In 1922, my Grandfather, Michalis Nicolaides, and my Grandmother, Marika Nicolaides, both Greek refugees from “Mikra Asia,” specifically from Alanya in Turkey, migrated to Cyprus in the Limassol town for a better future. Their only possession with them was a small coffee grinding machine that my Grandfather had hidden in a purse with little gold coins, which, fortunately, the Turks did not find. With that, they started to build their future and their children’s future.
In 1948, my Grandfather opened his coffee roasting business by importing raw coffee beans from Brazil and producing Cypriot. Greek-style coffee was distributed wholesale in Coffee Shops, supermarkets, Restaurants, and other places. At the same time, they had the shop open at Saripolou Street as a retail store 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.
Since my Grandfather’s time, I have always been involved in the coffee business, whether it is 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 daily way of living, something that others find strange when looking for raw green coffee beans. It was simply natural to me and the rest of our family.
Working every summer at my Grandfather’s Coffee Roasting Business helped me appreciate that to produce a good cup of coffee, love, and respect are needed for the farmers who have handpicked that fruit and the dignity and self-evaluation of offering the best coffee to our clients who trust us.
After being married to the hero of my life and, 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 import some of the best coffees in the world from Brazil, Ethiopia, Honduras, and Colombia. Then, we evaluate them using the SCAE Cupping Standards. We roast the beans in the Artisan way combined with the latest scientific technologies; we package them in unique bags and then distribute them to Wholesale or Retail.
For us, it is not just business; like a big family, we value the effort of the farmers and their families. We support Fair Trade organizations and Rain Forest Alliance in combination with Organic production; as RICH COFFEE ROASTERS, we help communities and contribute to their growth.
We aim to bring specialty coffee in Cyprus in its correct form so that people can enjoy and learn the greatness of coffee from its origin to their cup and realize that good coffee doesn’t need to be expensive.