Organic, traceable and fair

Traceable coffee

TRACE BACK TO FARM seal

The "Trace back to farm" seal from unbound guarantees you as a consumer, but also us as a roaster, the highest possible transparency throughout the entire production process. Trace back to farm means that you can trace our beans back to the farm or farm cooperative. Direct contact with the farmer strengthens long-term trade relations and keeps the coffee market stable. In addition to promoting quality locally, the seal thus also ensures a fair income for the farmers.  


You want to have a closer look at the growing areas of our green coffee beans? We have listed the coordinates of the farms and farm cooperatives. Just have a look, for example at Plum Crazy (8°48'31.6 "N 82°27'24.6 "W) or at our Nutty Butty (18°59'04.8 "S 46°16'55.3 "W).  

trace back to farm seal

BIO-SIEGEL

We work with the EU organic seal. For coffee production, this means that our green coffee is produced without the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and without any genetic manipulation. Coffee from organic plantations is grown as a so-called mixed crop. This means that other plants such as banana trees and cacao act as natural shade trees and pest controllers. Coffee trees growing in the shade have more coffee cherries on their branches and thus naturally provide a higher yield. Organic coffee is carefully picked by hand. This means that only high-quality and ripe beans make it into your cup, and the coffee plant is also protected.  

organic seal unbound coffee

CLIMATE NEUTRAL SEAL

Our Pacha Mama from Peru not only tastes tremendous, but in addition to its organic seal, it is also certified as a "climate-neutral product". Together with "Fokus Zukunft GmbH & Co.KG", the climate impact of our Pacha Mama in its complete production process (sowing, water consumption, care, harvesting, transport & roasting) was calculated. This resulting CO2 footprint is offset by the purchase of climate protection certificates. Specifically, forest reforestation projects in Peru and a hydropower project in Uganda are supported with this. These and other investments can be seen as a pension and insurance for the farmers.

But it is not only at Pacha Mama that we pay attention to sustainable production. We are always looking for solutions to make the production route of coffee as climate-neutral and environmentally friendly as possible.  

Seal for climate-neutral products
Coffee farmers at coffee dry - fair trade coffee unbound

Why Trace back to farm?

We have a great interest in ensuring that people and the environment are not harmed. Missing information always offers the opportunity to deceive people. Anything that is not openly communicated can be exploited by others. Consequently, everyone else pays the price, from the workers in the field to you, the consumers. In our opinion, openness, transparency and honesty, along with consumer interest and curiosity, are the only effective measures for a better and fairer future. Once it is disclosed WHAT, WHERE and HOW is produced, those involved in the value creation process can no longer afford to cheat. 

What happens on a coffee farm?

The ripe coffee cherries are picked individually by hand in the field ("picking") or stripped from the branch ("stripping"). The kernel (coffee bean) must then be separated from the pulp. We distinguish between two basic types of processing - wet processing ("washing" or "wet process") or dry processing ("drying" or "dry process"). This process often takes place directly on the farms. Especially in areas with many small farms, several farmers join together to form so-called cooperatives, since the enormous investments for these processing plants often cannot be borne by the individual families. The coffee cherries are usually brought from the mountain to the valley, where they are sorted, processed and shipped.

Green coffee beans are sorted - fair trade coffee unbound
African woman drinking coffee

Transparency in certifications - how much truth is behind it?

We at unbound were not the only ones who had to invest a lot to get started in order to be able to offer excellent coffee. Small farms in particular have great difficulty paying for seals. Ongoing inspections, difficult conditions, the risk of crop failures - all this weighs heavily on the farmers' families. And where does the surcharge for various certificates really go? Here, too, transparency is often lacking.

Coffee cultivation and origin

Coffee is the most commonly consumed beverage in Austria and Germany. Since it can only be grown in tropical and subtropical regions, the aspect of regionality falls through the cracks. Regionally purchased products, such as the carrot from the field next door or the eggs from the farmer next door, have the advantage for us that we know where these foods come from and under what conditions they are produced. This is much more difficult in the case of organic coffee from Peru. We have to rely on certificates and seals, which are often not as transparent as we would like.  


However, due to our small structures we can offer you more. We are in constant contact with farmers and suppliers and thus learn much more about the conditions on site. We are happy to pass this information on to you 1:1, so that you can also enjoy coffee as fairly and sustainably as possible.  

Woman harvesting coffee
Coffee cherries are sorted - transparent origin at unbound

All this makes transparency and openness more important than any certificate in the world.

Now it is also up to you not to just look the other way. We will give you all the information we have and will keep in touch with the farms ourselves so that no one has to feel guilty about enjoying a good cup of coffee.