Thomas Coffee Sustainability Program

Thomas Coffee specializes in the importing, roasting and blending of specialty coffees from around the world - Costa Rica, Colombia, Sumatra, Brazil and Guatemala. The company is involved with other vertically integrated specialty coffee organizations that also includes production, processing, export, import and trading entities. We sell our gourmet coffees to the Retail, Food Service and Office Coffee Services segments of the coffee market.

At the heart of our organization is a commitment to be one of the world’s most socially conscious and environmentally friendly coffee companies. That commitment is apparent in our decision to buy La Minita certified coffees. The La Minita certification provides us a rich tradition of completely natural and sustainable farming techniques, water management systems, and “Fair Trade” practices that are necessary both environmentally and socially. Our management practice of buying La Minita certified coffee is fundamental to the quality of our product and a principle reason for our success.

Our certified coffees have decades of history behind them demonstrating the progressive evolution of the farming model we demand:

Environmental Resource Management

1. We do not allow the use of herbicides or insecticides. The weeding is done by hand. This is a massive undertaking at the farm level but essential to protect the environment and provide employment for hundreds of people.
2. While we allow the use of chemical fertilizer, we demand soil test for the entire farm twice a year and that their formulas are designed accordingly. The fertilizer is applied by hand in minimal amounts to keep the soil in proper harmony with the soil in the forest reserve that is set aside as a nature refuge.
3. Blocks of Interlocking natural forests are designed into the shade-covered coffee groves. A bird, mammal, or insect can travel virtually the entire farm without leaving the cover of the natural environment.
4. Terraced coffee groves, defensively planted natural vegetation and an intricate and carefully maintained drainage system guard against erosion.
5. The coffee processing mill is designed with environmental protection as a key objective. This includes a residual water-treatment plant and hydro-electrical turbine creating renewable and nonpolluting power.

Human Resource Management

1. Our farms pay significantly higher wages than other coffee farms. The employees are financially rewarded for their skilled and conscientious labor.
2. The employees are provided dental and medical treatment at a clinic and workers and their immediate families are enrolled in a preventative medical and dental program that screens for potential health problems.
3. For any catastrophic health care problem that cannot be coped with by either the farm physician, or the Costa Rican National Health Service, private specialist care is provided.
4. The farms support the workers association. They contribute matching funds to the workers savings plans and offer financial advice when requested.
5. Modern housing with electricity and running water is provided for those employees that do not own their own home off the farm.
6. A commissary that purchases basic staples at volume discounts is available to employees of the farm. These goods are passed on to farm workers at cost.
7. A life-estate housing program for retiring workers that have no home of their own is available to all workers. However, by retirement most workers have their own farms and homes.
8. School assistance is provided - school uniforms and school supplies.
9. The farms are active supporters of the surrounding communities’ public works and leisure activities of workers - funding soccer teams, ladies choir and outings.

Coffee is produced from the earth by hard work. To grow great coffee you must have a balanced, harmonious environment and a healthy, strong and content labor force. All of the aforementioned merely represent our vision of a sustainable agricultural business. It is necessary both environmentally and socially to the success of our business and our ability to provide our customers exceptional specialty coffees for generations to come.

Our customers are proud of their relationship with us and they are not at all shy about publicly identifying Thomas Coffee as their coffee source. For example, we sell our coffees to major retailers but also through resellers such as Performance Food Group and Pepsi MidAmerica. We have made sales calls with them and in every instance there was a focus on the sustainable farming issues pointed out above. We appreciate the opportunity to describe our La Minita certification and the tremendous benefits it provides our customers and Thomas Coffee.

Based upon our experience, we have developed strict quality standards that we require to be employed in the production of our coffees. We know where the coffee is produced and in what manner. Our customers know that their coffee was grown properly, humanely and that the financial premium that we pay farmers for producing great coffee has, over the years, benefited literally thousands of people.

The Government of Costa Rica and Colombia have publicly recognized the quality premium of La Minita certified coffees. This was done through a proclamation of thanksgiving by the Costa Rican government and certificate from the Colombian government.

It is interesting to note, that the La Minita program has been so successful that:

• The Colombian Federation has been forced to raise the minimum price paid for Narino coffee.
• Narino is the only region of Colombia that is experiencing production increases on a year-to-year basis.

We proudly offer our customers Thomas Coffee with the assurance you are getting one of the finest coffees available in the world from a source that has established and practiced socially responsible methods and ideologies for over 25 years. Our experience in the importing, blending and roasting of La Minita certified coffees is unique in the coffee industry and the primary reason for our success - quality from “seed to cup.” We have decades of history and a track record on environmental and social issues that is both transparent and unassailable.