The (Single) Origin Story

At Grounds for Empowerment, you will often hear us talking about “origin” a lot. As in, “We’re going to Origin.” In the beverage world, you are also likely to hear the term “single” thrown around. As in, Single Malt Scotch, or Single Vineyard Wine. We can’t speak to alcoholic beverages, but when it comes to coffee, our farmers’ coffee, we don’t throw the term “single origin” around lightly. Yes, there’s a lot of trendiness afoot in marketing (especially when it comes to appealing to the conscious consumer), but words have meaning. These words have meaning. And we want to be sure that these words are meaningful to you.

So, what’s the (single) origin story?

Ivania Calderon and GFE advisor Marjorie Canjura at Finca Alborada overseeing the washing station

Well, just like any origin story—from the Earth to the Green Lantern— “origin” is where it all begins. At the roots, of our families’ histories and our families’ farms. Quite simply, in our world, “origin” means the farm, be that Finca San Antonio, Finca El Oasis, or Finca Alborada. “Origin” is where the beans are planted, grown, and harvested. It’s where generations have passed, struggles have been fought (some lost, some won), where the children have been raised, where lessons have been learned. Origin is the beginning. Origin is everything.

Single Origin Coffee is one farm’s history in a one-pound bag. No one else’s.

So, if you’re buying a bag of Finca El Oasis coffee, you’re only getting beans harvested from plants that Ramona Diaz and her husband, love, and greatest partner grew in San Juan de Rio Coco, Nicaragua. If you’re buying a bag of Finca San Antonio coffee, you’re only getting beans harvested from plants that Alexa Marin grew, alongside the ghost of her fearless mother, in Dipilito, Nicaragua. And, if you’re buying a bag of Finca Alborado coffee, you’re only getting beans harvested from plants that Ivania Calderon grew while working at the coop, her mother managing the farm in Wiwili de Jinotega (returning the favor of Ivania’s hard work on the farm as a child).

Because each bag of Grounds for Empowerment coffee is single origin, it has a flavor as distinct as its history. Coffee from Ivania’s Finca Alborada have a cherry and nutty flavor profile. Coffee from Ramona’s Finca El Oasis have hints of dark chocolate and vanilla. And beans from Alexa’s Finca San Antonio taste of honey and cocoa.

In our modern, mechanized, mass-produced world, “single origin” is more than a buzz word, it’s an invitation into a family’s past, and a promise of its future.

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Written by GFE Advisor Amanda Avutu

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