This week on Coffee Design we are featuring newcomer Heirloom Coffee. Their packaging stands out using bright colors and bold patterns. The company debuted in November 2021 at the San Francisco Coffee Festival and roasts coffee “cultivated using 100% regenerative farming techniques.” We wanted to learn more about both their beautiful packaging as well as their commitment to regenerative farming practices, so we reached out to their VP of Sales and Marketing Jeff Woods.
Tell us about Heirloom Coffee and its commitment to regenerative practices.
Heirloom began with a mission to create awareness within the specialty coffee community for regenerative agriculture. Our experienced team is known for producing some of the most recognized specialty lineups on the West Coast and have been integral to winning roast magazines’ Roaster of the Year award with two other companies in recent years.
Regenerative organic agriculture is still a very new concept to our industry. While it’s likely a top sustainability initiative in 2022 for progressive companies like Whole Foods, Google, Apple, and Walmart, most of us are just now realizing how much further regenerative practices go beyond merely organic standards. Regenerative farms are more holistically sustainable in that they promote carbon-capturing biodiversity, animal welfare, and social fairness.
At Heirloom, we’ve made the commitment to only work with farms who are interested in promoting agricultural practices that renew and heal the land and its inhabitants with every harvest.
As a licensed Regenerative Organic Alliance company, Heirloom sources our relationship coffees in collaboration with Sustainable Harvest, who have people in-country, overseeing the quality of life, land, and coffee. It may take several months or even years for one of our farms to become fully Regenerative Organic Certified, but we are starting to see the first fruits of these efforts with the first officially certified coffees finally arriving!
Who designed your packaging?
We worked with a longtime friend and Designer, Michael Hester. He’s the CEO of the award-winning Oakland design firm, Pavement. We collaborated with Pavement to create a packaging design that embodies our mission of sustainability and highlights the unique qualities of each source coffee community.
When did it debut?
We launched Heirloom at the San Francisco Coffee Festival in November 2021. We partnered with California-based Alexandre Family Farms (a Regenerative Organic Certified dairy farm) which paired perfectly with our Sugar Phoenix Espresso blend. During the event, we also hosted the first annual Heirloom Latte Art Competition and introduced our coffees to the competitive barista world. We served over 10,000 drinks in two days!
Tell us about the design details on the bags.
For the bag we chose a fully sustainable option, selecting a 100% recyclable material in 3 gem tone colors. Each bag is adorned with an oversized natural paper label, designed to feature the distinctive details of each of our coffees. We commissioned a local artist to create unique woodcut patterns for each blend and single origin. She transformed the patterns into illustrated prints to decorate the label, alluding to the organic and regenerative qualities of our coffees. The complete look feels elevated, but still firmly rooted in approachability and accountability.
What coffees are coming soon that you’re excited about?
We locked in the first lot of fully Regenerative Organic Certified coffee from Coopertiva Sacacli out of Jinotega, Nicaragua. We can’t wait to roast it and be the first to experience this amazing coffee in the US! It’ll be ready for customers to purchase around April.
Where is Heirloom Coffee available?
While we’re currently served in premium coffee shops, resorts, and micro-kitchen campuses, we’re just now launching into independent grocery chains. You can also set up subscriptions and purchase online. We’re giving away a Kalita pour over kit with every new Heirloom subscription.
Thank you!
