Drink Responsibly
Hello!
Thank-you for making it onto this page.
You must be wondering what we mean by “Drink Responsibly”.
Well firstly, Nine Yards Coffee was
established in 2010 as a specialty coffee roaster. Our purpose is to provide coffee that is grown conscientiously, sourced seasonally, and roasted with care on the Northern Beaches.
Our takeaway cups are just a gentle reminder to try to dine-in with us if time permits. Otherwise, switch to a reusable cup!
We usually sell some pretty cute ones!
Another big part about "drinking responsibly"...
Well...how good would it be knowing that every coffee we consume is grown sustainably?
That the workers weren’t exploited or a is child who should be at school?
That the biodiversity at the source was unharmed and the people that grew it for us were also happy and from thriving
communities.
These are the real hidden issues in the coffee industry, primarily
in commodity coffee. The majority of coffee on the market is commodity coffee.
The specialty coffee industry, which Nine Yards is part of, are committed to a better coffee world where everyone is
respected and treated fair.
Thank you for choosing Nine Yards. We hope you enjoy your coffee and continue to drink responsibly.
Specialty vs. Commodity
At Nine Yards we buy only specialty coffee.
We all have access to some truly amazing coffees roasted by a
number of fantastic roasters within Australia who are also in the specialty
coffee industry. Unfortunately, commodity coffee still rules the market and can
easily be disguised with a pretty latte art.
A big percentage of green bean coffee purchasers don’t focus on how the coffee is produced, how coffee farming affects the local community at the source or who produced it.
What they care about is; how low can the force the producer to
sell it for? Can it be cheaper? and how well can they market it to resell for a profit?
Most instant coffee is made from commodity coffee. Most
petrol-station coffee is commodity coffee. Most coffee on the market is commodity.
This is a big problem. For the farmers, this leads to low profits
and often a loss. Many farms are not being passed on to the younger generations as they cannot make a living out of it.
Constant pressures to drive down costs lead to problems such as
the use of cheap pesticides which have huge environmental impacts. These harmful chemicals ultimately ruin the land. This land is ruined, so then more trees are cut down to convert it into farmland. Cheap pesticides are used again... and the cycle of destruction continues.
The low-cost pressure within commodity coffee can also lead to issues of slave like working conditions & child labourers.
At Nine Yards, and other speciality coffee providers, we aim to build a relationship with farmers to help their community thrive. We purchase from sources who have the same values of sustainability as us and farmers are paid a premium for producing a coffee that is top quality. This is considerably above the C market price (note: coffee is traded on the stock
exchange which dictates the average price of coffee based on supply and demand...this is problematic and is not a liveable or fair wage).
Speciality coffee farms are a viable and are being passed down from one generation to another. At Nine Yards we work with groups (PECA) who have
programs in place that teach farmers new farming methods. This helps them get the best yield out of their farm and assists them to understand and deal with hurdles of climate change.