It's every coffee lover's worst nightmare: A favorite local cafe closing down because there simply isn't enough coffee left to go around. Although it may sound like a hypothetical situation, through its No Death to Coffee project, which launched in 2018, Single O and its Tokyo-based outpost, Single O Japan, hope to ensure there will always be enough coffee to drink sustainably in the future.
Single O signed on to nonprofit research organization World Coffee Research's (WCR) Checkoff Program, where roasters donate a certain amount of money per pound or kilogram of green coffee purchased from participating suppliers to fund innovation into coffee agriculture, and called on others to do the same.
One of the WCR's research goals is to "(create) the next generation of climate-resilient varieties that deliver great cup quality, are adaptable to multiple altitudes, high-yielding and disease and pest resistant"; in short, a "future-friendly" coffee. Single O purchased three such coffees — Starmaya, Marsellesa and Centroamericano (not currently available at Single O Japan) — from Aida Batlle, a producer in Mexico, and debuted them across its cafes.