Sustainable Coffee Sourcing: 787 Coffee's Commitment to Ethical Practices
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Hello Caffeinated Humans!
When you drink a cup of 787 Coffee, you’re tasting a promise. Every creamy chocolate note, every hint of bright citrus, of your favorite WOW latte is the result of a commitment to sustainable coffee sourcing and ethical coffee buying that starts long before the coffee beans reach your cup.
At our farm in Puerto Rico, Hacienda Iluminada, and with our network of partner farmers from Mexico and Colombia, we’ve built a sourcing model that protects the island, uplifts our community, and ensures an earth that will take care of all living organisms for generations. We will show you how.
-Let’s Do This!
Direct Trade Relationships – Hardworking Hands YOU Trust
At sunrise in Hacienda Iluminada, our team walks the rows of coffee fields discussing the upcoming harvest. There are no boardrooms here, just soil under our boots and trust in our hands.
We believe in empowering and the humans in our community that is why we believe in a direct trade model. For us, direct trade is a personal relationship. Not only are we sourcing the freshest specialty Puerto Rican coffee. We have also expanded our single origin coffee selection partnering up with farms in Mexico and Colombia. This means we work face-to-face with the humans who grow our coffee directly, cutting out the middlemen so more money goes to the real heroes that make our morning coffee runs happen.
This is really important to us, because most small coffee farmers are at the mercy of an unpredictable market where prices of coffee are often too low, and they are barely making enough to survive.
This is exactly why bigger corporations produce coffee at a higher quantity, but at the cost of both quality of the coffee and our environment. To meet massive demand, these farms often clear out forests to plant huge fields of coffee, destroying natural habitats. They also rely on heavy doses of chemical fertilizers and pesticides that can poison the soil and harm local water sources.
Our model completely bypasses this unstable system, providing farmers with a consistent price they can build their lives on. When a farmer earns a stable, fair income, it creates ripples of positive change for their family and community.
It creates ripples of change: Our farmers are happy with a wage that supports their families. It keeps jobs in Puerto Rico , It gives money back to rural farmers and their local communities, and we can keep innovating and develop better sustainable practices to maintain Mother Earth, and give healthier choices for YOU.
now YOU know exactly where your coffee came from and you will be able to taste the unique personality of its origin in every sip. Thats why every specialty coffee bag you buy supports a farmer directly.
Get your mornings started with our NuevaYol Coffee Bags! the perfect latino blend.
Puerto Rico (Dark Chocolate), Mexico (Caramel), and Columbia (fruity) notes,
order online and get a coffee bag shipped to your door today! link below
Farmer Support Programs
Sustainable coffee is an intentional action. It’s the result of being clear on our responsibility and the impact we have on the Earth. Our duty is to have a dedication for constant learning and innovation. That’s why we invest in training programs and resources for our farmers.
We discus topics such as shade-grown techniques. The coffee trees grow under a canopy of larger native trees, which creates a stable, cool microclimate. The leaves from these shade trees fall to the ground, creating a natural mulch (a protective layer of material spread over the top of the soil) that keeps the soil cool and moist. This practice helps the coffee cherries ripen more evenly, which leads to better flavor and a higher-quality coffee beans.
We are so excited! because we see more and more young humans wanting to join the team at Hacienda Iluminada, and learn the trade and traditions of our land. It’s collaboration. We’re building a community of growers who have the tools and knowledge to succeed on their own terms, producing exceptional coffee without sacrificing the health of their land. We also promote that if farmers produce coffee at home we are more that glad to purchase THEIR coffee to preserve the quality our caffeinated humans expect when they visit a 787 coffee shop
Don't just drink our coffee live the story!
Experience an immersive, hands-on coffee tour at our farm, Hacienda Iluminada. Spots are limited, so reserve your unforgettable coffee tour today! Link below
Water-Saving Coffee Processing
f you join us for a coffee tour at Hacienda Iluminada, you’ll get a behind-the-scenes look at our roasting process, and one of its most important steps: honey processing. Unlike the traditional washed process, there’s no rush of water pouring over the beans.
This method saves thousands of gallons of water each year. So much so that it’s enough to supply local households for weeks. Here’s how it works: the mucilage, a sweet, sticky layer on the coffee bean, is left intact. We then use anaerobic fermentation, which simply means the beans ferment without oxygen. During this time, natural yeast and bacteria work on the sugars in the mucilage, creating coffee with a distinctive sweetness and fuller body all without using precious water.
In a climate where dry seasons are becoming longer, every gallon saved matters. By conserving water during processing, we ensure more is available for irrigation, wildlife, and our community in Maricao, Puerto Rico.
Soil Health & Organic Composting
At the farm we use all the available resources our provides for us. We have coffee pulp steams gently in neat compost piles. Over weeks, it transforms into rich, dark nutrients for our earth that we return to the fields.
By reusing organic material instead of relying on synthetic fertilizers, we build healthier soil. Compost acts like a sponge, increasing the soil's ability to hold water and nutrients. This provides a slow, steady stream of food for the plants, leading to a more robust roots for our coffee trees.
This process also helps to sequester carbon, which is just a way of saying we lock carbon that plants took out of the air back into the ground. That self-sufficiency is key to long-term sustainability.
Join us on YouTube Live as we take you behind the scenes, from our farm in Puerto Rico to 787 coffee shops across the U.S.
Come meet the humans, see the process, and experience the love behind every specialty coffee cup. Link below
Native Tree Planting & Buffer Zones
Walking the trails of Hacienda Iluminada you’ll walk through lush corridors of native trees, guamá, yagrumo, and other species that have grown here for centuries. These trees are a natural defense system. Their deep roots form a complex network that holds soil particles together, preventing erosion during heavy rains.
Think of our coffee farm as a living system. We plant native trees along the streams and rivers, creating what we call buffer zones. These aren't just for show, they're like a natural defense system for the entire farm.
Imagine a big rainstorm. As water rushes off the fields, it can pick up dirt and other stuff. But when it hits our buffer zones, the roots of the trees act like a giant net, trapping the dirt and preventing it from washing away. This process is called bioremediation; it's basically the roots and soil working together to clean the water. So, before the water gets to the streams and rivers, it's already been naturally filtered.
The trees do a lot more than that, too. Their leaves create a shady canopy that keeps the air and soil cool, which is important for the coffee plants. They also create a home for birds and bees, which are essential for pollination and keeping the entire farm's ecosystem in balance.
For us, these buffer zones guarantee that we have clean, reliable water and healthy soil, which means our coffee plants are strong and resilient, producing great coffee year after year.
The Bigger Picture
Ethical sourcing IS a responsibility for us from the very moment we started the farm in 2014. Every choice we make, from how we process our coffee to how we care for our soil, is part of a bigger commitment: to grow specialty coffee in a way that empowers the rural farmers, protects our earth, and creates the highest quality single origin coffee proud to share with you.
It comes from our farm-to-cup mantra, and it’s what sets us apart from other coffee shops. By owning the farm and controlling our entire supply chain, we can guarantee this promise in a way that's impossible for a business that relies on a complex network of coffee distribution. This is our unique promise to continue sustainable coffee practices, because if it’s good for EARTH it’s good for YOU.
We invite you to taste the difference. Shop our sustainable coffee bags today and be part of the change.
☕ 5 lbs of Specialty Puerto Rican Coffee
Fresh roasted, single origin beans from Hacienda Iluminada in Maricao.
Bulk the savings from farm-to-cup freshness order now! link below
To summarize…
If you're after the best coffee shop in NYC, El Paso, Puerto Rico, Westfield NJ and soon in Houston, TX for back-to-school success, and want to buy coffee online that's fresh, sustainable, and full of flavor—look no further than 787 Coffee. We're student-friendly, community-focused, and coffee-obsessed.
Ready to crush your school year? Visit one of our amazing coffee shops, or start powering up your brain by ordering our whole bean coffee and ground coffee at 787coffee.com today!
Let’s do this!
Be a CAFFEINATED HUMAN.
Be a creative human. Be a good human.
Be a NuevaYOL Caffeinated Human.
So here’s your invitation—to live fully, love deeply, and drink damn good coffee while you’re at it.
When you visit Puerto Rico, make sure one of your must-do experiences is exploring Hacienda Iluminada, our award-winning coffee farm in Maricao. It’s more than a farm—it’s the birthplace of 787 Coffee and the heart of everything we do. Come walk the rows of coffee trees, sip coffee roasted just steps from where it was grown, meet our animals, reconnect with nature, and learn the real story behind your daily cup. We started as coffee farmers with nothing but a dream and a machete. And when your vision is clear and you're aligned with love and purpose—everything else follows.
Let your next cup be more than caffeine. Let it be a reminder to slow down, breathe deeply, and enjoy life.
Hacienda Iluminada isn’t just one of the best coffee farms in Puerto Rico—it’s where passion meets purpose, and where your coffee journey comes full circle.
☕ Visit Hacienda Iluminada – Puerto Rico’s Must-See Coffee Experience
Gracias. Gracias. Gracias for supporting 787 Coffee, we have a job because of humans like YOU.