KATHYA IRIAS - President
Born and raised in Honduras, I grew up with a love for the land and all it produces. Digging my feet into the soil and feeling the life it gives, I learned about planting and harvesting as I accompanied my parents.
But my most important lesson was to serve and respect everyone who works the land, regardless of social status or role. Agronomy was, and continues to be, one of the most demanding and poorly-paid professions in my country. I'll never forget what it was like to sit down with farmers and have a home-grown cup of coffee. We chatted about their living conditions and the challenges they faced when growing coffee on their own land, and about how terribly undervalued café was on the local market. And with each deliciously pure sip, paradoxically nurtured with care and strong against socio-economic odds, I discovered my passion: to share my country’s coffee as inspiration for reciprocity and respect.
Today, twenty years later, I’ve created Spirit Animal coffee to leverage my business background towards improving the lives of small-scale farmers. They are already century-long experts in nurturing coffee’s best essence; now, I hope to share with the world the vitality sipped in these beans, so that it may then be fairly cycled back to the hardworking communities that produce them.
Why coffee? Because I love both the process and result: an invigorating cup of coffee. But most importantly, because more than 20% of my country’s population makes its living from the coffee industry. That's more than 100,000 families that can improve their quality of life and ensure a more sustainable future.
Now, Spirit Animal coffee invites you to drink with purpose, while you discover the inspiration of sipping in the moment. Let’s celebrate with a true cup of coffee.