Our Ethics

At the forefront of our business is the way in which we source all our coffee varieties. We source all our coffees directly from their origin, typically from a specific estate with whom we have maintained a personal relationship for years. Sourcing from single origin ensures that as much of the value of the coffee goes directly to the farmers who own, run, and work year-round on these coffee farms. We work closely with all our estates to ensure that the farming and processing methods used are environmentally and socially friendly, and that their treatment of all staff is fair and ethical.

For over two decades now, we have been visiting origins and forging long term personal relationships with the coffee farmers; in the case of Jamaica and St Helena, we have even invested directly in the estates we buy from, such is our belief in their coffees. By visiting estates in person, it not only ensures we know exactly where our coffees are coming from and what practices are being used, but it is often remarkable and highly rewarding to return to an origin and see how these farms have developed over the years. All of the photos you see on product pages come from that specific origin, many of which were taken by us on our visits.

Core to our mission of sourcing the rarest and most exotic coffees is our belief in paying small farmers what they deserve. Some of our most remote origins produce fantastic coffee, but opportunities and industry in these areas is often minimal and makes farming difficult. In a number of instances we have invested significantly in small farmers, paying them well above asking price so that they may continue to fine-tune their coffee production.

Over the years we've helped to develop a number of Jamaican Blue Mountain estates, and boosted St Helena's coffee industry into a world renowned origin among connoisseurs. More recently, we've invested heavily in Pitcairn Island's coffee production, sending a brand new huller to the island and travelling with the farm owners to Costa Rica for an extensive coffee training course at the renowned Coffea Diversa estate.

Supporting small and developing farms in remote origins may not be viable for many other businesses, but we consider Sea Island Coffee as more than just a business for profit, but a way to give back and keep getting involved in the farmers at origin who started our love of coffee in the first place.

With all the growers we work with, we require evidence that the agricultural methods employed are built on a long-term commitment to sustainable and ethical production. Many of the single estates and co-operatives from which we source are organic and fair trade certified whilst others are working with RFA and Utz, as well as other bodies and government authorities.

However, fair trade and similar labels are often not an appropriate certification to attribute to speciality coffee. Many of the farms we source coffee from are too small and niche to benefit from the fair trade label, and the raw prices of these rare coffees are many times higher than fair-trade standards require. Through direct trade, the prices paid to farmers, pickers, and processes are much higher than fair trade standards in almost all instances, provided buyers continue to work with these farms to maintain and develop their practices.