After 15 years as a coffee executive, I found myself staring at the coffee aisle in the grocery store, thinking “It doesn’t have to be this way.” The shelves seemed to be lined with two types of coffee: expensive brands that focus on helping farmers and promoting sustainability; and affordable brands that aim to give the consumer good value. Having spent most of my adult life trading coffee and wo
rking with coffee farmers all over the world, I knew it didn’t have to be an either/or proposition. I wanted to offer coffee drinkers great tasting, farm-to-cup, single-origin coffee at an affordable price, while still helping to radically improve the lives of impoverished farming communities. At Eleva Coffee, we eliminate the middleman by working directly with farmers, paying them a better wage, helping them increase their productivity, and improving the infrastructure in their communities. Then, we get the coffee to consumers as efficiently and effectively as possible, so that it’s always fresh and always available—that’s why I decided to start Eleva as a direct-delivery service. We import our coffee directly from origin, craft roast it in New York, ship anywhere in bio-degradable packaging, and do bicycle drop-offs in New York City to keep our delivery times fast and our carbon footprint low. Our first three origins are Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Ethiopia, which produce distinct-tasting, spectacular coffees. And our first infrastructure project is a water treatment plant in the Nicaraguan community of Peñas Blancas. I chose Nicaragua as the site of our kick-off Eleva Initiative project because it’s an origin close to my heart. By bringing together my two homes, Eleva is allowing me to fulfill my dream. My goal for the company is that it will allow others to fulfill theirs. Thank you for your interest in our coffee and our mission.
