Coffee barely edges out water as the most important beverage needed by college students. It’s the nectar of the gods, the morning beverage that keeps us awake for 8 a.m. classes, the stimulant that gives us the mental strength and fortitude to pull all-nighters when we cram for midterms. Water might keep us alive, but it’s coffee that keeps us awake in these dark and troubled times.

“I think a lot of drinks have social connotations to it. You have tea, alcohol, and in many different ways, people can commune around a drink, maybe specifically coffee because it’s not very expensive,” Phillip Klayman, owner of Three Trees Coffee Roasters said. “Something I like about coffee is that some of the most expensive alcohols in the world can get very expensive, but you can find some of the best coffees and still afford it and give it a try. Coffee is very affordable, people can commune around it, it heightens your sense, it has caffeine, it awakens you.”

Coffee lovers, Phillip and Anna Klayman, have put their passion of providing quality coffee into action by creating Three Trees Coffee Roasters. Although they’ve only been opened since last February, Three Trees have supplied many local coffee shops and bakeries with their coffee, including trendy places such as The Daily Grind, Cool Beanz Expresso Bar, and Sugar Magnolia.

“We are a coffee roaster so we only sell retail bags of coffee for people to come buy and brew themselves. Now the cool thing is that we will equip you to brew it well on your own. We like to equip people to be able to make it at home. At the farmer’s market we do sell it by the cup. That’s where we get to awaken the barista inside of us and brew coffee, which we love, but if you come out to the roasting room, we’re just roasting coffee,” Klayman said. “And actually Zach Brews, at the GSU library, they started selling our coffee too. We made a specific coffee for them called the Eagle Blend, so if you’re a GSU student, I encourage you to come check it out and give it a try.”

Three Trees is confident that their customers will be able to notice a sizable difference in their coffee compared to other nonlocal sources and that they’ll be able to enjoy it without dumping in a ridiculous amount of sugar and cream.

“I think what makes a difference is that at Three Trees we try to roast it so you can taste the difference in the coffee. What we do is we try to complement those natural taste and reveal them, almost put them on display, instead of covering them. What’s nice about local is that it’s roasted recently and fresh. If you not had our coffee without cream and sugar I would encourage you to try it, and after that, if you want cream and sugar, that’s perfectly fine. We know coffee is a drink to enjoy,”Klayman said.

With high aspirations, Three Trees uses delicious coffee in an effort to achieve their mission, which is to empower farmers, end human trafficking, and engage in the local community.

Empowering farmers:

Threes Trees acquire their organic coffee from faraway places such as Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Ethiopia. In their commitment to empowering the farmer, Three Trees make sure that all of their coffee are Fair Trade, which helps farmers escape poverty either through livable wages or healthy working conditions

Ending human trafficking:

After traveling to Indonesia, The Klaymans met women stuck in sex trafficking situations. This sparked an interest and desire in ending human trafficking and the suffering attached to it. They have since partnered with organizations such as the GSU’s International Justice Mission, the GSU Student Abolitionist Movement, and Rahab’s Rope.

“It’s definitely becoming more and more of a voiced issue which is a good thing. This is a serious issue and these are people that if no one speaks up for them, if no one does anything, they’re going to stay in that situation. It’s going to take action. I wish I had seen it earlier. The problem is just as relevant here. Atlanta is one of the biggest hubs of human trafficking, so why it took going to Indonesia for this to hit home I don’t know, but that’s when it really became real to us and we want to make a difference,” Klayman said.

Engaging the local community:

In addition to being a vendor at the Farmer’s Market every Saturday, Three Trees also offer fundraising options to local organizations where they can be the ones selling coffee.

“We already partnered with a couple different churches, we partnered with the Boys Scouts of America, but it opened for anybody and everybody to raise funds for their own purpose,” Klayman said.

“I know enough about coffee to know that there is always more to know. And that’s a cool thing about the coffee community, is that we’re all after the same thing, which is delicious coffee. As I traveled and met more people I realized how little I know about coffee and that’s what fun about it. There’s always more to learn,” Klayman said.