The conversations with our friends at Amavida Coffee generally revolve around the slew of projects they are involved in that improve the livelihood of their farmers, aid their local community, and their guiding principals. But every step of the way, their emphasis on their quality of coffee finds it’s way into the dialogue. It’s this dual emphasis, both on providing customers with the best coffee they’ve ever had while helping others, that has convinced us to select Amavida as our roaster of the month this June.

Amavida, like our previously selected Larry’s Coffee and Kickapoo Coffee, are a part of Coop Coffees, an extremely transparent coffee cooperative that helps their member-roasters build direct trade relationships with coffee farmers. Why do we say extremely transparent? Coop Coffees allows consumers to easily find the exact copy of contracts they have with their farmers. For instance, you can head to Amavida’s Coop Coffees map, click on the area your coffee is from, hit “search,” in the upper left, and see the contracts for the coffee you’re sipping on. That is the sort of radical transparency that can change the coffee industry.

Ever wanted to see proof that your coffee is really fairly traded? Cooperative Coffees removes all doubt at fairtradeproof.org.

Amavida has partnered with the non-profit On the Ground Global’s Congo Project, and this month we will be joining them as well, making a donation for every Congo bag purchased. From the On the Ground website:

Despite often being responsible for up to 80% of coffee farms’ labor in the DRC, many women never see a single Congolese franc for their efforts. Additionally, according to a 2007 DRC Demographic and Health Survey, approximately 1.8 million women in the DRC have been raped, while another 3.37 million have suffered sexual violence at the hands of their intimate partners. However, communities partnering with OTG are working to change cultural norms through Gender Action Learning System (GALS) courses, which help men and women develop stronger, more sustainable communities through economic inclusivity and rejecting violence.

As a registered B-Corp, Amavida strives to reduce their impact on the environment by reducing waste and supporting renewable energy. They encourage the arts, social entrepreneurship, education, and more, in their local Florida community.

We’re excited to be partnered with them this month, and can’t wait for you to try some of their delicious coffee!