OVIK AZADKHANIAN, a third-generation coffee roaster, had been running his family’s coffee roasting
CHANGE
enterprise for nearly a decade when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. By 2021, like many small companies, their business had almost completely dried up. But rather than hang onto a disappearing dream, Azadkhanian felt like it was the perfect time to listen to his conscience. Because when is it not a good time to try to change the world?
BREWING
“We were supplying about a thousand cafes and restaurants in the greater Northern California area, and overnight, that went to barely 20,” Azadkhanian tells The Rooted Journal. “That was a huge hit for us, but luckily, we have this manufacturing space, so I said, ‘Okay, guys, we have this one opportunity in our lifetime to actually reorg the company and shift directions and be part of the solution instead of part of the problem.” For Azadkhanian, that shift meant buying, roasting, and selling Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) coffee. The ROC seal is given by the Regenerative Organic Alliance, a collective of farmers, business leaders, and experts in soil health, animal welfare, and social fairness, established in 2017. The certification validates that farms are practicing regenerative agriculture: no-till farming and zero artificial, external, or synthetic inputs into the soil, other than locally sourced compost. ROC coffee also supports farmworkers on a deeper level than any other certification and contributes to carbon sequestration, reforestation, and the rebuilding of topsoil.
COFFEE CULTIVATORS EMBRACE REGENERATIVE FARMING TO GROW A BETTER BEAN AND TO CREATE A FUTURE WHERE COFFEE FARMING CAN THRIVE.
by Beau Flemister
illustrations by Liana Jegers
photographs courtesy of Heirloom Coffee Roasters
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ISSUE 02
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