost Words.

A Coffee Brand (that helps homeless people)

change please coffee

Change Please is an amazing social enterprise that has academies in London & Manchester, to train homeless people to become trained baristas, through sale of own-brand coffee (wholesalers can order start-up kits).

Referrals are made via charity partners, government agencies, probation services and NHS community services. Trainees receive a Living Wage and access to CV-writing sessions, mock interviews, paid annual leave and discounts.

The range includes ‘Two Giraffes’ coffee which employs 500 coffee workers to grow cash crops and a rainforest-friendly coffee from Brazil with a solar farm that powers local homes. 

A Coffee Brand (to Rehabilitate Prisoners)

redemption roasters

Redemption Roasters offers coffees hand-roasted by prisoners in Hertfordshire at HMP Mount (which used to have a lot of drug problems). This gives jobs and training, to help inmates find jobs on release. A portion of wages are set aside, to access on release.

Training prisoners is not being ‘soft on crime’, as it ends up with safer communities for all of us. Most crime is committed by people who have already been to prison. So it pays to train prisoners up to do something useful in society.

Almost half of prisoners in England and Wales commit crime within one year of being released, so schemes like this help save the Treasury money (around £131,000 is spent on every re-offender, which could otherwise be spent say on the NHS).

A Naturally Decaffeinated Fair Trade Coffee

chimney fire coffee decaff

Most coffee companies use chemicals to remove the caffeine. Look in stores for brands that use the Swiss Water Process.

Another process is used by Chimney Fire Coffee, a Fair Trade sustainable coffee brand that uses sugar cane instead, a natural compound that grows on Colombian farms alongside coffee cherries, then the beans are soaked for several hours to draw out the caffeine.

This coffee company was founded by a man who worked in coffee/cocoa traceability in Ghana, before moving back to the UK. A portion of each sale is donated to a charity that sends bicycles and spare parts to Ghana, which supplies clean and free transport modes, for people to reach college and work. Surplus coffee is donated to local communities.

Similar Posts