For Semilla, coffee is more than the seed of a tropical fruit that can be transformed into a delicious beverage with proper care along all stages. It's a material that connects history, society, politics, culture, international policy, philosophy, and more. It contains years and year of hard work, and it directly affects the livelihoods of millions the world over.

So, the question becomes, how do we maximize the specialty market so that we can make the biggest impact on the most amount of people, while also bringing forth a high quality product to the end consumer?

In our small part, we can commit to specific communities who have the energy and passion to connect to the specialty market and we can broaden and deepen our commitment to them rather than buying only the top lots. We can speak about coffees as the product of people rather than only for its sensory attributes. And we can work in close collaboration with these groups to listen to what they need to succeed - from meeting the prices they request, to investing in a physical and intellectual infrastructure that will allow them to thrive in this market.

In short,  we commit to the slow and steady work of buying solid coffees from producers without access, and seeking to see the rising tide float all boats.

This isn’t common, and it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s better, but we choose our paths for a reason — what’s yours?