AMERICUS — Fair trade, organic coffee company, Cafe Campesino celebrates 20 years in business Friday and Saturday, and invites its customers, friends, coffee lovers, and all those committed to the good food movement to join them in Americus, for a weekend-long celebration of specialty coffee, community, and the power of sustainable supply chains.
Events include a panel discussion with coffee producers, coffee tastings, a latte art class, opportunities to engage with Koinonia Farm and Habitat for Humanity — two Americus-born institutions that have influenced the company’s mission — as well as two fun-filled evenings of live music and local food.
Music and food events on Friday and Saturday are free and open to the public, but registration is required. Register and learn more online at www.cafecampesino20.com
In an increasingly competitive industry where specialty coffee companies continue to consolidate, Cafe Campesino serves as a beacon for a community-supported food system. Direct relationships with farmer-owned cooperatives around the world and a collaborative approach to business — standing alongside the values-oriented companies of Cooperative Coffees — make Cafe Campesino a model for what international business can and should be.
“We work to create win-wins across the supply chain,” said company CEO Tripp Pomeroy. “You don’t have to take advantage of people in order to be successful,” he said, underscoring the importance of Cafe Campesino’s customers in making a values-oriented company sustainable. “We would not be able to sustain our business model if our producer partners and customers didn’t also believe in their ability to do good in the world. We want to celebrate that this weekend.”
Weekend festivities kick-off on Friday with live music from Athens, Ga.-based Pickled Holler and food and drink samples at Cafe Campesino’s Coffee House, located at 134 W. Lamar St. in Americus. Saturday morning, Cafe Campesino’s education coordinator Hannah Mercer will lead a class in latte art at the company’s Specialty Coffee Association Premier Training Center located at 725 Millard Fuller Blvd.
Optional Saturday afternoon activities include a visit to Koinonia Farm, a reunion of former Habitat for Humanity volunteers and a panel discussion at the coffee house with coffee trading partners. Evening events on Saturday will be held at the roasting facility located at 725 Millard Fuller Blvd. An assortment of local musicians, food, and drink purveyors will lead the Saturday celebration that will take place from 5-10 p.m.
Founded in 1998, after meeting a coffee farmer during a Habitat for Humanity trip to Guatemala, Cafe Campesino is a certified BCorp. that sources 100 percent of its coffees from farmer-owned cooperatives. All of Cafe Campesino’s coffees are fair trade, shade-grown and certified organic.