Interview with Suneal Pabari, Co-founder & Dustin Ryan Yu, Director of Coffee
If you had to describe Coffee Wallas in three words, what three words would you choose?
SP. Welcoming, inspired, and fun
What is the story behind Coffee Wallas?
SP. To me, it’s really fun to try new origins, varietals, species or processing methods. Yet, there are still a lot we rarely get to try. Dustin & I were talking about this - and we figured, let’s do something about it.
Before starting this journey, I could count on my hands the number of times I’ve tried coffee from India (six times, to be exact). As someone who has a lineage tracing back to India, it’s extra special for me to try coffees grown there.
Importers sometimes ignore some “developing” or “emerging” origins due to factors such as consistency with quality, logistical complexity, and production challenges. Simply put, it’s harder. But, with a little bit of patience, and of course, a little bit of risk, progress can be made. Coffees from India, for example, most certainly can have a cup score that is as good as, or better than, some of the more commonly sourced origins.
India isn’t the only country with these challenges, and our goal is to showcase how good specialty Asian coffee can be. There’s a lot of beauty here, not just in the exploration of taste—but also knowing the power of the crop and being able to invest in people and relationships.
Why did you decide to name yourselves Coffee Wallas?
SP. Coffee Wallas is a play on the term Chaiwalla, which refers to a tea vendor in India. It roughly translates to “People of Tea”, and they’re synonymous with the beverage of chai in India and are on every street corner.
When I learned about the translation for Chaiwalla, I loved it. “People of Coffee” felt very fitting for us, as we’re a group of nerds who spend way too much time thinking about all the various aspects of coffee. Not just us—the producers we’re working with are so committed to this crop. Same with the exporters too—everyone is doing something that’s not easy, and maybe even a bit illogical. But it’s all driven by this passion (or obsession) with coffee. The name felt like it truly captured that.
How would you describe Coffee Wallas’ mission and sourcing philosophy?
SP. Our mission is to bring the exceptional quality of Asian coffee to the forefront of the specialty coffee industry. We will be highlighting diverse origins, varieties, species, and processing methods, and doing this in a way that also improves the livelihoods of farmers via the form of true partnerships. We will connect passionate specialty coffee drinkers with unique coffees, and as result, create a more inclusive and diverse specialty coffee industry.
Breaking it down, there are a few goals with our sourcing:
Showcase origins, varietals, species, and processing methods that aren’t often seen on coffee roasters’ menus.
Show how good coffees from Asia can be.
Build partnerships with producers and ensure the coffee production is sustainable.
What are some of the challenges of sourcing specialty coffee from Asia?
DY. While it’s getting easier every year, there are still a lot of significant challenges that depend on the coffee-producing country. Countries such as Indonesia and China are generally not too difficult to source coffees from, though it can be difficult to source small, high quality, single producer lots. In other countries, there can be political violence, export restrictions, and lots can become difficult (and very expensive) to get out of the country and to North America. Working with importers who focus on specific countries helps us more reliably bring these coffees in, and to ensure other aspects of the coffee are aligned, such as year-to-year quality, processing standards, and traceability.
Where do you hope to see the future of Asian specialty coffee going?
SP. I’d love for Asian growing countries to be as accessible as some of the more commonly sourced origins. Opening up the market of North America for these growing origins will be a powerful opportunity for these producers. Their unique terroir brings something unique to our industry, and that shouldn’t be ignored. To me, it feels like there is this whole new world of origins, varieties, species and processing methods that haven’t been commonly seen and we’d love to help more people experience them.
We’ll showcase the quality that these origins produce and hopefully, as a result, improve the prices paid that farmers in these origins receive.
If we can build a base of passionate supporters who have links to these origins, and if we do our job right, more and more coffee buyers will consider having Myanmar, Thailand, or India on their menu as much as they’ll consider Brazil, Guatemala, or Ethiopia.
What’s something exciting Coffee Wallas is working on that we can look forward to in the near future?
SP. We got lots up our sleeve. You’ll just have to wait and see! ;)
Want to try three new coffees every month?
Take our quiz and you’ll receive three new coffees from three new Canadian roasters, freshly roasted just for you!
Change your profile, upgrade or downgrade your sizing, skip a shipment or cancel at any time.
