Finding one face from thousands: 1000 Faces Coffee focuses on people and origins
1000 Faces started with a vision of revealing the truth behind the coffee that most consider merely ground, chestnut-hued powder in a bag from the grocery store. Behind every cup of coffee lies a story of origin. These stories are what drove Benjamin Myers, founder of 1000 Faces, to travel around the world to coffee-growing countries and to growers that are often forgotten.
1000 Faces acts on a mission of promoting a sustainable coffee industry where growers and customers are more directly connected. The business is dedicated to small-scale roasting; it will never roast a batch over 20 pounds at a time, and gives growers the recognition that they have often been refused in the tough industry.
Jan Kozak joined the team in 2010 as a financial head, becoming a partner in the business three years ago. According to Kozak, 1000 Faces greatly values its mission of transparency and sustainability in order to encourage a more authentic connection between growers and consumers.
“First and foremost, what we’re trying to do with coffee is make people understand that there are humans out there growing coffee, and we feel it’s vital that those people who are busting their butts to produce really good coffee are highlighted, respected, and really celebrated,” Kozak said.
Since its opening in 2006, 1000 Faces has matured into a fully operational roasting business with a dedication to its growers and the origins of its coffee beans. It is one of several independent coffee businesses in Athens, a recognizable feat considering the corporate domination of the coffee industry as a whole.
Seth Hendershot, owner of Hendershot’s Coffee located in the Bottleworks on Prince Avenue, sees the Athens community as an example of the changing landscape of ethical sourcing in the coffee business. Hendershot’s Coffee serves local, ethically-conscious coffee, primarily featuring Jittery Joe’s single-origin and blend coffees.
“It’s almost like you can’t get away with not doing it anymore. Because all of the best quality product is grown in that realm. Our typical customers might not wake up and think they want a cup of coffee at the most sustainable coffee shop, but they want to get coffee at their favorite place with the best coffee. They expect us to have those standards,” Hendershot said.
The coffee industry has become more aware of the need for the sustainable practices that 1000 Faces promotes, with both small and massive coffee retailers adopting more ethical techniques for sourcing coffee. Over 15 years ago, Starbucks partnered with Conservation International with a goal to reach 100 percent ethically-sourced coffee. By its standards, the mammoth retailer has now achieved 99 percent ethically-sourced coffee worldwide.
In Dec. 2015, Conservation International, in partnership with Starbucks, introduced the "Sustainable Coffee Challenge" with its goal of making coffee the world’s first sustainable agricultural product. The movement has gained over 50 committed partners since its introduction. In the journey of this long-term sustainability, 1000 Faces views coffee quality as the most important asset.
“We look at quality as being the conduit through which we focus on all of the other things that make the coffee industry better. Quality is the connecting piece. It’s how we get more sustainable coffee, it’s how we get better wages for workers, and it’s how we allow the American consumer to connect better to the sources of their coffee,” Kozak said.
Finca Idealista—a coffee featured by 1000 Faces—comes from a farm in Nicaragua owned by Ben Weiner, founder of Gold Mountain Coffee Growers. The farm not only grows high-cupping quality coffee, but it gives back to the community with projects that install running water in schools, fund free computing classes for girls from coffee communities, and offer access to credit for coffee farmers on little to no collateral.
Gold Mountain Coffee Growers, which consists of Finca Idealista along with local partner coffee farmers, connects coffee producers in Nicaragua with U.S. and European coffee roasters, cutting middlemen and increasing prices for farmers through high quality specialty coffee.
“Direct trade relationships result in higher quality coffee for coffee roasters and their customers, while increasing income for coffee farmers and their workers. Traceability is key in these relationships to ensure that the impact is real. Coffee roasters and their customers can literally visit coffee farmers whose coffee they’re drinking,” Weiner said.
American coffee consumers are the driving force of the global industry and continue to steer the industry in its production practices. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the United States imports the second-largest amount of coffee beans and is forecasted to import nearly 24.6 million bags this fiscal year. The leading global importer of coffee beans is the European Union, accounting for over 40 percent of the world’s coffee bean imports.
According to Weiner, Fair Trade-Certified —a popular certification given to producers that operate in an ethical manner—does not enforce strict enough guidelines to achieve its purpose of promoting sustainability, resulting in an influx of product that does not meet true sustainability standards.
“The world needs either Fair Trade that meets rigorous auditing standards, which it currently does not, or else a complete shift to meaningful direct trade. There is unfortunately a disincentive to making certifications more meaningful because doing so would make them expensive for big business,” Weiner said.
For 1000 Faces, the goal is paving its own way in the movement towards ethically and sustainably sourcing coffee by tapping into the massive U.S. market demand and educating the local community about their values.
“We’re a local company— we’re owned by Athenians. You can come down anytime to the roaster and pick our brain. You can challenge us, in other words, to prove that we are doing what we say we’re doing,” Kozak said.
