The Good Coffee Cartel Roastery

THE GOOD COFFEE CARTEL

Sometimes you have to take risks to make a difference, and by sharing this attitude ,Courtney Brennan and Todd Whiteford have set up a roastery. Before setting up together, they worked in a coffee shop in Glasgow. However, there was something missing from the coffee scene, so after a few nights out for a pint, they decided to go their own way in 2017.

Their inspiration comes from Round Hill Roastery and also Mamnick Thom Barnett, founder of the English designer clothing brand. Thom creates high quality clothing, and above all, he adheres to the principle of not conforming to what others think he should be. He goes his own way and does and says what he wants.

ROASTING AND SERVING COFFEE SUSTAINABLY

What undoubtedly sets this roastery apart from others is their approach to sustainability. Their wholesale customers receive their coffee in reusable buckets. Retail customers are soldcoffee in reusable and refillable cans. When these cans run out of life, they can be recycled indefinitely. They also offer customers the option to refill their cans from anywhere in the UK. The grains they refill their cans with are supplied in compostable and recyclable packaging.

The Good Coffee Cartel is also the first coffee shop to pioneer the use of reusable cups. Visitors to their café and roastery who choose to take their coffee away, called take away, pay a small refundable deposit for a cup on their first visit. On each subsequent visit, all they have to do is bring the purchased cup with them. In this way, they help the roastery to reduce waste and meet their targets.

The Good Coffee Cartel café is part of the roastery building and is located on the outskirts of Glasgow, Scotland. The blue walls are there for a simple reason, as is the blue coating on the cans that the coffee is packed into. Source: medium.com

THE GOOD COFFEE CARTEL AND HOW TO BUY IT

They only buy coffee beans for their roastery from suppliers who actively ensure sustainability for the farmers, such as better processing techniques or better irrigation systems, as well as better efficiency in the workflow and business side of things. By working with organisations and people with whom builds long-term relationships, they get coffee that is better quality year on year and they can also be sure that the farmers at the place of origin are always well paid for their crops.

ROASTING COFFEE

Coffee at The Good Coffee Cartel is roasted every Monday on a Probatroaster . Their current roasting style is calledomni. That is, coffee roasted for both filter coffee and espresso. Their range is quite narrow, which also affects the seasonality of the coffees. Even if the coffees are roasted omni, some are always a little better for espresso and others for filter. The roastery also offers blends, i.e. mixtures. Courtney and Todd's favorite coffees are Colombian. Because of the differences between the regions, you may come across classic and traditional coffees, or completely unexpected and interesting ones.

FAIR WAGES AND EMPLOYING COFFEE NINJAS

At The Good Coffee Cartel, they call their employees coffee ninjas with exaggeration. They put a lot of effort into their work and make sure their coffee is the best it can be. The roastery also prides itself on diversity and gender equality. They provide their employees with a safe environment that is based on mutual encouragement and cooperation. Theyvalue all the efforts, all the experience and knowledge that their team has andtherefore pay not only the farmers but also their employees fairly. They make sure that their pay is higher than the minimum wage in Scotland.