Organic. Sustainable. Ethical. Transparent. All applicable words, but the exact implications often vary or nuance is left out. I wanted something more defined for LULO. Yes that's right. I became tired enough of today's current buzzwords that I decided to create my own. 

Slow-Sourced is my way of saying that every coffee I offer comes from an active, living, evolving relationship I have with the people responsible for growing it. Slow-source is my attempt at incapsulating that.

So what does it take for a coffee to become "slow-sourced"? 

• Begin with direct relationships.

• Maintain honest and open dialogue about everything.

• Reach prices based on consensus with a focus on producer agency.

• Work with what producers have. Wait for new varieties, processes etc on their time.

• Implement a comprehensive purchasing program to account for every type of coffee they grow. 

• Increase commitments with the same producers until sustainable volumes have been met for both parties before seeking other sources.

• Limit origins to streamline logistics and strengthen relationships - only add new ones when previous requirements can be met. 

• Involve producers in their own storytelling to represent them as best as possible. 

I want you to know that if you're drinking a cup of LULO, it wasn't sourced by accident. It wasn't chosen out of 100s of coffees on a cupping table. Rather it was sourced slowly, with as much intention and love as it gets every other step of the way.

Each coffee is the tangible result of mutual collaboration and respect from it's cultivation to it's consumption and that's something to get stoked on.