Beyond the Cup: Why Good Coffee Month Matters to Us at Butterken
By Anita Seferian, Co-founder of Bütterken Bakery
It starts long before it reaches your table
At Butterken, we often talk about the journey from grain to loaf. Where our flour comes from, how the grain is grown, who grows it, how it is milled and ultimately how it becomes the bread we serve every day.
It's something we care deeply about because we believe that good food starts long before it reaches our kitchen.
And the same goes for coffee.
Every morning, we serve countless cups of coffee at Butterken. For many of our customers, it's part of their daily ritual. A familiar face, a friendly chat, a little moment in the middle of a busy day.
But have you ever stopped to think about the journey behind that cup?
The farmers who grow the coffee, the communities that depend on it, the land it comes from and all the hands involved in getting it from a coffee tree to your cup.
It's a journey we became much more conscious of after visiting Uganda.
And it's one of the reasons we're proud to support The Cup That Counts and Good Coffee Month this October.
Why this matters to us and what Good Coffee Month is
Good Coffee Month is an initiative by The Cup That Counts, bringing together coffee lovers, cafés, roasters and businesses to support a fairer and more sustainable coffee industry.
At its core, it's about recognising that coffee is so much more than a product. Behind every cup are farmers, families and communities whose livelihoods depend on the coffee industry.
Through its long-term partnership with Zukuka Bora in Uganda, The Cup That Counts works to create opportunities for coffee-growing communities to thrive.
This year's campaign is raising funds to establish the Bukhanakwa Outpost in Uganda, providing a permanent base for coffee buying and processing and supporting the long-term development of the local coffee industry.
For us, supporting this initiative feels like a natural extension of what we already believe in.
At Butterken, our support for this cause goes beyond October. Every day, we proudly serve Commonfolk Coffee in our store, choosing to partner with a local roaster whose values align with ours. Our house coffee is their iconic Progress St. Blend, bringing a little Commonfolk goodness into every cup. And if you'd like to enjoy it at home, you can also pick up a bag of their Godfather Blend beans in-store and online. It's one of the ways we put our values into practice every day, supporting the people and businesses behind the products we love to serve.
We don't just want to serve good coffee. We want to be part of a supply chain that does good, too.
And that philosophy goes far beyond coffee.
Progress St beans from Commonfolk Coffee. Balanced and sweet as an espresso or with milk.
Uganda: Seeing the bigger picture
Our trip to Uganda, made possible thanks to Commonfolk, who invited us along and guided us through this incredible experience, was a life-changing journey that opened our eyes to the realities behind the things we often take for granted, and the people, communities and systems that make our everyday products possible.
Seeing the coffee journey firsthand, and meeting the warm, generous people behind it, made us realise that coffee is so much more than a commodity. It represents livelihoods, families and communities.
Coming home, we began looking at Butterken through a slightly different lens, recognising that quality goes beyond the final product.
Whether it's the flour we use, the coffee we serve, our suppliers or our team, we want to make conscious choices that value people and the planet.
We know we don't have all the answers, but we believe in continually asking questions, improving and building fairer relationships across every aspect of our business.
For us, this commitment shouldn't stop at coffee. It's part of what Butterken stands for.
From grain to loaf, and from bean to cup
There is a beautiful connection between what we do at Butterken and what The Cup That Counts is working towards. We both believe in looking beyond the finished product.
When we talk about our bread, we think about the farmers growing the grain, the health of the soil, the milling process and the people involved in bringing that flour to us. That's also why we've recently made the move to Sustainable Flour, taking another step towards being more conscious about where our ingredients come from and the impact they have along the way.
When we talk about coffee, we think about the farmers growing the beans, the communities they live in, the land they cultivate and the people who make that coffee possible.
In both cases, the relationship needs to be symbiotic. If we want great products, we need healthy communities and sustainable farming practices. If we want those communities to thrive, we need to value the people and the work that goes into producing what we consume.
And if we want to continue enjoying these products for generations to come, we need to look after the land that makes them possible.
That's a responsibility we take seriously, and one we want to keep growing into as Butterken grows.
A small cup, a bigger commitment
Supporting Good Coffee Month is one way we can put these values into practice.
Throughout October, we're proud to stand alongside The Cup That Counts and help raise awareness and funds for the work being done in Uganda.
But for us, this isn't just about one month or one campaign.
It's about continuing to ask questions, making thoughtful decisions about our sourcing, supporting businesses and initiatives that share our values, and encouraging our customers to think a little more about the journey behind what they consume.
We know that change doesn't happen overnight. And we know that no single business can change an entire industry.
But we also believe that the choices we make as a business matter. Especially when they become part of a much bigger collective effort.
Our experience in Uganda reminded us how connected we all are, even when the distance between us feels enormous.
So next time you enjoy a coffee at Butterken, we hope you'll think about the journey behind it, just as we do.
Because whether it's coffee or bread, the story doesn't start when it reaches your cup or your table.
It starts much further back.
And that's a story we want to keep being part of.
Here's to good coffee, good people and building something better, one cup and one loaf at a time.
