The collaboration will focus primarily on coffee grown by Cafeina, a collective of 1,868 women in Brazil, that was formed in 2019 to ‘empower, motivate and inspire’ women farmers and give them rightful visibility in an industry which is traditionally male dominated in Brazil.
Independent speciality coffee roasters Pact Coffee was founded in 2012 by Stephen Rapoport to bring the freshest speciality coffee directly to UK kitchens.
Will Corby, Pact Coffee’s director of coffee and social impact, said: “Removing the intermediaries in the supply chain and going directly to coffee farmers has allowed us to make a significant impact at source since day one, but this is typified through Cafeina.
“Every bean that we sell in the UK allows Cafeina to work with more women in Brazil and towards gender equity in an industry where they’re all too often ignored. I want to make it clear that this isn’t charity, because the coffee is genuinely some of the finest you’ll taste from Brazil.”
Once the Cafeina coffee is imported, Pact Coffee will roast it in its carbon-neutral roastery in Surrey and deliver it to Lexington offices days later.
Matt Wood, managing director of Lexington, added: “All at Lexington are incredibly excited to announce this exclusive partnership with the amazing team at Pact. We have got to know the farmers, and we have been really impressed by the passion, skill, and dedication of this inspirational team of female coffee producers.
“The team at Pact are raising the bar in terms of coffee quality and social value. We have been blown away, and we can’t wait to introduce Pact to our clients and customers very soon.”