Hansa Ceylon Coffee

It’s time to drink coffee like it should be drunk. … slowly….with a hint of sweetness, fruitiness and sometimes a little bitterness.

Hansa Ceylon roasts Sri Lankan coffee at altitude in the Nuwara Eliya hill country. We source our beans from local forest gardens, hand sort and blended, and we roast in small batches.

Hansa Coffee, a Sri Lankan specialty coffee company, has a history rooted in reviving the island’s coffee industry after a devastating blight. It all began in the mid-1990s when Harm van Oudenhoven from the Netherlands and Lawrence Goldberg from Seattle, USA, collaborated with a belief that good coffee could still be found in Sri Lanka. The operation first started with a small roaster in Nuwara Eliya and have since grown to produce high-quality Arabica and Robusta beans, focusing on sustainable practices and community partnerships. 

Here’s a more detailed look at Hansa Coffee’s history :

• Early Days:Harm van Oudenhoven, involved in the Integrated Rural Development Project (IRDP) in Nuwara Eliya, partnered with Lawrence Goldberg, who was working for a local NGO. 
• Inspiration: Hansa was inspired by Sri Lanka’s past as a coffee producer and the potential to revive the industry after a coffee leaf rust disease had shifted the focus to tea. 
• Small Beginnings: Their initial operations were humble, starting with a five-kilo coffee roaster in a garage in Nuwara Eliya. 
• Focus on Quality: Hansa Coffee emphasizes high-quality, dry-processed Arabica and Robusta beans, sourced from local forest gardens. 
• Community Involvement: They’ve maintained a commitment to supporting farmers and fostering community partnerships. 
• Expansion and Recognition: Hansa Coffee has expanded its reach, offering its products in supermarkets and its own factory. 
• Unique Products: Besides coffee, their sister company Serendib Chocolates also produces high-percentage bean-to-bar chocolate products, including a 100% bean-to-bar cacao slab. 
• International Presence: Hansa Coffee has gained recognition for its quality and flavor, with fans worldwide. 

We have never been very good at bragging about ourselves…. so we just let others do the job for us.

Here are some of stories about Hansa over the last three decades

Lavazza over Hansa: Curious Kink in Consumer Preference?https://thecurionomist.wordpress.com/2012/10/08/lavazza-over-hansa-kinks-in-consumer-preference/

Coffee in Sri Lanka: a brewed awakening https://www.smh.com.au/traveller/inspiration/coffee-in-sri-lanka-a-brewed-awakening-20140807-3d9rv.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/15/travel/36-hours-in-colombo-sri-lanka.html

https://archive.roar.media/english/life/history/kopi-kale-e28092-when-coffee-was-king

https://www.thejuggernaut.com/resurgence-of-sri-lankan-coffee

Hansa brings back the flavour of Lanka’s coffee days
https://www.sundaytimes.lk/111120/Plus/plus_08.html

Specialty Coffee in Sri Lanka: From Production to Consumption

We are a busy little team in a factory far away from Colombo and so our days are spent mostly sorting, roasting, grinding, and packing your favorite Hansa coffee blends into different packs and boxes.

While the factory is not open to visitors please get in touch with us if you would like to have a chat or tour and we will see what we can organize.