Specialty coffee markets that recognize coffee‐quality price premiums can improve business conditions for smallholders and promote agro‐ecological practices. We studied the Relationship Coffee Model (RCM), a business model that supports long‐term partnerships between coffee buyers and smallholders based on product quality. We examined how biophysical conditions and production practices affect smallholders’ ability to participate in this model. Furthermore, we considered common unobservable variables driving growers’ participation such as farm soil quality and connection to social networks.