About the Whale – Laughing Whale Coffee

We are LAUGHING WHALE COFFEE ROASTERS

A Whale's Tale

Since 2003, Laughing Whale Coffee Roasters has been plying their craft in the UNESCO heritage village of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. This community of shipbuilders, artists, fisherfolk and tradespeople have a legacy of pride in detailed artisanship and community values. All this dovetails well with Laughing Whale's passion for providing small-batch, carefully roasted and artfully blended coffees to customers near and far.

Our MISSION

To do the right thing.

At Laughing Whale, we firmly believe that the long-term protection of our environment, including the people within it, is more important than maximizing short-term profits. Before launching Laughing Whale Coffee Roasters, our prior careers involved working for social justice, indigenous rights, international development, women’s rights, environmental protection and renewable energy. We strive to make our coffee a vehicle for change by giving back both at home and in coffee-producing countries. Laughing Whale Coffee's goal is to be the "greenest" coffee roaster in Atlantic Canada. Our state-of-the-art roaster, commitment to organic principles, carbon reduction, and support of local food production show we're on the right track.

COFFEE PARTNERS

The incredibly committed people behind a great cup of coffee.

Laughing Whale is a member of Co-op Coffees, a green coffee importing cooperative committed to supporting and partnering with small scale coffee farmers in 13 coffee growing countries. By importing directly from farmers, it creates a fairer, more transparent and sustainable system of trade while at the same time delivering exceptional specialty coffee. Here’s a snapshot of some of our coffee farmers....

Kokowagaya
Sumatra

Kokowagayo Cooperative is the first all Women’s Coffee Cooperative in Asia with 550 women from 8 villages. Premiums from their organic and Fairtrade certifications have helped build a coffee processing station and other community projects.

Cenfrocafe
Cajamarca, Peru

Cenfrocafe is a union of many smaller cooperatives in North Peru. Coffee is grown on small family farms in subtropical highland valleys in between the Andes Mountains and the Amazon Rainforest. This coffee is often one of the top finalists in national and international quality competitions.

Comsa
La Paz, Honduras

Located in Marcala, in the mountain range of Monecillos at heights of 1200-1700 m. The farmers are committed to ecological balance through organic agriculture that maintains the health of the soil, the ecosystems that surround it and the people who tend it.

Sidama C0-op (SCFCU)
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

The SCFCU represents 53 cooperatives and more than 80,000 small scale farmer families . The Sidama region stretches across rugged mountains of Bensa to the valleys of Dale and Aleta Wendo which provide a wealth of quality coffee profiles.

Manos Campesinas
San Marcos, Guatemala

These small-scale farmers uphold their Mayan roots, including deep respect for the land, holistic and organic farming practices, as well as preserving traditional culture and language. They developed on-site demonstration and experimental plots where farmers see and learn about best production practises and can test new varietals in their own geographical and climatic context.

Cecocafen
Matagalpa, Nicaragua

Located in the mountains of Matagalpa, Jinotega and Las Segovias, renowned for rich volcanic soils, high altitudes, and a humid tropical climate, these producers have consistently high-quality coffees with unique flavor profiles from each of the regions.