News + Blog | Higher Grounds Coffee – tagged "relationships" – Page 4

Relationships and Reality: The Incredible True Story of Jose Perez Vazquez

He has walked the corridors of Oslo City Hall as a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, but last December Jose Perez Vasquez had his eyes searching the concrete sidewalks of Chicago for...

Join the 2017 Chiapas Sustainable Coffee Origin Trip

Join us on an adventure through the Chiapan Highlands of Mexico to spend time with our longest standing coffee growing partners, Maya Vinic, and learn about the Chiapas Water Projects we support....

Jose's Dreams: Farmer Stories (Jose, Part 3)

"Poverty has been the biggest challenge I’ve had to face in my life, but with time and dedication, I’ve been able to overcome it. I’m now able to grow some...

Daily Life: Farmer Stories (Jose, Part 2)

"Producing high-quality coffee requires a lot of passion, care, enthusiasm and hope, because the process is long. Today we plant coffee trees that we won’t be able to harvest any...

Growing Organic Coffee in Chenalho, Chiapas, Mexico

How much does it actually cost to grow organic coffee in the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico? Jose, our long time friend and co-founder of the Maya Vinic cooperative, explains how much...

Supporting Gender Equality in Eastern Congo

"The GALS has improved the economy of so many households. The women and children are now participating in the decision-making in their household and community, and they have now joint...

The Power of Co-ops: Farmer stories (Jose, Part 1)

“Before the creation of Maya Vinic, I had to deal with middlemen—coyoteros—who would use their own unreliable scales to cheat us out of kilos of coffee. Many told us coffee...

Meet Jose, Maya Vinic Founder and Farmer

It is for Jose and all those he represents that we strive to share our circular model of business with the larger specialty coffee community, pushing our colleagues and competitors...

Eastern Congo: the Last Bastion of Specialty Coffee

I’ve been captured by the allure of one of the last standing bastions of potential for specialty coffee production left in the world. I write this as I travel across...