New Coffee Honors Rick Peyser, Coffee-Farming Families, Food Security

‘Roasted Rick’s Small Batch Coffee for A Better World’ Recognizes 30 Years of Advocacy for Coffee Producers

Food 4 Farmers is proud to release Roasted Rick’s, a limited-edition coffee honoring the work of Rick Peyser and the farming families at the heart of the coffee industry. Peyser is co-founder of Food 4 Farmers and has been advocating for equitable livelihoods for coffee farmers and their communities for 30 years. All proceeds from Roasted Rick’s will fund Food 4 Farmers’ food security work in Latin America. Visit bit.ly/RoastedRick for more information and to donate.

“I’m more committed than ever to bring attention to — and change — the system that has oppressed generations of coffee-farming families. This special coffee honors the farmers and communities I’ve worked with over the years, and will bolster their resilience, food security, and livelihoods in the face of yet another challenge: the COVID-19 pandemic,” Peyser said.

The inaugural release of Roasted Rick’s is a fully washed Arabica from Inzá Cauca in Colombia, produced by a group of 52 smallholders in the “Macizo Colombiano,” and grown at an altitude of 1,500-2,000 meters. The medium roast coffee has notes of berries, plums, jasmine and milk chocolate, with a medium body. Mercanta The Coffee Hunters generously donated this coffee to support Food 4 Farmers’ work. Vermont roaster Brio Coffeeworks is roasting the coffee as their contribution to the campaign.

Peyser co-founded Food 4 Farmers in 2011 to address “Los Meses Flacos” — the months of chronic seasonal hunger affecting millions of coffee-farming families. For 27 years, he was instrumental in developing and promoting Green Mountain Coffee Roasters’ sustainability efforts. His advocacy for coffee farmers and their families continues to this day. Peyser is also the co-author of Brewing Change: Behind the Bean at Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, which chronicles the plight of coffee farmers and the development of the sustainable coffee movement.

Food 4 Farmers’ food security work has become more critical than ever (read the latest update). COVID-19 is sweeping through Latin America, where the effects of climate change and low coffee prices have already put small-scale coffee farmers and their families at risk. Food 4 Farmers develops programs with cooperatives and farming families to produce food locally, diversify income, build resilience, and weather the effects of unexpected crises like the pandemic.

Roasted Rick’s Coffee is available with a donation of $25 or more. Shipping is free. Shipping is only available in the US.

All proceeds will fund Food 4 Farmers’ critical work in Latin America to improve livelihoods and help small-scale coffee farming families and their communities access healthy food every day.