A Few Words With GoodWorks - A Story of Investing in the Invisible

GoodWorks: A Story of Investing in Tea, Coffee, and Community

Tracy Wang, Senior Editor | Mar 24, 2016 10:00 am | Add a comment | 3224 reads

There's nothing like a great cup of coffee – unless of course it's a great cup of coffee that is brewed by an organization that also does great things for society.

That's exactly the magic formula that makes Beijing-based coffee fanatics GoodWorks so worthy of support.

I first met GoodWorks co-founder Samuel Cornthwaite at the spring Farm to Neighbors Market at the Grand Summit, where you can find them every Saturday.

We talked over a cup of their fine java – floral, chocolatey, nutty, with a little bit of a tobacco aroma as well as a subtle acidic taste. I dare say it was one of the best coffees I've tried in Beijing. The fact that it lived up to my expectations made the story behind it that much more exciting.

Cornthwaite is an energetic and passionate optimist. He's from Montana, and decided to move to China in August 2015 after visiting several times since 2009.

"[Beijing is] a place we found ourselves drawn to, a place where there is need, and a place that just felt like home," he said. "And looking back, I'm absolutely thrilled with the choice we made. Beijing has very much become my home, and it's a place I'm proud to call home."

Beijing isn't the only topic to get him excited – when he talks about GoodWorks, his eyes shine.

Cornthwaite and Richard Elmore founded GoodWorks in 2013 as a coffee and tea social enterprise based in the Greater Beijing area. They roast in Langfang (south of Beijing in Hebei), and share their coffees with cafés across China. The duo saw a need for holistic programs across the globe, focusing on education, vocational training, and recreation.

Vocational training lab
In August, 2015, GoodWorks launched its first international program in Langfang. Now they are in the process of launching a vocational training lab and café in Shine Hills in Shunyi, where they have partnered with innovative coffee and tea experts to train teenaged orphans how to be coffee roasters, tea blenders, baristas, and much more. The lab is designed to support, encourage, and invest in at-risk teens orphans who have aged out of the adoption system with special needs who are finding difficulty in employment through vocational training.

Apprentices are provided tuition at no cost and receive housing as well as residential development services, helping them successfully transition to life outside of the institution. The product of their learning and labor, GoodWorks Coffee & Tea, is sold and all profits are reinvested in order to support more people.

"We provide an alternative so that [the orphans] could find another job, and help them to integrate into society to find long term jobs." Cornthwaite continues, “We are working with 12 cafés across China currently, including five in Beijing. These cafés are willing to hire the orphans. After we launch the training center in Shunyi in late April or early May, and the lab will serve coffee too, to make it six.”

It took them three years to get to this point. “Everything happened so quickly, it is exciting and terrifying.” They will work with two orphans at first, and hope to take four within a year; they plan to develop more training centers across China.

Cornthwaite’s base remains in Langfang for the moment, but he will move to Beijing soon, since it takes him several hours to move between the two locales.

“In the south we're partnered with 12 coffee growers to build the leading model farm in Yunnan Province. In the north we are building a vocational training center for orphans and adults with special needs, training in coffee and tea, one of China's fastest growing sectors,” he explained. They also provide education and training for the coffee growers too.

“Yunnan coffees are underestimated. Yunnan has great quality coffee, people see it as cheap, but it doesn’t have to be. I just have one honey processed coffee. It’s a delight." Cornthwaite took some of their coffee samples to Hong Kong, asking people to taste it. Those that did said, “it must be from Africa,” and were surprised to hear of its true origin. Cornthwaite says: “Yunnan coffee is delicious as long as it roasted properly. Watch out for Yunnan!”

Agricultural projects
Ever since GoodWorks launched they've cared deeply for the people who labor for each cup of coffee. Once they had the opportunity to begin purchasing coffee from farmers in Yunnan, it was a simple decision. But when they learned about the life of the farmer, the lack of capital, and the lack of resources they knew they could do more. In 2014 they began discussions with county and regional government officials, asking how they can help improve the quality of life of those helping to produce coffee in the region.

Since then, they've invested countless hours and financial investments to support their farmers, and the farms surrounding them. Their goal is to establish a model farm and utilize their current relationships to help more farmers grow and share high quality coffee both here in China and abroad.

Their growers are predominantly minorities, and include individuals from Hani (哈尼), Lisu (傈僳), and Dai (傣). Goodworks plans to put a sticker on each coffee bag, demonstrating which minority helped to farm it. “It’s like a showcase of the minority’s culture. We also will put a QR code on it, if you scan it, it leads you to the page of our website with pictures of the farm and information.”

They also want to help the growers' incomes. "At first she [one of the growers] sent the sample and the price was so low, she said, ‘If the price is too much, I can lower the price.' I said no, I want her to make a better living, and help her to survive. We reward the growers for the good quality to keep producing the coffee in a sustainable way. We care about the growers."

GoodWorks attend Farm to Neighbors every Saturday, otherwise, you learn more about what the team is doing via their website here. You can also find their products at Ahava Bistro and Cafe, Palms L.A. Kitchen and Bar, Two Guys and A Pie, and Napa Artisan Cooking.