At Trade, we love discovering America’s best specialty coffees and sharing them with all of America. That's only possible by partnering with some truly inspiring local, independent roasters. This week, we’re headed to the heart of Tennessee to feature our friends at Good Citizen Coffee Co.
Who is Good Citizen Coffee Co.?
In 2018, the Middle Tennessee plains were a specialty-coffee desert, lacking access to the variety and quality of coffee-roasting sources that other regions enjoyed. In response—and with a core team of dedicated coffee enthusiasts in tow—Good Citizen Coffee Co. was founded to fill this void.
Since that day, Good Citizen has been built differently—with a focus on transparency in their process from the farm to their customer’s cups. Founder, Sean Stewart, told us, “I really just wanted to roast what I wanted to consume myself—so that became my mission.”
It's All About the Process
This mission to find the best coffees brought Sean to the Tarrazú region of Costa Rica, and to a farm called Cedral Alto, where he got his first taste of coffee grown through regenerative farming practices. “I’d truly never tasted anything like it,” he told us, “and it changed the whole trajectory of our business.”
Regenerative farming offers profound benefits for the coffee industry by addressing both environmental and social challenges farmers face. This approach involves practices like composting, reducing chemical inputs and integrating new crops, which enhance soil health, increase biodiversity and improve water retention.
As Sean walked around Cedral Alto, he noticed a large area dedicated to growing squash. “I was intrigued,” he said, “particularly because this land could easily be cleared for more coffee trees.” But the farm’s owner, Jorge Vasquez, explained that the squash was for the animals—”they’ll eat the squash, contribute nutrients back to the land, and encourage a healthier, more sustainable farming ecosystem.”
Sean was inspired by Jorge’s choice to prioritize long-term land investment over selling a few more bags of coffee, and he wanted to help more farms do the same.
Giving Back
Today, Good Citizen is one of the only roasters in Tennessee whose sourcing is centered around biodiverse farms. What’s more, they’ve built a profit-sharing program called Flora and Fauna, which returns 5% of all profits back to their partners.
For coffee farmers, this means the ability to invest directly in the future of biodiversity development—more resilient coffee plants and a healthier farming system. In addition, this program has helped foster social equity by supporting fair labor practices and creating better working conditions for all.
Something Exciting Coming To Trade
At Trade, we’re inspired by the team at Good Citizen and their sourcing partners at Cedral Alto, so we’ve cooked up an incredible collaboration that we’re thrilled to share exclusively with our customers—an exclusive trio featuring one coffee variety that’s been processed using THREE different styles.
Good Citizen has sourced a wonderful Catuai-variety coffee from Cedral Alto, who has then processed this coffee in batches using three different methods: a natural, washed AND honey process.
The result is an astonishing variety in flavors from the same bean—from the ultra-ripe berry flavors of the natural process, to the balanced fruit flavors of the washed process, to the beautiful combination of ripe acidity and smooth brown sugar of the honey process.
We know many of you will enjoy this rare opportunity to try three different coffee processing styles, all sourced from the same farm and roaster, but quantities are limited. Claim your bundle today so you don’t miss out.
