Northern Michigan Shopping: After spending a year living and working with Mayan coffee farmers in Chiapas, Mexico, Chris Treter wanted to continue helping the coffee-growers of the region. So Treter took the beans grown by the farmers in Chiapas to a small roastery in Leelanau County and Higher Grounds Trading Co. was born.
Higher Grounds Trading Co. has continued to work with small-scale growers from around the globe since their foundation in 2002. They are the only coffee company in Michigan that produces coffees that are all 100 percent organic and fair trade.
Higher Grounds is extremely dedicated to being socially responsible and founded non-profit organizations that build schools in Ethiopia and water projects in Mexico. “We also donate over 1% of our sales each year to non-profit organizations that are working to make Michigan and the world a better place,” Treter said. “Our unique social mission is very rare in the coffee industry.”