☕ Beans are back — tins, kilos & subscriptions in the cafe. Online store coming soon. See prices →
Specialty roasters often get asked: “do you know your growers?”

Other “ethical” roasters say they know their farmers. We don’t know ours at all.

‘Knowing your farmers’ sounds ethical. In smallholder-dominated systems, like in East Africa and South East Asia, it usually means the opposite — you’re buying from the wealthiest, best-connected few, and the poorest never get a look in. We built our program to reach them instead.

How it works See the evidence
Most “ethical” coffee, examined

Called “ethical.” Rarely proven.

We don’t just say “ethically sourced.” We define what it means, measure it, and publish the research behind it.

How it works See the evidence
Built from on-the-ground research

A coffee chain engineered to reach the poorest — and prove it.

Lots as little as 5kg. Forty per cent of volume from women and youth. A model owned and run by the source communities themselves.

How it works See the evidence
Mt Elgon, Kapchorwa — Uganda

Sweet, high-grown Ugandan Arabica. Roasted in Adelaide.

Ethics aside, the cup wins on its own. Quality sits at the centre of everything — not just our contracting, but the whole chain from farmer to your cup.

How it works See the evidence
scroll
The proof — measured, not claimed
+148%
more value kept in-country vs average Ugandan Arabica — and +49% over the highest-grade Mt Elgon lots
30
farmers contribute to each tonne of green coffee — broad participation, not a connected few
40%
of accepted volume from women and youth — real inclusion, measured each year
6yrs
the program has run without us on the ground — the capability now lives in the community
Why it works where others don’t

“Ethical” usually means a fair price paid to a few. The poorest are quietly left out.

1

Derived from research

Built on years of research into what actually makes coffee supply chains function as real development programs — not marketing. See the research →

2

Built on data, not hope and hubris

We constantly measure our own performance to find where it can improve, and work with international researchers to test what genuinely improves lives — published in journals including the Journal of Marketing and World Development.

3

Owned and run by source communities

We haven’t returned in six years — yet our pilot’s quality and inclusivity metrics remain as strong as ever. The capability genuinely transferred. Our aim is to scale this into a global, participant-owned initiative.

When is ethical coffee not ethical?
Most specialty and “relationship” coffee controls quality by contracting a small number of larger, better-connected farms.

It’s cheaper to monitor — but it routes the premium to people already doing okay, while the poorest households are left out. Scientists have a name for it: elite capture.

We took the opposite route: an open, low-barrier system that pays directly for quality, that any smallholder can sell into — with lots as little as 5kg. A trusted quality-assessment method does the work that exclusivity does elsewhere, so the chain stays inclusive as it scales.

There are no lock-in contracts and no side-selling monitoring: growers sell to us lot by lot, so we have to be the best option every single time. Our average lot is just 40 kg — smallholder coffee, not estate coffee. And we run the whole chain ourselves, from buying at the farm gate through export, import and roasting to the cafe — so when we tell you where your coffee came from, nothing is taken on trust.

The cup wins on its own

Intensely sweet, juicy, high-grown washed and natural Arabica.

Sourced from the Bugimotwa Growers around Mt Elgon in Kapchorwa, eastern Uganda — some of the oldest volcanic coffee country in East Africa. Slow ripening at altitude and a unique approach to contracting around ripe picking give our lots their signature sweetness.

Origin
Mt Elgon, Kapchorwa
Grower
Bugimotwa Cooperative
Roasted
Adelaide, on a Loring
Julius Njoke — buying program manager and coordinator of all activities in UgandaJulius Njoke — buying program manager and coordinator of all activities in Uganda
From the mountain to Pulteney St

The chain, in pictures.

Kapchorwa, Mt Elgon — picking, buying, grading and drying in the open program — and the Adelaide cafe where it all lands.

Cherries at the buying point
Cherries at the buying point
Bugimotwa growers, Kapchorwa
Bugimotwa growers, Kapchorwa
Sorting on the drying beds
Sorting on the drying beds
Cherry coming in from the hills
Cherry coming in from the hills
Harvest on the way down the mountain
Harvest on the way down the mountain
In the coffee gardens
In the coffee gardens
Grading lots — quality is the ticket in
Grading lots — quality is the ticket in
The machine at 258 Pulteney St
The machine at 258 Pulteney St
Afternoon light in the cafe
Afternoon light in the cafe
Beans, tins & subscriptions

More impact. Better coffee. Better price.

The discounts below aren’t a loyalty gimmick. Cash flow is the critical constraint in programs like ours — we pay producers upfront and in full, and revenue can arrive 24–36 months later. When you commit, especially pre-paid, you close that gap and we can buy more coffee from more growers in real time. You fund the float; we share the saving. Available now at the cafe — online store coming soon.

In the cafetake it home today

200 g tinIncludes a re-useable tin with a one-way valve, sized to cover your weekly coffee usage (store larger quantities in your freezer).$19.90
1 kg bagBuy in bulk and save ≈$25 on the tin rate — keep it in the freezer and dose out to your tin.$74.90

Subscribe12-month commitment · roasted & ready on a set day each month

1 kg / monthSave $10/kg on the bag price.$64.90 per kg
2 kg / monthSave $15/kg on the bag price.$59.90 per kg

Pre-paid yearpaid upfront · the best rates we do

1 kg / monthTwelve months of coffee, sorted in one go.$599 = $49.90/kg
2 kg / monthFor serious households and small offices.$1,079 = $44.90/kg
5 kg / monthOffice-scale — nearly half the bag rate.$2,399 = $39.90/kg

All subscriptions: pick up from the cafe. Postage extra — dispatched on the same date each month. All prices AUD, incl. GST. Larger packages available — email us.

Start a subscription →
The evidence

We write the research that the rest of the industry quotes.

2025
Hill, D., Gregg, D. & Baker, D. “Trading off inclusion, value, and scale within smallholder targeted value chains.” World Development 191 (106973).
2024
Arslan, C., Gregg, D. & Stringer, R. “Hidden income and its impact on expenditure patterns in Uganda.” World Development 183.
2021
Garbinsky, E., Mead, N. & Gregg, D. “Popping the positive illusion of financial responsibility can increase personal savings.” Journal of Marketing 85(3).
▶ Watch the research film A short film on the work in Mt Elgon.

Intersection Traders began as a partnership between Dr Daniel Gregg, a research economist working in rural development and agri-food supply chains, and Adam Marley, one of Australia’s leading coffee roasters — research rigour on one side, cup quality on the other.

Sustainability

Ongoing work, not a badge.

We treat sustainability the way we treat ethics — as something you do across the whole chain, and keep improving. Currently: fully recyclable bags (moving to 100% home-recyclable), cafe organic waste composted with small local farms, and less sourcing travel — the program is run by locals, not by visiting westerners. Next on the list: building environmental sustainability payments into the buying program itself, so smallholders earn more for looking after the landscape the coffee grows in.

For organisations, offices, clubs & congregations

A story that survives scrutiny — and a cup that earns its place.

Highly competitive wholesale, built for organisations, offices and clubs. We give you a clear impact statement to communicate your coffee choice — while your members, staff and visitors simply get great coffee. If your organisation currently buys certified “fair” coffee, ask us for a like-for-like impact comparison — same budget, measurably more impact, with a one-page impact statement for the noticeboard. We can also cater and offer a pre-batched espresso service through our partners at tardidrinks.com.au.

Contact us for details →