Here's Where Panera Gets Its Coffee From
Although Panera's menu was majorly revised recently, most people come to this restaurant for the fresh bread. But if you're breezing by in the morning and are severely under-caffeinated, it's a good thing that Panera serves coffee, too! While you might not have the same level of customization as you would at Starbucks, Panera offers all the classic drinks, from simple espresso to an Americano, as well as fancier options like the Iced Madagascar Vanilla Latte. Plus, if you're a subscriber to Panera's Unlimited Sip Club, you get a free flow of coffee for $14.99 per month. But if you're fastidious about your daily sip, you might want to know the origin of the coffee that you're sipping on.
According to its website, Panera stated (vaguely) that all of its coffee is brewed from Central and South American beans. Besides this tiny factoid, the company didn't broach more about the coffee's origin. The only name that popped up during our search for Panera's supplier is Distant Lands Coffee, which was named as the coffee supplier for Panera's bakery-cafes in 2013, per a press release.
Julie Craves, a veteran ornithologist and ecologist who has worked with the University of Michigan for over 25 years, also confirmed this with her local Panera outlet. According to her blog, Coffee and Conservation, Panera sources its beans from Distant Lands Coffee's partners in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Colombia, and Brazil.
Is Panera's coffee sustainable?
A lot of restaurant chains (and even coffee houses) are guilty of sourcing cheap coffee that is grown unsustainably, or grown on plantations that mistreat employees. While we're not sure if Panera still sources its coffee from Distant Lands today — if we assume that these companies are still partners, it seems that Panera is in good hands with Distant Lands.
Distant Lands Coffee has an entire webpage dedicated to showcasing its sustainability initiatives. Some information of note is how staff and farmers working on the plantations are paid higher wages than average, and they're provided with healthcare (for themselves and dependents), modern housing, and a retirement plan. On the environmental side of things, besides not using any pesticides or herbicides (weed control is done the old-fashioned way with machetes), the farms at Distant Lands Coffee are also partners of the Rainforest Alliance. And last but not least, the company also mentioned its usage of clean, renewable energy for its daily operations.
All in all, it seems like Distant Lands is running a pretty tight and eco-friendly ship, with all the certifications to show for it. So, in this case, your morning coffee at Panera is (most likely) 100% sustainably grown.