An Ipswich veteran and coffee shop founder went on a trip to Brazil to meet the farmers who have been supplying his social enterprise with beans.
Nigel Seaman founded Combat2Coffee in Northgate Street in 2018, offering mental health support to veterans, prisoners and their families to help them return to civilian life.
For his work, Mr Seaman has received great recognition – he was awarded the Prime Minister’s Points of Light award in 2022 and was also invited to 10 Downing Street last September.
He recently went on a trip to Brazil and met the farmers who have been growing the coffee he has sold to his Ipswich customers since 2020.
Mr Seaman said: "This was an incredible trip which taught us so much about the amazing work that goes behind making our now-famous coffee.
“Meeting the remarkable people who make our work here in the UK possible was eye-opening and it was great to hear them speak so passionately about our work too.”
This coffee is grown by two family-run Brazilian farms, delivering single-sourced coffee.
The Bom Jesus farm makes the beans for Combat2Coffee's Cuppa Towen roast, and Fazenda Sao Lucas grows the St George’s roast.
One of the owners of the Bom Jesus farm, Flavia Lancha, invited Mr Seaman to visit the Aleph project, a scheme she funds to help educate underprivileged children in the region.
There he sponsored 10 children to come with him and advertise this project on Combat2Coffee's social media pages.
Mr Seaman added: “The work farmers like Flavia and others are doing in Brazil is simply incredible.
“Our mission at Combat2Coffee is to change lives, one sip at a time – and it is great to know that by purchasing our beans from social enterprising farmers, we are achieving that both in the UK and Brazil too."
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