Happy Cup Coffee Company fired up its roaster in November 2011 with a vision to provide employment and programs for adults with developmental disabilities. Six months later, Happy Cup’s “coffee with a heart” is flying off the shelves at seven Portland-metro Whole Foods locations and is now available in all 12 New Seasons stores.
More importantly, people like Keyona, Dale, and Jacob have a job they can feel proud of and earn a competitive wage, something developmentally disabled adults are not always used to receiving.
“Individuals with disabilities face unemployment rates nearing 80 percent,” states Co-founder Rachel Bloom. “Besides providing a safe and productive work environment, Happy Cup will donate 100 percent of profits after taxes to charities dedicated to assisting individuals with developmental disabilities.”
A Single Half-Caf, Extra Foam, with Shot at Opportunity Happy Cup Coffee Company sources the highest quality, ethically-traded coffee beans, partnering with humanitarian-based organizations like Kabum (https://www.kabum.org) that send the vast majority of profits back to the individual farmers.
Happy Cup currently sources coffee beans from Mexico, Brazil, Papa New Guinea, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, and Uganda and offers six blends and two single-origin varieties.“Each blend is craft-roasted in small batches to create a desirable flavor profile,” says Happy Cup’s Master Roaster Trevin Miller.
More Than Just a Job
After the coffee is roasted, Happy Cup employees get to work measuring and packaging the coffee. Each bag is stamped with the employee’s name “packaged by Jesse” for example, just one way Happy Cup brings joy and pride to this growing workforce. Employees also play an important role in brainstorming and naming the coffee blends. The most popular selling coffee names are Morning Maniac, Coffee Go Go, and Flying Unicorn.
“Working at Happy Cup makes me well, ‘happy,’” states Keyona, an employee. “I’m thankful for the opportunity to come to work each day and make a difference.”
About Happy Cup Coffee
Happy Cup Coffee is a Portland Ore., based social enterprise company that employs individuals with disabilities to assist in the roasting, packaging, and distribution of high-quality, ethically traded coffees. In addition to providing employment opportunities, Happy Cup Coffee Company will donate 100 percent of profits after taxes to programs assisting individuals with disabilities. For a complete list of retail stores, cafes and restaurants selling Happy Cup Coffee please visit https://www.happycup.com.
SOURCE: PRWEB
