The largest sailing ship will carry green coffee beans from Colombia to Canada.
Canadian coffee company Café William has announced the maiden voyage of a new cargo ship. The ship will transport 50 containers of green coffee beans to Quebec, including beans from the ANEI cooperative in Colombia.
It has partnered with TransOceanic Wind Transport (TOWT) to decarbonize shipping with wind-powered sailing cargo ships. Café William’s Wind series will now ship ten times more coffee beans than it did in the 2023 beta test.
This is a milestone in shipping history, as TOWT’s maiden voyage to Canada was the largest sailing cargo ship in the 21st century.
“We are delighted to work with TOWT to deliver on our mission to go beyond the cup and set a precedent for other players in the industry,” said Serge Picard, Innovation Director and Commercial Director at Café William.
He added that it was important for the company to find another option for shipping coffee, as most of it is shipped on ships powered by fossil fuels.
The maiden voyage demonstrated that wind power can transport coffee beans to Canada, but these larger vessels will allow them to continue operating and move towards shipping coffee without emissions.
Guillaume Le Grand, co-founder and CEO of TOWT, added that their goal is to revolutionize the maritime industry with the maiden voyage of TOWT’s first sailing cargo ship.
Some of the grain comes from the ANEI Cooperative, which is dedicated to rebuilding and strengthening indigenous communities in Colombia.
Café William is a leading importer of organic, fair-trade coffee from farms where farmers are fairly compensated and have stable livelihoods. Organic grains are free of chemicals and pesticides.
Julie Francoeur, executive director of Fair Trade Canada, said the partnership between Cafe William and ANEI Cooperative is an example of Fair Trade’s goal to strengthen relationships between coffee companies and producers, positively impacting people and the land.
Once in Canada, the beans will be roasted at Café William’s facility in Quebec, home to the world’s first 100% electric industrial coffee roaster with an annual capacity of 20 million pounds of coffee.
As a result, coffee lovers can enjoy the limited edition Wind range of coffees, featuring beans from the ANEI cooperative, at Costco stores in Canada this winter. You can also shop the sustainable range on the Café William website.
