This Side Up does things a little differently from a conventional coffee importer. Rather than shopping for a new selection of coffees every year, they work with a group of origin partners over the long term. The idea is simple: build lasting relationships, develop a shared understanding of what each partner needs and work together to make the relationship economically, socially and ecologically sustainable.
In practice, that leads This Side Up far beyond simply buying and selling coffee. Together with their origin partners, they have been involved in projects exploring everything from financing and logistics to farm-level economics, climate resilience and new ways of creating and sharing value throughout the supply chain.
Transparency is another important part of their work. This Side Up shares an exceptional amount of information about its coffees and the relationships behind them, making it possible to look beyond the usual origin story and better understand how a coffee made its way from producer to roaster. Like any organisation working in a complex supply chain, they don't make everything visible — but they have consistently been among the people pushing the industry towards greater openness.
We're proud to work with This Side Up's coffees, but more importantly, we appreciate having access to a supply chain that invites us to look closer, ask questions and share more of the story with you.
