Café William sailing cargo ship begins voyage from Colombia to Quebec

Quebec-headquartered coffee company Café William has announced the inaugural voyage of a new sailing cargo ship.

The 81-metre sailboat will transport beans from Santa Marta, Colombia to Quebec this fall.

It will transport the equivalent of 50 shipping containers of green coffee beans—10 times more beans than the ship’s trial voyage in December 2023.

Café William partnered with TransOceanic Wind Transport (TOWT), an organization that aims to decarbonize maritime transport through wind-powered sailing cargo ships, on the project.

"We’re thrilled to partner with TOWT to fulfill our mission of acting beyond the cup and set a precedent for other players in the sector," said Serge Picard, chief innovation and commercial officer of Café William, in a release. "It was vital for us to find an alternative method of transporting coffee, which largely depends on fossil-fuel cargo ships. Our first voyage proved that we could use sail power to bring beans to Canada but this, much larger boat, will allow us to sustain operations and move toward zero-emission coffee," he adds.

A portion of the beans aboard the TOWT come from the ANEI cooperative, an organization that aims to rebuild and strengthen Colombia’s Indigenous communities, culture and economic resilience. 

Coffee beans from the ANEI cooperative have been certified organic and Fairtrade for over 10 years.

Upon arrival in Canada, the beans will be roasted at Café William’s factory in Quebec using a 100% electric industrial coffee roaster. 

This November, the company will release the limited edition Wind Series, featuring beans from the ANEI cooperative, at Costco stores in Canada. 

The company’s sustainable collection is also available on the Café William website and at participating retailers.

Café William is one of Canadian Grocer's 2024 Impact Award winners in the category of sustainability.