We know that coffee people are the best people. Producers who know every tree on their land. Baristas who know every regular’s name. Everyone’s passionate. Everyone cares.
People also say they’re in coffee for the relationships—and a lot of them mean it. But here’s the thing: It’s really hard to build a relationship on a short timeline.
You can’t rush trust. Just like you can’t understand a region in one visit, and you can’t truly know someone—whether a producer in Colombia or a roaster in Portland—without time.
We know this because we’ve put in the time. Our team has been cultivating coffee relationships since 1998. Some of our producer partnerships span generations. Some of our roaster clients have been with us for more than twenty years. Our average staff tenure is nearly a decade.
Here’s the other thing about being in it for the long haul: It frees you to operate differently.
We teach workshops to people knowing they might work for a competitor someday. We share pricing models. We explain market realities even when it’s uncomfortable. Because everyone benefits when everyone understands what’s really happening.
Is this always the most profitable approach? Probably not. We’ve lost deals because we wouldn’t cut a corner or weren’t the cheapest option. But we’ve gained something better: Relationships that last and that are built on shared values. Producers who can plan for their future. Roasters who trust us enough to travel with us. Clients who literally apply to work here because they’ve seen how we show up.
Atlas is for people who want a partner that will still be around in 10 years. For everyone tired of companies that talk about values but don’t live them when it’s inconvenient.
We’re not the biggest or the flashiest. We’re just trying to prove that caring about everyone involved—genuinely, consistently, even when it’s hard—can be a working business model.
So, we invite you, warmly: Come work with us, get to know us and grow with us. Because Atlas is for everyone who believes that coffee is personal.
Atlas Coffee Importers was founded in 1998 by Craig Holt, a coffee obsessive with an idealist’s heart. Craig’s goal — which sent a lot of eyes rolling at the time — was clear:
“What is good for Atlas should be equally good for the people selling to us, buying from us, and working with us,” he wrote.
And with those words he set our foundation.
Craig also showed his brilliance by hiring Jennifer Roberts, who would go on to perform every role in the company before finally succeeding Craig in 2021. Over their 20-plus years at the helm, many more colleagues were hired, each with the same goal and each expanding the work and strengthening the foundation.
In 2018, Atlas was acquired by Nemann Kaffee Gruppe (NKG), a global green coffee services company. Far from diluting the Atlas mission, this helped to smooth the path and ensure Atlas’ footing.
NKG consists of more than 40 companies across 28 countries, all of which are generous, respected partners with expansive networks and long relationships in their respective countries. Also, unlike its competitors, NKG is absolutely focused on exactly one thing: Coffee. No cotton, no minerals, no liquid animal feed. Just green coffee, in all its pre-roastery incarnations: farms, mills, warehouses, services, exporters and importers. In the United States, there are three NKG importers and together we’re part of Neumann Gruppe USA — which is a certified Great Place to Work.
Add in numerous integrity-driven efforts like sustainability goals, NKG PACE and NKG Bloom, and in NKG we’ve got just about the perfect extended family that an idealistic Pacific Northwest coffee importer could hope for.
Curious to learn more? Please get in touch.
