Resisting the model. Rethinking our role.
Based in Montreal, we roast coffee for the every-morning or every-now-and-then drinker who wants to be a part of a more equitable consumer culture.
THE MAINSTREAM COFFEE INDUSTRY KINDA SUCKS.
In the pursuit of the highest quality and top lots, specialty coffee has historically overlooked the needs of producers — perpetuating a cycle where the winners keep winning and communities along the coffee belt bear the brunt of the inequity within the supply chain.
Meanwhile, the coffee industry has gotten really good at dazzling with empty promises and greenwashing lingo. We’re left distracted — unable to envision a system in which things could be done differently.
This is not that coffee.
We’re driven to source and roast exceptional coffee from generational smallholders while at the same time encouraging our customers, partners and industry peers to work towards a more equitable consumer system.
We believe our path to get there begins with resisting the prevailing coffee model and rethinking our role in the coffee supply chain. Our mission as a coffee roaster is to be a reliable buying partner for the producers we work with and a trusted resource for coffee-drinking folks like you.
P.S. COFFEE IS ALL ABOUT THIS:
✻ Beautiful coffees from generational smallholder producers
✻ Sourcing relationships that support autonomy, agency & access for coffee producers
✻ Thinking, learning & connecting with coffee for ultimate enjoyment
WE'RE NOT ABOUT THAT:
✗ Prices that don’t value a producer’s knowledge and skill
✗ The prevailing buying model that offers little support for producers
✗ Thinking about coffee as nothing more than a commodity
What makes P.S. coffee exceptional?
Meet the P.S. Producer Network
All the coffee on our menu is produced by passionate coffee professionals in Rwanda, Honduras, Guatemala & Colombia. With our sourcing partner Semilla, we buy coffee from smallholder producers and support their transition towards autonomy and away from the exploitative model they've always known.
Antonio Ramírez is the literal father of coffee in Selguapa, Honduras and patriarch of Los Ramirez, a group of producers who are transitioning from selling in cherry to local intermediaries.
Protais Ntanyundo from Baho Coffee's Urakoze Umusaza coffee producer group in Rwanda.
Sourced by Semilla
Our coffees are sourced in conjunction with our sister company, Semilla Coffee, who holds multi-year relationships with these grower communities. Built on the principles of support and advocacy, Semilla works in close collaboration with these groups to listen to what they need to succeed - from meeting the prices they request, to investing in a physical and intellectual infrastructure that will allow them to thrive in this market.
Their sourcing relationships are built on the following principles:
DURABLE RELATIONSHIPS
Semilla identifies producer groups in well-respected coffee production countries that have zero or limited access to or knowledge of the specialty market and takes on the requisite risk that comes with their transition into becoming specialty coffee producers. The goal is to grow with them in pursuit of purchasing all of their production, year after year, and to expand our purchasing power within these communities by partnering with as many growers as possible.
BEST PRICE, DEFINED BY PRODUCERS
All coffees purchased by Semilla are purchased at the best locally available price. This is determined via communication with and understanding of local market dynamics, and prices are arrived upon via a consensus model in which the coffee growers and Semilla agree democratically on the best prices for all involved.
TRACEABILITY & TRANSPARENCY
Semilla’s commitment is to work with complete commitment to traceability and transparency along the value chain. This means full transparency of prices paid to the farmer (farmgate) as well as prices paid at port (FOB). Additionally, Semilla offers in depth information and context for each coffee, the producers who grew it, and the condition within which they work with each purchase.
QUALITY
Semilla exclusively works in the specialty coffee realm, meaning all of the coffees purchase are above the quality levels offered by conventional commodity or Fair Trade and Organic buyers. Quality is determined in reference to the Specialty Coffee Association and Coffee Quality Institute’s grading standards, with all coffees source for P.S. achieving a minimum of 85 points out of a possible 100.