A mile above sea level on a Pacific island, a farmer heaves a sack of red ripe-picked coffee cherries up a mountain to the community processing center where she works alongside neighbors to process their crop. In the fertile Cordillera Mountains of the Philippines, these specialty arabica coffee beans offer unique flavors and a delicious cup for all.
What’s more exciting about these beans... they’re some of the rarest in the U.S, and they’re grown by Episcopal communities!
Philippines -- specialty coffee’s final frontier -- arrived on the U.S. coffee scene only 3 years ago to excitement and praise from coffee lovers. Moreover, the country’s best arabica coffee is grown by the indigenous community where the first Episcopal Church in the Philippines was established by American missionaries in 1901.
New Orleans Coffee Import Co., founded by Kellan Lyman, Trinity’s missionary in the Philippines (2016-2019), is a continuation of the economic development mission of the Episcopal Church in the Philippines. NOCI is importing a container of green specialty beans for coffee roasters, and roasting beans for coffee lovers, churches, offices & events.
Founded on the belief that we all have God-given gifts to use for our common good, NOCI “responds to human need with loving service” (3rd mark of mission). Through imagining a new way of coffee trading, NOCI strives “to transform unjust structures of society” to create a coffee community grounded in Christian fellowship (4th Mark of Mission).
NOCI’s mission is not only to deliver excellent coffee, but also to strengthen relationships within The Episcopal Church and with marginalized farmer communities. We support livelihood development through access to the U.S. market and trade practices grounded in love for our neighbor. Our beans are sourced directly from farmers, and we buy beans at more than double the Fairtrade price.
Our farmer partners work together in Episcopal church-based cooperatives, living out Christian values in
their production. NOCI is a platform for sharing their stories of Christ-inspired asset-based community development. Furthermore, fifteen percent of our profits are returned to the farmer cooperatives for their livelihood & community lending projects.
Join NOCI’s mission to connect Episcopalians and empower communities near and far through great coffee :
Pre-Order Coffee. Pre-order your roasted coffee for home, office or events at www.neworleanscoffeeimports.com.
Invest with us. If you are looking for a socially beneficial investment, please contact Kellan at Kellan@neworleanscoffeeimports.com or 678-849-8131 for more info.
Pray with us. Please join us in praying for success in this mission to build a Christ-centered community which empowers the marginalized through coffee.
Originally published on Trinity Episcopal Church's blog.