We offer true price transparency, not just producer prices but honestly with our margins too. Honesty with our business and what it needs to function. Honesty in how we market the product and how we can collaborate with others to grow. Honesty with our part in the story and credit to those around us.

As always, I find it’s very easy to get tangled in thoughts that relate to capitalism, colonialism and profit. Fairness and equality. Genuine or greenwashing. How can we promote this product without participating in a system built for the rich? When we say all decisions are consciously made we really mean it. For example, you won’t find us spending money on advertising with META because we don’t agree with their business, their record on human rights or their willingness to side with fascism when it suits profit.

We have been honest with our margins because we have nothing to hide and a willingness to talk. 70% may seem like a good margin but we are running a business in the UK, paying our team fairly, distributing profits and committing to 1% for the planet. Our bank balance is good but not accumulating. We know 70% (66% in sailship) is a number that makes our business tick, it’s not a number that makes us rich. Especially with effective company policy that advocates fair profit distribution.

For me, simply saying what a producer is paid does nothing to qualify if there is profit distribution within their business. There are many producers from wealthy families who continue to make healthy profits from selling coffee. There are also many more producers who do not.