Colombia Giraldo

Marvin Antonius and Eline Ulu, a married couple who describe themselves as travel junkies and world improvers, founded Zwarte Roes Coffee in late 2017 in Zwaag near Hoorn with their last savings after traveling through Australia, New Zealand, and South and Central America, where they experienced specialty coffee culture firsthand in Sydney and witnessed the intensive process of coffee farming up close in South America. The name Zwarte Roes translates to Black Intoxication or Black Rush, a reference to the heady feeling that comes from a strong black coffee, and the micro roastery focuses on ethically sourced specialty beans where every coffee is 100 percent Specialty Coffee grade, 100 percent Arabica, and 100 percent natural processed. The roastery roasts fresh every week and describes its sourcing approach as Fairtrade Plus, adding real value to the supply chain without compromising on quality, a philosophy born from Marvin's discovery in 2015 of how opaque and exploitative parts of the conventional coffee trade could be. Zwarte Roes uses recyclable and low impact packaging with oxygen proof layers, a one way degassing valve, tight resealable zip, UV protection, and flat bottom design, attention to detail that has helped the brand serve over four million cups across more than ten thousand customers and earn a 4.8 out of 5 rating from over 900 reviews. The operation ships coffee across Europe and supplies Shell locations in the Netherlands, a commercial partnership that has given a small town micro roastery founded on travel savings and ethical conviction a reach that extends far beyond the Noord Holland countryside.