In 1922 my Grandfather Michalis Nicolaides and my Grandmother Marika Nicolaides, both Greek refugees from “Mikra Asia” specifically from Alagia in Turkey, migrated to Cyprus in the Limassol town for a better future. The only possession with them was a small coffee grinding machine that my Grandfather had hidden a purse with little gold coins and which fortunately the Turks did not find. With that, they started to build their future and the future of their children to come.
In 1948 my Grandfather opened his own Coffee Roasting Business by importing raw coffee beans from Brazil producing Cypriot. Greek-style coffee distributing it wholesale into Coffee Shops, Super Markets, Restaurants, and other places, and at the same time, they had the shop open at the Saripolou Street as retail selling fresh roasted and ground coffee along with other Cyprus delights.
After running the business for approximately 36 years, my Grandfather died in 1984. Then the company was taken over by his youngest son, my uncle, and brother of my mother Pantelis Nicolaides for approximately another 21 very successful years.
From the time of my Grandfather, I have always been involved in the Coffee business like it or not as our half house was the warehouse of our Brazilian Coffee Bean Bags. Still, I have to say that coffee was our way of living daily, something that others find strange when they are looking raw green coffee beans, to me, and the rest of our family was simply something very natural.
Working every summer at my Grandfather’s Coffee Roasting Business helped me to appreciate that to produce a good cup of coffee, love, and respect is needed to the farmers that have handpicked that fruit and also the dignity and self-evaluation of offering the best coffee to our clients who trust us.
After been married to the hero of my life and which, for me, she is the most remarkable person that I have ever met, my wife, Natalia, having together four fantastic kids we have decided that we should and that it is our lifetime obligation and faith to continue our Coffee Tradition.
Now we are the RICH COFFEE ROASTERS, a full member of the Specialty Coffee Association, myself as a Master Coffee Roaster, and my wife as a Coffee Quality Control Specialist.
We are importing directly from Brazilian – Ethiopia – Honduras and Colombia farms some of the Best Coffees in the World then we evaluate by the SCAE Cupping Standards, we roast the beans by the Artisan way combined with latest scientific technologies, we package in unique bags and then distribute to Wholesale or Retail.
For us it is not just business, like a big family we value the effort of the farmer and their families we support Fair Trade organizations and Rain Forest Alliance in combination with Organic production, as RICH COFFEE ROASTERS we support communities and we contribute into their growth.
We aim to bring Specialty Coffee in Cyprus in its correct form, for people to enjoy and learn the greatness of coffee from its origin to their cup and to realize that good coffee doesn’t need to be an expensive one.