MotMot Coffee: The Coffee Co-Op

For this week’s blog post, I wanted to bring things a bit more local to Seattle. Pre-pandemic, I frequented many of the coffee stands that there were on Seattle University’s campus and often I saw, propped up next to the register, a bag of MotMot Coffee, with a colorful bird displayed right front and center. 

When we purchase from large coffee companies, often the consumer doesn’t think about the labor that goes into the production process. Where does it all come from? For companies like Starbucks and Dunkin, a majority of their coffee beans come from Latin American farms. But profits from these companies do not go back to the labor workers fully, resulting in low wages and inequality. 

Alongside a university professor, Seattle U alumni Braden Wild wanted to create a company that would return all of its profits back to its coffee farmers. Founded in 2015, MotMot partnered with coffee farms and co-ops in Nicaragua. Their mission explains that they “pay premiums higher than Fair Trade and ensure a close personal connection with farmers and co-op management” and that their “vertically integrated supply chain assures no middlemen take a percentage of the money that farmers earn.”

In order to honor the country that they have invested in, both the company name and logo originate from Nicaragua’s national bird - the MotMot. It’s not just another coffee company, but an effort to bring justice to the workers that are often exploited and dehumanized in labor work. 

After a successful few years as a company, a group of Seattle University students were able to win a grant for MotMot Coffee and expand their interests and efforts to Vietnam, the second-largest coffee producer in the world. With similar missions and values, MotMot partnered with Married Beans, an ethical co-operative coffee collective, in order to bring this new Vietnamese roast to the Seattle community. 

Now MotMot offers a roast from both Nicaragua and Vietnam. The Tam Vietnamese roast is described as “a lovely cup that has hints of sweet honey and tangerine with smooth caramel and chocolate tasting notes” while the Nicaraguan blend “has a bright lemony tang and nutty hints of chocolate and nutmeg.”

And even while Seattle U’s campus is still mostly closed due to the pandemic, you can still buy yourself a bag of this ethically sourced coffee online. While you’re there, be sure to check out their blog and learn more about sustainability and coffee.