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Coffee is People

Coffee is a crop harvested from the earth, but truly coffee is a craft harvested from many years of effort and passion and luck. Meet some of the coffee producers we are privileged to work with and help us celebrate them.

Guatemala

Edwin Martinez

In the sixty three years since Don Felipe founded Finca Vista Hermosa, a lot has changed. Electricity and dirt roads have come to the steep mountainsides of Huehuetenango. Most smallholder farmers have their own wet mills. But access to the specialty market is still limited, and most farmers still operate at a loss. Twenty years ago, Felipe's grandson Edwin Martinez had a vision to directly connect smallholder farmers in Guatemala with quality-driven roasters around the world for sustainable relationships. With many failures and a bit of success, Edwin began importing the family's coffee to the US for our first coffee roasting company, and began working with neighboring producers the family knew well. Edwin Martinez's coffee is always impeccable.

Edwin's Coffees

Ethiopia

Abaneyeh Yunna

In the lush highlands of Daye Bensa, nestled within the vibrant landscapes of Sidama, Ethiopia, Abayneh Yunna, is bringing energy and a passion for coffee and coffee people to bear on his entire region.  Abayneh's story, interwoven. with the rich tapestry of the Betibiroti project, paints a picture of exotic landscapes, passionate communities, and the aroma of coffee that lingers in the air like a fragrant promise.

But Abayneh is not just a man of coffee; he is also the director of ShantaGenet Elementary school, a beacon of education sponsored by Ardent Coffee. A father of one with another on the way, Abayneh embodies the spirit of growth and prosperity that permeates all his projects.

Abaneyeh's Coffees

El Salvador

Carlos Pola

When it comes to coffee production, Carlos Pola’s approach is constantly evolving. It’s incredible to spend time on these projects every year because we know there will be new and exciting innovations in processing.

Carlos Pola cultivates coffee in a dramatically new and sustainable manner. While continuously experimenting with new processing methods, Pola produces honeys, naturals, and controlled fermentations consistently. His passion for traceability led him to develop an application used by his farm team to track all stages from harvest through green exportable; something he hopes to share with other producers. He’s driven by supporting the coffee-growing community of Juayúa and the surrounding Apaneca-Ilamatepec region. 

Carlos's Coffees

El Salvador

Maria Pacaas

Maria Pacas comes from a storied coffee family in El Salvador. We have counted Maria and the Pacas family as friends since 2008 when we first met them. Over the years, at various companies we have done some wonderful projects with them. Maria Pacas and her family own several small to mid sized farms in El Salvador. Finca La Providencia and Finca La Esperanza are the most well known. They have their own wet and dry mill and they have won the Cup of Excellence multiple times. Maria manages the entire coffee operation from seed to export overseeing not only the fincas but the wet and dry mill and export operations as well. Fun fact: her family also makes amazing Salvadoran rum.

Maria's Coffees

Guatemala

Juan Diego De La Cerda

We have been working with Juan Diego (aka the Silver Fox) since 2009. El Socorro is one of the most award winning fincas in all of Guatemala and is a coffee farm of unsurpassable beauty in the highlands of Central Guatemala roughly 50 kilometers from Guatemala City. El Socorro’s prized coffees are a result of its high altitude location combined with University trained agronomist Juan Diego’s great attention to detail. He has spurred the farm's focus on quality coffee production with advanced processing techniques including warm water fermentation, which speeds up the fermentation process. In this shorter period of fermentation, the coffee grain keeps its density & maintains the coffee's components intact.

Diego's Coffees

Costa Rica

Francisca Cubillo

Beneficio Las Lajas ranks as one of the most progressive, high-quality coffee mills in all of Costa Rica. Francisca Cubillo and Oscar Chacón are the third generation of coffee producers in Costa Rica and the first ones to process their own coffee. It all starts with their farming practices; Las Lajas is a certified organic farm. These third-generation producers focus on preserving the environment while maintaining the highest quality coffee. We have worked with Francisca since 2009. She is a major force in driving quality improvements all over Costa Rica and beyond. Her processing advances literally changed the landscape of specialty coffee as we know it. 

 

Francisca's Coffees

Ask The Right Questions

What is Proportional Pricing?

Out of the $400 billion coffee industry, a meager 5% stays where it's grown, leaving farmers with crumbs. At Torque, we're rewriting this injustice. Our radical approach ensures equity for coffee producers, shifting power dynamics.

Here's the game-changer: Coffee producers were pre-paid a guaranteed 20% upfront based on the retail price of their coffee. Simple. Transparent. Fair. We call it Proportional Pricing©. Pay more, they earn more. This reshapes the value equation.

No more opaque systems. No more exploitation. We start with the value you see on the shelf, ensuring 20% flows back to the hands that cultivate your cup. It's called Proportional Pricing©, a seismic shift in coffee's worth chain. It's farmer equity, pure and simple.

We're breaking norms, building a fairer future. Torque Coffees reverse-engineered the chain, advocating for a balanced, equitable industry. It's time to empower those who make your coffee. Together, let's dismantle inequality in the coffee world.

torque coffee proportional farmer equity

What is Carbon Beautiful?

Since we are all on the consumption end of things we can never get to carbon neutral without stealing the carbon positive from coffee farmers. So instead of aiming for a negative, we are striving to destroy less and be as carbon beautiful as we can.

The Torque Coffee Bag

  

     

    100% Plastic Free

    100% Compostable & Biodegradable 

    100% Plant Based

    plastic free packaging

     

    We have partnered with Better Packing Co to be even more carbon Beautiful!

    Every order is packed loving in either:

    the brilliant ZeroPack mailer Made mostly from limestone quarry waste and a minimal amount of recycled resin as a binding agent. 

    YES THESE bags are made of freaking limestone!

    zero pack mailer

     The Zero Pack is a truly remarkable process! 

    CARBON NEUTRAL
    We offset any carbon emission from this already low energy production process.

    • Production of these mailers is solar-powered and uses no water, acids or bleaches. It's also 'zero waste' because all off-cuts can be put 'back in to the pot' and recycled.

    ------------------

     

     For larger multi bag orders and for wholesale orders we use the equally brilliant

    BAMBOO Box!

    These boxes are made mostly from bamboo (and some recycled wood pulp). They are just the thing to ship precious goods in. Curbside recyclable, reusable (at least a couple of times) and compostable. 

    Unbleached, FSC certified Bamboo (2/3) and recycled wood pulp (1/3).
    • Water-based printing ink.

    bamboo shipper 

     

    Do you sell Wholesale?

    YES we do!!

    Our mission is to bring you super sweet coffee from some of the best coffee producers anywhere, who share in the equity of every coffee you buy.

    1. Beautiful Coffees

    We aim to show that amazing coffees, sourced with intention & focus, roasted exquisitely, & blended culinarily, can achieve immense sweetness, clarity & balance. We deliver incredible coffees that delight your senses and that your customers can drink cup after cup and still crave more.

    Whether a beautiful coffee composition or a delightful single origin, you will taste all the nuance of the producers art and the complexity of the roasters art in every coffee. Sweetness is queen.

     

    2. Radical Equity

    We believe that coffee producers deserve a greater equity share of coffee. So we created a model where Coffee Producers get equity in the full value of coffee. Torque pre-pays our coffee producers 20% of the retail price, & 35% of the wholesale price of our roasted coffee. It’s called Proportional Pricing and it’s radical equity.

    Proportional Pricing:

    Torque's wholesale coffee pricing follows the same radical farmer equity model as our retail pricing. Wholesale prices deliver 35% equity to all of our coffee producers in both blends and single origins. The higher the wholesale price the more the producer was paid, but the ratio remains constant at 35% so both producers and you know exactly how much equity the producers received.

     

    beautiful coffees wholesale

    3. Carbon Beautiful

    We are just as intentional about environmental sustainability as we are about economic sustainability. All of our paper products are recycled, FSC certified and home compostable including shipping labels, our retail coffee bags & boxes.

    Torque bulk coffees come in a unique zero waste, reusable format that eliminates packaging waste while ensuring ultimate freshness and flavor. Combined with our 100% compostable retail coffee bags you can radically improve your carbon footprint while growing sales and making happy customers.

    Reduce, Reuse, Rad:

    Torque wholesale coffees are delivered in reusable/returnable canisters to eliminate 100% of all waste. With our patented adjustable lid with one way valve it's easy to order exactly how many pounds of each coffee you need since each can holds any amount from 3-15lbs each. Order exactly how much you need of each coffee weekly. Zero waste and always fresh sweet coffee.

    beautiful coffees wholesale

    4. Fanatical Support

    We know how hard it is to run a successful coffee bar. We empower you to connect with your customers with great coffee signage & marketing materials. We empower you to grow revenue and profit with our unique training program and help you serve coffee that tastes amazing cup after cup.

    Seed to Cup:

    We have deep experience in building quality focused coffee programs and work with your entire team to help you grow and succeed.Our comprehensive training program is custom tailored to your unique needs.

    Our mission is to build long term partnerships with our coffee producers and our coffee partners. We believe that a rising sea floats all boats and that together we can make the world a better place.

    It’s wonderful, radical, proportional and equitable. It’s what coffee should be.

     

    Let's talk about a partnership to bring beautiful coffees, radical equity and remarkable sustainability to your coffee program. 

    We can create a custom coffee program to match your budget and goals.

    How Do I contact You?

    We are Torque

    We aim to be Coffee’s Nemesis. Our goal is to break the coffee supply chain. Break it by torquing the value balance. Give value where value is due. Its simple: we value the producers work based on the value to us. 20% of the retail price of the coffee is due the producer. 

    We put the power in your hands. You are the torque that breaks the chains and forces equilibrium. Your choices create a new triangle chain and rebalance risk and reward. No feel good stories, no comforting words. Just proof backed by data.

      What's Your Story?

      We are Coffee People.

      We are Nanelle & Andy Newbom and we are two Coffee Lifers. In our whirlwind journey through coffee over the last 21 years we have been hands-on in nearly every aspect of the industry. We have been baristas, bar backs, cashiers, roasters, machine techs, green coffee buyers, coffee trainers, barista & roaster competitors, cuppers, judges, wet & dry mill operators, exporters, importers, and coffee brokers. From co-founding the Barista Guild of America, Barefoot Coffee Roasters and IPCoffees Mexico Importers to directing the coffee programs for multiple coffee companies we have surrounded ourselves with the magic of coffee and the magic of coffee people.

       

      We are People People.

      Nanelle and Andy

      We have done many things in coffee, while visiting and even living in coffee producing countries, and having a multitude of amazing life-changing experiences. The one true constant is people. Coffee people to be exact. Coffee people are simply the best people, period. If you know us you already know that we are both madly in love with coffee. But you also know that our true love, our deepest heart, is our love for all the wonderful, crazy misfits and dreamers we call coffee people. And if you don’t know us yet, but you are here now, then we will gladly call you coffee people. Let’s get to know each other through coffee. 

      A short list of the Coffee Projects we have founded, built or developed since we first started in coffee in 2001.

      1. Barista Guild of America - Co-Founder
      2. Barefoot Coffee Roasters - Founders
      3. Tablon Coffee El Salvador - Founders
      4. Brew Revolution - Founders
      5. IPCoffees Mexico Exporters/Importers - Co-Founder
      6. Coffee Spanish for Coffee People - Author
      7. Elephant Coffee Importer - Director 
      8. Swell Coffee Co. - Director of Coffee
      9. Sleeping Tiger Coffee - Director of Coffee
      10. Equal Exchange - Worker Owner

       

       

       

       

      Our Mission. 

      Coffee that's easy to love:

      We aim to show that amazing coffees sourced with intention and focus, roasted exquisitely and blended culinarily can achieve immense sweetness, clarity and balance. In short we aim to deliver incredible coffees that delight your senses and that you can drink cup after cup and still crave more. No guesses, no quizzes, no misses and no weird stuff. Sweetness is queen.

      Coffee that shares the love:

      We want to bring the coffee industry into equilibrium. Our goal is to break the coffee supply chain. Break it by torquing the value balance. Give value where value is due. Its simple: we value the producers work based on the value to us. 20% of the retail price of the coffee is due the producer. 

      We put the power in your hands. You are the torque that breaks the chains and forces equilibrium. Your choices create a new triangle chain and rebalance risk and reward. No feel good stories, no comforting words. Just proof backed by data.