How We Choose Our Coffee Partners

If you’ve ever wondered how coffee is sourced at Stone Creek, or what we really mean when we talk about relationships, this is the behind-the-scenes tour. No smoke. No mirrors. Just people, coffee, and a whole lot of learning in progress. 

Why Relationships Matter in Coffee

Coffee doesn’t come from a shelf. It comes from people. And the way those people are treated by the system, by buyers, by partners shows up unmistakably in the cup.

The Traditional Model

A transactional conflict where a buyer wants the lowest price and a seller needs the highest, creating instability that compromises quality.

That tension creates instability, something the broader coffee industry has been unpacking for years. When producers can’t predict income, long-term planning disappears. Quality, sustainability, and people all lose.

Our Model: Direct Trade, the Relational Kind

We choose a direct trade coffee model because it replaces conflict with collaboration.

This is a collaborative alliance where we work as a unified team. The relationship allows us to align interests, share risks, and plan long-term together. This connection is the essential tool for unlocking the highest quality in the cup. If you want to dig deeper, watch these MAP IT FORWARD Podcast episodes (1466, 1467, & 1468), which dive into how relational sourcing actually works in practice. Or read up on Roast Magazine's Relationship Coffee & Direct Trade article.

Our Partner Selection Process

Choosing coffee partners isn’t about checking a single box. It’s about finding people who want to build something better, together.

Taste-First Collaboration

Our process begins by tasting and calibrating to define the specific flavor profiles we seek. We then enter a dialogue with producers, clearly communicating these targets. This enables a shift from "grow then sell" to "produce for a relationship," reducing risk for them and ensuring we receive the desired quality. 

This approach mirrors what we’ve shared before in our Farm-to-Cup Ethos. 

Sustainability & Ethics

This collaborative model is built on a fair and transparent system. Our work with Azahar Coffee provides the structure. Their use of the Sustainable Coffee Buyer’s Guide (SCBG) helps establish price references that support living incomes.

In parallel, Azahar operates the Pickers Project, a program designed to formalize farm labor by providing stable wages and benefits to coffee pickers, the skilled workforce behind great harvesting.

Long-Term Commitment

We seek producers who are committed to multi-year collaboration. That stability is what makes meaningful ethical investment possible.

Spotlight on a Partner: Azahar Coffee

Relationships only matter if they work in the real world. Here’s what ours looks like in action.

Our Relationship in Action

We work with Azahar Coffee because their model supports every critical role in coffee production: The Farmer, The Picker, and The Processor. These roles sometimes overlap, but each one matters.

Three-Part Impact Through Relationship

The Farmer
With clear quality targets and price references informed by SCBG data, farmers can plan with confidence instead of uncertainty.

The Picker
Through the Pickers Project, skilled laborers receive stable salaries and benefits. This consistency supports precise harvesting, essential for meeting shared quality goals. Azahar’s own overview of the program offers a deeper look at how this model improves both quality and equity.

The Processor
Long-term security allows processors to fine-tune fermentation and drying methods to match agreed-upon flavor profiles, rather than defaulting to what’s fastest or safest.

Origin Connection

Through Azahar, we source coffee from Colombia, where this holistic model supports both community resilience and cup quality. You can explore more about our Colombian coffees on our single-origin coffee product pages.

The Impact of Direct Trade

This is where it all comes together.

Economic & Quality Impact

This model creates a virtuous cycle. Clear targets and purchase security empower producers to invest in best practices, leading to higher quality. This justifies a premium that supports a living income, creating more stability for the next harvest.

Environmental Impact

The security of a long-term relationship allows for investment in sustainable farming and processing practices. 

Holistic Social Impact

By supporting initiatives like the Pickers Project, living wages and benefits reach the essential workforce behind every cup. That’s how equity starts to become systemic, not symbolic.

Always Learning, Always Improving

There’s still room to grow. But shifting from a transactional model to a relational one, where we value people as much as the product, is the most meaningful step the coffee industry has taken.

If you’re curious to go deeper, we recommend checking out our latest Impact Report.

We’ll keep learning. We’ll keep iterating. And we’ll keep choosing relationships, one coffee at a time. 

#NeverStopLearning