Equator Coffees, Daterra Coffee, and Sustainable Harvest have collaborated to produce a line of coffees sourced entirely through a B Corp-certified supply chain.
BY KATRINA YENTCH
BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE
Cover photo courtesy of Equator Coffees
At the end of this month on February 27, Equator Coffees, Daterra Coffee, and Sustainable Harvest will host a B Corp Fair at Equator’s 2nd Street café in San Francisco to showcase other Bay Area-based B Corporations, as well as present their first line of coffees sourced entirely through other B Corps.
A quickly growing trend in the coffee industry, the nonprofit B Lab’s B Corporation certification is the recognition of a company’s purpose-driven commitment to positive impact. In order to qualify, the company must exemplify this impact through a variety of standards that cover everything from employees to customers, work environment, and their community. The first set of B Corps were certified in 2007, and the ranks have since grown to 1,600 companies from 42 countries across 120 industries. Equator was one of the first roasters in the Bay Area to achieve this certification, which they received in 2011. Sustainable Harvest obtained their status even earlier, in 2008, while Daterra has had their certification since 2016.
The Equator line includes four coffees grown in Brazil by Daterra, all of which were imported by Sustainable Harvest. They’ll be available for tasting at the fair and throughout all Equator cafés, as well as online. “This collaboration embodies the B Corp certification as a community of practice,” says Andy Fyfe, a director of B Corp growth and activation. “A lot of us as consumers want to vote with our dollar and support companies that share our values. This collaboration is a testament to the power of businesses voting with their dollar through their value chain and who they partner with.”
“These coffees taste delicious and we can’t wait for our customers to try them,” says Ted Stachura, director of coffee at Equator. “As an added benefit a B Corp supply chain ensures that our customers’ investment in a caffe latte, or a cup of coffee, benefits everyone who made that cup possible.”
As more and more consumers continue to align their patronage with their values, the B Corporation certification is creating a new standard for companies to make positive change—and coffee is more than ready to embrace that.
