Hi friends, Happy New Year from Revelstoke.
As a small business, we spend a lot of time thinking about what it means to stay healthy, sustainable, and growing — not only for ourselves, but alongside the other small businesses around us. We’re lucky to live in a place where new shops, cafés, gyms, and creative spaces keep opening, and where we show up for one another. When you choose to support local, your money stays here and moves between neighbours and businesses, strengthening the community we all share. Thank you!
The more we learn about coffee, the more we see that same pattern reflected elsewhere. Smallholder farmers — who grow most of the world’s coffee — rely on their local economies just as we rely on ours. When they’re paid fairly, value stays close to home. When they aren’t, profits leave and larger conglomerates benefit instead. This month, we wanted to talk honestly about what that means for coffee, and what it asks of us as roasters.
As you scroll down or click on the links to the articles, you’ll find the first instalment of our quarterly zine — a way for us to share more with you throughout the year. In this issue, you’ll find a transcript of our conversation with one of our importers, Brendan Adams of Semilla Coffee, whose work is rooted in long-term relationships with growers in single communities.
You’ll also find a reflection on something many of us are noticing at the till: prices going up. Climate change is contributing to the decline of arabica, reshaping quality, stability, and supply far beyond the niche world of specialty coffee. We take a closer look at what arabica actually is, how the industry is adapting, and what it means for consumers.
Three years into Holm, we’re always thinking about how to build relationships that last, in solidarity with small businesses everywhere.
If you’d like to read more, we’d love for you to spend some time with it: Click to the links below to access our articles. Thanks, as always, for being part of this with us.
Simon & Izzy
Holm
