Pachamama, the original farmer-owned coffee roaster and UC Davis align in their leadership in sustainability.
September 23, 2024; Sacramento, California — Pachamama Coffee, a globally recognized farmer-owned coffee company, announces its new partnership with UC Davis to serve its premium organic coffee at the two ASUCD (Associated Students, University of California, Davis)-run Coffee Houses (CoHos) on the university campus in Davis and across the entire UC Davis Health campus in Sacramento. This collaboration brings together Pachamama’s gold standard for sustainability in coffee with UC Davis’ renowned leadership in sustainability and farm-to-fork initiatives.
Pachamama Coffee is fully owned and governed by smallholder farmers in Peru, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Mexico, and Ethiopia. This unique business model empowers farmers to maintain control and governance over their product from seed to cup, ensuring that the highest-quality coffee reaches consumers while returning all profits to the farmers themselves.
Pachamama Coffee’s commitment to a shorter supply chain enhances the coffee’s quality by keeping the beans closer to their source, limiting travel time and connecting the farmers directly to their best customers. This preserves the beans’ distinctive flavors and reflects the unique terroir of their origin.
The farmer-owners of Pachamama produce organic, shade-grown beans that are nurtured under their ideal conditions and allowed to mature slowly, developing a rich, complex character that boasts vivid notes of chocolate, nuts, and subtle fruitiness without harsh acidity.
The 100% farmer-owned model is vital in guaranteeing high-quality coffee by sourcing beans directly from farmers who are both invested in and benefit from the company’s success. By choosing Pachamama Coffee, UC Davis students, faculty, staff, patients, and visitors will not only enjoy exceptionally well-roasted and brewed coffee, but will also support a business that prioritizes farmers’ livelihoods and environmental stewardship.
"We are thrilled to partner with UC Davis and, for the first time, directly connect a North American university with thousands of coffee growers around the world,” says Thaleon Tremain, Co-Founder & CEO of Pachamama Coffee. “Pachamama was born and raised in Davis, where we launched the country’s first farmer-owned coffee brand out of a garage. It’s an honor to serve our coffee here at home to the students, faculty, and staff who share our vision of empowering smallholder farmers and regenerative farming practices.”
Pachamama Coffee's partnership with UC Davis brings a powerful alignment of values, enhancing the university’s mission as the nation’s most sustainable campus. By providing single-origin, organic coffee directly from the farmers themselves, Pachamama advances UC Davis' commitment to environmental responsibility, social impact, and community well-being. This collaboration extends to the UC Davis Health campus, renowned for its “farm-to-fork” philosophy, reinforcing the university’s leadership in sustainable food choices while showcasing Pachamama’s role in fostering a more equitable and environmentally conscious food system.
“The ASUCD Coffee House is proud to partner with Pachamama Coffee, a Davis-born leader in sustainable and socially-responsible coffee. This collaboration reinforces the CoHo’s long tradition of leadership in sustainable food services, while taking the quality of our coffee to a whole new level,” says Darin Schluep, Foodservice Director at ASUCD.
This partnership continues the company’s twenty-four year legacy in the Davis community beginning in 2000, when Nicolas D. Brown wrote Pachamama Coffee’s first business plan while attending medical school at UC Davis. In 2006, the Davis Food Co-Op became Pachamama Coffee’s first wholesale customer, and today many of its employees are UC Davis alumni, with over fifty percent of its executive leadership coming from the university. The UC Davis CoHos and Health Campus join other local Sacramento and Davis locations serving Pachamama Coffee, including the Davis Farmers’ Market, Midtown Sacramento Café, East Sacramento Café, Davis Café, and The Cooperative Café at Sacramento Natural Foods (full list of locations here).
About Pachamama Coffee
Pachamama Coffee is a global cooperative of farmers and the original farmer-owned coffee brand in North America. Based in Sacramento, California, Pachamama was founded in 2006 by thousands of smallholder coffee farmers in Peru, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Mexico and Ethiopia. In California, Pachamama roasts organic coffee daily in small batches, operates five specialty cafes, maintains a direct-to-consumer subscription service and a national wholesale program. Winner of the 2021 Specialty Coffee Association’s Sustainability Award for Business Model and winner of the 2024 Sustainable Food Award for Sustainability Pioneer.
