Who Are Mercanta?

Beginning her coffee career two years ago, Chloe began her career in coffee at Ovenbird Coffee Roasters, Glasgow. Her role was to manage the small team at the new café whilst also providing operational support to the roastery which included roasting and delivering coffee. It was here she learned more about coffee, how its taste can vary depending on the origin, processing method, and roast.

Chloe is fascinated by the journey coffee takes from bean to cup, and she values the work Mercanta does providing smallholders with the platform to sell and trade their coffee worldwide. During her time at Mercanta, Chloe is eager to learn more about the tastes of different origins and processing methods. She recognizes the looming threat of climate change for coffee, and that producers have the ability to adapt to these changes.

Interestingly enough, Chloe actually studied history, and completed her degree in 2018. She then worked for a jewellery brand for two years before being introduced to the wonderful world of coffee.

Originally from Nottingham, Joseph moved to London in 2009 to study photography at University. After completing his degree, he decided to pursue a career in specialty coffee; joining Mercanta in February of 2014 as our UK Lab Assistant. Whist here, Joseph quickly moved up the ranks; first as Lab Manager, before eventually becoming a Coffee Hunter and Account Manager.

Sadly, in June 2018, Joseph decided to move to Glasgow in search of new challenges, taking on the role of head of roasting and Quality Control at Dear Green. Little did Joseph know, Mercanta was also planning to move to Glasgow, opening a new office in the summer of 2019!

Passionately waiting for his return, Joseph finally re-joined Mercanta in December 2020, joining Stephen Cornford in the Glasgow office. Joseph now manages inbound logistics and UK deliveries, as well as helping Stephen Cornford with roasting and cupping in our Glasgow lab.

Stephen has been with Mercanta for a long time, and is a critical member of the team – he is a huge contributor to systems, sourcing, quality management and, of course, sales.

Stephen joined Mercanta in 2011, in London, as the coffee lab assistant. Having just graduated from Uni and keen to dive headfirst into the world of specialty coffee, this position at Mercanta offered him key foundational exposure to begin his career in specialty coffee.

Stephen’s sentiments today continue to reflect his approach to work, and continue to mirror those of Mercanta – learning, sharing and building. “I really like how much there is to learn and how willing people are to share what they know with each other. I also value how much trust there is in the industry and how it’s been built brick by brick on quality relationships at every step.”

Stephen also points out that when looking forward at the future of our business, it is sometimes worthwhile looking back at what we have achieved and the successes we’ve managed to have thus far, “There are some obvious challenges ahead of us, but there are also some behind us as well which we overcame, I’m optimistic about the future of coffee, as the audience has grown over the years more and more farmers and groups have gained market access which can only be a good thing.”