August is National Coffee Month, and Austin-born Fara Coffee is giving Central Texans another reason to fill their cups. From family-owned farms in Nicaragua to roasting right here in Austin, the company is serving coffee while supporting communities where its beans are grown.
Fara Coffee owner Maria Cisne Farahani joined We Are Austin to share the family history behind the brand, what makes its farm-to-cup approach different and how the Fara Foundation is giving back in Nicaragua.
From Nicaraguan farms to Texas roasts, Austin-born Fara Coffee pours purpose in each cup FAMILY.jpeg
From Nicaragua to Austin
Fara Coffee’s roots stretch back generations.
Farahani said her great-grandfather on her mother’s side came from Germany to Nicaragua during the coffee boom and began growing coffee after marrying a local woman. On her father’s side, her family operated mule trains that transported coffee from farms to ports for export.
“My husband and I started growing coffee 30 years ago,” Farahani said. “We have a farm that has been in the family for over 100 years.”
That family history eventually evolved into Fara Coffee, with the company controlling much of the process from growing the beans to roasting them in East Austin.
“The difference is it’s very fresh,” Farahani said. “We own the farms and we don’t have any middlemen. We bring the coffee here. We roast it here in Austin.”
From Nicaraguan farms to Texas roasts, Austin-born Fara Coffee pours purpose in each cup
Making Coffee Farming More Sustainable
Farahani said the business began simply with growing coffee, but the family eventually recognized the challenges farmers face in making the work financially sustainable.
“We decided that the farmer didn’t make any money, and so we needed to make it worthwhile and profitable,” she said.
That realization also helped deepen the family’s involvement with the communities surrounding its farms.
From Nicaraguan farms to Texas roasts, Austin-born Fara Coffee pours purpose in each cup
Coffee That Gives Back
Through the Fara Foundation, the company supports several initiatives in Nicaragua.
One of its primary projects is a health clinic created to address cervical cancer. Farahani said the clinic has now been operating for nearly 16 years.
The foundation also provides food assistance to families struggling to make ends meet, including households caring for children with disabilities, people with disabilities and elderly couples.
Education is another focus, with scholarship support and a new school currently under construction.
“There are great needs there,” Farahani said. “We feel very honored to be part of the solution.”
For Farahani, supporting those communities is closely connected to the people who make Fara Coffee possible.
“It feels really good to give back and to be very involved also with the people that help you produce the coffee,” she said.
From Nicaraguan farms to Texas roasts, Austin-born Fara Coffee pours purpose in each cup
Find Fara Coffee in Austin and Beyond
While its beans are grown in Nicaragua, Austin is an equally important part of Fara Coffee’s story. Farahani and her husband met in Austin and ultimately chose to return to the city, where the company now roasts its coffee.
Fara Coffee is available at retailers including Costco, H-E-B and Central Market, as well as online through the company’s website and Amazon.
So whether you’re celebrating National Coffee Month with a morning cup or stocking the pantry, Fara Coffee offers an Austin connection with roots reaching all the way to Nicaragua.
From Nicaraguan farms to Texas roasts, Austin-born Fara Coffee pours purpose in each cup fs.png