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Rick and Benji's Zambian Adventure

Last month saw coffee buyer Rick return to the savannahs of southern Zambia to visit Terranova, one of our most important farms

"We buy the majority of the coffee grown here," says Rick. "It goes into some of our best-selling blends, such as Lazy Sunday and Rich Italian, because it has a lively acidity that really lifts the flavour." It’s also available as a single origin option from our gourmet Limited Edition range. The coffee is fantastic - lots of vibrant fruit with a delicious aroma.

Fortunately for Rick he had someone to keep him company on his trip – Benji Bear. Benji is the creation of pupils from local Harrogate school St John Fisher, who won our recent ‘Dragon’s Den’ event. Their challenge was to find a clever way to reuse the hessian sacks our coffee arrives in – hessian from farms just like Terranova. Rick took Benji around the farm and the Terranova community’s school. He also spoke to the headmaster about establishing a relationship between the two schools.

Most importantly, the farm has also just been certified by the Rainforest Alliance for its excellent social, environmental and ethical standards, much of which is the result of our work with them over the years – like the concrete and brick-built houses on the farm that we’ve helped to fund, to ensure permanent workers have proper accommodation. Not only is this good news for us, because it offers further reassurance for all of the farm’s high standards, but it’s good news for the farm too. Being Rainforest Alliance certified will really improve opportunities for marketing the rest of their coffee, so they are really pleased with the developments.