How Repetition Coffee’s Global Story Led to a New Vanilla Partnership with BEU Organic Shop

Repetition Coffee has always been more than a roastery. Founder and Green Buyer Amy Pope built the company on a love of travel and cultural connection. She’s made sure Repetition has always centered on ethical sourcing, celebrating the deeply personal connections she makes as she travels the world to bring us excellent coffee and uplifting stories.

These values guide every relationship with growers, and the launch of Repetition’s new Ugandan vanilla line with BEU Organic Shop is no exception. It’s the newest chapter in a friendship that began in Uganda in 2019.

A Global Lens with Roots in Kansas

Before founding Repetition, Amy studied international relations, lived abroad, and spent years learning from growers and communities across the globe.

 “Coffee has been the key that unlocked creative ways to use my international degree,” she says. “The relationships behind the scenes matter just as much as the relationships with customers here in the U.S.”

That approach continues to guide Repetition’s sourcing decisions, which made this next step into launching a vanilla line feel so natural.

A Relationship That Began in Uganda

In 2019, Amy traveled to Uganda for a homestay with a coffee farming family in Masaka that had well-established Lawrence connections. She came fully equipped with gear to set up a cupping table without electricity: hand grinders, ramekins, coffees from other international producers; as well as green grading, notebooks and identifiers to learn alongside farmers how to identify, troubleshoot, and fortify against crop issues and help farmers advocate for fairer prices on the global market.

“I learned so much there and saw so much work going into sustainability: permaculture, agroforestry, youth programming,” she says. “Everything they earn gets poured back into their community.”

It was then that she established her first connections with Charles, now CEO of BEU Organic Shop. Charles is part of the family that hosted Amy. As a survivor of the Rwandan genocide who found support through his chosen Ugandan family and an American foster familly, Charles built BEU with a mission rooted in justice, community care, and direct relationships with small organic producers. 

This spring, while Charles was in Kansas to work on a project with Bauman Family Farm in Garnett, Charles asked Amy if Repetition would help BEU finally enter the U.S. market through a vanilla partnership.

For Amy, this felt like an exciting new extension to the work she’s been doing for years. 

Why BEU, and Why Vanilla?

BEU felt like a natural partner for Repetition because their approach mirrors so much of what Amy values. BEU works directly with small organic producers and invests a significant portion of its earnings back into community programs, including youth education, agroforestry and permaculture training. 

Amy describes the partnership as one built on trust and shared intention, where every step in the supply chain is transparent and personal. Vanilla also made sense for Repetition because it is another agricultural product shaped by climate, care, and craft. Uganda’s equatorial weather allows for two harvests each year, which means the beans arrive incredibly fresh and full of character. “Once you work with Ugandan vanilla, you understand why people fall in love with it,” Amy says.

A Kansas Connection Makes It Possible

This partnership is rooted in community as much as global exchange. Bauman Family Farm in Garnett has hosted Ugandan visitors for years, and it was through this relationship that Amy was first invited to Uganda in 2019. After that visit, Amy brought BEU coffee into Repetition, and offered it through local establishments such as Ladybird Diner.

When Charles arrived in Kansas in 2025 to explore the U.S. market, those local connections were already in place.

“It made everything feel logical and grounded,” Amy says.

Bringing Vanilla Into the Repetition Lineup

For this first phase of the launch, Repetition will carry BEU’s Grade A and Grade B Ugandan vanilla beans. Grade A is the gourmet or premium bean. The pods are long, flexible and shiny, with high aroma and moisture. They have high caviar content (yes, the vanilla beans are called caviar!) and boast a creamy, buttery, earthy flavor. Grade A is great for baking and is often featured in savory dishes as well. Grade B is extraction grade vanilla, with a drier pod and more floral profile. It is ideal for making vanilla powders, pastes, extracts and infusions.

A house-made vanilla latte is already in development at Repetition, with future plans to collaborate with local bakeries and cafés on syrups, frostings, and special menu items.

“Coffee shops already use vanilla all the time,” Amy says. “This adds a meaningful, ethical alternative.”

Expanding the Ecosystem

Looking ahead, Amy envisions Repetition offering a wider lineup of direct-source items, such as cacao, nuts, fruits, and vanillas from other regions. Just as coffee reflects the land and people who cultivate it, she explains, vanilla also holds the distinct qualities of the environment it comes from.

“We could eventually feature vanillas from multiple farmers, just like we do with coffee,” she says.

A Natural Next Step

What began as a homestay in Uganda and a mesmerizing trip to Charles’ town, Jinja, on the Nile has grown into a partnership built on trust, sustainability, and shared purpose.

“This feels like the next natural step toward everything we care about: quality, relationships, sustainability, curiosity,” Amy says. “It’s a new realm to explore, but one that still feels like home.”