“Fair trade was just beginning in Canada.”

Jenny Burr
Spur Ottawa Correspondent.

When Amber and Craig Hall first started their business they had no idea how far God would take it. They started Equator Coffee Roasters knowing it was God’s plan and that they wanted to make a difference in the lives of farmers who grow coffee organically, their workers, the environment, and the lives of those who enjoy a good cup of coffee.

Nineteen years later, both Craig and Amber have been nominated for local business awards. Craig won a 2012 Forty Under 40 Award and Amber was a finalist for the Ottawa Business Women of the Year Award. In 2016, Equator Coffee Roasters won the Best Ottawa Business Award in the area of philanthropy. They were nominated by SchoolBOX, a charity that helps facilitate education in Central America, where they donate 10 cents for every pound of coffee sold.

What sets their business apart?

“Craig was really intrigued with the idea that the north could make use of this consuming desire for coffee and help the poor by being more of a partner in the process.”

“We want each of our cafes to feel like a community cafe, where people walk in the door and are welcomed into an extension of our home,” explains Amber. “We focus on customer service.”

“We are people people,” shares Craig. “Relationships together are important and so are relationships in the community.” Craig says their manager and staff also reflect this concept.

The idea for a fair-trade coffee business first came to Craig while studying international development at Trent University. He learned about the coffee industry as he wrote a paper, and how the farmers growing coffee around the equator are exploited.

“Fair trade had been around for a few years in Europe and was just beginning in Canada,” Amber says. “Craig was really intrigued with the idea that the north could make use of this consuming desire for coffee and help the poor by being more of a partner in the process.”

Photo courtesy of Equator Coffee Roasters.

At the time, Amber was teaching in Deep River, near Algonquin Park. Craig volunteered as the youth leader at their church. He didn’t have a job, but he had a vision.

“I spent a lot of time planning and praying,” he says. “I definitely felt that the Lord gave me a direction to start the fair-trade coffee business. That assurance was very helpful for the first many years.”

A move to Arnprior, and living there for two years, was the first step in putting the plan to action. They started with the wholesale side of the business. Craig was the sales person, roaster, packager, and delivery person. He got some help after training a friend from church as a roaster.

Craig Hall works on a SchoolBOX build project, in Nicaragua. Photo courtesy of Equator Coffee Roasters.

“I enjoy challenges and business, but it was a lot of work,” Craig says. “God blessed us in this because we started something we didn’t know how to do. There are so many things that I see that we can do better.”

The business grew more when they moved to Almonte, to live near family. They opened the Equator Coffee Roasters cafe, which has both a retail cafe and the wholesale side of the business.

Today, they produce more than 1,000 kilograms of fresh coffee every week. They have a second cafe in Westboro, a pop-up shop open for July, and another cafe opening in the National Arts Centre in September 2017. They have supported SchoolBox since 2010, but they also work to support communities in the developing world.

”There are so many more things I see that we could do better,” Craig shares. “In the world of coffee we’re big, but in the world of business we are super tiny, so we are humble in that sense.”

The Equator Coffee Roasters location in Almonte. Photo courtesy of Equator Coffee Roasters.