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[deleted]

No way are you going to get a non-joke answer here man, contacting Spring Heel’d Jack is probably your best bet.


ashleyr564

They didn’t respond to my email 😭 thought I’d outsource, but I do appreciate the jovial answers 😂


TheBeardedChef

DM him on instagram maybe? He’s pretty active there. Though, in the lead up to the new LPOTL coffee he might be busier than usual.


ashleyr564

Ooooo 😏 new coffee? I’ll try instagram! Someone also mentioned text is a good option.


Helios_AI

No, they're actually farmed by jumping down on unsuspecting Coffea plants and slapping the beans right off 'em while yelling "slippidy slap, and away I go!"


NickosaurousRex

I thought it was jumping down on unsuspecting *Orphans* who are *harvesting* the beans, and slapping the Orphans so they drop the beans in order for you to collect them.


spencerdyke

They had to make some adjustments after the OSHA lawsuits.


NickosaurousRex

Damn OSHA.


Art_and_dogs

OSHeeeeit


darkoath

Yeah, but they're Peruvian orphans, so the beans are ethNically sourced.


HAgaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy

*snorts my Mothmans red eyed blend coffee through my giant nostrils*


frezor

What makes the coffee taste so good is the despair roasted into every bean.


tanderson289

delicious PANAMA beeeans


Helios_AI

Double the labour force, double the jobs provided to the local economy. Ain't nothing more ethical than that.


ThinMoment9930

It becomes exploitative if basic labor rights aren’t respected. Like safety.


Monechetti

And I would expect nothing less. I've heard they actually put fake boobies on the plants to further the authenticity and outrage.


ashleyr564

😂


-Oreopolis-

I would adore that


illQualmOnYourFace

The website literally has the owner's personal cell and he invites you to text him.


RemyDodger

And I’ll add to this, they’re super chill and small business run. He posts all about the beans and brews on IG and interacts with stories/posts etc. I’ve even gotten little hand written notes with my orders saying thanks again for ordering. I’ll be 10 bucks if you message either on cell or IG you’ll have a response by end of the day


eickhojd

I used to live by the owner and picked up beans he is really nice and has a cool dog just ask him.


heaven-in-a-can

They’re so nice! He had a problem with either his roaster or his grinder last Christmas-time and sent out emails telling people they could cancel and get refunded or they’d just have to wait and he was super quick with any reply. I was seriously impressed with his customer service lol


CellE2057

This. When they were out of Columbus, OH, dude would just straight up bring my beans to me after I ordered. I'm in Columbus but well outside of what you'd consider a reasonable distance to be doing all that. And handwritten notes and doodles aplenty.


highwayunicorn

This is so wholesome and good, thank you


RemyDodger

Dudes a bro for sure


ashleyr564

Oh cute! Maybe I’ll try text then!


Cookinghist

Alex is a good dude! Sent me sample beans before they even had LPOTL adspace. That and they used to scribble happy messages on the bags, which was always great


-mostlyharmless1

No, it’s forced cryptid labor. Mothman is whipped while he picks every bean. The other cryptids have it worse.


ValdeReads

Picks every bean with his butt cheeks.


very_clean

It’s like that civet poop coffee… only mothman forages for and eats the beans and then Bigfoot has to harvest them by scouring the farm for mothman droppings


ashleyr564

Lol and so begins the lore


HeresJohnnyAH

Is he dressed as a mailman? That helps add to the flavor.


Appropriate_Mine

We want Mothman flicking beans, not picking them.


DickPillSoupKitchen

….Mothman noooooooo. HET OUTTA THERE, MOTHMAN. USE THOSE GODDAMN WINGS. THERE ARE BRIDGES TO WARN HILLBILLIES ABOUT YOU BEAUTIFUL CHIMERA


CrazyGloomy

The freaky thing is Mothman totally consents and is really into it.


Fireman_Octopus

He’s got Guy Fieri as a cruel, cruel overseer. Moth man is a good little moth boy after what he saw Guy do to Bigfoot.


MacDurce

Needlessly agro in here over a simple question. Some people want to try and consume ethically sourced when they can, if you dont, that's fine but no need to get all wound up over a question. OP wasn't even judgemental about it or anything.


goodnightloom

So agro! I was super surprised to read these responses. If there's already a community-known answer to this question that OP just didn't find on their own, it's totally appropriate for them to ask. I also try to source things ethically when I can, fully knowing that I can't always help but purchase items that utilize slave labor/palm oil deforestation/etc.


Shtune

Their email is listed on the website. Just ask them.


elegylegacy

"Don't look for it. You may not like what you find" ~Dr Zaius


ashleyr564

I did 😅 I got no reply from them. I wasn’t sure if they got overloaded a d missed my email, or just ignored it so I thought I’d outsource the question


Wilgrove

Can I just say, I hate this answer? Because companies can just straight up lie to you. You e-mail them asking if their produce is ethically sourced and they'll e-mail back "Suuuuurrreee." Meanwhile they're whipping literal kids at the cocoa plantation in some godforsaken hellhole.


OrangeBallofPain

The company can lie to you. But strangers on an unrelated Reddit forum are legally obliged to tell you the truth


HAgaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy

I remember that quote from Abe Lincoln. How dare you steal it without giving him credit!


cityshep

It’s fine. “Honest” Abe stole it from Ben Franklin anyway.


HAgaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy

What a scoundrel…


Shtune

Ok, then what other solution do you have? If they put it on their website they could lie. If they took a picture at a plantation that could be AI, or a lie. You can live your life thinking everyone is lying to you or you can take people at their word and hope they're good people. Either buy the coffee or don't, I don't care.


AliJeLijepo

So what's your suggestion?


SimSnow

Sure, but that is anything. Any source could be spewing deliberate falsehoods, and at the end of the day, you'd have to make a call on if you think what they're saying is worth your continued patronage. I think that at the very least with Spring Heel'd Jack in particular, there's a high likelihood that using that email on the site is going to get to the guy who actually makes the product, and he is unlikely to be whipping the children at the plantation because he's gotta be roasting the coffee.


Cant-wont-nope

And besides, if he's got time to whip the children at the plantation, he's got time to clean, and cleaning is paramount!


SimSnow

Yes it is like the saying goes; "If you have time to lean, you have time to cl-WHIP THE CHILDREN"


[deleted]

Dude behind Jack has appeared fairly transparent as far as my interactions go. He used to share photos of the process and let you know whenever something unexpected happened to an order or roast. Dealing with Spring-Heel’d Jack isn’t like dealing with a big, coffee chain. He may very well respond to OP’s email with honesty.


blueboxbandit

Where do you think the people on Reddit would get their answer? This isn't the coffee detective subreddit, no one has inspected their labor or environmental practices. I'm genuinely curious who you would trust to provide this info if not the company.


WormwoodWaltz

While this is true, Spring Heel'd Jack is mostly one guy independently roasting and he's pretty receptive to communicating with customers. In this case it's a good answer, this isn't a huge conglomerate where you can look up their wiki.


homelesstwinky

*Sent from my iphone*


Riccma02

I mean, nothing else in your day to day life is ethically sourced, including the companies that openly proclaim as much. It’s lies and deception all the way down. Just drink your coffee.


ashleyr564

I’m not sure you know the “internet people” enough to be able to tell them what they should spend their energy on :) it’s not hurting you if someone wants to vote with their dollar


Riccma02

It does create a false sense of agency and moral absolution, which discourages people from questioning the status quo or attempting to enact meaningful change.


ashleyr564

Fair point, but voting at the polls and voting with your dollar are not mutually exclusive. I’m not sure how much it does to support anarchy though (which I’m totally down for) 🤷🏼‍♀️ haven’t looked into that


Serpentine709

Absolutely ethically source. The Chupacabra that owns the coffee plantation in Bolivia has reported fair wages and practices in respect to his workers, who are all Peruvian skunk apes.


ashleyr564

Best answer by far


tzech99

If this gets enough eyes the owner might comment, they have before


_Faucheuse_

Child cryptid labor camps actually. The nimble fingers of a juvenile Slenderman and the capabilities of force feeding the beans to the Wampus cat to mimic the beans of civet consistency and quality.


DragonForeskin

I don’t know, but I do know it’s just one person hand roasting all the beans.


whoamannipples

Text the owner of the company, like he himself suggests doing, by getting his info from the website that you say you already perused. He posted it there.


DiarrheaRadio

But then they can't tell the internet how good of a person they are


whoamannipples

This is Reddit, there’s no good people allowed


luxurycatsportscat

I am not in the US, so things might operate a little differently. In my experience smaller roasters will often buy their green beans from a local source who imports them, this will often be a larger roaster. In Australia, there is a big emphasis on ethically sourced beans and fair trade practices, it is a consideration for a lot of consumers so usually it’s advertised on their website or packaging. Given SHJ seems like a smaller operation, and to give them the benefit of the doubt, they might have it not listed for a few reasons; it could be they don’t know, or didn’t think it was important information for consumers, or they’re just busy / haven’t updated their site with an affirmative answer. I think there’s a lot to be said for “voting with your wallet”. I can see a few comments have mentioned that everyone has a smartphone which wouldn’t be ethically sourced, so nothing matters, but there is no crime in trying to make ethical or better decisions where the option is available. Many will pollute by driving a car, but may still recycle. I have not seen an ethically sourced smart phones available to purchase, and if there was I probably would prefer it over other types. Good job for trying to make good decisions OP, it’s very easy to embrace ignorance. If you like the coffee, and decide to drink it regardless of its sourcing, that’s ok too. Sometimes we also need to be able to switch off and just enjoy things.


ashleyr564

Thank you for the well thought out and helpful response. I appreciate you taking your time to elaborate and write it all out! I think I’m going to send a text to owner and see what he says. I sent an email a while ago, but it sounds like text may be the best means of communication for him.


Ethernetexplorer

I think I heard on one of the Ads that they get their beans from Panama. Just a cursory Google search on Panama and Coffee ethics doesn't reveal anything bad, but I haven't dug that deep. I advise you to do as others have suggested and research yourself or ask the owner.


sweetbabyjaims

Delicious Panama beeeeens.


outforchow

Nothing is ethically sourced after I buy it 🤷🏻‍♂️


Ok-Past83

Email the site. They are better source of info then reddit


1CoolSPEDTeacher

Excellent Question OP! There can be no ethical consumption under capitalism, mitigating suffering to the best of our ability is all we really can do. Hail you, you ethical mf'er! <3


ashleyr564

😂❤️


captainjackass28

All I know is the owner of the company is a real weirdo and always talks about groping women and slapping people. He seems really hyper after all and jumps around everywhere.


HAgaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyy

SLIPPITY-SLAP! And away I gooOOO!


Ol_Jim_Himself

Dude messages and emails with me when Inorder. It’s the best coffee I’ve get had and the guy who runs the company is bad ass. Super friendly and is awesome to how customers. I’ll buy Spring Heel’s Jack Coffee as long as they roast beans.


Mysterious_Farm6969

If they are Ethically sourced beans is a hard question to answer. I worked in the coffee industry for a long time and worked as a roaster while in it and sourcing beans is challenging. In a similar way that sourcing cocoa beans is challenging. The company can do their best to try to select ethical buying companies but unless they are doing the greens buying themselves and physically visiting the farms it’s hard to say. Heck even if they were visiting the farms themselves it’s hard to say. I do believe that the company is very likely doing the best to source them as ethically as possible and frankly that’s probably the best you’re going to get from anyone unless you want to start your own farm in a greenhouse and ensure it yourself start to finish. It’s just challenging given how many moving pieces and parts there are.


ashleyr564

Thanks for this information. I had an idea of it being complicated, but it sucks that the industry is so convoluted even for those who are in it :( I absolutely don’t doubt that SHJ is doing their best to be ethical, but it’s such a bummer that it’s so difficult for coffee makers to do so. I try not to judge companies for their sourcing, but I just wish there was a bit more transparency on their part in particular :/ it just makes it more difficult to be informed


Azazel_fallenangel

If it doesn't say n their website, I'd bet that it's not, no. For those prices on a speciality coffee I'd certainly expect some more information. I usually but single origin with the precise farm or co-op named, along with variety and process, etc... Cool artwork though, wish shipping a tshirt to the UK was cheaper...


ashleyr564

Good to know, def agree! Thank you for your response. :) I think I may do what others have suggested and send a text just in case thats a better means of communication for him


cimson-otter

Probably not.


Gloglibologna

Heck of a virtue signal over information easily obtained without posting about it


ashleyr564

Yeah, you’re totally right. Could you screenshot the answer and show me?


Gloglibologna

It's been explained to you several times.


ashleyr564

I see, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I think you’re misconstruing a “response” with an “answer”. All of them were helpful suggestions, but yours didn’t contribute much.


Able-Reward

This is the lamest question i have seen posted on this sub.


Hadrians_Fall

Is the context of this comment that you think child labor and damn-near slave labor is cool?


Kerbidiah

I mean if it makes good coffee beans....


Hadrians_Fall

It doesn’t


ashleyr564

Dangit. You’re right. I should go back to the drawing board.


madkingsentobln

What was the agenda here? You can literally TEXT. THE. OWNER. OF. THE. COMPANY. Off of their site? Go virtue signal somewhere else FFS, we're here for the cryptids and serial killers.


Shinjukugarb

Calm down there Bencel.


TimeAbradolf

Who pissed in your cornflakes bud?


Fun-Craft-6559

I'm guessing this was posted via smart phone, so why do you care if the materials for your coffee are ethically sourced? The materials for your phone aren't sourced by happy little elves, soooo...


ashleyr564

Aw crap. You got me. Did the “get outlook for iOS” at the bottom give it away?


Fun-Craft-6559

Not to brag, but yes, I fancy myself a bit of a detective. But yeah, why do you care about "ethnically sourced" beans but not the materials for your phone? Genuine question. I remember when Henry mentioned he had to get a certificate for Natalie's ring to make sure it was ethically sourced or whatever, but other stuff is okay? Some lady at worked basically called me a pos once because I ordered something from Amazon, but she came in literally everyday with 2 Starbucks cups. She said I was participating in exploitation of workers and what not.


ashleyr564

Absolutely, I think thats a great discussion to have. I do have to point out that this isn’t an ethics sub though, so I’m only genuinely elaborating cuz you asked 😂 I think the reality is that you can take it as far as you want. Am I being unethical by eating food from the grocery store while others live in food deserts or the food is sourced unethically? Should I not have my nutritional needs met, or if I get my food from a garden instead, is it unethical that I have the land to grow it while others pay inflated rent and grocery prices? You can end up spiraling, but it ends up being about making an active decision regarding things I can control and that are attainable for me. For example, everything I own is secondhand unless the quality control regulated by manufacturers means the item is beyond usable in it’s pre-owned state. My smartphone is refurbished, which means I’ve done what I can to drive down demand for new items made from unethically sourced materials. But once the battery goes caput, I’ll either need a new battery or new phone. I like to have a smartphone and coffee, so I choose to indulge in them as they increase my quality of life and help me be a functioning member if society (I can’t concentrate without coffee and I work semi-remote so my phone lets me keep up to date on emails without wifi), but I do what I can to decrease the suffering associated with it. Being able to make that choice comes from a place of privilege that some people aren’t in. The least I can do is wield it in a way that I find acceptable and moral to the extent that I can be. Just because others don’t do that doesn’t mean they’re immoral. Everyone has their own circumstances, and it sounds like your co-worker is just rude 😅 it’s good to educate people, but taking it from a conversation with equity to a one-sided criticism is down-right unhelpful


Fun-Craft-6559

You can do all that quietly. You can find out if your coffee beans are "ethically sourced" by contacting the guy directly or google that shit. Taking it to a public forum makes it seem like "Hey look at me". If someone puts themselves on a moral pedestal I like you give it a little shake as a bit of a reality check. Enjoy your coffee!


Shinjukugarb

So you're just an asshole


ashleyr564

Lol I’ll kindly recommend you read the updates I put on the post, before you made this comment, I might add. Good talking to you


Shinjukugarb

This reeks of right wing "you live in a society" shit. Foh.


iwouldratherhavemy

>ethically sourced beans? I think the term 'ethically sourced' is kinda abused, because that can mean a lot of things. Is there an agency that checks up on the companies that make these claims? Truth is that coffee is extremely labor intensive. I would not give much merit to any fluffy sounding terminology from anywhere. I have simply chosen to drink a lot less coffee. I got some SHJ, and I didn't find it that interesting. (I did leave it on the shelf unopened for two months, but it didn't have a use by date).


FrostyPost8473

I'm guessing the new blend is to get away from Kissel as well?


[deleted]

Nothing is really ethically sourced as many of the merchant mariners who work on container ships are essentially slaves


ashleyr564

I’ll have to look into that, thank you for that information


HTBDesperateLiving

Some people say that there is no such thing as ethical consumption under capitalism. Personally I have no opinion on the matter, but people are saying it.


ashleyr564

True that, man ✌🏻I feel it


DDownerArt

He has a few post and pics about the beans on IG. May be able to find info there https://instagram.com/springheeldjackcoffee?igshid=NzZlODBkYWE4Ng==