This coffee is grown at Sitio Nossa Senhora de Fátima near Cabo Verde in the Minas Gerais region of Brazil. Produced by Thiago Henrique, whose family has cultivated coffee since 1965, this washed coffee is made from the Arara cultivar grown at 950 meters altitude. The beans offer tasting notes of yellow plum, hazelnut, and milk chocolate. The farm combines modern fermentation techniques with generations of family tradition in sustainable specialty coffee production.
Kiss the Hippo launched in 2018 as London's first carbon negative coffee roastery. Every coffee they sell is certified organic by the Soil Association and certified carbon negative, with reforestation projects in Colombia, Madagascar, Zambia, and Nepal through a partnership with Swiss nonprofit On A Mission. They pay farmers at least 50% above Fair Trade prices, often double. The roastery has won the UK Barista Championships three times, with victories by Joshua Tarlo in 2018, Paul Ross in 2019, and Paul Ross again in 2020 and now supplies seven London café locations. Sustainability extends to fully compostable pods, recyclable packaging, a Living Wage commitment, and a partnership with bio bean that turns used grounds into biofuels.
