INDOCHINA COFFEE IS AN INDEPENDENT FAMILY RUN BUSINESS CREATED BY SHIRANI GUNAWARDENA AND CHRISTIAN STEENBERG.
OUR STORY
Living in Bangkok in 2015, we were first introduced to specialty coffees from Thailand and surrounding countries. The skill and dedication of the coffee growing communities, processors and exporters we were fortunate to spend time with back then made a lasting impression. On our return to London, the rarity of Asian origins in the specialty coffee scene spurred us into creating Indochina Coffee, as a way to promote the breadth of high quality coffees from across this region.
The bitter truth is that almost all of the wealth derived from the coffee industry continues to bypass the indigenous communities who actually grow it. Responsibly traded specialty coffee has the potential to change this and genuinely improve the lives of coffee farmers and their families. We are committed to working with like-minded partners who share this vision for a fairer future.
Since our inception, we’ve focused on developing long term mutually respectful and beneficial relationships, working with the same producer and export partners since our first coffees landed in the UK in 2017. As we’ve expanded the origins we source from, Christian and Shirani continue to work on a personal level with every origin partners, with regular time spent at coffee farms and processing facilities during the harvest season, to fully appreciate and understand the context in which they are operating in.
MEET THE TEAM
SHIRANI
CO FOUNDER
Of Filipino and Sri Lankan heritage, Shirani has had a long fascination with the strong coffee history in both countries. This inspired her to swap a previous career in public policy to explore coffee production in Asia and become licensed Q grader, working with specialty producers in the region to promote and share their coffees to the rest of the world.
CHRISTIAN
CO FOUNDER
Christian’s previous career in social justice provided an introduction to opium replacement projects, where hill tribes in what used to be known as the ‘golden triangle’ had made the switch to growing more sustainable crops, including coffee. With a family background in warehousing and import, Indochina was the perfect opportunity to bring both his skills and heritage together.
AIDAN
SALES ACCOUNT MANAGER
Aidan started his career in specialty coffee back in South Korea in 2016 and since then has been working in different sectors in coffee, from barista at Omotesando Koffee and most recently as Head Roaster for Press Coffee in London. With the aligned mission of making Asian coffee a mainstream offering for specialty roasters, Aidan joined the team in 2023.
