Our Story
Our Story
Pachamama does business differently. When our founding farmers in Peru joined forces with fellow farmers in Nicaragua and Guatemala, the collective dreamed of working as one to roast and brand their best coffees in the United States.
That was a radical idea. And almost everyone said it was impossible.
Pachamama Coffee Cooperative is defined by the shared dream of the cooperative founders and the journey that the collective has taken.
2000
Asking the right question.
It all started when farmers in Peru asked, “Why don't we roast our own coffee?” The commodity price for coffee was near historic lows and third generation coffee farms were going broke. Producing specialty coffee was not profitable for small farmers.
2003
Forming the cooperative.
Pachamama’s founding president, Raul del Aguila (COCLA), led the legal formation of the cooperative along with Merling Preza (PRODECOOP), Carlos Reynoso (Manos Campesinas) and Tadesse Meskela (OCFCU). They hired Thaleon Tremain as the co-op’s first employee in California to build the business.
2006
Finding our niche.
Pachamama Coffee sold its first pound of roasted coffee to the Davis Food Co-op. The first farmer-owned coffee brand found a niche in the independent grocery market and grew fast.
2010
Supporting the farmer.
Pachamama introduced Traceable Coffee, a World Bank funded platform enabling consumers to “Tip the Farmer”.
2011
Offering subscriptions.
Pachamama’s direct-to-consumer subscription service (Coffee C.S.A.) began and attracted coffee-drinkers from all over the United States.
2013
Expanding into retail. Roasting on our own.
The cooperative opened its first in a series of retail cafes and shortly thereafter began roasting its own coffee in Sacramento, California.
The story of Pachamama Coffee is the story of thousands of family farmers that own the cooperative. Families that - for the first time - have the opportunity to deal directly with you. That’s good for the farmer, the environment and your cup of coffee.