Albeiro Calambas, Colombia — June 2026
JUNE SUBSCRIPTION
Hello all,
Sorry for the delay. This email is for the June subscription coffee. This email explains how we purchase coffee and is intended to deepen understanding of coffee trading. The July email, for Ayla, is around the corner, too.
Albeiro Calambas, Colombia
This is the second time we've purchased Albeiro's coffee, and we've been so impressed that we are doing our best to make his coffee a yearly staple in our lineup.
When we buy coffee from Colombia, we are always looking for coffees that represent the region and the variety before anything else. Wherever possible, we also try to return to producers we have bought from before. After an insightful conversation with our importing partner, Caravela, that began over a year ago, we came to the realisation that we could be even more forward-thinking in the way we purchase coffee.
In real terms, this means making even deeper commitments to certain producers well ahead of the harvest period — sometimes up to three years in advance. We have already been doing this with our staple milk coffee, Las Orquideas, but most of our other buying has still happened seasonally, once an offer sample becomes available and we can assess it. Albeiro's coffee is another producer relationship we've committed to through this long-term purchasing approach. This puts us among a very small percentage of roasters that are trying to operate with long-term sustainability in mind, measured by commitment via contracts.
The difference with forward contracts is that a producer can see the demand before the coffee is harvested. They know there is already a commitment, and that the coffee has already been sold at a premium if it meets the quality we have agreed on. For us, it means we can access coffees that may not be offered anywhere else in the world. For the producer, it means more certainty, more stability, and a better reason to invest in the quality of their work.
Over the last 12 months, we have been looking for producers who want to work in this way. As those relationships grow, we hope it becomes a small part of redefining how coffee is traded. We are always looking for ways to be part of the solution and to move away from the systemic unfairness that still exists in coffee trading.
We are all responsible for understanding the impact of the products we love — how they are traded, how they are consumed, and who carries the risk. Finding, sharing, and committing to high ethical standards is the beginning. The next step is finding better ways for those ideals to be sustainable, practical, and properly incentivised.
That is the kind of industry we want to be part of. And this coffee from Albeiro is a small but meaningful example of what that can look like.
Take care,
Ben