Jeremy Torz and Steven Macatonia began their coffee journey with two ideas: “First, we wanted to make a positive contribution to the growers' situation. Second, there’s a voracious appetite among coffee-lovers for high quality, ethically produced coffee.”

They started a roasting company in 1994 and, after being acquired by Starbucks, set up Union and Direct Trade instead in 2001. Now they form partnerships with farmers to continuously improve their livelihoods as well as the coffee’s quality.