So, why is this coffee so special? First of all, it’s single origin, which means it’s not blended. All PÅTÅR beans are high quality and come from the White Nile region in Uganda. They are also Rainforest Alliance certified, ensuring sustainable farming standards and good conditions for workers, and organic according to EU standards. But it doesn’t stop there.
IKEA has teamed up with a social business project that buys the beans directly from about 13,000 farmers. As a result, we can now offer our customers 100% Arabica single-origin beans in the IKEA Swedish Food Market. A very special coffee, created in cooperation with smallholder farmers, allowing them to have a more stable income and better living conditions.
Good coffee with an even greater aftertaste
The White Nile region is a mountainous part of Uganda that provides a perfect setting for the Arabica bean – the soil and climate gives it a unique flavour; aromatic, sweet and mildly fruity, with notes of chocolate and vanilla. The cherries are carefully hand-picked, sorted, washed and dried before becoming gently roasted coffee beans.
Uganda is the biggest coffee exporting country in Africa, yet the average size of a coffee farm is just a quarter the size of a football field. By supporting the initiative, IKEA contributes to the economic empowerment of smallholder farmers and their families. We’re happy and proud of PÅTÅR spedial edition – the newest member in our PÅTÅR coffee family.
PÅTÅR special edition is a high-quality fresh and fruity medium roast, with subtle hints of vanilla and chocolate.
A partnership with only winners
To help support economic independence of coffee farmers in Uganda, IKEA and Ahold, one of the IKEA coffee suppliers, have teamed up with a regional social business project run by Kawacom.
“Close co-operation with the supplier from bean to cup is key for success,” says Henrik Ringdahl, an IKEA product developer who helped create the new coffee on offer. It’s a partnership where everyone’s a winner – through our IKEA stores, Ahold, Kawacom and the farmers get to sell their product, and we gain a high-quality, tasty coffee to offer our customers.
Meet the coffee farmers in the White Nile region that grow the beans for our PÅTÅR special edition coffee.
Economic empowerment – right now and in the future
The coffee cherries are bought directly from the farmers, which means they can get a larger part of the profits. Having set up a long-term contract, the harvests are also guaranteed to be bought, resulting in financial stability.
Another important aspect of economic empowerment is gender equality. Women are encouraged to work in all parts of the business. Education is vital to ensure economic empowerment in the future, and thanks to the economic results this initiative is giving, a majority of the farmers’ children now attend school because parents are able to pay school fees.
Gender equality is an important aspect of economic empowerment. Roughly one third of the workers are women.