This year’s Throwdown was our biggest yet. We raised £3,495 for El Nilo Dos Cooperative in El Salvador, our highest total since the event began.
This year’s Throwdown was a bit different. We celebrated our birthday, launched our very own bean-to-bar chocolate range, and hosted our first ever hot chocolate-only throwdown. Every drink was made with oat milk from Unordinary Oats, and every single one went straight into the crowd, so nothing went to waste.
There was Bman Brewery beer flowing, plenty of pizzas from our bakery, and Alfonso Gelateria made two special Missing Bean chocolate ice creams just for the night.
We also saw our first ever husband vs wife chocolate art showdown (marriage still intact, we think), and three of our contestants had never made a coffee before in their lives. They did it live on stage anyway.
The money
On the night, the Throwdown raised £1,940 through entry and raffle ticket sales. As always during UK Coffee Week (12–18 October), we also donate 5% of our coffee sales, which came to £1,555
That brings the total to £3,495
Where it’s going
El Nilo Dos is an agrarian reform cooperative in Zacatecoluca, La Paz, El Salvador. It has around 90 members, who grow cacao in agroforestry systems and handle their own fermentation and drying on site.
Their current drying beds are wooden, and years of moisture and sun have taken their toll. Uneven drying can affect the colour and consistency of the beans, which makes it harder to put together larger, export-quality lots. The money we’ve raised will go towards:
- New drying beds: replacing the worn wooden surfaces with tough plastic mesh for better airflow and more even drying
- Better storage: new pallets for the warehouse to keep dried cacao off the floor and away from damp and insects
- Quality control kit: new moisture meters, probe thermometers and hygrometers so the team can keep a closer eye on fermentation, drying and storage
All of this means more consistent cacao, and more of it ready for export, in time for the next harvest.
Six years and counting
Since 2021, the Throwdown has brought together baristas, friends and coffee lovers to raise money for the communities we work with, from clean water in Ethiopia to a hydro-powered depulper in Peru’s Chilchos Valley and reforestation on Mount Elgon in Kenya. With this year’s total, we’ve now raised over £13,800 for our producer communities.
Thank you
A huge thank you to everyone who came, competed, cheered, donated, bought raffle tickets and grabbed a coffee during UK Coffee Week. Thank you also to our raffle donors: Smeg, Oxford United, Unordinary Oats, Canton Tea, Escape Hunt, Five Little Pigs Wallingford, Loose Cannon Beer and The Project PT. And a big thanks to our brilliant emcee, our bakery and chocolate teams, and all our staff who made the night happen.
