Visit our Online Store to buy coffees from these coffee regions.

Finding great coffee is the most important thing we do. Over the last two years we have gone to origin countries to look for new coffees and to gain an understanding of how coffee is produced and traded. We take pride in sourcing and offering the highest quality specialty coffee with care in how that coffee was sourced and the impact that it’s production had on the environment.
Troy picking coffee at Finca Hermanos Blanco, Costa Rica	Troy among the coffee trees in Colombia

Certifications

Most of our coffees carry at least one of the several certifications that are available. Environmental certifications include Organic, Rainforest Alliance and Smithsonian Bird Friendly. Social justice certifications include Transfair Fair Trade and Rainforest Alliance. As with anything, however, a symbol on the package does not always ensure social and environmental justice standards have been satisfied, just as the lack of a symbol doesn’t mean they have not been met. Many coffee farmers and growers cooperatives are very poor and don’t have the resources to pay for the certification, as all of the initial expense borne by the applicant. I think it’s important that those of us who make our living selling coffee, travel to the places where it is grown and observe conditions with our own eyes.
Processing the coffee cherry at FInca El Roble, Colombia	Drying coffee on a Kenyan style drying table at Finca El Roble, Colombia

All of our coffee is fairly traded and ethically sourced. This doesn’t necessarily mean that all of our coffee is certified “fair trade” by an organization called TransFair, although many of our coffees are. But what it does mean is that when we can’t visit the farm where our coffee comes from, we work with a roaster and importers who properly vet farmers, co-ops and exporters. We believe that coffee is a relationship business and creating a strong supply chain where each link trusts the next, gives our customers confidence that their cup is not only delicious, but can be enjoyed with a clear conscience.
Oswaldo Acevedo (center), Owner of Finca El Roble, Mesa de los Santos, Colombia, with his farm manager Fermin (left)	Carlos Mogan, Finca El Alto, Costa Rica

The final link in the chain of coffee is the Retailer. If we take care to sustainably source coffee, but fail to prepare it properly, what is the point of our labor? Training is important at Cosmic Cup. The owner, Troy Reynard, has attended many barista training conferences and events, hosts an annual barista training conference, serves as the Mid-Atlantic Chapter Representative to the Barista Guild of America, and is barista trainer for New Harvest Coffee Roasters. All of our coffee is brewed to Specialty Coffee Association of America’s brewing standards and is served fresh. But the most important part of this is seeing our customers enjoy their coffee!with a clear conscience.
Catador (cupper) Don Antonio and Fermin (Farm Manager) evaluating coffees at Finca El Roble	Troy with the Mesa de los Santos staff