Purple Mountain Coffee

Photo Courtesy: Heather Heaberlin 

The coffee just seems to taste better when it's roasted locally in Colorado, don't you think? 

Purple Mountain Coffee Company, based in Colorado Springs, is known for producing an array of single-origin coffees and blends that are roasted in-house, but to owner Heather Heaberlin, the mission at Purple Mountain runs deeper than simply making great coffee. Her company is committed to only purchasing ethically-sourced coffee beans, while also supporting women that work on the agricultural side of the notoriously dangerous coffee industry abroad. 

Heaberlin took over ownership of Purple Mountain Coffee in 2020, at the height of the pandemic.  

"I have always worked in coffee. I actually worked at the Perk Downtown [in Colorado Springs] for around six years, but roasting is a whole different animal and there is whole other side to it. When I first starting getting involved in more of the people and the relationship aspect of roasting, I realized that it was really something that I wanted to do," Heaberlin said. 

According to a report by Zippia.com, only around 24.2 percent of roasters in the United States are women. During her first few years of owning the company, Heaberlin has experienced some of the challenges associated with competing as a woman in the male-dominated coffee industry firsthand.

Coffee Bean Photo Credit: Watson_images (iStock).

Photo Credit: Watson_images (iStock).

"I am trying to develop relationships with people and not be a faceless roaster. I've taken an interest in direct trade, where you talk to and work directly with the farmers. It's very hard to get into as a woman, but I have broken some barriers with that." 

Heaberlin explained that building relationships in countries that have the land to support coffee growing, but still regard women as second-class citizens, is a huge obstacle facing female roasters. 

The coffee industry in the U.S. is heavily influenced by the C Market, a global exchange that ultimately decides the price of coffee per pound. 

"The C Market controls coffee pricing, along with these huge corporations that have more shares of coffee farming land. I don't own land in Brazil, for example, so the only way to bypass this exchange is to build relationships with the farmers and the agricultural workers that want to get out of the C Market, because they don't want to be dictated at a dollar a pound." 

Currently, Heaberlin is working with a direct trader that is connected with different farms around the world – also a trader that shares Heaberlin's commitment to ethically sourced coffee and fair wages for agricultural workers. 

"I have coffee from Indonesia, Africa, South America, Central America, and Mexico," Heaberlin said.

"I get shipments on pallets and the beans come in 150-pound bags from each farm."

When the beans arrive to Purple Mountain Coffee Company they are still green and resemble peas. Heaberlin personally roasts each batch at up to 25 pounds at a time in the roastery's vintage San Franciscan roasting machine. Depending on whether the roast is intended to be dark, medium, or light, each session can take up to 17 minutes to complete. 

The company roasts an estimated 200 pounds of coffee beans each week. 

"There is no one here that works on these kind of machines, so I am also trying to become a machinist as well," she said. 

Purple Mountain Coffee also works with some women-owned farms. 

"Women in agriculture need to be acknowledged. I know what it is like to not have a voice in an industry. The legacy that I would like to leave behind is making sure that women are heard and that they do have economic freedom and entrepreneurial support to succeed in this industry, and not have to rely on a man in New York to dictate the price of coffee," said Heaberlin.

Later this year, Purple Mountain Coffee will be partnering with the nonprofit company, Grounds for Health. 

"It's a company that really pours themselves into getting health screenings to rural areas around the world. And most of those areas are coffee-farming areas. Some of its chocolate, some of its flower-cutting, which are two other industries where people are very underpaid. They do HPV screenings for cervical cancer prevention," said Heaberlin.

Grounds for Health predicts that cervical cancer could kill nearly 4.5 million woman globally in the next 15 years, despite it being one of the most preventable and treatable cancers. The non-profit believes that 85 percent of those women will be from developing countries. 

"Being a woman owned-company, I think it's important to support a cause that provides these services to women. The direct trader that I work with is also working with Grounds for Health and will be matching donations up to $45,000," Heaberlin said. 

Purple Mountain Coffee can be shipped nationwide from their website and can found at some local shops in Colorado. 

For more information visit the Purple Mountain Coffee website here

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