{"id":2629,"date":"2018-12-04T12:51:21","date_gmt":"2018-12-04T11:51:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fairfood.org\/?p=2629"},"modified":"2021-06-29T09:40:25","modified_gmt":"2021-06-29T07:40:25","slug":"coffee-talk-good-beans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fairfood.org\/en\/resources\/coffee-talk-good-beans\/","title":{"rendered":"Coffee talk: Good Beans"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Coffee talk: Good Beans<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

During our WAKEcUPCALL<\/a> campaign, we met quite a few passionate, idealistic coffee makers \u2013 we called them the leaders<\/a>. In this interview series we share their story. Today: communication trainee Dylan went to coffee with Cody Reid-Dodick, a partner in Good Beans.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I made my way to Good Beans<\/a>, located in the heart of Amsterdam, I already had an image in my mind of what the caf\u00e9, who sells cans of their so called \u2018fucking strong coffee,\u2019 would look like. The word \u2018flashy\u2019 may have run across my mind. I was picturing a sterile-looking shop prominently displaying their signature cans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I couldn\u2019t have been more wrong. This small caf\u00e9 is cozy, inviting and unassuming. A grinning Cody stands behind the bar happily chatting with and serving a customer. As Cody will go on to tell me, the two pillars of Good Beans are ethical sourcing and approachability: \u201cGood Beans is on a mission to make ethically sourced specialty coffee more approachable.\u201d As far as achieving the first goal goes, the specialty coffee brand is well on its way to ethical sourcing\u2014but more about that later. Approachability, the second core tenant of Good Beans, means they want to talk about the way they source in a more approachable way\u2014Good Beans is the anti-snob caf\u00e9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good Beans\u2019 coffee is just as impressive as their mission statement. Cody\u2019s barista skills are on par with any high end \u2018snobby\u2019 caf\u00e9. As he tells me about their mission, he\u2019s been skillfully preparing a cappuccino for me. Pouring the milk between two jars, each time increasing the height between the jars. After my first sip I realize why it\u2019s called \u2018fucking strong coffee.\u2019 It\u2019s no gimmick, this stuff is strong. The perfect mix between bitter, acidic and sweet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Despite Cody\u2019s enviable barista skills, his real passion lies with ethical sourcing, and this passion is perfectly reflected in Good Beans\u2019 operation. They do more than talk-the-talk, they walk-the-walk. Recently back from a trip to Rwanda to see where their coffee beans come from, Cody discusses the importance of supporting small-scale farmers and forming lasting and ethical partnerships with these producers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From the source
<\/strong>Good Beans sources their coffee exclusively from a coffee farmers\u2019 collective in Gakenke, Rwanda called Twongerekawa Coko which consists of around 300 small-holder farmers. Rwanda\u2019s coffee region is primarily north of the capital, Kigali. Good Beans\u2019 collective is an hour and a half to the north-west. By purchasing coffee from this collective, they empowers small-scale coffee farmers. Their support goes further than simply paying the farmers a fair price, it helps to build a self-sustaining and empowering community around coffee farming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cody was inspired to see how the coffee collective was supporting positive change in the community\u2014the building of an entrepreneurship school, female representation on leadership councils. \u201cIt\u2019s a testament to collective ownership and also working with the right collectives. This collective is not just community owned but it\u2019s really community focused,\u201d Cody says. The decisions around reinvestment within the collective is a community decision that\u2019s based on improving the community as a whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Creating connections
<\/strong>Good Beans is on a mission to change the way we speak about the coffee industry. They go deeper than saying the superficial \u201cwe care about the farmer.\u201d Good Beans cares about the whole structure. Cody points out an obvious disconnection that many of us miss: those who drink coffee usually don\u2019t know who grows it, and those who grow it usually don\u2019t drink it. They want to fill in those gaps and create connections within the coffee industry\u2014does this remind you of a certain WAKEcUPCALL campaign?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cody describes how when he visited the coffee farmers\u2019 collective in Rwanda, he witnessed firsthand how valuable these trading relationships can be. \u201cThere\u2019s so much behind a cup of coffee, the amount of labor, care and logistical behemoth. Then the political and economic logistics\u2014there\u2019s so much that can be done with coffee.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both Good Beans and the farmers\u2019 collective benefit from a trading relationship based on mutual respect. \u201cJust because we pay the premium (for their coffee beans) doesn\u2019t mean we should be the ones to redirect that premium,\u201d Cody says. In fact, the Twongerekawa Coko collective decided to redirect their premium towards developing a sustainable and innovative irrigation technique, creating employment and leadership opportunities for women, and building the school we discussed earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The future of Good Beans
<\/strong>After hearing about Good Beans\u2019 inspiring mission and work you might be wondering what its future looks like. While Good Beans obviously knows the ins and outs of the coffee industry, Cody is clear: him and his partners aren\u2019t \u2018coffee evangelicals.\u2019 They have a broader vision than just \u2018good coffee,\u2019 they want to look at the whole picture. Cody\u2019s vision is that one day Good Beans will become its own kind of \u2018certificate.\u2019 Certifying to coffees shops and consumers that the coffee they\u2019re buying aligns with the principals and standards of Good Beans.<\/p>\n\n\n

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