Our Mission
Our mission at Z Beans Coffee is to create sustainable communities through Transparent Trade. Through direct, fair trade practices and supply chain transparency, we are able to increase both environmental and economic sustainability for our farmer partners in Ecuador. This initiative, in turn, supports the growth and wellbeing of our farmers' families, workers, and the cities they call home.
Z Beans Coffee was founded in the summer of 2016 after an academic Mercer on Mission trip to Ecuador. The group's goal was to determine whether or not coffee farming was a viable economic alternative to gold mining in the El Oro region. While in Zaruma, one of the students, Shane Buerster, befriended the group's tour guide, Arturo Peñarreta, a 65 year old agricultural official. Before leaving, the two exchanged phone numbers in order for Shane to continue working on his Spanish in the States.
Although the class was unable to find enough coffee in El Oro to recommend an economic shift, Arturo knew from experience that there was enough coffee in Ecuador to build a business, an idea he eventually pitched to Shane. After numerous conversations, the two hatched a plan for Arturo to find farmers and for Shane to find a way to import the coffee.
Thus, Z Beans Coffee was born.
