That's a line straight out of journalism school, but it's also incredibly important in the coffee industry too.

With so many players and stakeholders in this global market, it's incredibly important that you know your source.

What does this mean exactly? Well, it means different things to different people . We came across an incredibly disturbing article earlier this week, that reported that five people were arrested in Vietnam on suspicion of 

"Violating food safety regulations after they were caught mixing coffee waste with a black, tar-like liquid made from manganese dioxide found in batteries."

Vietnam is one of the largest coffee exporters in the world, and coffee from the central highlands region ends up mixed into many instant coffee blends in the global market. The lesson here, is that when you go to buy your coffee, it's incredibly important that you do a little bit of homework to find out exactly who you're buying from.

Granted, not everyone wants to trace their coffee all the way back to source, but it's important at least to trust your roaster and know what their supply chain is like. Most companies, like ourselves, that have an ethical supply chain in place are very proud of this fact and usually advertise it across social media and on their website.

If you're not sure about a company's supply chain, or where they source their coffee from, then our advice is that you either give them a quick call or drop them a message and ask them directly where they source their coffee from and what their ethics are. If you're not satisfied with their answer, then go elsewhere to buy your beans.

Unfortunately, malpractice is rampant across the sector, and even when a product claims to be 'Fairtrade certified', this is often not a straightforward guarantee of an ethical supply chain. We strongly advise you to do you research and find a coffee company that you trust. Our ethical promise is a simple one:

"All of the farmers that grow our coffee are paid above the Fairtrade and market price. Our coffee is freshly roasted to ensure quality of taste. We reinvest a proportion of our profits into our charity, The Zuri Project, and for every 250g bag of coffee we sell, we plant one coffee tree to support sustainable development projects in coffee growing regions in Kanungu district, Uganda."

In partnership with our roaster, we can also direct you to the source of all of our coffees, and we'd be delighted to provide you with any further information that you require about our beans.