Pachamama Coffee Hopes to Go Fully Vertical with New CoffeeCSA Roaster

Pachamama coffee HQ in Midtown Sacramento.

Pachamama Coffee Cooperative, a farmer-owned, farmer-governed cooperative with a U.S. base in Sacramento, is hoping to further integrate its operations vertically by adding a 15k Loring Falcon roaster.

The roaster, which would occupy Pachamama’s midtown Sacramento gallery and factory store, would would benefit CoffeeCSA, Pachamama’s community-supported-agriculture-model business that allows a direct connection between U.S. consumers and Pahamama’s owner cooperatives in Peru, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Mexico and Ethiopia. CoffeeCSA is currently kickstarting a $50,000 fundraising campaign for the roaster. If met, the $50,000 would be matched by the farmer-owners.

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CoffeeCSA coffee is currently roasted on a contract basis, and founder Thaleon Tremain says the new roastery would allow farmers to receive approximately $1 more per bag sold, while allowing for more control over roasting processes and quality. “In the past, Pachamama’s board of directors has elected to invest in marketing their coffee, not roasting it, which requires a significant capital investment,” Tremain tells Daily Coffee News. “Now that we have the scale, it makes sense to bring this operation in-house.”

Tremain founded Pachamama in 2001, and the group in has been building the CoffeeCSA business since 2011. Tremain says if the roaster purchase is funded, the goal is to have it up and running by April 2015.

(related: Public-Private Partnerships Failing Smallholders (See Nyeri), Says Fairtrade Foundation)