Passion, flavour and a desire to make the coffee value chain better, guide our purchasing decisions. We pride ourselves on sourcing roasting and selling delicious coffee, but that’s no small task. It requires a focus on quality, freshness and continual effort to use sustainable sourcing practices.
For us, showcasing the best coffee possible means working closely with the right coffee farmers, producers, exporters and co-operatives; those that are willing to develop and adapt as the coffee value chain evolves. Working with the same people each year helps develop quality, however we will always look to foster new relationships with those who are producing great coffee. The search for delicious
coffee is never ending and is a challenge we welcome.
As of 2019, we’re focusing our travel and purchasing on Ethiopia, Burundi and Uganda in Africa, the Central American countries of El Salvador, Costa Rica and Guatemala with Colombia and Brazil being our focus in South America. In Asia-Pacific, we focus on Yemen, Indonesia and are exploring Papua New Guinea as a place of interest. We are spending more and more time in these countries, traveling and learning from the people who grow our coffee. We do also make smaller, occasional purchases from other producing countries such as Rwanda and Ecuador if the right coffees come along.
We aim to improve the coffee value chain of which we are a part. This means, considering all points along the chain from the trees that grow our coffee, to the baristas that make it. We have a genuine and sincere commitment to developing on-going relationships with producers that facilitate their objectives of better financial reward for their handiwork, and our desire to serve for the best coffee possible to our partners and customers.
Clean, sweet and flavourful is the guiding principle behind every batch of every coffee we produce. Initially, this means sourcing coffee from growers who pay close attention to all stages of harvest and processing, along with these three principles.
Potential. At THREE we want to highlight the natural qualities of the coffees we buy each year. This means roasting in a way that allows each coffee’s terroir to shine through. Only by roasting
transparently, can we unlock each coffees potential and add to the coffee value chain.
Consistency. Every THREE Coffee experience has to be remarkable. That means every roast does too.
We employ a combination of roasting intelligence software, strict quality control years of experience to make sure every bag we sell is up to standard.
Precision. To make sure that the coffee we roast is consistent we make sure each roast follows our strict quality control (QC) measures. We have three in-house Q-graders that run our QC program and cupping our coffee daily. Every coffee you drink has their seal of approval.
What is the cup of excellence?
Cup of Excellence® is the premier coffee competition and auction worldwide. It is also the highest award given to a top scoring coffee. All of the Cup of Excellence award winners are cupped at least five times
during the three-week competition held in each country of origin. Literally hundreds of cups are smelled, tasted and scored based on their exemplary characteristics. The prices that these winning coffees receive at the auction have broken records time and again and prove that there is a huge demand for these rare, farmer identified and traceable coffees.
Why is the Cup of Excellence Important?
The Cup of Excellence program has set the standard for the increased premiums that farmers have been able to receive for their exemplary coffees. It continues to build a much more transparent infrastructure and gives farmers the tools needed to improve the economic model of their farms. It also gives farmers an incentive to experiment with varietals and processing techniques knowing there can be a recognition and financial reward for their hard work and effort. The COE program helps roasters like us to identify and build relationships with growers of superior coffees. This direct trade benefit to both the marketplace and the farmers is huge and has created much more sustainability for both.
