This Side Up
Amsterdam-based specialty coffee importer founded in 2013. Known for radical transparency (publishing all contracts and supply chain documents publicly), steward ownership (no private shareholder, mission-owned), and deep long-term relationships with origin partners. Active in 15 countries, primarily Africa and Asia. No El Salvador or Central America in their portfolio (except Colombia and Brazil). LOW fit for Kaiserblick’s export programme.
Website: https://thissideup.coffee Founded: 2013 Base: Netherlands Fit: LOW — Africa/Asia focus; no ES; values-heavy model requires multi-year relationship to enter
(source: This Side Up (website))
Company overview
Founded with the mission to demonstrate that a middleman can be a conduit of trust and information rather than a profit extractor. Anti-consolidation ethos: explicitly positions itself against the trend of specialty importers merging with large coffee corporations (“Big Coffee”).
Steward ownership: The company is transitioning to steward ownership, removing any private shareholder and making the company itself the sole “owner” — the mission cannot be sold.
Philosophy in practice:
- Prices set by conversation with producers, not by the market
- All contracts, shipping documents, and producer contacts published publicly
- Pays living income premiums and regenerative farming bonuses
- 15 origin countries with long-term exclusive partnerships
(source: This Side Up (website))
Origin partners
| Origin | Producer / Station |
|---|---|
| Rwanda | Rushashi, Intango |
| Thailand | Beanspire |
| Ethiopia | Limmukossa |
| Brazil | Capricornio |
| Indonesia | Ontosoroh (Flores, Java, Sulawesi, Papua) |
| Colombia | Argote |
| Uganda | Zombo Coffee Partners |
| Congo | RAEK |
| India | South India Coffee Company |
| Kenya | Sakami |
| Tanzania | Wanza |
| + 4 others | (15 total) |
No El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, or Costa Rica. Central America is represented only by Colombia (South America) and Brazil.
(source: This Side Up (website))
Roaster clients
Primarily Dutch and Northern European specialty roasters: Schot Koffie, Doubleshot (Prague), Keppler Koffie, Kaffa Roastery, Special Roast, White Label Coffee, Back to Black, Van Rossums, Dave’s Koffiebranderij, and others. The community is relatively small, values-aligned, and multi-year.
(source: This Side Up (website))
Relevance to Kaiserblick
This Side Up is not a viable route for Kaiserblick green coffee exports:
- No Central America in their origin portfolio
- New partnerships require deep values alignment and multi-year commitment building — they do not add new origins opportunistically
- Their roaster community is small and niche, limiting volume
Could be an inspiration model for Kaiserblick’s own values-based communication, but not an outreach target.
Sources
- This Side Up (website) —
raw/International export/thissideup-coffee-crawl.md