Begun as an initiative to help former growers of opium, Saffron Coffee is beginning to help hundreds of disadvantaged mountain families to sustain a viable livelihood while, in the process, creating a preeminent highland Arabica coffee for you to enjoy.

Growing Arabica coffee with Saffron Coffee helps the Lao mountain farmers reap some very good benefits. On average, our growers will receive more than 3-4 times as much income from coffee than they would by planting the more prevalent upland rice, corn or soybeans, which require the slash-and-burn style of agriculture. These highland coffee growers have not had as good a cash crop since they stopped growing opium. The increased income will give the mountain hilltribes choices. If their old are sick, they will be able to send them to the hospital for care and to buy needed medicines. They will also be able to afford to send their children to school, without needing to keep them out in the fields because of high-maintenance slash-and-burn agriculture.

One of Saffron Coffee’s goals is to obtain official Fair Trade certification by the International Fair Trade Labeling Organization. The FLO’s standards are quite complex, but help to ensure that the local coffee grower always gets a good price for his hard labor. While we do not yet have certification, Saffron Coffee guarantees fair prices for our coffee growers that are agreed upon long before the harvest. Saffron Coffee ensures that all of our growers are receiving increasing amounts for their coffee, and more money than they would receive from other typical cash crops in northern Laos.