From many places and people!

We buy the vast majority of our coffee from small-scale farmers and co-operatives. Research supports that supporting cooperatives has more widespread positive impact throughout the community than is common when purchasing from individual businesses, such as independently owned estates or larger farms. 

From there, we work primarily with trusted intermediaries called importers, who work to move our coffee from the country of origin to our warehouse and roasting facility in Montreal.

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Yes! Our bags are made from 60% paper (wood pulp) and 40% bioplastic made from corn. They are certified biodegradable (TUV OK Home Compost Certification), and decompose in a backyard compost or commercial compost facility. Please remove the label and one-way degassing valve as these items unfortunately are not compostable at this time and must be disposed of in the garbage.

In short, no, because we do not believe Organic Certification to be the highest impact way to improve farm-level and coffees carbon footprint (to read the nitty gritty that forms this opinion, scroll down below). We consider the environmental impact of coffee production and our entire supply chain, and stand committed to reduction of our businesses carbon footprint in the following ways:

- We donate $0.01c (USD) per pound of coffee to World Coffee Research whose mission is to create a toolbox of coffee varieties, genetic resources and accompanying technologies and to disseminate them strategically and collaboratively in producing countries to alleviate constraints to the supply chain of high quality coffee. In 2022, this contribution was $888USD. - We invest in biodegradable packaging for our coffee bags, in 2022 that was 52,483 coffee bags redirected from long term landfill. - In 2022, we composted over 7000 LBS of ground coffee from 3 on 4 of our cafes. - 46% of our e-commerce deliveries in 2022 were effected by carbon neutral shipping methods (bike courier, picked up in store or our zero-net ground ship partners Boxknight) The Nitty Gritty: To earn organic certification, coffee farmers must use an agriculture system that produces food-supporting biodiversity and enhances soil health. They can only use approved substances and organic farming methods. Many of the coffees that we buy adhere to all the principles of organic farming, but the farmer or cooperative simply has not paid to have the organization certified, or has failed to meet the criteria due to small matters that would not otherwise contradict the principles behind the certification. Achieving certification is a costly and long-term process that many farmers struggling in cyclical poverty cannot access. For this reason, we support and encourage smallholder farmers who practice ecologically sustainable farming practices, whether or not they are third-party certified, on their pathway to obtaining organic certification, or already certified.

The short answer is - yes, we pay beyond Fair Trade minimum prices and provide you more traceability and price transparency than Fair Trade certification regulates. The long answer follows, as conversations on "ethical sourcing" are complex: In 2024, we paid 80% higher than Fair Trade minimum prices. We publish our prices in an annual transparency report available to industry and our customers. Our vision of responsible pricing and payments for coffee includes certifications, but is not limited to coffees that have them. Why? Because certified coffees can contribute to the development of  a sustainable industry, but they are not the only, and not always the easiest or price accessible pathway for a farmer or farmer group to adopt, furthermore they do not guarantee transparency and a two way conversation between a farmer and a buyer like us.

First of all, what is Fair Trade? Fair Trade sets a minimum price ($1.80/lb FOB) to help protect farmers from earning low commodity market prices that are the dominant economic model in our industry. But this minimum price is just a floor—and often no longer covers the true cost of producing specialty coffee, which ranges from $1.30–$2/lb. Additionally, the minimum Fair Trade price is is paid to the exporter, and farmers may only receive 60–80% of it. We establish minimum prices paid for coffee that target a higher price than the available cost of production for a producing region, and archetypical farm structure that we buy from. Ideally, we would have cost of production information for every farm, but unfortunately, access to cost of production information is extremely complex, and its why our industry has not used it as a benchmark for building ethical price benchmarks against. We believe paying above the cost of production is the only , and there is momentum amongst a small consortium of responsible coffee roasters and exporters who agree. We are aligning with them to establish new standards for the value of coffee, and to increase

Here are a few of these thought leaders on the ethical price for coffee that we collaborate with: JNP Exporters and Importers - The exporters behind our Burundi coffees. Jeanine, the founder of JNP sits on the board of SCA, and is undergoing one of the worlds' first agile data approaches to calculating cost of production with 100 smallholder farmers.

Azahar coffee Exporters and Importers - We purchase coffees from Colombia through Azahar. They have conducted cost of production studies, and price their coffee to roasters based on a margin atop cost of production. We've never seen an importer apply this methodology, nor provide us with in house cost of production data and we are thrilled to buy their coffees and improve the transparency of the entire value chain economics for coffees we source from Colombia moving forward.

The Specialty Coffee Transaction Guide - Dispatch has been donating our pricing data for coffee contracts since 2018 to this research project out of Emory University, who publishes prices paid by importers and roasters for different quality tiers and volume tiers. This report annually acts as another benchmark to the commodity market pricing model, and Fair Trade certification models.

In short, no, and we do not associate this phrase with a high(er) impact way of purchasing coffee than how we currently do. We will try to unpack this further here:

“Direct Trade” is a model that favours the elimination of intermediaries between producers and roasters. It is important to highlight that “eliminating intermediaries” does NOT necessarily means more money goes to the farmers than when coffee is traded through intermediaries like importers:

“Direct Trade” has been commonly defined in our industry as an approach to purchasing coffee from the farmer to the roaster. This may be possible in certain producing countries, and with certain farm archetypes where farmers have the foundational structures in place to export their own coffee and access markets abroad. However, there are many millions of farmers who rely on cooperatives, collection centres, mills and exporters to move to the roasting phase of the distribution chain. This is the prevalent  structure in most of the producing countries where our coffees come from..

Decreasing intermediaries does not inherently lead to increasing income for farmers 

In some form, all coffee is traded through intermediaries. Not only is there a wide variety  of “farm archetypes”, but there are also a myriad of intermediary structures between farmers and roasters. All coffee must move through four primary steps before final consumption, and in each of these stages, there can be multiple local actors or agents required to move coffee from one step to the next: from cultivation (in producing country), to  processing into green coffee (in producing country), to  roasting (generally in consuming country), and, finally, to d) packaging/retailing (generally in consuming country).

We choose to purchase most of our coffee from smallholder farmers (holding less than 10 hectares of land) because research supports  that this is where we can have the greatest impact, both economically and socially. Smallholder farmers tend to be the  most vulnerable coffee producers, and those with the  least market access  in the traditional coffee supply chain. They are also plentiful - over 25 million of them produce 80% of our world’s coffee. 

In order to access smallholder farmers, informal producers associations, and cooperatives, we need to work with intermediaries. Importers, the intermediaries that we most frequently communicate with, are carefully selected business partners. We require that they  share key aspects of our vision toward increasing farmers’ economic agency, and they often have long standing relationships with cooperatives  and smallholder farmers. All of our importers have active, on-the-ground presence in the producing countries they represent, allowing them to  provide pricing and impact traceability to buyers like us, and to better understand the personalized needs of each farming community. 

The positive impacts of "Direct trade” are only as effective as the roaster who is buying the coffee. Traditionally, roasters hold the largest margins of any intermediary in the coffee supply chain. If direct trade is able to transmit more of the roaster’s costs directly to the farmer, thereby increasing the farmer income, this is good, in principle, but direct trade can just as easily enable roasters to simply keep more of the total margin without meaningfully increasing the farmer income, and furthermore without  supporting  the operations of value-driven importers like those we choose to work with.

We know our coffee might seem expensive at first glance. Here’s why:

1. Fair prices that truly support farmers We pay smallholder farmers about 80% more than Fair Trade minimum prices. Ethical certifications are not a replacement for price transparency — we publish our prices in an annual transparency report and ensure our prices surpass the known cost of production for a farmer. We are dedicated to increasing price transparency for consumers, and anchoring our claims of ethical sourcing and prices in data.

2. Honest pricing without inflated markups While many grocery brands have raised their prices by over 15%, we haven’t increased our subscription rates and pricing since 2022, despite a 24% rise in our own costs. We price honestly and transparently, not opportunistically, reflecting the real costs behind every bag.

3. Exceptional quality, from farm to cup Our beans are fresher and higher quality than most premium grocery brands. Many supermarket coffees are roasted over a year ago and harvested up to three years prior, while our coffee scores a minimum 83.5 cup score per the Specialty Coffee Association’s grading — with some of our coffees as high as 86.75. Leading grocery brands typically score 80-82.75. Quality starts at the farm and is maintained through every step of our supply chain and roasting process, ensuring you get a superior cup every time.

4. Supporting a Canadian, women-owned small business By choosing our coffee, you support a local, women-owned business committed to paying living wages, reinvesting in ethical and sustainable practices, and fostering transparent, long-term relationships with producers.

We currently only deliver by bicycle in Montreal. Please see the postal codes that fall within our delivery designation. See bike delivery zone

If you select ground shipment, and are within the island of Montreal, you can expect 48 hours to 3 business days from your checkout completion to your shipment.

If you select pick up in store and have a Dispatch location near by (Toronto or Montreal cities only), you may pick up your order as soon as you receive your order confirmation email!

If your shipping address falls outside of Montreal and you select ground shipping, you can expect 5-7 business days maximum to receive your order after completing checkout. Recurring subscriptions default to 4 weeks from the date you placed your first subscription order. This date may be modified, adjusted or advanced in your account portal. We are continuously working to balance fastest delivery turnaround from order processing while keeping shipping costs affordable to you.

• Coffee Beans are non-returnable and non-refundable.

• Coffee Subscriptions that have been processed, or Pre-Paid Subscriptions are not refundable. You can login to your Account and cancel your next month’s delivery up until your next order is processed. Your next charge date is indicated in your Account. We always send an email reminder 72 hours before we charge you.

• Unused Equipment and in-original packaging can be returned and fully refunded within 30 days of purchase and order confirmation. E-mail us at info@disptachcoffee.ca to inquire about a return. Your refund will be processed in your bank account approximately 5-10 business days after we receive the returned equipment. Original shipping charges are non-refundable. Shipping charges incurred in connection with the return of a product are non-refundable.

• Used Equipment is non-returnable and non-refundable. Please see manufacturer's warranty when applicable.

1. Log in to your account using the Account icon on the navigation bar at the top of this page.

2. In the "Manage My Subscription" section, you will find the next forecasted charge date. After this charge date, our team will process and ship out the order within two business days. Depending on which shipping method you selected (bike courier, pick-up in store, or ground ship), and where you are located, you will receive your order within 24 to 8 business days.

1. Log in to your account using the Account icon on the navigation bar at the top of this page.

2. In the "Manage My Subscription" section, you will see a date at the top of your account for your next order. It is on this date that your credit card on file will be charged.

You can modify your monthly subscription several ways: - Pause your subscription for 1 or 3 months. - Advance or delay your upcoming order at any time by choosing a new shipment date.

All of these changes can be made directly in your account. If you'd like to change your shipment frequency from 4 weeks or 8 weeks, please email us at info@dispatchcoffee.ca

Please note, we will always send you an e-mail notification 72 hours before your next upcoming charge.

Enter your account and scroll down until you see the “change password” section. If you cannot access your account, click the Account icon on the top navigation bar, on the Login pop-up window, you will see a prompt to Reset Password. Follow the instructions ensuing in your e-mail!

You will receive an e-mail notification when your order is ready for pick-up. Show up at the cash at any of our eligible cafés for pick up of e-commerce orders (4021 Boulevard St-Laurent, Montreal or 390 Bay Street, Toronto) and you will be asked to present a piece of identification to claim your delivery! Pick-ups must occur during store hours, see here!

We accept most major credit card providers, such as Visa, Mastercard and Discover. Unfortunately, at this time, we cannot accept American Express, money orders, e-transfers, cash, or cheques. 

There is not significant variation among our roast levels or colours - all could be described as medium/medium-light. We differentiate our coffees by where they come from. We roast each of our coffees to be sweet, clear, and versatile enough to taste delicious as both espresso and filter. When we roast a coffee, we develop a recipe that will represent it to its fullest potential, no matter how you brew at home.

For those who prefer certain flavour profiles for their favourite brewing methods, feel free to let us know what you're looking for and we'll be happy to help you find it: info@dispatchcoffee.ca 

No, we do not add flavouring to our coffee! Our tasting notes are the aromas and tastes that our roasters perceive in the cup when we source, grade and taste each coffee origin in our production facility - these flavours are 100% natural and intrinsic in the coffee bean and come from many variables such as the geographic region, plant varietal and processing method of that coffee. Coffee is the seed of a fruit called a cherry and just like grapes for wine, a coffee fruit from Ethiopia or Guatemala will taste entirely differently. A large part of our product philosophy is to highlight each origin's unique flavours, instead of standardizing the taste of all of our coffees with the roasting process.

Bitterness is a characteristic of over-extracted coffee which means that ground coffee has been in contact with water for too long. The quickest variable to modify that may reduce bitterness is coarsening your grind by one grind setting. This will allow water to flow through the coffee bed at a faster rate and reduce over-extraction. Do this while using the same dose of coffee until you find your desired sweet spot.  You can check out our how to brew page for more tips on optimizing your brew, or reach out to us with questions at info@dispatchcoffee.ca