Desert Sun's CEO on Why He Supports 100% Organic

We asked Glenn to reflect on how Desert Sun’s ethos came to be what it is today. Here’s what he had to say.

As we leave 2020, it goes without saying that it has been quite a year. Resilience is what comes to mind for me as it relates to the coffee industry, especially being a small business. 

I find myself reflecting on 16 years of coffee roasting and importing, recalling my first trip to Guatemala in 2006 to meet with Cooperative Coffees. I was learning and observing, visiting coffee farmers for the first time, and hoping to become a member–Desert Sun was in the process of becoming Certified Organic at the time.

I recall driving by some commercial farms where workers were walking through the coffee fields spraying the plants, backpacks full of insecticides and other chemicals, no masks, no protective gear whatsoever. 

As we went further up the road to the community of small scale farmers, I was relieved to learn of their commitment to organic farming practices because of their understanding of the negative impact of uncontrolled chemical usage on their health, waterways, and communities.

This experience solidified for me the importance of organic farming practices and the impacts it was having on the workers. Right then I vowed that I would only purchase organic coffee and have stayed true to that vision. 

I am proud to still be working with some of the producers that I met on this first trip in 2006 and to STILL be committed to only roasting 100% certified organic coffee.