A Cup of Organic was a vision that
came to Douglas Torres and Peter Davidson in early February, 2010. They were
both hard working individuals who were very successful in their careers, but
they realized they needed to make a change in their lives that could better the
lives of millions. They both realized they had a heart for giving and helping
others, and a strong faith in God. Their passion became stronger as their
friendships grew, both inside and outside of work. This growing, God-given
passion gave birth to a company that would allow them to give back money to
churches, missions, and ministries; and create jobs in Doug's home town in
Honduras. They decided that the organic coffee fields run by Doug's family in
Honduras would be the launching pad for the business. Doug's brother, Juan
Torres, was very touched when presented with the idea to create a coffee
company that would raise money for churches and people in need, as well as
provide jobs in his town. Juan quickly joined as a partner and began the
startup process in Honduras, which included creating the packaging; roasting
coffee; and producing the first full order. Less than a month from the day Doug
and Pete had their vision, the dream of “a coffee company that gives back” had become
reality. The vision continues, driven by the power of God, and the dream to
give back.
Allow us tell you the history behind A Cup of Organic Coffee, and its blessings...
The story began a bout 10 years ago
when the New York Stock Exchange reported an all-time record low on the second
most heavily traded commodity in the world - coffee. The price dropped below 60
cents a pound, and pushed already poor farmers to the brink of disaster. At
this time, the leaders of a small Honduran village, called El Playon, realized
that coffee would no longer be a sufficient source of income, regardless of the
quantity of their harvest. The price slump contributed to social tensions,
instability, poverty, and forced emigration. Most of the coffee farmers
abandoned their fields and did not return to the trade for many years. However,
one of the leaders in El Playon said that he would not give up on the crop, but
would instead find other ways to grow higher quality coffees that would be
valued for their superior taste. He encouraged his immediate family to begin
the organic certification process,
it took two years for the certifying organization to even make a visit to
support their effort. Three years of the process revealed that they didn't
produce enough to label and export their product as certified organic. This
forced them to sell their organic coffee as non-organic, and only within their
country. Exporting companies took advantage of this situation, buying “truly
organic” coffee without compensating the farmers for their hard labor and
superior product. After some time, this family of farmers was able to join a
cooperative in the northern part of Honduras, finally enabling them to export
their beloved coffee. They began to be compensated for their responsibility and
efforts. Other farmers started to copy the organic process after observing
these accomplishments. Today, this small village in the high mountains of the
state of Comayagua has motivated many coffee farmers to apply more responsible
and healthier organic processes. Though
the Fair Trade Market helps producers to achieve better trading conditions and
promote sustainability, organic coffee revenues often fall far short of fairly
compensating the farmers’ efforts. Organic coffee consumers very often pay more
than non-organic consumers, but the resulting profits rarely make their way to
the farmers. For this reason, A Cup of Organic has directly partnered with
these farmers to provide them with truly fair compensation. A Cup of Organic is
a leader in an attempt to provide to farmers the compensation that has been
denied
them for years.
We have helped and encouraged the
farmers to process, roast, and package their own coffee in order to bring true
social, economic and environmental sustainability to their communities. When
you purchase coffee from A Cup of Organic, you can be assured that you are
blessing the ones who work hard to provide you a natural, delicious, organic
coffee.
Thanks for shopping with us! |