Mission & Values
Coava began roasting with a focus on single origin, specialty coffees back in 2008. Our mission is to source, roast, and brew truly exceptional coffees that both baristas and everyday coffee drinkers will love. Yet as much as our story is about coffee, it's really about people first and foremost.
We believe in an old fashioned ethos where excellence and hard work are rewarded, commitments are honored, and integrity serves as the backbone not just for our team, but for every individual we work with. We are fierce advocates of the following values:
DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
Coava is a family of nearly 50 diverse, tremendously talented, incredible humans who just so happen to also love coffee. We believe that an inclusive workplace is the only way to achieve a healthy, vibrant, and highly productive team. Every member of our team was chosen because they are absolutely awesome at what they do. Several of our more senior team members started as Coava baristas who worked their way up into roles as senior managers, team leaders, trainers, coffee buyers, and coffee roasters.
caring for our team
Since day one, Coava has offered health insurance to our employees. Our benefit plans are available to all employees who work a minimum of 30 hours per week and include comprehensive medical, vision, and dental plan options. We also offer and contribute to 401K retirement savings accounts for our employees.
Coava provides the following benefits to all employees at no cost: accidental death & dismemberment coverage, short-term disability, long-term disability, and an Employee Assistance Program which includes 24/7 access to licensed professional counselors to help employees and their family members maintain a healthy work/life balance.
partnership with coffee producers
Coava is committed to long term, sustainable partnerships with coffee producers. We've worked closely with a small group of truly excellent producers for over a decade, and we are absolutely invested in their success. We've helped to build new drying beds, improve living conditions, and provide the financial means to help farmers purchase new equipment and make farm level investments. We believe in direct trade, fair prices, and paying a premium for quality.
community involvement
We are long-time partners and advocates of a few local organizations that we hold near and dear. While we do donate coffee and brew goods to many other local and national non-profits and organizations, below we only list those that we partner with on a consistent basis.
Blanchet House - Donation partner since 2014. We provide ~5lbs coffee per week.
EMO HIV Center - Donation partner since 2013. We provide ~20lbs coffee bi-weekly.
New Avenues For Youth - Donation partner since 2018. We provide ~5lbs coffee per week.
Reach CDC - Donation partner since 2015. We provide ~5lbs bi-weekly.
Sisters of the Road - Donation partner since 2015. We provide ~10lbs bi-weekly or as needed.
Creative Mornings - Donation partner since 2019. We provide ~10lbs pre-brewed coffee for monthly events.
Bridge City CX- We're proud to be an annual partner providing various donations of coffee and gear.
Coava Coffee Roasters (and our CEO & founder, Matt Higgins) were awarded the 2018 Oregon Small Business of the Year which was incredibly humbling. Our organizational fabric, community involvement, and philanthropic work with our producer partners at origin were all contributing factors.