We are Culainn and Lea, the team behind Conscious. We began our journey into coffee in South America, building relationships with a small number of producers, with whom we work today. We were introduced to all the skills involved in coffee production, and saw the incredible amount of work it takes to produce speciality coffee. You could say we took an organic approach to entering the speciality coffee scene – first learning to plant, pick and process coffee, then honing our roasting skills and slinging tasty flat whites.
With our backgrounds in design, research and international law, we are striving to build a model with our partners that provides better pay, contextual education and more opportunities for people who produce coffee.
To be conscious is to be aware, self-reflective and to make considered choices. Through being conscious we work to deliver the best coffee for everyone. Practically, we do this by working closely with our partners at every stage of the production of coffee, from farm to cup, constantly learning, teaching and sharing. In this way, Conscious aims to be an agent for progress, and for strengthening connections between people in a complex and messy world.
Since day one, we have wanted to work in speciality coffee because we see it as an avenue for working with marginalised producers to reimagine and shape supply chains so that they are sustainable, equitable and financially viable for every actor involved.
We focus on building long-term relationships with each of our producing partners directly, and developing opportunities together. Paying high prices for their coffee (and being completely transparent about what we pay) is only part of the story; we consider the producer’s specific needs and strive to create tailored support accordingly - including investing in their production processes, and providing educational support so that we can together improve on quality and productivity year on year. In this way, we are working to create a strong and resilient coffee supply chain.
We roast coffee to produce aromas and flavours that celebrate the innate properties of the beans and the work that went into their production. We start by understanding the physical properties and unique precursors of flavour of each coffee lot. We then meticulously plan and fine-tune every roast to develop these flavours. Through continuous testing and iteration we strive for perfection.
