Visit at Utamtsi in Worphausen: Coffee – A Different Experience
On April 23, over 40 alumni from the University of Bremen visited the Utamtsi coffee roastery as part of the event series "Networking by, for, and with Alumni." The participants not only learned about the exciting company history but also gained insights into fair trade practices, social responsibility, and the art of coffee roasting. An inspiring and delicious experience!
But let's start from the beginning: The Utamtsi coffee roastery was founded in 2005 by Morin Fobissie Kamga and Stephan Frost. Both founders studied at the University of Bremen, Kamga in economics and Frost in religious studies. The idea for the founding came about at the kitchen table of their shared apartment when Kamga noticed the price of coffee in German stores compared to the low earnings of the farmers in his home country of Cameroon. This discrepancy led to the question: How is the price formed, and who else profits from the product?
Kamga delved deeply into this topic in a term paper. Ultimately, he and his roommate Stephan Frost came up with the idea of ensuring that more of the price paid for coffee in Germany would go to the small farmers on the ground, for whom coffee sales are often the only source of income. It quickly became clear that higher prices for the farmers could only be achieved if the coffee sold in Germany was of exceptional quality.
The roastery, which now has its production facility in the Nils-Stensen-Haus, an inclusive living and working project in Worphausen near Lilienthal, close to Bremen, stands for both: fair prices for the farmers and high-quality coffee. In addition to the captivating presentation of the company's history and the establishment of the fair and sustainable roastery, there was much to learn about visions, perseverance, social responsibility, inclusion, and social entrepreneurship. And, of course, a roasting demonstration was a must.
In the end, everyone agreed: A fascinating company with inspiring founders. And it was delicious too.
