About Us.
MICRO LOTE COFFEE
Working With 600 Small Colombian Coffee Farmers Families
- Importing Coffee into Australia since 2011 -MICRO LOTE COFFEE is purchased directly from Cooperatives in the South and Center of Colombia and roasted in Perth, WA.
This Cooperatives are owned by small coffee farmers with an average landholding of 2 hectares per family who work together to receive a fair price for their coffee.
Eliminating the middleman from the supply chain allows MICRO LOTE COFFEE and the Cooperatives to show a commitment to the wellbeing of farmers and their 600 families and to protect the environment by discouraging land clearing and preserving precious water reserves.
Mission.
Our mission is to work and support sustainable small farming in Colombia in line with ESG* standards, particularly gender equality, striving to achieve a balance in the coffee industry and to bring the best coffee to Australia at a competitive price without compromising quality.
*Environmental, Social and GovernanceHonest Coffee Documentary
Honest Coffee is the story of ASPROUNION a Colombian coffee collective who have cut the middlemen out of coffee production.
ASPROUNION grows, processes, mills, exports, and imports their coffee direct from Colombia to Australia. It is a farmer owned co-operative of 250 farmers, striving to change the imbalance of the coffee industry.
The drink you know, the story you don't.
By Laundon Peacock
ASPROUNION
Luz Dary Cerón
“The first thing that ASPROUNION taught us was to value ourselves and know where we are going. The training that ASPROUNION has given us all, women, is to value ourselves as people, not only as individuals but as people in front os the community”
Paulino Diáz
“It´s a lot of suffering. That´s the reality of small coffee farmers. They are getting ripped off at the waist. They do what they like with small coffee farmers and they don´t receive a just price. ASPROUNION started as a necessity”.
Henry Tulcán
“Day after day we work to improve more and more the quality so that the consumer feels satisfied when they enjoy a cup of coffee and sees who farms it”.
QUINCHÍA
APECAFEQ is the coffee Co-op of Quinchía, a village in Colombia’s ‘Coffee Triangle’.
APECAFEQ Co-op was founded by 32 small coffee farmers in 1994 and today represents 413 farmers around Quinchía, each holding on average just 1.5 Hectares per family farm. Through functioning as a collective, APECAFEQ supports the interests of its farmers and profits are also allocated across social programs such as improved agricultural practices, protection of the environment and preservation of water reserves.
Quinchía coffee farmers often supplement income by working old and often unsafe underground artisanal gold mines. This combination is locally known as Agro mining. The Australian listed exploration company ‘Los Cerros Limited’ is active in Quinchía. It is not involved in artisanal mining but has substantial entrepreneurial programs co-developed with Agro miners to reduce their reliance on artisanal mining.
This program is a commitment by Micro Lote, APECAFEQ and Los Cerros to the well being of the families and the promotion of good farming practices, protection of the environment by discouraging land clearing and preserving precious water reserves.
This is the first time Quinchía Coffee has been exported as a premium single origin product and marks the start of another prosperous entrepreneurial initiative. We at Micro Lote Coffee are very excited to include Quinchía Coffee to our catalogue and being part of the social and economic programs in Quinchía.
Working hand to hand allow us to do things very differently.
Opportunities for disadvantaged farmers.
Transparency & accountability.
Fair payment.
No forced labour.
No discrimination, gender equity.
Good working conditions.
Capacity building.
Respect for the environment.