Specialty coffee company harvests unique relationships with Colombian coffee-growing families

LatinaLista — Andeano Coffee is a company that specializes in importing specialty colombian green coffees. The Miami-based company’s relationship with its Colombian coffee growers has always been personal. It’s this carefully cultivated relationship that the company credits to the success of its business and an unique program that it has established called the Andeano Relationship Program.

Young Colombian girl shows off her family’s coffee bean produce.
The year-old Relationship program pairs U.S. coffee roasters with Colombian coffee-growing families. “Through this relationship the roasting company buys the entire year crop from a small coffee growing family in Colombia producing high quality coffee, the growers are paid a price that far exceeds local coffee prices and many other coffee related social programs which in turn ensures the improvement of their well being.”
A cool fact of the program is that even the consumer can get in on the act of helping Colombian coffee growers. Part of the money the final customer pays for a cup of Joe goes directly to these families.
According to the program organizers, there are more Colombian coffee growing families who are waiting to participate in the program. All they need is the support of more coffee roasters and everyone who likes their dose of java.
The relationship program not only is providing an income to these families that will enable them to stay on the coffee plantations and continue to grow coffee but it also helps them to keep growing coffee instead of turning to growing plants to fuel the drug trade in the country.
In addition, the program funds other programs that help the coffee growers improve the quality of their lives, and in turn, produce the kind of coffee we all appreciate.