You may know the Urth Caffe as Vince, Drama, Eric and Turtle’s favorite morning babe-watching spot. But what may be lost on Entourage’s far from PC boys is that Urth Caffe has been on the cutting edge of coffee since it was founded as a wholesale and mail order business 1989. Back then it was the first exclusively organic coffee company in the US. The company opened its flagship store on Melrose, where Vince and the boys hang, five years later.
Urth owner Shallom Berkman has worked tirelessly to ensure the profits from the coffee boom here in the US benefit the poorest of growers too. At the invitation of the Ugandan Government, Shallom traveled to the country to teach new techniques to coffee growers there. He selected a total of ten farms in a highly fertile area for a unique project. By utilizing organic and shade growing methods, which resulted in a higher grade coffee, Shallom was able to offer the growers ten times the price they had previously been paid, bringing hope and prosperity to the region. As an added bonus, the eco-friendly techniques helped preserve the habitat of the local Mountain Gorillas. The project's coffee was named after these endangered animals.
Back in America, workers at Shallom’s three shops are all paid a living wage. He hires only full time employees and makes sure health insurance is available to all.
“Urth believes that true success in America for today’s businesses means the growers and environment get great support and care, the employees have opportunities and happiness, the customers enjoy health, quality and fair price, and the owners enjoy modest profitability,” says Shallom. “If we are going to change the world the businesses must be environmentally conscious, socially conscious and profitable – this will effect the greatest change.” We’ll certainly drink to that.
