Assembly Coffee x CATA Export
Three weeks ago, we returned from the London Coffee Festival, one of those events that reminds you why you fell in love with coffee in the first place. The energy and friends… we always reconnect with the community and reflect on where our industry is headed.
Also this year, what stayed with us the most was neither a new coffee nor flavour-related conversations, but the sharing with so many people in our pop-up.
We had the privilege of co-hosting the Pop-Up Café alongside our friends at Assembly from London, offering a space to meet and celebrate our new path as producers at Cata Reserva. In this pop-up, we hosted our fun fruit competition — Tropic Unknown — and enjoyed a series of cuppings too, but one of our favourite moments was an inspiring talk led by Nick Mabey, co-founder of Assembly, who shared a phrase that strongly resonated with the room:
“Specialty coffee only works as long as the businesses behind it can survive.”
That line became the thread of a collective reflection on one of the industry’s biggest contradictions: the growing distance between the stories we tell and the systems we sustain.
Specialty coffee has meant quality, unique, elevated varietals, as well as complex post-harvest protocols that bring value to the business in consuming countries. But how often do we stop and ask: how much of that value is reaching the producer?
Commercial coffees — as well as in the specialty sector — are still traded based on the C price: the global reference for Arabica set by the New York Stock Exchange. A price that has nothing to do with quality, a profitable farming business plan, or human effort, but with speculation, weather in Brazil, or exchange rates. And we know it has often sat below the real cost of production, leaving millions of families in our origin country, Colombia, vulnerable or pushed out of coffee altogether.
Saying “we pay above the C price” has become an ethical shield in the industry. But if the foundation is broken, paying a little more doesn’t fix the system. It only masks it.
From our perspective at CATA Export — as exporters but also as producers — we believe the answer goes beyond much better storytelling: it lies in building better structures.
Our relationship with Assembly Coffee is an example of that. From a production point of view, it feels safe when people like Nick ask questions beyond flavours, beyond the fun part coffee provides. Nick wants to be engaged with production and its constant changes; he thinks coffee economics and builds structures that empower all.
As Pierre and Cat, co-founders of CATA Export, always say:
“We at CATA discover, develop, and reveal — from Colombia to those companies that want to support and consume this work.”
The discovery part in Colombia is not so difficult due to the magnificent terroir, tradition, and microclimate that are in our favour. However, the developing part is not so easy — in the sense that we cannot do it alone — when the C price, production operations, and unpredictable factors shape the value of an end product. Therefore, when CATA does the revealing part, it must be done with the partnership of those who understand that running a business in the specialty industry requires being involved from production and embracing the constant changes around it.
To reaffirm something we’ve always believed at CATA:
Coffee doesn’t change the world just because it tastes good.
It changes the world if:
• The producer can work without so much uncertainty.
• The roaster can build a brand based on trust and solid relationships.
• The exporter ensures traceability and detailed information.
• And the consumer understands that if good quality is cheap, we should think twice.
The truth is that specialty coffee doesn’t need more narrative. It needs more clarity, structure, and above all, responsibility.
And that’s exactly what we’re building at CATA Export: farm by farm, partnership by partnership, cup by cup.
We’re grateful to Assembly Coffee for opening the conversation — and to every person who joined us.