We were lucky to catch up with Steven Chiocchi recently and have shared our conversation below.

Steven, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

Ambee Coffee is 100% focused on democratizing organic coffee.

Conventional coffee is one of the heaviest-treated crops for pesticides, with over 200 chemicals used to meet the demand.

The #1 to minimize chemical use in coffees is to support a company that favors certified organic coffee farmers.

We are an emerging concept focusing 100% of our efforts on supporting the organic ecosystem.

We were also just featured as one of the top 10 coffee brands in NJ here: https://vuenj.com/best-coffee-shops-in-nj/

Steven, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Steven Chiocchi is the Founder & President of Ambee Coffee Co. – A Sustainably focused organic coffee and tea startup.

What else should we know about how you took your side hustle and scaled it up into what it is today?

A Cleaner Coffee Habit
Before I entered the coffee industry as an entrepreneur, I was an average coffee consumer. I purchased my coffee daily, usually exclusively from 3rd wave coffee shops, with the occasional visit to a big box shop. I rarely brewed my coffee from home.

Around the time cold brew coffee started to pop up on coffee shops’ menus and become mainstream, my interest piqued. I had never tasted anything like cold brew; it felt like an entirely new type of coffee to me. It was smooth, naturally sweet, and full of flavor. It made me start to question the quality of what I was putting in my body everyday. After some investigation, I learned that conventional coffee, the typical coffee that we consume daily, is not what we think it is.

What Conventional Coffee Means
Like the meat and poultry industries, coffee producers are challenged to meet the demand and popularity driven by consumers. The standard in the coffee industry is to keep margins high by buying conventional coffee at lower prices at a higher volume. Unfortunately, traditional coffee is one of the heaviest-treated crops for pesticides, with over 200 chemicals used to preserve crops, maintain relationships with buyers, and meet consumer demand. Without these pesticides, it would be difficult for producers to commit and reliably meet the volume consumers seek.

The Difference With Organic Practices
On the other hand, organic coffee farming uses no synthetic fertilizers or chemicals. Instead, organic coffee farmers use only organic fertilizers like coffee pulp, manure, and compost to fertilize. These practices mean a cleaner planet for everyone, which we all know is a rapidly growing concern. However, due to the smaller, artisanal nature to their coffee production, volumes are much smaller than typical conventional operations. While supply may not be as consistent, fair trade practices help ensure these farmers receive fair market rates for their coffee which is why organic beans are usually sold at a higher premium. For those that enjoy single origin or organic blends, this presents the opportunity to explore what various regions have to offer.

Ambee Coffee’s Origin
To me, the traditional ecosystem did not make sense, so I started Ambee Coffee Co. Our business model is simple; we purchase coffee and teas that are certified organic to support the farmers that are spending their days growing coffee in a sustainable manner.The more we can help these farmers and create demand for organic farming, the better. By investing in an ecosystem that replaces pesticide-treated crops with natural practices, we can reduce the adverse side effects of conventional coffee farming and offer consumers a healthier end product.

Reducing Our Footprint
To add to our decision to focus on organic practices, we also consider the impact of our carbon footprint in other ways. For example, when you shop at Ambee, our takeaway containers are manufactured using post-consumer waste and recycled materials. Even the bags containing our whole beans for purchase are compostable. To cut down on our waste even more, we recently adopted a new technology in-house that allows us to manufacture our alternative milks and serve them in reusable containers. By switching to this practice, we estimate that we divert over 12,000 cartons from landfills per location per year. While it may not seem like a lot compared to other businesses, we’re just getting started in our efforts to leave behind a cleaner world.

It’s Up to Us
We, as consumers, have to decide daily how our habits affect the world we live in. As an industry, coffee needs a rewrite; we need to wake up. Understanding how our operational methods impact the Earth at scale and committing to take the road less traveled is how we can move the needle on global warming and consumer health concerns. I believe that the more we invest in sustainability, the lower the cost of entry will be for the future entrepreneurs of the world, in turn making it a more attractive and accessible option.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Before I entered the coffee industry as an entrepreneur, I was an average coffee consumer. I purchased my coffee daily, usually exclusively from 3rd wave coffee shops, with the occasional visit to a big box shop. Rarely did I brew my coffee from home.

However, around the time cold brew coffee started to pop up on coffee shops’ menus and become mainstream, I was really into it. I had never tasted anything like it; it felt like an entirely new type of coffee to me. It was smooth, naturally sweet, and full of flavor. At this time, I started to question the quality of what I was putting in my body every day, and after some investigation, I learned that conventional coffee, the coffee that we consume daily, is not what we think it is.

Similar to other industries like red meat and poultry, coffee producers are challenged to meet the demand and popularity driven by consumers. The standard in the coffee industry is to keep margins high by buying conventional coffee at lower prices and in bulk. Unfortunately, traditional coffee is one of the heaviest-treated crops for pesticides, with over 200 chemicals used to preserve crops, maintain relationships with buyers, and meet consumer demand.

On the other hand, organic coffee farming uses no synthetic fertilizers or chemicals. Instead, organic coffee farmers use only organic fertilizers like coffee pulp, manure, and compost to fertilize. That means a cleaner planet for everyone, a rapidly growing concern, as we all know. In addition, some smaller-scale operations, known as micro-lot farms, are also using sustainable practices.

The traditional ecosystem did not make sense to me, so I started Ambee Coffee Co. At Ambee, our business model is simple; we purchase coffee and teas that are certified organic to support farmers that are doing good. The more we can help these farmers and create demand for organic farming, the better. By investing in an ecosystem that replaces pesticide-treated crops with natural practices, we can reduce the adverse side effects of conventional coffee farming and offer consumers a healthier end product.

To add to our decision to focus on organics, we also consider our carbon footprint in other ways. For example, when you shop at Ambee, our takeaway containers are manufactured using post-consumer waste and compostable materials. To cut down on our waste even more, we recently adopted a new technology in-house that allows us to manufacture our alternative milks and serve them in reusable containers. By switching to this practice, we estimate that we divert over 12,000 cartons from landfills per location per year. Even our whole-bean coffee boxes have cutting-edge technology, the bags are entirely plant-based, and the vent is sugar based, making the entire thing compostable.

We, as consumers, have to decide daily how our habits affect the world we live in. As an industry, coffee needs a rewrite; we need to wake up. Understanding how our operational methods impact the earth at scale and committing to take the road less traveled is how we can move the needle on global warming and consumer health concerns. I believe that the more we invest in sustainability, the lower the cost of entry will be for the future entrepreneurs of the world, in turn making it a more attractive and accessible option for the coming generations.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ambee.coffee
• Instagram: @ambeecoffee
• Facebook: /ambeecoffee
• Linkedin: /ambeecoffee

Image Credits
Steven Chiocchi