New Memphis-based coffee roaster launches with a mission

A new coffee roaster has launched in Memphis with a mission beyond just selling cups of joe.

Vinculo Coffee is a Memphis-based coffee distributor and roaster that was started by Andrew Banker. Though he works in Memphis’ medical device industry, Banker has also developed direct connections with coffee growers throughout the world, primarily in Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru.

Translated into English, “vinculo” means a bond or something that ties people together. The new company has three primary goals with its operations: to directly serve coffee farmers and distributors within indigenous regions; to bring a quality experience through ethical means with every cup of coffee; and to partner with Mid-South ministers, missionaries, community leaders and church planters to support their work in and with these communities.

Banker and his wife, Savannah, first went on a mission trip to Mexico with Living Church Memphis six to seven years ago. At the time, Banker had launched 901 Roasted as a “side hustle,” and the trip had two goals: to serve as a mission and to learn more about locally grown coffee.

“From what I’ve seen, the general people who are the coffee farmers are in extreme poverty. Finding people who are really trying to help the ones in poverty and educate them is definitely unique,” Banker said, noting a school for locals currently under construction in one of the communities where they have ties.

“By drinking Vinculo coffee, customers are directly helping to make communities around the globe stronger.”

Currently, Vinculo works with farmers in Chiapas, Mexico (Vinculo’s signature blend); Veracruz, Mexico; and Ethiopia. The company expects to add Peruvian and Nicaraguan beans within the next few months.

“Through our trips that we’ve made from the time of coffee being a side hustle back then, these relationships just organically happened,” he said. “There are no middlemen here — the money is handed directly to the farmers who grow and pick this green coffee bean. We roast locally in order to check quality, and a portion of all sales goes back to the community leaders to lead in the way they believe is best for their area.”

Green coffee beans are the raw seeds of coffee cherries that have been separated or processed and have yet to be roasted. The green coffee beans that Vinculo sources are a light green, almost yellow, color before they’re roasted.

“What made me want to start roasting coffee was that fresh taste you get right after the coffee bean is roasted,” Banker said. “There’s a 30-day window. Anything you get at a grocery store would be considered stale coffee. Fresh roasted gives so much more flavor.”

Vinculo coffee can be purchased in 2.5-ounce, 12-ounce and 5-pound bags, as well as a “Roaster’s Choice” monthly subscription service option. Bags can be shipped anywhere in the U.S.

Operations are based out of Memphis, but currently, all the company’s roasting happens in New Albany, Mississippi. Banker and his two business partners, Joe Williams and Sam Rogers, are looking to move everything to the Memphis area as soon as the right location presents itself.

“I would love to find a spot in Memphis to set up our own roaster with a tasting room,” Banker said. “Eventually, it would be a café, ideally, and customers can come in and see the process, see the beans and the roaster from Xalapa (Mexico).”

Future goals include several partnerships with other Memphis brands including a local brewery; retail sales in coffee shops, churches and grocery stores; and a tasting room connected to the roaster. Right now, the easiest way to purchase Vinculo Coffee is online or at Happy Glaze Donuts in Germantown and several bakeries and boutiques in the Memphis area such as The Ginger’s Bread & Co. on Union Avenue.

“What sets us apart is our intentionality behind the coffee sourcing and really building those relationships,” Banker said. “We’re being intentional and being supportive in how we get the coffee.”

This article was originally published at “dailymemphian.com”

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