SUSTAINABLE, SHADE GROWN COFFEE

WE LOVE COFFEE, THE RAINFOREST, & OUR CUSTOMERS!

In 1997, Poverty Bay’s founder Dan Olmstead, had a vision of a coffee company that was run ethically, cared about it’s employees, and was conscientious of the environment. He and his partners at Poverty Bay focused on sustainability, forging lasting relationships with their coffee networks, and operating their business with authenticity. Fast forward nearly 20 years to a time when those virtues have never been more important. Poverty Bay Coffee Company is proud of it’s loyal customer base who continues to support sustainable, shade grown, direct trade coffee. Learn more below. 

COFFEE THAT IS GROWN IN THE RAINFOREST

Our coffee beans are shade grown. That means, our coffee grows under the natural canopy of the Rainforest. This patient, traditional approach produces a superior coffee bean, and also protects the habitat of the migrating bird species, many of which make their way to the Pacific Northwest in the Summer. The slow ripening of the coffee bean in its indigenous, shaded Rainforest environment results in a bean with a higher sugar content, more concentrated flavor, plumper exterior, and less acidic chemical count than other beans.

A COFFEE COMPANY THAT PUTS SUSTAINABILITY FIRST

We live in a time when doing all you can personally and as a business to reduce our carbon footprint is vital. We believe that every action, no matter how minute, is impactful. The following are things we have done and things that we do on a daily basis that make our business sustainable.

  • All of the coffee grounds that are generated from the production of our Dan’s Cold Brewed Espresso and all of the chaff generated from roasting our coffees is integrated into the compost process at Cedar Grove composting.

  • This amounts to over 35,000 pounds per year that is kept out of the landfill and it all ends up in the gardens of the great Northwest.

  • All paper, plastic, aluminum, metal and Styrofoam that enters our building is recycled at the proper facility.

  • All of our facility lighting has been updated to the most energy efficient technology available today.

  • All of our coffee is Sustainable Shade Grown Direct Trade coffee.

  • All of our marketing material is printed on recycled paper.

Skookumchuck? Hylebos? Point Defiance? Unless you’re a native Washingtonian, you’ve probably not heard these names before. We name majority of our coffee roasts after well-known local spots found in beautiful Washington State. Read how each specific place was selected in our Coffee Naming Convention Blog.