La Finca Coffee & Bakery 's Podcast

Understanding the Coffee Crisis and Its Impact

• Lee Gonzales • Episode 5

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Why Is La Finca Such A Sustainable Business?

What if the world ran out of coffee? On this episode of the La Finca Coffee & Bakery Podcast, I'm joined by Lee Gonzales, the passionate owner and CEO of La Finca, as we grapple with this unsettling possibility. Lee's global explorations in coffee-producing regions have revealed stark realities: declining coffee yields, economic hardships for local farmers, and the pull towards more profitable crops like avocados and mangoes. Our conversation uncovers the ripple effects on communities, from rural migration to the struggles of indigenous growers, painting a vivid picture of an industry at crossroads.

Join us as Lee shares how La Finca is pioneering a sustainable business model, one that champions fair compensation and equitable trade. With heartfelt anecdotes and insightful reflections, Lee emphasizes the value of knowing the backstory of our daily cup and the critical role of supporting those who cultivate it. For coffee lovers and sustainability advocates, this episode offers a thought-provoking look at the challenges and future of the global coffee industry, urging us all to consider the impact of our choices.

To learn more about La Finca Coffee & Bakery go to:
https://lafincacoffeebakery.com/

La Finca Coffee & Bakery
7511 Main Street, #150
Frisco, Texas 75034
972.486.9600

2281 E. University Dr #10
Prosper, Texas 75078
972.503.9400

Speaker 1:

welcome to the la finca coffee and bakery podcast, where coffee beans and connections are brewed to perfection. Leading the way is our owner, founder and ceo of the baristas, lee gonzalez welcome everyone.

Speaker 2:

I'm sofia yvette, co-host and producer, back in the studio with Lee Gonzalez Lee, how's it going today?

Speaker 3:

It's good to be back for another episode of the podcast.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, most definitely. I know La Finca Coffee and Bakery is not only delicious, but it's also a very sustainable business. Only delicious, but it's also a very sustainable business. We're chatting today with the owner to learn how they keep their business eco-friendly and impactful for the community. Solely why is laughing us such a sustainable business?

Speaker 3:

so I will tell you, the biggest reason that is sustainability is important to us is because I would ask the question of could you imagine a world where there was no coffee? Could you imagine if you woke up today and there was not coffee available to drink today?

Speaker 2:

No.

Speaker 3:

How many of us would struggle with that would be like wait a minute, how am I going to get through this day today? How am I going to have, if you say, the energy, or I just love the way it tastes. It's part of our daily routine. I don't know if it's part of the way you get started every day. I know for me, I definitely enjoy it. I look forward to it.

Speaker 2:

Yes, I know, me too.

Speaker 3:

So, that being said, when I say imagine a world where coffee didn't exist, that, as much as that seems like such a far-fetched idea, did you know that is not that far off from happening.

Speaker 2:

No.

Speaker 3:

So I spend time traveling to a lot of producing countries and one of the things, a common thing I've heard, is how production of coffee is down. So they're saying, hey, five years ago, we used to produce this much coffee 10 years ago, and the commonality we hear is how the amount of coffee produced each year continues to go down. You look back at what is the reason that this is happening and you find out that a lot of it has to do with economics. When you don't make money doing something, you tend to stop doing it. I think we all would if we were in a business that wasn't producing, at least meeting our needs, our household needs, putting food on the table, putting a roof over our heads and providing for our families or an education or any of that. We probably all decide let's just do something different.

Speaker 3:

So in many parts of the world, this is the case. So what people choose to do is plant something more profitable. Maybe instead of coffee, I'll plant avocados. Instead of coffee, I'll produce mangoes or something else, whatever grows in that country. So, little by little, a lot of crops have been transitioned over.

Speaker 3:

The second thing is immigration Immigration from rural areas to cities or from these rural areas to other countries. But in many instances people are leaving these areas because they can't make a living and looking to go to areas where they can make money to support their family. So it doesn't leave anybody behind to actually work in fields and keep producing the coffee we consume, or is leaving a lot of the elderly people to do the work where at some point you need the younger generation who comes in and takes over. So when I started hearing these stories, it became very important to me is that how do we build a business that is sustainable, that helps contribute, hopefully, to the solution and not continue to the problem? One of the biggest problems was, as consumers, we tend to always look to buy cheaper and less expensive, which is fine, it's understandable, but in many instances where it has to also be equitable and fair, so in that instance you sit here and say if you really knew that majority of the coffee growing in the world is grown by indigenous people who live in rural areas, who may formal education-wise isn't very high, then they're remote places where it's hard to get their product out. Well, it leaves a group of people who are very susceptible to a middle person who can choose to either be fair or unfair in producing the product.

Speaker 3:

It is a crop that is, when it's harvested and it's's ripe, you have to pick it and sell it. You can't leave it because it will rot and go bad. So it leaves you your time. You're very affected by time, you're affected by location, so all those things play into and then on the consuming end. A lot of times we want higher quality, lower prices, and so it puts a pinch typically on on the producer, the farmer of these places.

Speaker 3:

So what we want to do would be a solution. Now what does that mean? Do we just charge more for it? No, what we want to do is that we want to bring to our consumer. What makes us sustainable is that we will pay a true where we know specifically everybody along the way in the supply chain what they were paid all the way to the consumer, what you paid to buy it from us. But we can also feel morally good about what we did, that everybody was treated fairly. But on top of that that we want, with that comes a quality product that you're consuming. So we're not asking just pay out of charity. We want you to pay out quality, but out of what is just fair and right for the quality you're being served and that everybody along the way is treated that way.

Speaker 3:

And when we think about that, that becomes a sustainable business where we don't have to worry about 20 years from now do we even have coffee available to drink on our tables? It starts with us. We want to provide you a product that you enjoy. We want to buy you a product that you can really tell a difference in the quality and you also can feel good about. What you're consuming is also doing good for everybody, including yourself as a consumer, because we all love.

Speaker 3:

When you hold that cup of coffee. It feels nice and warm in your hands. You take that drink of coffee and what's the first thing that maybe comes out of your mouth? It's that relaxation, that comfort, that peacefulness. Or imagine sitting on your front porch drinking it in the morning or with your breakfast. How much better is it when you know that you can also do good with that purchase. You can be impactful to lives of many others, that hopefully in future episodes we can talk about what that means to others, how that directly impacts others, after story of people who were positively impacted.

Speaker 3:

When this business is done correctly, when people are treated fairly, what the good result of it is, more than anything else.

Speaker 3:

What the result is is what you taste in your cup every day when you drink it.

Speaker 3:

So for us, what better story to do is to bring you that product that you enjoy so much but also do good for others and other people along the way, and so I think for us that's motivation enough. Hopefully, we can continue to bring that quality product to you. But if I don't have who to buy it from, how do I continue to give you what you enjoy? If I don't have that supplier who continues to be motivated to farm, not only do I not have a coffee, but my business model no longer works anymore, and then I'm not here to serve my community. There's a chain effect of what this means, but it starts with, hopefully, our customers who come and visit us we deal with. They're not really even customers. We want you to feel like family, that we can continue to give you those experiences, and we continue to do those things, but along the way, impact the local community, impact foreign communities, and we all benefit and win from this impact foreign communities, and we all benefit and win from this.

Speaker 2:

Wow, I love it, lee. What an interesting story. I had no idea that coffee was even something that could someday run out.

Speaker 3:

And I remember it first came. I was sitting in Costa Rica a few years back. I remember we were speaking to a farmer and the farmer was saying one production is down and, secondly, a lot of the production they used to export is staying locally in Costa Rica instead of being exported and that's not good news for us in the United States you think about us here? That means even the less that they're producing. They're starting to keep it there and not send it to us. Well, where are we going to grow the coffee from so that we can enjoy it? Consider and think about well, what is the long-term impact? Then we can go into environmental things and there's so much to this topic and hopefully, like I said, we can talk about what that means to the environment, what that means to people's wages, to people's lifestyles, to people's education, immigration. There's a ton of things go there that it all comes together when you look at what happens in this business.

Speaker 2:

Yes, we'll catch you on the next episode, lee. Have a wonderful rest of your day.

Speaker 3:

Thank you, you do the same.

Speaker 1:

Thanks for tuning in to the La finca coffee and bakery podcast, where coffee beans and relationships are always on the brew. Visit us online at la finca coffee bakerycom that's la finca coffee bakerycom. Or drop by our frisco orper locations for a nurturing cup of goodness.