Responsibility
Drinking coffee is simple; making it happen is not. Our mission is to deliver a consistently exceptional coffee experience while acting responsibly with the people and lands involved in its journeyâand beyond. These are the values that drive our work and the steps that get us closer to our mission:
Itâs the reason why we exist. Weâre here to source, roast, brew and serve the coffee we dream of drinking every single day.
We enjoy exploring the different coffee varietals, processing styles and flavour profiles. That’s why, instead of buying large quantities from fewer origins, we source multiple small lots from small-scale producers worldwide.
Every coffee has unique characteristics defined by its genetics, terroir and processing method. Our role at the end of the journey takes place right at the endâroasting, packing, brewing and serving. Our purpose is to highlight the exceptional properties of each lot, honouring the hard work of those at the beginning of the chain.
We pay attention to the little details in our sourcing, production and service. It all adds up to the final experience.
The ritual of brewing and drinking an excellent coffee is something anyone can experience, whether in a cafe or at home. For us, coffee should be an approachable and accessible product; that’s why we put a lot of thought into the experience we build around it.
Thanks to coffee, we can make a living. We commit to doing business in a transparent, accountable, respectful and generous wayâspeaking honestly and leading by example.
We love sharing our progress, milestones and challenges. We avoid claiming statements without providing further evidence. We are accountable for our actions. We admit we are not perfect and have work to do.
We take the time to measure, analyse and compile meaningful metrics and stories about what each financial year has looked like for us. We hope that, further than knowing us for our product, you learn more about how we work behind the scenes.
Read our Impact Report 2022 (FY 21 /22) âŁ
Read our Impact Report 2021 (FY 20/21) âŁ
Read our Impact Report 2020 (FY 19/20) âŁ
Read our Impact Report 2019 (FY 18/19) âŁ
Read our Impact Report 2018 (FY 17/18) âŁ
We became a certified B Corporation in April 2019 and re-certified in 2022. The ‘B Corp’ Certification conveys that a business meets high standards of verified performance, accountability, and transparency on factors from employee benefits and charitable giving to supply chain practices and input materials.
Learn more about what it means to be a certified B Corporation.
While the annual reports are comprehensive and detailed, we use our communication channels (newsletter, Instagram, journal) to share meaningful milestones and actions on a quicker, less formal note.
We believe that attention and time are valuable assets. Our marketing efforts and communications will be driven by honesty and generosity, providing genuine value and information about our brand and products.
Our marketing and communications the ethics and commitments laid out by professional media firm (and B Corporation) JB Media Group
We value the work of everyone who makes our business possible, directly or indirectly. Mutual respect, honesty and collaboration are the pillars of our relationships with staff, suppliers, customers and the broader community.
We work to create an atmosphere and opportunities where everyoneâstaff, customers, suppliers and the broader communityâfeels safe, valued and supported, regardless of background, gender, age, religion, identity and experience. What matters is the passion for coffee, proactivity and respect.
We source our coffee through trusted importers who find high-quality lots and invest time and resources in supporting the local economy and environment at origin.
The rest of our products and services are sourced preferentially via local, independent and like-minded ethical businesses. This approach extends to our wholesale partnersâwe love to work with people who care more than the bottom line.
All the coffees we buy are high-quality and traceable, including those we use for our blends. We share all the information we receive from the importers on each origin/blend’s dedicated page.
Weâre considering ways to include sensitive (but relevant) information about price transparency; until we get there, we share a summary of key indicators in our annual reports.
We canât expect to give an awesome product and service if the people who make it happen don’t feel valued. We appreciate our workers as much as the farmers; they all make Sample Coffee possible. Caring about our staff starts by paying fair, legit and transparent wages, offering as many stable shifts as possible and being flexible and supportive.
We acknowledge that our trade leaves a footprint on our ecosystems. Recognising we’re a small business with limited resources, we commit to reducing negative externalities and sharing a percentage of our profits with environmental action nonprofits as much as we possibly can.
Sustainability is âthe ability to exist constantlyâ. We acknowledge that the coffee industry is complex and based on deeply rooted practices that often take more than the planet can give; similarly, it is not equally fair to all workers in the supply chain. The global coffee industry, and we as a tiny fraction of it, canât be called sustainable.
However, we believe there’s room for change. We promise to be part of a paradigm shift that puts social and environmental outcomes at the same level as financial success, building an economy (and planet) that can exist over time and eventually does not generate irreversible harm.
We are not a sustainable brandâbut sustainability is our primary driver.
The topic of net zero, carbon neutrality and certifications has been an ongoing puzzle in our headquarters for years. And weâre still trying to figure out how to approach it. Measuring emissions is costly, but we understand itâs necessary.
At the same time, weâve found the world of certifications and offsets grey, confusing, pricey and, in many cases, unethical. Until more trust and transparency exist, weâll keep reducing externalities and offering financial support to organisations that work in forest preservation and regeneration.
Our roastery and cafes buy 100% GreenPower for the electricity supply. It’s an electricity scheme that feeds to the grid the equivalent of our total consumption using power from renewable sources.
The core of our businessâroastingâstill relies on gas, a fossil fuel. With our latest switch to a Loring machine, we expect to optimise our consumption due to a more efficient design. According to the manufacturer, there are âUp to 80% fuel savings and reduction of greenhouse gases in every roast compared to conventional roasters.â
However, weâre still dependent on gas, and we will probably be for a good number of years until electric roasters are more available and match the qualityâor until gas is unavailable altogether.
Weâll keep an eye on them and also on electric vans for our local deliveries.
The best possible solution to cutting waste from takeaway cups is not offering them. But the habit of grabbing a coffee in a single-use cup is ingrained in our community. Who should take the initiative: the cafes not offering cups or the customers not asking for them? It’s a thought always on our minds.
For now, we incentivise using BYO cups through a 20-cent discount per coffee (or a 20-cent tax on disposable). Still, about 60% of the coffees we serve each year are in disposable cups. What else could we do as a small business and community to instil change? We’re open to ideas.
We are actively looking for vegetable-based and home-compostable packaging and stationary elements. This is where we’re at:
Coffee bean bags: vegetable-based (pending the ABA Home Compostable Verification).
Drip and steeped bag sachets: home compostable (OK Compost Home TUV Austria certified)
Drip and steeped bag sachets: commercially/industrially compostable
Takeaway cups and lids: commercially/industrially compostable
Shipping boxes: recyclable
Labels: recyclable
Postcards: recyclable
Valves: general waste
Tape: recyclable
Stickers: recyclable
Our local wholesale blend deliveries are made in reusable containers that get picked up each week after use. We also offer some of our blends in Returnr tins for homebrewing customers.
Much of the environmental impact comes through the food and drinks we serve through our bar and kitchens. We wrote a journal post on how our kitchen staff deliberately designs our menu and servings for zero waste, prioritising local and seasonal.
Whenever we need a new product or service, first we think twice about it: âDo we really need to print that?â Then, we research its materials, process and life after use: âHow is it made? How will it behave after the customers or we use it?â
We are critical of our actions and those of the companies or services we hire. We prioritise those who strive for high quality and care for more than the bottom line.
Each of our retail coffee bag sales donates 20 cents to social and environmental causes.
We use Ecosia as our main search engine.
Most of our team lives within 30km.
Our coffee sacks and schaff get used and composted in local gardens.
We give first, we take what we need, we share what we have.
The evolution of our Sample Coffee Library is the Pro Shop libraryâa space full of coffee books and magazines that customers can come and read anytime.
We love interacting with our community, whether that is in person or digitally. We do this through brewing workshops, tasting experiences, competitions and parties that bring us together with those who love coffee and hospitality.
Some events we enjoyed are the Tea Craft tea tastings, the brewing courses with James Perry, the Ball fundraiser roaster competition and party, the AeroPress Games and the Beyond The Bar events.
We acknowledge that the coffee industry is built on slavery and colonialism, often taking advantage of vulnerable groups and objectifying their image to sell this exotic product.
We’ve created our own guidelines for written and visual communication for the products and services we sell. Acknowledging our past actions, we wish to be part of a broader coffee cultural shift that moves away from exoticism and saviourism.
We want to use our voice to start conversations about topics that matter. Always from respect and compassion, we also talk about important issues (other than coffee-related) that may impact the community that drinks it, building a culture of action and awareness.
Our cafes are open to local artists to showcase their work through temporary shows. And we jump at any opportunity to create original artworksâlike our Surry Hills mural by Joel Cameron or our merchandise.
We donate part of our profits, products and time to local organisations and social initiatives every year. From school fundraiser raffles to coffee beans for a movie set, we love giving what we can. We sum up each year’s donations on our annual reports.
If anything, this place is the start of something important: a conversation about our world and how we can meaningfully relate to it through coffee. We’re always up for a chat, willing to hear about new ideas and learn ways to do better. Please get in touch or leave a message below, and be part of our journey.
The team at Sample Coffee works from Sydney and Melbourne, the traditional lands of the Gadigal and Wurundjeri people, respectively. We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of these lands, and all across Australia. We pay our respects to their elders past, present and emerging, recognising that sovereignty was never ceded.
This acknowledgement extends to indigenous and underserved populations elsewhere in the coffee belt, not forgetting that this industry is built on colonialism and slavery.
Finally, we appreciate everyone involved in our journey: Producers and their families, intermediaries, importers, local suppliers, staff, customers and the broader community. Thank you.