Mitie's catering company, Gather & Gather has launched an exclusive coffee for workplace consumers, ‘Camino’, developed to ensure a focus on sustainability from bean to bin.
Camino represents Gather & Gather’s commitment to forging ‘upstream’ supplier relationships that impact positively on the growers and the communities in which they live and work.
Sourced from small plantations in the hills of Jaen, Peru, in addition to being paid a fair price, the farmers will also benefit from sustainable development support. This will help increase the quality of the coffee which, over time, should deliver improved incomes and lead to opportunities for better housing, education and healthcare.
The aim is to support the local community by improving the infrastructure and upskilling the coffee farmers by identifying areas of highest impact, such as waste water management. Water is used in coffee processing, and it can contaminate local water sources if not correctly processed. The aim of the first community project is to create a solution for this, filtering the water before it returns into the ecosystem.
As well as creating a quality of cup of coffee, Camino will come full circle by ensuring traditional waste products such as the chaff (the coffee husk) from roasting are put to good use too. Instead of being sent to landfill, chaff is recycled to provide bedding for dairy cattle in the winter months. The used bedding is then removed and composted with manure to use as organic material for arable land.
Gather & Gather has chosen to partner with artisan roaster Union Coffee which, as well as working directly with the farmers in Peru, will hand-roast the beans in East London exclusively for Gather & Gather clients. The resulting Camino cup is a delicious and versatile roast with notes of red berry jam, dark chocolate and walnuts.
Camino has already been introduced at numerous client locations, including at parent company Mitie’s headquarters at The Shard, and is receiving extremely positive feedback from customers.
Allister Richards, Managing Director, Gather & Gather, said, “Gather & Gather’s genuine love for great coffee and understanding of café culture is central to our reputation as one of the UK & Ireland’s most exciting workplace caterers. With the launch of Camino, we are simply giving our customers what they want – great taste, specialty-grade quality, and sustainable sourcing – all in one cup.
'As a responsible business, Gather & Gather’s investment into the Jaen community will ensure that the Camino farmers, and their communities, will benefit from our long-term support.”
Jeremy Torz, Co-founder, Union Hand-Roasted Coffee, said, “Union’s founding ethos has always been about bringing specialty coffee to an even wider consumer base – we believe that combining quality with fair prices and long-term relationships is the key to a sustainable coffee market, and ultimately provides the best tasting cup for consumers.
'We’re thrilled to be working closely with Gather & Gather and our farmer partners to deliver Camino to their customers.”