Coffee farmers everywhere struggle with the cost of production, with access to credit and seasonal cash flow, but the particular economic and political realities in Ecuador make it a special case. Ecuador switched its currency to the US dollar in 2000, after hyperinflation and a banking crisis left the economy reeling. In recent years, the strong dollar has made Ecuadorian exports more expensive. That, plus the collapse of oil prices, on which Ecuador’s economy has depended since the 70s, has contributed to a decline in export revenues to which the government has responded by restricting imports and raising taxes & tariffs on foreign goods. This matters to coffee producers and to the price of coffee because every truck, jeep, bag of fertilizer, and piece of machinery or farm equipment that has to be imported comes with an additional premium that drives up production costs.

On top of excellent coffees and the producers who grow them, Ecuador offers another singular value proposition: national labor laws that require all full-time workers receive a fair minimum wage, health care, and paid time off.

Ecuador offers a rare opportunity to present customers with a model for what it looks like to purchase coffee from workers whose nationally-guaranteed rights are similar to those in the US.