[16 JULY 2026] P.S. This is a working master document that aims to provide transparency in our operations. Perhaps it may also provoke thoughts and discussion that will benefit all. Your inputs are welcome and appreciated.
SUSTAINABILITY
"If this ain't the mother of all buzz words of our times, what is?!"
Product quality and taste being supreme, to us sustainability is about balancing what's sustainable for the environment (we operate on) and the sustainability of the business (cost), while maintaining a high quality product/service. Because without the latter there is nothing to be sustainable about, is there...
So as a micro business, we try to reduce our environmental footprint through several different initiatives that also balances cost that our customers are willing to pay, which ensures we don't go out of business! As we grow we try and incorporate more sustainable practices. Read on to understand what we are talking about here.
Coffee Locally roasted and brewed coffee to make sure you get the freshest possible Indian coffee Down Under. We predominantly source our coffees directly from smallholder farmers through our Alliance with Black Baza Coffee (India). The coffees are organically grown using regenerative practices. What's LOCAL? For us AU is far enough from everywhere else and our business was founded to serve this small island nation sustainably. We are mindful of being just that as shipping roasted coffee across the world using carbon-neutral shipping is just a greenwashing gimmick. Planting a tree for every km travelled by air just doesn't make sense. Think about it. Trees don't grow as fast as we want ;)Our spent grounds are up for grabs from local partners like Merri Food Hub for your garden or home compost!
Packaging
In coffee retail and especially in e-commerce, there is no way to completely avoid the use of disposable packaging. Our philosophy is to Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.Bags & Pouches: Our coffee bags are kerbside recyclable or compostable (check the bag for signage). We have started using some fully recyclable EVOH bags but these are still only recyclable by specific organisations like RedCycle and certain others (we'll update this section very soon!). Check your local area to drop these off at soft plastic recycling centres or partners accepting them for recycling. Please note that recyclable bags may end up in landfill if you put them in your Yellow bins!
Currently the best environmentally friendly options are cost-prohibitive, have a shorter shelf life and minimum order quantities are still 5,000–10,000 units! To offer these as an option involves additional inventory space and cost - coming back to business sustainability!
Kerbside recyclable bags have shorter shelf life which while great for the environment may not ensure product quality for extended storage over 3 months. Luckily, we still sell directly to you and
NOT through supermarkets where coffee sits around for...(ever)!
The spout pouches we use for Decoction packaging are durable and can be returned for reuse. We encourage BYO for all our local customers using stainless steel and glass bottles.
Labels: All our labels are printed on recycled paper that is FSC certified, steering away from more schmick-looking, albeit environmentally detrimental vinyl! We now use Vinyl stickers only for signage and on reusable packaging.p.s. We tend to reduce labels on packaging for returning customers to keep wastage minimal. The product is king and we are mindful of labels being primarily required only for conveying a message - first time customers who might need more information about the product etc.
Takeaway: We've switched to using plant pulp-based takeaway cups at pop-ups. While these cups cost us (& the cup of coffee) a bit more, we incentivise BYO. Other: We source wine boxes and packaging material and reuse these as packing boxes and fillers as much as possible.We encourage our wholesale partners in Melbourne to receive their orders in reusable coffee drums / bladders with taps. AusPOST Mailer satchels are recyclable soft plastics. Postage labels we use aren't recyclable! The recyclable ones are being slowly phased in (exxy)!
---------------
P.S. This is a working master document that aims to provide transparency in our operations. Perhaps it may also provoke thoughts and discussion that will benefit all. Your input is welcome and appreciated.
Follow our journey on social media where you can see all the updates as and when there are..