At Equator Coffees, our core/evergreen merch items are a representation of our core brand, building off of our iconic red coffee bag. They play in our primary brand colors (black, red, white, grey), and stick to core brand messages. However, when it comes to our seasonal campaigns, we embrace a more creative approach to design. These campaigns provide us with the opportunity to collaborate with artists who interpret our iconic tiger emblem within the boundaries of our brand guidelines, allowing for a touch of adventurous creativity. Moreover, they offer a platform to narrate the story behind the hero coffee component in the seasonal blend and shed light on the 5% giveback that supports projects at origin.
Equator Coffees’ 2023 Golden Hour Collection serves as a prime illustration of this approach, seamlessly merging design and the art of coffee storytelling across a diverse range of products.
For this summer’s Golden Hour Blend, our journey led us to the island of Java, where we partnered with Belift Green Beans. Belift is a collective of forward-thinking Indonesian coffee professionals committed to elevating the quality and sustainability of Indonesian coffee. Our Equator Coffees roastery team focused on showcasing this coffee as part of a team competition to determine the seasonal blend. The winning roast profile, expertly crafted by Associate Roaster Joel Lohner, features the hero coffee from Java, complemented by beans from Kenya and Honduras. Joel meticulously tested several iterations before arriving at the final roast profile, which delights the palate with fruit-forward flavors of fresh strawberry, berry cobbler, and chocolate croissant. Joel reflects, “Crafting a blend with a Javanese coffee as the hero component was an exciting opportunity. It allowed me to capture the flavors of such a beautiful region well known for its legacy in coffee.”
Our partnership with Belift Green Beans also played a crucial role in identifying a deserving project for our 5% giveback program. This program donates 5% of the sales from the seasonal blend and merchandise collection to support initiatives at the coffee’s origin. The chosen project involved the construction of a solar coffee dryer, a vital addition that enhances consistency and quality, setting a benchmark for other drying stations in the area.
In a nod to the blend’s Indonesian roots, we collaborated with Indonesian design firm ABDesign, co-founded by Bryant Leon and Ardan Kukah, individuals driven by their passion for both design and coffee. The design created for the Golden Hour Blend collection draws inspiration from the natural beauty they experienced growing up in Indonesia. It showcases the local flora and fauna, featuring elements such as Mount Bromo, the Sumatran Tiger, the Kasuari Bird, the Slow Loris, the White-lipped Tree Viper, and Coffee Plants, all intertwined with Amaranths. The golden glow in the background serves as a tribute to the Golden Hour, a time of day celebrated for its significance in anchoring gratitude and embracing the rising or setting sun—a fitting reference to the solar dryer project at origin.
The Golden Hour collection includes a limited edition custom seasonal design on the 12 oz coffee bag ($20), a 5-count box of seasonal blend instant coffee ($16), a 16 oz Fellow Carter Cold tumbler ($36), and an enamel pin ($7). Each piece is a canvas for the impactful design, a testament to our dedication to creating extraordinary coffee experiences while making a tangible difference in the world.
URL: https://www.equatorcoffees.com/pages/golden-hour-blend-collection
