Martha’s Vineyard is a small island just south of Cape Cod, in the coastal region of Massachusetts. The population sits around 30,000 year round, and you can only access the island by boat or air. It’s also a vacation destination spot, so during the summer Martha’s Vineyard can see over 200,000 people visiting. As a citizen of Los Angeles, CA, the idea of living in a small town is so foreign to me, let alone living on an island. But the community that exists should feel familiar. Whether the population is big or small, the success of a business thrives off of the community that they build around them.
In this small community on Martha’s Vineyard, one guy is serving his people through the craft of coffee roasting. Leif Iversen, owner of Martha’s Vineyard Coffee Company, was born and raised on this small island. He started the company in 2021, and his story takes him from his small town in Martha’s Vineyard to building direct relationships with farmers in Costa Rica.
Community Matters
Leif has very fond memories growing up on the island. He says it’s not uncommon to run into someone you know living in such a tight-knit community. You can tell he loves it. He grew up with people in school or close family friends. Now that he is known for his coffee, the same people he grew up with now help support his small business.
But before starting his business, and before all the coffee, he was actually studying to work in the field of anthropology. His extended family is from Montreal, Quebec, which is where he ended up going to University. It was here that he was introduced to the vibrant cafe culture in a large city. One of his first jobs was working in a small cafe. Although it was a bit overwhelming at first to learn all the fine details of being a barista, he fell in love with coffee and the people he served day to day.
“Once you peel back the layers there is so much more to [coffee]”
Leif Iversen
Crossroads in Costa Rica
Leif continued to work in cafes all through his years at the University in Montreal. After finishing his degree, he found himself at a bit of a crossroads while taking a break in Costa Rica. Should he continue to pursue a career in Anthropology? Or should he branch off to do something else?
It was on that trip where he met his partner, Fernanda. She grew up in the coffee growing region near the central highlands of Tarrazu. One of her friends was the daughter of a local coffee farmer. Through this connection, Leif had the opportunity to meet the owner in person. Similarly, through other mutual friends, he was able to meet a second coffee farm owner. With his network starting to expand in the world of coffee, he found great joy in developing a direct relationship with coffee producers.
“[Coffee] is a cultural thing that is embedded in so many different countries and takes different forms across the world.”
Leif Iversen
Because of his background working in coffee, he naturally gravitated towards exploring the coffee culture in Costa Rica. The world of coffee became much bigger than he had ever imagined, and an idea began to form around creating a business in coffee.
The seed was planted and the idea turned into a dream. It got to a point where he couldn’t stop thinking about it. He saw the space where he knew it was possible and knew that he could do it. He decided to create a business with coffee as the medium.
Let’s Start a Coffee Company
Leif is the type of guy who dives in head first to learn something new. He made every effort to do things in the best way that he could right from the beginning. In 2021, Leif created Martha’s Vineyard Coffee Company, and it was full steam ahead.
During this time, he took his education seriously. He learned everything he could about the coffee industry, but his greatest experiences always took him back to the farm. The two farmers he was able to meet in person developed into a business relationship. He really values what he can learn first hand from the people that produce the coffee. Today, he sources much of his coffee directly from the individuals he met from Finca Tematica and El Chiral. He makes it a point to visit their farms each year.
“When you get down to the farms and listen to what the farmer is saying, you realize that wow, I know nothing. It’s very humbling.”
Leif Iversen
More than Coffee
Leif has a big passion for what he does, and his actions back it up. It’s important to him to develop as much direct relationship with the farm as he can. He wants to help push the coffee industry forward so that people understand that coffee is much more than just a vessel for caffeine.
“Coffee, like many industries, hasn’t always uplifted the people at the bottom of the supply chain.”
Leif Iversen
It’s important to consider every step that the coffee seed takes in its journey. It’s not just magic in a cup, but a real labor of love that took many hands to create. Leif’s outlook on this entire process helps drive his decisions to source coffee responsibly and sustainably.
As a company, they are working to buy directly from farmers as much as possible. He cares about improving the lives of those that drink his coffee and at the same time, improving the livelihood of the coffee farmer who is doing all the great work to produce coffee.
Where Coffee Meets Community
A picture speaks a thousand words, and Leif is all about the adventure in coffee. Follow him on Instagram at @marthasvineyardcoffeecompany to see coffee on the island, and you may see some of his trips to Costa Rica as well! If you are interested in trying his coffee, you can check out his current offerings at marthasvineyardcoffeeco.com/shop.
Have you ever been to Martha’s Vineyard? If so, let us know in the comments! Perhaps you will get the amazing opportunity to visit the island someday. If you do, be sure to look him up and say hi! And let us know too!
It has been a pleasure getting to know Leif and his coffee community. I think we can all appreciate our own local communities, no matter how big or how small. Community is important to business owners like Leif, and his influence goes beyond his island, to Costa Rica and now to a couple coffee nerds here in California. Cheers!
