Ringtons & Volcafe Way

Since 1907, Ringtons have forged a reputation for personal service and outstanding attention to detail, resulting in some of the finest tea, coffee and biscuits that can found in the UK.

One hundred years of doing the right thing continues to this day with building our business-to-business and out-of-home offerings. Ringtons for business is here to help like-minded organisations to serve better tea and coffee that delights customers and employees.

One way we maintain our commitment to quality is to carefully select partners, suppliers and even customers who share the same ethos for doing the right thing.

The coffee supply chain is larger than most people think – in this article, we introduce you to Volcafe Way, the impact program that Ringtons supports through the sourcing, roasting and supply of our Triple Impact Coffee.

What is the Volcafe Way?

We buy our Triple Impact coffee through an importer called Volcafe. Volcafe want to protect the global coffee industry by promoting ethical and sustainable practices throughout the coffee supply chain – from growing, processing and exporting and then by working closely with responsible coffee roasters such as Ringtons.

Volcafe developed The Volcafe Way in 2014, a coffee farming and sourcing philosophy that emphasises quality, sustainability, and transparency.

Volcafe Way was started as a long-term investment in coffee supply chains, and Ringtons share this long-term view. Through making coffee farming attractive economically, The Volcafe Way has a real platform to make a difference environmentally.

The Volcafe Way is based on three pillars: People, Quality and Sustainability. By investing in the people who grow and trade coffee, promoting high-quality coffee, and advocating for sustainability, Volcafe aims to create a more sustainable and equitable coffee industry that benefits everyone involved.

How Volcafe Way works

So far, the Volcafe Way has trained over 450,000 farmers in 10 origin countries. Volcafe Way has 250 trained agronomists working closely with farmers day to day.

An Agronomist is an expert in the science of soil management and crop production – and the Volcafe Way agronomists have many years of experience in managing crops in coffee farms. They work with farmers to increase the yield through managing soil, shade and water.

The Volcafe Way works by creating “Model Farms”. The model farm is run to best practices and maximises the amount of yield produced by every tree in each farm. This goes into great detail looking at both the amount of coffee cherries and the weight of every cherry on the tree. There are 700 business model farms and replicas in operation, 150,000 hectares of coffee farm land involved in Volcafe Way and in 2020 there were 2.6 million bags of coffee produced.

Why is Volcafe Way important?

Make no mistake the global coffee industry is under significant threat.

There are significant forces that threaten the livelihood of coffee farmers, land is under threat by constant urbanisation and deforestation. Climate change makes it harder to maintain the temperatures, humidity and soil conditions that are required for optimal growth.

The Volcafe Way is working with farmers across 11 origins. By tackling the economic needs of the farmer, they can then develop excellent sustainability practices such as adding the correct shade or managing the use of resources correctly.

Having been around for nearly 170 years, Volcafe know a thing or two about coffee farming. And by sharing best practices across their network, Volcafe are increasing the standard of coffee across the world, from Vietnam, to Honduras, to Papua New Guinea.

Volcafe Way is a holistic approach to coffee farming which protects the diversity of the global coffee supply chain – while having a real short-term impact on farms locally. This approach is what make Volcafe Way different to other programmes and is why Ringtons are proud to support!

When you source with a Volcafe Way farm, you can rest assured that you’re sourcing a brilliant product and doing it in the right way. Meaning land conversation, no deforestation, no child labour and fighting climate change, AND your coffee will be traceable across your supply chain.

Ringtons are proud to partner with Volcafe Way and we created our Triple Impact Product with them. If you’re looking for another way to create a responsible supply chain, why not explore switching your coffee supply to Ringtons Triple Impact.

Get in touch to arrange a free tasting today.