In its inaugural year, Cooperativo San Rafael was the first cooperative in the world to sell coffee directly to customers, which meant the coffee beans were the responsibility of the owner rather than the farmer.
“We are the first co-op in the United States that is offering coffee directly from the farmers,” co-founder and director David Pardo said.
“It’s a new way of doing things.”
Cooperativis coffee beans are sourced from local farmers and are grown on an organic and sustainable basis.
Mr Pardo and co-owner Alex Goulburn bought the coffee in 2013 and opened Cooperativia San Rafael in October 2017.
“The farm was pretty well established when we first started, and we knew that we were doing a good job growing organic beans,” Mr Pardos said.
“[We] started with small, small batches, but we got to a point where we needed to grow bigger batches.”
The coffee is grown in the US by a team of farmers, which include the owner, Mr Pardi.
Cooperativista San Rafael has since expanded to a larger production facility, with more than 1,500 square metres of coffee producing space, and an additional 700 square metres in the back of the shop.
“If you are a coffee aficionado, this is a very powerful way to start your own coffee shop, as a cooperative,” Mr Goulburg said.
Mr Gousbarnas coffee is made in a process called roasting, which involves mixing the beans with different flavours of coffee.
He said his beans were brewed to be as fresh as possible, which is why Mr Paldo is so enthusiastic about Cooperativism.
“They’re a little bit more mellow than the average coffee bean,” he said.
Cooperatoivists own their own property, which means they can set their own prices and conditions, and the coffee is sold through a direct selling system, which enables farmers to sell their produce to consumers directly.
Cooperateiva San Rafael is part of Cooperativas organic coffee farm chain, which has a presence in nine countries and offers more than 60 brands of coffee, including Coopers, Coopers Coffee, Coopresso, Coppio and Copps.
Cooperatedietas coffee has been sold in Australia and New Zealand since it launched in 2017.
The Cooperativala San Rafael coffee beans will be available in supermarkets across Australia for $1.99 per kilogram and can be purchased from the store.