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Los Angeles coffee company Go Get Em Tiger launched a program to roast selected coffees in the countries where they were grown, with a stated goal of moving 20% of its roasting to producing countries by the end of 2026 and 70% by the end of 2027. Separately, Brazilian authorities said they rescued 53 coffee workers from conditions legally defined as analogous to slavery during an August enforcement operation; 479 people were rescued across all sectors.
Los Angeles coffee company Go Get Em Tiger has begun roasting selected coffees in the countries where they were grown, while Brazilian authorities reported rescuing 53 coffee workers from conditions legally defined as analogous to slavery during an August enforcement operation. The developments, reported in Daily Coffee News’ September 25 weekly roundup, touch on two distinct industry issues: where coffee is processed and the labor conditions behind its production.
Go Get Em Tiger said its new “Roasted at Origin” program will have selected coffees roasted in their producing countries, using roast profiles developed collaboratively. The company’s homepage states that it plans to move 20% of its roasting to coffee-producing countries by the end of 2026, then 70% by the end of 2027. The report did not identify the participating countries, coffees, roasting partners or how the company will measure progress toward those targets.
In Brazil, a nationwide enforcement operation in August resulted in the rescue of 479 people across all sectors, according to the Ministry of Labor and Employment. Coffee cultivation had the second-highest number of rescued workers among individual sectors, behind construction. The ministry’s figures, as reported by Daily Coffee News, identify 53 coffee workers rescued from conditions classified under Brazilian law as analogous to slavery. Authorities rescued 214 coffee workers from such conditions in 2024.
The roundup also reported several other developments. Three private coffee auctions in Ethiopia and Bolivia produced high winning bids: $1,739 per kilogram for a coffee from Ethiopian producer Alo Coffee, $2,376.50 per kilogram for a coffee associated with Testi Specialty Coffee founder Faysel Abdosh, and $3,100 per kilogram for a Gesha lot from Bolivia’s Finca Takesi. Organizers told Daily Coffee News that the auctions took place on M-Cultivo. The listed prices describe individual auction lots, not prices paid for coffee generally.
Roasting Plans and Labor Enforcement
The origin-roasting plan proposes shifting some coffee processing closer to where beans are grown. Go Get Em Tiger’s stated targets indicate that the change could expand over the next two years, but the report offers no details yet on the program’s scale, operating arrangements or effects on producers and local businesses. Its progress will depend on the company’s ability to establish and maintain roasting operations in producing countries.
The Brazilian rescues bring attention to labor enforcement in coffee cultivation. The figure of 53 rescued workers is part of a larger operation, not a count of all workers facing abusive conditions in the sector. The ministry’s sector ranking and the comparison with 2024 provide a snapshot of enforcement results; they do not, by themselves, show how common such conditions are or whether their prevalence has changed.
Read together, the stories show why coffee industry developments can involve both commercial decisions and labor conditions. Changes in where coffee is roasted may affect supply-chain relationships, while enforcement figures document cases authorities identify and address. The available reporting does not establish a connection between the two developments.
The Week’s Coffee Industry Developments
The two lead items appeared in a Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine weekly roundup published September 25, 2026. The roundup covered company announcements, labor enforcement, auctions and retail changes. It was not a single investigation into the relationship between those topics; each item had its own source and scope.
For the Brazilian figures, the roundup reported the Ministry of Labor and Employment’s account of an August nationwide operation. Its comparison point was the 214 coffee workers rescued in 2024. The report does not supply a comparable figure for every year, details of the individual cases or the operation’s methods.
Other items included a tentative first union contract reached by workers at numerous Verve Coffee Roasters cafes in San Francisco and Santa Cruz, according to UFCW Local 5. The union said the deal includes wage progression, scheduling guarantees, a path to full-time work and a requirement that people make final employment decisions involving AI systems. Starbucks selected Chennai, India, for a technology hub that Reuters reported could create about 800 jobs in its initial phase. These updates provide industry context but are separate from the origin-roasting program and Brazil’s enforcement operation.
“The company plans to move 20% of its roasting to coffee-producing countries by the end of 2026 and 70% by the end of 2027.”
— Go Get Em Tiger, as described on the company homepage
Program Scope and Case Details
Go Get Em Tiger’s announcement, as summarized in the roundup, leaves several operational details open: which producing countries and coffees will be included, when the first origin-roasted coffees will be available, and what costs or partnerships will be involved. The stated percentages are future goals. The report does not say whether the company has already shifted any roasting or how it will publish updates on progress.
For Brazil, the available account does not name the farms or employers involved, describe the workers’ circumstances, or explain what support they received after rescue. It also does not establish how many people remain in similar conditions or provide a directly comparable total for the same operation in other years. The 2024 figure of 214 is a prior-year count of coffee workers rescued, not a measure of the total number of affected workers.
The auction figures are winning prices for particular lots. The roundup does not give the lots’ quantities or the terms of each sale, so the prices cannot be treated as representative market rates. For the Verve contract, UFCW Local 5 described a tentative agreement; the report does not confirm ratification or implementation.
Targets and Agreements to Track
The next milestone for Go Get Em Tiger is the company’s stated goal of moving 20% of its roasting to producing countries by the end of 2026. More information about participating origins, launch dates and how the share will be calculated would show what the target means in practice. The company has also set a 70% target for the end of 2027.
In Brazil, the reported figures record the outcome of an August enforcement operation. Further information from labor authorities could clarify the cases, follow-up measures and whether additional operations are planned. The roundup does not provide a schedule for further announcements.
Verve workers and the company may next clarify whether the tentative agreement is ratified and when its provisions would take effect. Separately, Starbucks’ Chennai hub was reported as a planned project, with about 800 jobs possible in its initial phase according to Reuters. Those developments remain distinct from the two lead stories.
Key Questions
What is Go Get Em Tiger’s Roasted at Origin program?
It is a program to have selected coffees roasted in the countries where they were grown, using roast profiles developed collaboratively. The company’s stated targets are 20% of its roasting in coffee-producing countries by the end of 2026 and 70% by the end of 2027.
How many coffee workers did Brazilian authorities rescue?
Authorities reported rescuing 53 coffee workers from conditions legally defined as analogous to slavery during an August nationwide operation. The operation rescued 479 people across all sectors.
How does the Brazil figure compare with 2024?
Brazilian authorities rescued 214 coffee workers from slavery-like conditions in 2024, according to the roundup. The available report does not provide enough detail to explain changes between the two figures or compare the operations’ scope.
Were the coffee auctions’ prices typical market prices?
The figures were winning bids for specific lots at three private auctions in Ethiopia and Bolivia. The report does not provide enough information to treat them as typical prices for coffee more broadly.
Source: rss
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