Burundi 2017 Harvest Shipping Soon

It's been so great to see the continuous build of up anticipation for our Burundi coffees year-after-year. When we first started working with this origin in 2012, finding roasters willing to take a chance on this new origin was challenging. And with good reason: it was relatively unknown as a place, let alone as an origin of exciting and quality coffees. On top of this, what little has been known about Burundian coffee has been impacted by the reality of the potato defect, which over time, has been intensively fought with every kind of control measure team Long Miles could think to throw at it. They perform meticulous black light scans of every lot pre-export, and Epaphras Ndikumana, ingenious planner and leader of Long Miles' farmer extension programs, even organized antestia bug hunts.

As our first containers of the recent Burundi harvest make their way to Mombasa port en route to New Jersey and Antwerp, we wanted to provide some context as to why the timeline for this year's arrivals is seemingly "later" than last year. The first thing to note is that the shipments are not actually departing late: everyone involved in the making of this year's lots have been working as diligently as possible; there have simply been forces at play that have been working against earlier shipment dates.

A Longer Harvest Period

Harvest typically begins in March and ends in late-May to the early-June. This year harvest started in April and went all the way to mid-July. This wasn't true across the board -- there were other washing stations and areas that had more of a "regular" harvest period. The difference? Politics.

While Burundi's coffee sector has officially allowed for private enterprise since the late-80s to early-90s, in practice it has been bureaucratically difficult to conduct business as a coffee entrepreneur. Corruption is rife and policy changes are often unforeseeable.
 

Disruptive Coffee Policy

There were two policy changes in particular that had devastating consequences for farmers growing in communities not supported by government interests:

1. The government's halting of fertilizer imports to select areas, including the communities delivering cherries to Long Miles' washing stations. The main consequence of this was that the soil became too acidic for the plants to properly develop their cherries and the sub-consequence of that was uneven cherry development, leading to a longer harvest period.
2. The removal of collection points.
   • Collection points are key for Burundi farmers because very few have motorized means of transport and deliver cherries by foot to washing stations.
   • As a result of the banning of collection points, many farmers (most of them women, like the woman in the photo above) walked up to 15km (30km round trip) [corrected from an earlier version describing a 30km one-way trip] to a Long Miles station in order to continue working with their team. Imagine walking 15km one-way with a bag of between 40-50kg bag of cherries on your head, once every week (not to mention the long walk back).

Usually when I come to make selections in June, I'm presented with pretty well all the top lots that will be available for that given season. Given that my visit this year took place in the midst ofharvest, many of the coffees that the team had planned to be ready simply weren't, meaning many of the selections took place via Long Miles' Picasso Nduwayo (Quality Control Manager) and his team sending batches of samples as quickly as they could be taken off their drying beds, to our Oslo lab for approval. By far a much more tedious and drawn out way of purchasing coffee.

Nonetheless, both Long Miles and CCS are pleased and excited about this year's selections. The Long Miles Team have once again outdone themselves and it is starkly evident that the communities in which they work are hugely supportive and believe in this project. How else do you explain a farmer choosing to walk 15km, past other washing stations, to sell her cherries?

Demand for these coffees have been very high. 90% of the first container coming to Antwerp has been pre-sold and so with that, we've decided to bring in a second container to the EU.

The first two containers, bound for Antwerp and New Jersey, are at Mombasa port and are scheduled for departure on December 9th, meaning a mid-January arrival.

Get in touch with Nicolas (EU & Asia) and Sal (North America) for availability and samples.

Melanie

The Longevity of Ethiopian Coffees

Hana Kassahun Bililign, Store Manager, Moplaco, Ethiopia

Hana Kassahun Bililign is one of the most important people we work with in Ethiopia. Her job is not the most romantic, and her view is not the most scenic, but as Store Manager for Moplaco, one of our long-term partners in Ethiopia, her task is crucial. She cares for the coffee while it rests.  

In addition to dealing with logistics and exporting, Hana is responsible for selecting and preserving the highest quality possible. She spends most of her day in a warehouse in Addis Abeba, where Moplaco’s parchment coffee is rested. After the coffee is hulled, it is stored in GrainPro bags until Hana’s team of expert women assesses each coffee bean and discards all but the perfect specimens.

Women pickers in the Moplaco warehouse removing any defective beans from the hulled coffee.

This resting period in Moplaco’s warehouse, which is insulated to keep temperatures between 19 and 24 degrees celsius, is a crucial step in developing the complex fruit and floral notes so carefully cultivated by Ethiopian coffee growers. Hana cups daily to track the coffee through this important process, and decides the exact moment when it has reached its full potential. Uniquely, Ethiopian coffees often achieve their fullest flavour after three to four months of resting, and keep their freshness for over a year. Some are even better after a year.

We have several Ethiopian lots in stock and ready to ship from the November 2016-January 2017 harvest which our team cupped last week. The quality was impressive! All our Ethiopian coffees, including the Kaffa, Kochere, Guji, Wonago and Matahara from Moplaco, are clean and bright and displaying the organoleptic richness that Ethiopian farmers, and coffee professionals like Hana, take great pride in delivering.
 

Special offer!

We have some spectacular Ethiopian coffees we need to clear from our Antwerp warehouse. See the full Antwerp Clearance Price List for details and contact Nico to order samples. 

Welcome, Suzie!

With the recent additions to the sales side of our team,  we're balancing things out in our communications team by announcing the addition of Suzie Hoban, who will be joining us at our HQ in Oslo. Welcome, Suzie!

Originally from Australia, Suzie has lived, worked and studied in Asia, Europe and South America.

After several years working in broadcasting, marketing and advertising, Suzie travelled to Italy to study a Masters in Food Culture and Communications at the University of Gastronomic Sciences, complementing her communications background with sensorial analysis training and an understanding of food systems and production.

Upon graduating Suzie pursued a newfound fascination for coffee and cacao, interning with coffee roasters and chocolate makers in Europe, before moving to Bogotá in 2011. There she continued exploring cacao and coffee as a lecturer in Gastronomy at the Universidad de La Sabana, a chocolatier, and an ardent promotor of Colombia’s burgeoning fine chocolate industry. Living in Colombia, Suzie has seen first-hand the benefits the specialty market brings to farmers and local companies in the supply chain.

You can reach Suzie at suzie@collaborativecoffeesource.com.

Welcome, Matt!

Matt

We have (another) new addition to the team. Welcome, Matt!

Matt Hassell resides just outside of Boston, MA, USA. From there he will be taking a leading role in CCS’ department of Sample Management & Quality Control worldwide, and is joining  our growing Sourcing & Buying team. Known for his organizational skills and sharp attention to details, both essential traits for the roles he'll be fulfilling within our team, Matt is a warmly welcomed addition to our team.

Matt began his career in specialty coffee in 2010 thanks to an exceptional coffee from Mamuto Estate in Kenya. Drinking it was a revelation and became the catalyst for a continued deep interest in all things coffee.

Things started out at George Howell Coffee, where Matt helped open their first cafe as the first acting manager. From there, he transitioned to the roastery where he eventually became Head of Roasting and Quality Control. During his tenure at George Howell, Matt played an active role in the educational activities of the company, which included hosting roasting classes and public cuppings.

In coffee there is always more to be learned. This fact perfectly fits Matt’s curious personality and desire to work more directly with producers, which is one of his biggest ambitions as a coffee professional. It is perfect, then, that his next stop and first one as part of team CCS is a trip to visit Kenyan coops and estates before the upcoming harvest season.

Welcome to the CCS team!

Welcome, Nicolas!

Photo Nicolas Pourailly

We’d like to introduce you to the newest member to CCS, Nicolas Pourailly. Welcome, Nico!

With all the positive feedback and growth we’ve been experiencing across Europe, it’s time for us to expand our team’s presence and reach to better serve the unique needs of our many regional markets. After hearing from and meeting with many wonderful candidates from all over the world (thank you!), we’re excited and proud to be bringing Nicolas on board. He has re-located from Barcelona to Oslo to work out of our HQ and has started and has definitely hit the ground running.

Nicolas started working in the specialty coffee industry at the end of 2015 when he discovered the Parisian specialty coffee scene and through this interest, learned about specialty coffee’s approach to agroforestry, which was a topic he developed an interest in through his engineering studies.

After stints first working as an engineer and project manager in the luxury goods industry and then within the field of sustainable construction, he eventually co-founded the website Los

Tostados in 2016 to support to an initiation trip to coffee origin. During this trip, he worked with cooperatives and producers in Peru to understand the living conditions of coffee producers, along with agronomic techniques used in the field and how each step in coffee processing affects the final quality.

More recently, he worked as a roaster and quality grader in Barcelona with Esperanza Cafe. In September 2017, Nicolas joined CCS to manage the European Sales and help in CCS’ quality control process.

You can contact Nico at nicolas@collaborativecoffeesource.com.

Welcome, Colleen!

We'd like to introduce you to the newest member to CCS, Colleen King. Welcome, Colleen!

With all the positive feedback and growth we've been experiencing across North America, it's time for us to expand our team's presence and reach to better serve the unique needs of the various regional markets. With Sal joining us from Boston at the beginning of this year, it made sense for us to expand our team into the western regions. After hearing from and meeting with many wonderful candidates (thank you!), we're excited and proud to be bringing Colleen on board.

Colleen has been working in specialty coffee since 2008, when she was hired at Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea at their flagship store in Chicago. Since then, she has worked in specialty coffee in Los Angeles, Portland and San Francisco, where she currently resides. Her career experience includes wholesale strategy, build out design, quality control, and green coffee trading. She received her BA in Critical Theory and Analysis with a concentration in Post Colonial Economics. Her work has been published and featured in Food Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, Daily Coffee News, and Life & Thyme Magazine.

Given our team's personalized style of working with roasters, if you're located on the west coast, you can expect to hear from Colleen about meeting and cupping with her in person. You can get in touch at colleen@collaborativecoffeesource.com.

Santa Barbara, Honduras 2017

Neptaly Bautista: an early CCS partner in Santa Barbara

Field Reports from early and late harvest visits

This is an intro and a comment to what CCS is doing in Santa Barbara. As we are celebrating our 12th+ year of working in this region we are assessing some experiences and looking ahead; at how we want work here going forward.

CCS is making such a direct impact in this community like nowhere else I can think of. Our position is strong, which comes with great responsibility. One that I do not take lightly. It is really humbling. Our deeds are seen and our words are heard. Any temptation to give suggestions to a farmer-friend must be well thought through before it is said, or else, before you know it, what you said will be done.

These partnerships have fortunately been mutually beneficial. Yields have never been higher and the quality has never been better. That is of course not to our credit and is thanks to hard work from the people that live and breathe in Santa Barbara.

There is no mistake: Buying is Power. It has always been like that in this business and continues to be the case. CCS’ buying-power is evident in Santa Barbara, which is important for the things we want to achieve with San Vicente. This is a fact that we are well aware of and is something that needs to be protected, nourished, cherished and held on to.

In the years that have passed since the beginning of our focused sourcing and concrete buying from the region began, CCS is now committing to 20 times our original volume. When looking ahead we should prepare ourselves, collaborate with our farming partners (including our exporter San Vicente), and communicate with the marketplace that we will double the current volume within the next few years; a growth that is inevitable and has been almost organic.

The Moreno family: one of CCS' strongest partnerships anywhere

How This All Began

It started with buying just a few bags from Natividad Benitez, the first-place winner of Cup of Excellence in 2005. It sparked a relationship between Natividad and MOCCA in Oslo (later MOCCA’s roasting operation became a separate roasting company: KAFFA) yet instead we found ourselves growing into relationships with some of his neighbors over the course of the next couple of years. From these humble beginnings, today we find ourselves working with 40 families — and counting — through Collaborative Coffee Source.

Santa Barbara is one of those regions that was clearly discovered and defined by the CoE program. Arturo Angel Paz of San Vicente Coffee Exporters, is a dedicated and curious coffee cupper. He met Miguel Moreno of El Cedral, an ambitious and anxious producer (he was in huge debt at the time just before the competition) when Miguel dropped off one of his samples. From this moment, these two men have been instrumental in changing the Honduran coffee scene forever: Santa Barbara has clearly developed into an appellation. Ironically today, coffee cherries from Marcala (formerly recognized as the important coffee region in Honduras) are bought to be dried in Santa Barbara.

Like so many places we are visiting and buying from, the coffee supply chain and trade has clearly separated into two tracks: commercial or specialty, which not only defines level of ambition and empowerment, but livelihood and thus, level of poverty, to be clear. The dream of most farmers in the know is to find ‘a buyer’ — un comprador — one to grow with. Coffee farming is incredibly labor intensive and the only way to make a living when one has a small farm is to work the land yourself and engaging other family members. Only when the land is larger, just like in any economy, really, can one afford the overhead cost of management.

Having pickers/workers/employees, even in countries where the cost of labor is already unsustainably low (for the worker) when paid at its minimum level, is still the main cost for making coffee. It is also the cost that farmers really experience to be their main economic challenge.

The current price of coffee, even when at levels paid for specialty coffee these days, is dependent on keeping people in poverty, or at least paying them as little as possible for a job that is not only hard and uncomfortable — but totally necessary.

So when we speak about ‘equitable’ and ‘sustainable’ business for the people, we mean everyone involved.

Pedro Sagastume (L) and his son-in-law, Edwin Pineda (R). Gen II relationships in SB

Paying up

Having responsibility suggests that one act responsibly. Our sense of ‘duty’ in these Santa Barbara communities is firm. I strongly believe that the only way to talk about the issues of ‘livelihood’ and ‘poverty’ is to acknowledge the fact that money matters — for all parties involved — and now is the time to bring it up with our suppliers in a way that is also making them feel the responsibility that they have as employers of coffee workers, many times from their own community and sometimes their neighbors.

There can be a subtle nuance between suggesting and requiring something. As much as there may be a desire to change things for what we think is better, we walk a fine line in trying not to impose our mindset. Exposing ignorance is one thing. Worse is being seen as disrespecting cultural differences and inter-relational dynamics in the communities that we - after all - visit only for a few days each year. We have to acknowledge that we don’t live our farming partners’ lives.

Still, this is the new paradigm we are working toward: This harvest/buying season we are increasing the FOB price to $4.25/4.50 per pound (hence Farm Gate pricing is increasing proportionally) as the BASE price for an 86-points lot, we are at the same time ‘asking’ that the farmers also the pay their workers: farm-workers, pickers, etc., more. It is not a condition, but this increase of 50 cts/lb from last season is meant to give the farmer/land owner/owner of the facilities/business person/ employer an opportunity to distribute some of the gains they are making in relationship with us, to their workers.

As for the farms themselves: the stories, challenges and qualities from this harvest, we’ll share these over the next few weeks as we receive the lots and distribute them to their homes all over the world. Due to the prolonged harvest season, which started in January and went all the way to June, we have visited the region more often this year and have thus selected lots from the mid-harvest point (March), which has now just landed. The lots selected from the later harvest point (June) will soon be afloat.

Follow here and our social media for more on the specific farm updates that we will present in the coming days and weeks.

Coming up in the next season, we will work closely with a team of people on the ground to improve quality even further and in all aspects of making great coffee: husbandry, picking, processing, drying and packaging.

See you soon at a cupping table near you!

- Robert W

CCS' New Design Profile

If you've experienced the process of growing your hair out from a short hairstyle to a longer one, you understand exactly what is meant by the "awkward growing out" period. This year CCS is creating a new design profile because we want to better and more simply communicate the work that we do. Design is a language that connects with the senses; it conveys meaning through images and style in a way that is intuitive. It does some of the work in communicating that words cannot.

CCS' new icon is the Right Whale, which got its name from whale hunters who appreciated it for having all the qualities that they needed. Just as the whale hunters viewed this specie as the 'right one' we believe our customers and suppliers are confident in us based on the quality of our work and products. We aim to find the right coffee supplier and coffee for the right roaster and vice versa.

Like CCS and its partners, the Right Whale species is divided into southern and northern groups that travel the ocean between the continents and always live within tight-knit communities. Whereas the Right Whale is distinctive and a bit odd it its looks and smile, we've been told that we're a bit odd and unique. We take this to mean that we're noticed for having a different approach to specialty coffee and are appreciated for it ;).

In the coming months, look out for the whale and its distinctive dark blue colour. The blue was chosen to both contrast and complement the playfulness of the whale while simultaneously conveying the complexity of our industry and the professionalism that our team strives for.

Our new typography - which you will initially see more in our price lists, print and posters - is inspired by the trade industry: it's a moderate and sober use of typography that used to be found on inventory lists from the 1930s until the 1980s, that we are repurposing for ourselves now.

We are now going to focus on unveiling a brand new website that will hopefully launch by the end of the year. The aims for it are to be easy to navigate, interactive, and containing all the information that you're wishing for in an accessible format.

A big thank you for your ongoing support!

- Melanie & the rest of the CCS team

CCS IS HIRING!

_DSC8608

The Collaborative Coffee Source (CCS) is looking for self-motivated individuals to join our team

If you have any of the following, get in touch!

- Industry Experience (must)
- Cupping skills
- A Lab & Quality control background
- Are Service & Sales oriented
- Are self-driven, organized, a people-person
- Have outstanding communication skills

We are a quality and education focused green coffee sourcing company founded in Oslo, Norway and are concurrently expanding from our New York headquarters to cover more of the North American market, as well as from Shanghai to better serve our rapidly growing Asian markets.

CCS currently sources coffee in nine countries from Central America, South America and East Africa. We serve roasters from all over North America, Europe and Asia.

Send your cover letter and CV to robert@collaborativecoffeesource.com.

Panama Harvest Visit, March 2017

The purpose of my recent visit to Boquete, Panama was to spend a couple of days cupping with long-time friends and partners. Over the course of this visit, I observed and learned about the latest developments concerning how coffee cultivation has changed in this famed micro-region. My hosts and the coffees we cupped included:

• Hacienda Esmeralda, Geishas, Washed and Naturals
• Elida Estate, Catuaí and Geisha, Washed and Naturals
• Panama Coffee Traders (PCT): the new sourcing and export company of Wilford and Wilford Lamastus Jr. of Finca Elida. Catuaí and Geisha, Washed and Naturals.

This visit proved to be a bit early ‘in the season’ for cupping, although mid-March isn’t typically early in Central America. One major reason for this comparatively “later” harvest period is that the farmers we are buying from, along with many more in the Boquete valley, are growing their best coffees at higher and higher altitudes, in part due to climate change.
 

Climate Change, Geisha & the Harvest Period

Ronaldo, who has been working with coffee farming in Boquete over three decades (most notably at La Hacienda Esmeralda) is unequivocal about the average temperature noticeably increasing upward over the years. Rain patterns have also been changing; there is later or irregular rain, leading to “irregular” flowering and harvest periods. The harvest period is now starting in December lasting in August, with the main harvest period going from February through April.

The farmers in Boquete are incredibly competitive and they have long been rivalling one another in growing Geisha trees at the climactically highest altitudes possible. Early on this meant exceeding 1900 meters above sea level, then 2000 and today, ‘high’ has increased to 2100 masl. What was once not even considered possible is now happening, due both to competition and climate change. What’s next?

Ripe geisha cherries at La Hacienda Esmeralda

Regardless of temperature or climate change, the Geisha plant is a sturdy one once it has settled. But it is also delicate and slow growing in terms of producing fruit worth calling a harvest. These factors, along with the high altitudes, the fact that Geisha cultivation requires seven to eight years or more of careful husbandry, the necessary wind protection, nourishment, and waiting, all culminate in the Geishaendeavour requiring great investments in time and all other imaginable resources.

The coffees themselves are becoming more elegant, whether wet processed or other. I think that when it is well done, Geisha might be one of the best varieties to make naturals from. I’m not saying that natural processing makes for a better cup than washed per se. But the best version of this variety and this method is showing its best and true attributes here. These Geisha naturals showcase the processing method in such a way that makes for both complexity and balance: they have all the floral notes and structured acidity, together with all the sweetness, body, and juiciness that a 94-points kind-of-coffee ought to have.
 

Hacienda Esmeralda

During the weekend of my visit, La Hacienda Esmeralda was celebrating its 50th Anniversary. The farm started with dairy production during the late ‘60s, moved into coffee soon afterward and is today strong in both fields. In the coffee world, Esmeralda is The World's #1 most recognized farm for Geisha coffee. After all, it was the Peterson family that discovered it. Who even spoke about Geisha before the Best of Panama competition in 2004?

Happy 50th Anniversary, La Hacienda Esmeralda! Big congrats to the Peterson Family.

Earlier, I mentioned Ronaldo who has been working with the Peterson family since 2002. He arrived when they bought the now-famous plot on the Jaramillo hillside where the first Geisha trees were discovered. Back then, Geisha trees were being harvested from an altitude range of 1450 to 1650 masl. Much has changed since then.

Esmeralda continues to dry their lots on cement patios and in mechanical driers. There has been little innovation there. Their meticulousness, however, is unquestionable, along with their coffees’ cup results. As a matter of fact, I have yet to see the same consistency in results from other markets. I’m thinking particularly about colleagues from across the border in Costa Rica, who claim theirs are the best practices when it comes to drying naturals and ‘honey’ coffee on raised African beds. I’m wondering whether these methods truly make a difference.

What are the cup-profile correlations? And what are the long-term effects of a given method? How well does the processed green coffee keep its quality?

Robert (left) with Wilford Lamastus of Finca Elida

Finca Elida and Designing Flavour

Speaking of processing and cup quality, Wilford Lamastus of Finca Elida told me he is growing more and more skeptical of de-pulping machines (i.e. eco-pulpers). He thinks it is obvious that the pulper’s physical strain on the parchment, including the centrifuging of the mucilage, is damaging the coffee-in-parchment to an extent that is limiting the quality potential of the coffee both in the cup and over time.

While I understood his evidence as anecdotal, I think it is worth following up. Wilford now processes his best coffee without de-pulping. Rather, the skin is removed using good old-fashioned fermentation and washing techniques, which he calls hand washed coffee. I like that.

This classic process uses more water, so for this is a problematic trend (if it becomes one, again) in terms of environmental considerations. On the other hand, and this became clear to me later in the conversation with Wilford, the other motivation for taking the cherry-skin off carefully is to preserve the skin as well as possible so he can make the best possible cascara from it. Some good news for the same environmental analyses.

Drying at Finca Elida

Elida’s lots, both washed and natural, are generally cupping great, with scores ranging from 86 to 89 points (the family might have scored them higher). There were only a few scoring a disappointing 84 points and then the family knew something had gone wrong, whether in the drying or in the roasting. There were also cups that were (un)questionably winey, but then again, these are spot-on for other buyers’ preferences. So it goes.

Like those winey flavors in your naturals and want more? You’ve got it! The Elida approach to servicing a market, by designing flavor, is something we are seeing in other places in the coffee world too. Wilford is adamant about this approach being a pragmatic one. From his perspective as a craftsman, the ‘secret’ lies in the drying of naturals. For those that want a cleaner cup with less mature-fruit driven flavors, he will suggest a faster dried coffee cherry: one dried on a hotter surface; using thinner layers; with more sun exposure and more raking; over 5-7 days. Done! For a fruitier cup for other markets, he will deliberately do a slower drying by using raised African beds, thicker layers, less shade or less direct sunlight, turning just once a day, with a two-week drying time, or more.
 

Pricing

Beyond the yearly ritual of cupping with Rachel (at Esmeralda) and Wilford & Wilford Jr. (at Elida), I learned a few things about how Boquete producers strategize their production and sales, even designing profiles of their lots to meet various markets. It has been evident for years that Boquete is the home of Geisha in quite literal, as well as statistical senses. There is a tremendous amount of Geisha plants being grown, whether it’s the re-planting of existing farm land, or new plantings. The Lamastus' farms alone will plant 45,000+ trees this year, which is on par with their growth last year. Given the time it takes to see any noticeable harvest, production levels aren’t going to explode any time soon.

The Petersons, easily already the biggest Geisha farmers in this community, continue to buy land and grow trees at a formidable rate. They do so in no rush and with no cutting of corners. The family work with coffee based on solid investments and farm work. I often think that we owe a great deal of gratitude to the fact that it was this family, and this community, that discovered Geisha. Had it been somebody else, what would they have done? Would the field have advanced to where it is today?

The Petersons: (from left) Daniel, Rachel, Erik, Susan & Price)

Auctions continue to be a thermometer and a regulator for the price setting of Geisha coffee, although, going from astronomically high prices of $300+ per pound, to more down-to-earth levels of $30/lb and below speaks clearly, in dollar value terms, that not all Geisha lots are ‘worth' the same. At BoP and at Esmeralda’s very own auctions, the lots are very competitive in quality. For example, Esmeralda is not auctioning any lot under 88-points. This means that when they sell their Private Collection, it is a blend of 86-88 points, which is not a bad deal, considering that one does not need to bid for it.

Farmers delivering to and succeeding at Best of Panama know that they cannot expect to sell their non-auction 86-point Geishas at +$30 per pound. While I think these price-structures are interesting and well deserved, we must realize that there is a new economy in coffee that is separate from and totally different than the rest of the coffee market. Like in any other well-functioning economy, knowledge is power. In Boquete, cupping is key, and the best farmers in this town are also the best cuppers, competing with their customers in knowing the most about what’s on the table. When these coffees meet an educated market, offered by empowered farmers, it is a quite beautiful battle. One that is ‘fought’ on equal terms.

The Best of Panama Auction has been instrumental in empowering Panama coffee farmers in setting great benchmark prices for their lots

Elida sells its Catuaí cascara for $3.50/lb and its Geisha for $10/lb. Power!

This year, the Lamastuses introduced me to their Panama Coffee Traders' (PCT) program for sourcing and buying lots from neighbours. This company was started with the aim of finding buyers good and sold Boquete coffees that are at a lower price-point. While my visit proved to be a bit early in the season, I still cupped some lots and have asked about places, people and potential for future relationships. I scored one non-Geisha from PCT at 86 points and the highest scores were between 86.5 and 87-points but both were Geisha.

Well, the season isn’t over and symptomatically of climate change and coffee growing at higher altitudes, the BoP which used to take place in Early-April is now happening at the end of May. Hopefully you, the buyer, will accept these realities and not fill up your inventories with other Central American coffees, while Boquete coffee have not yet been harvested.

- Robert

SCA x CCS 2017

We will be cupping a curated selection of our coffees: available, soon to be available, along with some stunners that simply need revisiting.

Date: Sunday, April 23, 2017
Time: 10:15 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Location: The Cupping Exchange, Room 618
 

Honduras

From the currently harvesting. Showcasing long-time friends and new acquaintances from Santa Barbara, which produces some of our most interesting Central American offerings coming from some of our longest-standing relationships.

Moreno Family, El Cedral, Santa Barbara

Guatemala

A selection of some of the most versatile coffees we offer. Featuring cups from Antigua & Huehuetenango.

Luis Pedro Zelaya Zamora, Bella Vista Mill

Kenya

Charles Cardoso from Kenyacof will be on hand to discuss the flight of freshly harvested coffees (on offer), along with the ups and downs of the just completed harvest season.

Mary Maina, Manyeki Estate

Ethiopia

From mainstays to our first international presentation of newly established relationships with cooperatives in the Agaro region.

Asnake Nigat of Kata Muduga Union

Colombia

Alejandro Renjifo of Fairfield Trading will accompany the presentation of our Acevedo lots, freshly arrived and meticulously curated during the Acevedo Cup Competition from December 2016.

Alejandro Renjifo (R) with Acevedo Cup winner Fernando Bustos (C) & Eduardo Urquina of Fairfield Trading (L)

Burundi

Ben Carlson from Long Miles Coffee joins us as we cup and reflect on how stunning these Burundian coffees have been and what it took to get them there.

Ben Carlson (L) with Jeremie Nakimuhana (C) from Long Miles with a farmer from Mikuba Hill

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Sal, Martell, Robert and David will be on hand to talk about the coffees, the origins, and also CCS, our model and fielding inquiries/interest on working together.

Our session is open to the public. The room is set for 30 people, with 25/30 spots already confirmed.

Get in touch with Sal to secure these last spots. He will also be happy to schedule a meeting with you should you not be able to attend the cupping.

Farmer Profile: Dario Hernandez

Farm & Production Data

Farm Name: Dario Hernandez
Owner: Dario, Angelica & Tono Hernandez. A family of three (Tono is Dario’s and Angelica’s son) – each with their own plantation making up the farm as a whole
Closest town: Antigua
Department: Sacatepéquez
Altitude (masl): 1600-1800
Farm Size (ha): 17.5
Approximate number of trees planted per hectare: 3400
Soil composition: volcanic
Harvest season: January – April
Harvest peak: Mid-February – Mid-March
Approx. annual production (per 46kg bags green coffee): 300
Varieties: Bourbon & caturra

Wet process

Washing - Cherries go into reception tank and floaters are separated out, then pumped into the depulper - After being depulped by a mechanical depulper, cherries are sorted in two ways: clean and those that still have fruit o The ones with fruit go to a separate channel to undergo a second depulping - Clean cherries are moved with recycled water over to fermentation tanks o If there happen to still be cherries with fruit, they are sent to another tank where they will most likely be processed as commercial grade - Dry fermentation for 14-15 hours - Clean water then used to rinse the parchment which is then moved to a mechanical washer and finally transported to the drying patios or beds.

Three types of drying methods. Dependent on quality:

1. Green house with raised beds • Used for small lots (e.g. Hunapu). Do some honeys and naturals • Temperature, moisture, humidity levels are monitored • There are windows that can be opened to allow for more air flow when needed
2. Mechanical dryers used for biggest/commercial lots • Stay in the dryer for 24 hours @ below 50C • Then dried for five days on the patio
3. Patio
   • Most volume dried here
   • 12-16 days
   • Tube test in the middle of coffee lots to figure out whether coffee is dry enough to be measured for 11% moisture content. If it sticks to the tube, it still needs drying. If it doesn’t, moisture content reading is taken.
4. Post-drying - Parchment is packed in grain pro and rests for 30 days - At the dry mill, there are three different mechanical sorters that grade by A (biggest), B and C (smallest) o This process is repeated at least seven times to ensure even grading - Finally, the coffee is deparched and packaged.
    

Other Data

Other crops grown: avocado, used for family consumption
Number of people employed at farm: 8-10 family members work on the farm; an additional 12-14 pickers hired during the peak of harvest. Most of these are friends of the family. A law was recently passed in Guatemala that requires employers to register workers as employees and this provides them with government social and healthcare benefits that they didn’t previously have access to.
Pickers’ wage: 50-70 GTQ/45kg.

About the farmer & plans for the farm

The Hernandez family comes from a long lineage of coffee farmers and it’s easy to see this, walking through Dario’s plantation, which is neatly planted, pruned and seeing the health of the coffee plants. Although disease (roya and ojo de gayo) remain the family’s biggest challenges to coffee production, the family has, together with the Zelcafé team, managed to find the right inputs, use of labour (e.g. selective pruning) and tools to quickly manage outbreaks of disease before they become unmanageable. A result of their careful management is that the family can safely say that inputs are largely organic in composition. The family’s main goal for the future is to expand the size of plantations. Land is very expensive, however, so for now, good and regular management of the farm is the focus. About Bella Vista & Zelcafé
 

Background

Luis Pedro Zelaya Zamora (LPZZ) is the fourth generation in his family to be working in the coffee business. The Zelaya family’s first farm was Carmona, followed by Bella Vista, which where the wet, dry mill facilities, and Zelcafé staff offices were later built and are currently located.

For many years, the family’s business focus was on commercial coffee production and export but in 2000, LPZZ began developing and changing Zelcafé’s focus into specialty coffee/microlots, with the support of some early clients. Over time Zelcafé has been able to successfully transition the business into solely focusing on specialty coffee. For the Zelaya family, their coffee endeavours are not only about business; their aim is to provide a good basis for generations of their family and community to come. With this in mind, they are constantly looking for ways to provide jobs to as many families in their communities as possible, as well as supplying the best quality coffee they can to their clients.

Partnerships & Services

The family has worked with small producers in Antigua since they first started coffee farming. New relationships almost always come from introductions from families already working with the Zelaya family, ensuring close and stable partnerships. In addition to buying cherries from farms, Bella Vista also manages estate farms that owners don't want to sell but don't know how manage themselves.

The Bella Vista team take care of all the planning, execution and monitoring of the resources each farm they own or manage have: human, technical, financial, and knowledge/training. In the case of the small producers that they buy cherries from, the team not only buy cherries at a premium, they also provide technical assistance and the financing of inputs. Bella Vista is constantly looking to improve its agricultural activities to reduce chemicals to a minimum and in turn share their scientific knowledge with other farms.

Bella Vista continuously encourages its workers to get proper education and in special cases, finances education for some of them. The facility also often offers workshops on different topics. The Zelaya family farms all have C.A.F.E Practices implemented and in the coming years the family will try to implement a WaSH project at one of their biggest farms.

Other future plans include research on water treatment and the building of treatment plants and hopefully, the construction of another greenhouse.

Farm Profile: La Soledad

Lucía Zelaya with her husband, Ronny Asensio

Farm & Production Data

Farm Name: La Soledad
Owner: Lucía Zelaya
Farm manager(s): Julio Pablo Damian & Ronny Asensio
Closest town: Antigua
Department: Sacatepéquez
Altitude (masl): 1600-1800
Farm Size (ha): 12.5; 10 planted with coffee
Approximate number of trees planted per hectare: 3500
Soil composition: Clay mixed with volcanic and sandy loam
Harvest season: Late-December – Early-April
Harvest peak: Mid-February – Mid-March
Approx. annual production (per 46kg bags green coffee): 400
Varieties: 30% bourbon; 70% caturra

Manager: Julio Pablo Damian

Wet process

Washing - Cherries go into reception tank and floaters are separated out, then pumped into the depulper - After being depulped by a mechanical depulper, cherries are sorted in two ways: clean and those that still have fruit o The ones with fruit go to a separate channel to undergo a second depulping - Clean cherries are moved with recycled water over to fermentation tanks o If there happen to still be cherries with fruit, they are sent to another tank where they will most likely be processed as commercial grade - Dry fermentation for 14-15 hours - Clean water then used to rinse the parchment which is then moved to a mechanical washer and finally transported to the drying patios or beds.

Three types of drying methods. Dependent on quality:

1. Green house with raised beds •
   • Used for small lots (e.g. Hunapu). Do some honeys and naturals
   • Temperature, moisture, humidity levels are monitored
   • There are windows that can be opened to allow for more air flow when needed
2. Mechanical dryers used for biggest/commercial lots
   • Stay in the dryer for 24 hours @ below 50C
   • Then dried for five days on the patio
3. Patio •
   • Most volume dried here  
   • 12-16 days
   • Tube test in the middle of coffee lots to figure out whether coffee is dry enough to be measured for 11% moisture content. If it sticks to the tube, it still needs drying. If it doesn’t, moisture content reading is taken.

Post-drying - Parchment is packed in grain pro and rests for 30 days - At the dry mill, there are three different mechanical sorters that grade by A (biggest), B and C (smallest) o This process is repeated at least seven times to ensure even grading - Finally, the coffee is deparched and packaged.
 

Other Data

Number of people employed at farm: 5 permanent; 15-20 pickers. A law was recently passed in Guatemala that requires employers to register workers as employees and this provides them with government social and healthcare benefits that they didn’t previously have access to.

Pickers’ wage: 50-70 GTQ/45kg.
 

About the farmer & the farm’s management

Lucía Zelaya comes from both a well-established and long-standing coffee producing family. She is both a cousin of Luis Pedro Zelaya and is herself a 4th generation producer. Her husband, Ronny, also comes from coffee producing heritage and owns another separate coffee farm, manages yet another, on top of overseeing the management of La Soledad.

It is in part due to Ronny’s farming principles that La Soledad maintains a strict and aggressive pruning regimen of removing 20-30% of the farm’s branches at the end of each year, to combat disease, make coffee picking easier for the women and ensure efficient production year after year. The pruning program is part of a broader integrated farm management program that has seen a dramatic decrease of reliance on chemical inputs on the farm. The goal is to decrease chemical inputs by 80% in the longer-term through the implementation of this program. It was introduced to Ronny by a sweet pepper producer who has successfully decreased his chemical inputs to 10% and is one of the best sweet pepper producers in Latin America (based on a balance of quality & volume measures).

Though the couple is happy and motivated to continue coffee farming, they cite profitability as the farm’s biggest challenge. Land prices in the area are quite high and climbing, so balancing their wish to continue the coffee legacy of their family with the realities of coffee market instability keeps them revisiting the question of coffee’s viability every once in a while.
 

About Bella Vista & Zelcafé

Background

Luis Pedro Zelaya Zamora (LPZZ) is the fourth generation in his family to be working in the coffee business. The Zelaya family’s first farm was Carmona, followed by Bella Vista, which where the wet, dry mill facilities, and Zelcafé staff offices were later built and are currently located.

For many years, the family’s business focus was on commercial coffee production and export but in 2000, LPZZ began developing and changing Zelcafé’s focus into specialty coffee/microlots, with the support of some early clients. Over time Zelcafé has been able to successfully transition the business into solely focusing on specialty coffee. For the Zelaya family, their coffee endeavours are not only about business; their aim is to provide a good basis for generations of their family and community to come. With this in mind, they are constantly looking for ways to provide jobs to as many families in their communities as possible, as well as supplying the best quality coffee they can to their clients.

Partnerships & Services

The family has worked with small producers in Antigua since they first started coffee farming. New relationships almost always come from introductions from families already working with the Zelaya family, ensuring close and stable partnerships. In addition to buying cherries from farms, Bella Vista also manages estate farms that owners don't want to sell but don't know how manage themselves.

The Bella Vista team take care of all the planning, execution and monitoring of the resources each farm they own or manage have: human, technical, financial, and knowledge/training. In the case of the small producers that they buy cherries from, the team not only buy cherries at a premium, they also provide technical assistance and the financing of inputs. Bella Vista is constantly looking to improve its agricultural activities to reduce chemicals to a minimum and in turn share their scientific knowledge with other farms.

Sustainability & the Future

Bella Vista continuously encourages its workers to get proper education and in special cases, finances education for some of them. The facility also often offers workshops on different topics. The Zelaya family farms all have C.A.F.E Practices implemented and in the coming years the family will try to implement a WaSH project at one of their biggest farms.

Other future plans include research on water treatment and the building of treatment plants and hopefully, the construction of another greenhouse.

Ethiopia: Coming Back to Cooperative Coffee

Our Previous Relationships with Cooperatives via TechnoServe

During the initial phase of Technoserve’s (TNS) work with cooperatives in Ethiopia, Kaffa in Oslo imported green coffee directly (pre-CCS) and roasted a few lots from some of the TNS supported washing stations, including Yukro, Hawa Yember and Hunda Oli.

I first got involved with some of the TNS coops during the 2009/10 season. Groups of roasters from around the word were invited, particularly from USA and Scandinavia, as they were seen as discerning buyers in viable markets. TNS was presenting their work at SCAA, SCAE and at roasting community events. These presentations weren’t really within TNS’ self-proclaimed mandate nor model, rather it was done to train and empower local representatives to learn how to market themselves.

KAFFA bought some lots but service was slow, samples hard to get, lots were sold out before one had time to provide feedback, and even if one visited to cup and buy on-site, the unions seemed to favor the ‘bigger’ roasters. When ‘dealing’ with the coops, one quickly learned that they didn’t truly have control over their products. It felt like one had to scramble to get ahold of something rather than being able to pick and choose properly, the way we’d do it in, let’s say, Kenya. Commitments were certainly not honored. It was all quite discouraging.

When I re-visited at the end of the harvest in 2012, the cooperatives were not just under-funded; they’d had little to no money just before the beginning of the harvest to pay for cherries. When I additionally learned that the harvest had been very low, I initially thought the low volume had to do with little yield per tree/farm. In reality, the low volume was due to farmers not being able to afford to deliver cherries to places that couldn't pay them up-front. This in turn meant low volumes at the washing station. Coop washing stations could only purchase as much coffee cherries as their credit line allowed them to. The irony of the TNS coops’ credit drought was that Oromia Union, their partner-in-crime, didn’t lend their coops the resources needed to buy cherries and hence, thrive. Even though customers were lined up to buy, complete dysfunction ruled at the most basic levels.

The quality management of the cherries was also poor and this related to the above economic problems. When you’re struggling to pay in the first place, you end up scrambling to get what few cherries you can afford. This is not the time to be scrutinizing the cherries’ maturity and uniformity.

Just as discouraging was the administrative and fiscal dysfunction. I wanted us to stay away as long as the Oromia Union stayed involved.

Now, five years later, the time feels right on many levels. And I’d like to take this opportunity to reflect on our previous experiences, as well as provide some background info that will hopefully be helpful to you. Full disclosure: I am “collecting” this information from memory, so bear with the fact that some of it is anecdotal.

Former TechnoServe staff, Aansha Yassin

TechnoServe’s Coffee Initiative

TechnoServe (TNS) is an NGO that was founded in 1968 and has been funded by the likes of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. TNS works with development initiativesin many countries including within Africa and mostly with agro-businesses — coffee amongst others — utilizing local natural resources and human potential to create economic advantages. What I like about the Gates Foundation approach is the clearly expressed belief that making good business (product and management) is both the means and the goal. In other words, participating communities utilize what they already have – local resources and the development of community members’ own knowledge and skills – to create better economic opportunities.

In Ethiopia, the Coffee Initiative was started in 2008 with investment from the Gates Foundation. This allowed TNS to do coffee work on a large scale and in new places like Ethiopia and this particular project had a five-year mandate. One of the beautiful ideas and high ambitions of the program was to empower local people to learn about the specialty coffee field by crafting great coffee: managing it as a business; doing lot separation; assessing quality through cupping; communicating monetary value through quality; and finally, marketing and offering it to a discerning marketplace.

TNS intelligently set out to focus their efforts in the western regions of Ethiopia. This part of the country has always had a rich history in producing coffee. As far as we know, this was the birthplace of coffee. Still at the time that TNS came in, coffee from the west didn’t have fame, nor was it fetching the high prices coffees in the south were getting (such as e.g. washed Sidamo and Yirgacheffe).

The western lowlands are home to Bebeka Estate, which up until recently was the largest government owned estate farm. This estate is now owned by Mr. Al Amodi, who is also the current owner of the Horizon Dry Mill. Also located in this region, are areas such as Djimmah, which was synonymous with low grades of naturals.

Although many areas in the west do have the altitude for producing high quality coffee, the infrastructure wasn’t in place to produce and supply good coffee, whether because of the lack of equipment to produce it (very few wet mills), or getting products to the marketplace (poor roads). Thus, TNS’ strategy was to change the perception of West Ethiopian coffee by both efficiently producing washed coffeefor a specialty coffee market, and by making this coffee logistically accessibleto the market. Though roads were built and upgraded independently of TNS initiatives, these kinds of efforts went hand-in-hand.

The TechnoServe Way

TNS proposed that the coops install eco-pulpers at all the washing station projects they got involved with. This was a controversial prospect at the time, given the strong tradition up until then of the Ethiopian wet process being about fermenting with mucilage before washing. As we know, eco-pulpers have benefits, including saving water and requiring a lower up-front investment than the traditional wet process set-up with its many large fermentation tanks and washing channels.

Part of the TNS agenda was to help build equitable business projects, even helping with the financing, implementation of transparent bookkeeping, and overall good management by:

• Facilitating the process of applying for and getting loans to buildthe technical infrastructure: buying eco-pulpers, building washing stations and drying beds;

• Facilitating the process of applying for credit from banks so the coop could buy cherries. When a farmer arrives with coffee cherries, on any given day, the coop is expected to pay for the delivery on the spot. Thus, a lot of cash is required even before the start-up of the harvest season. Not to mention all the cash required to carry out the season;
• Helping to create a marketing plan (on behalf of the union): market outreach, market access, quality control and sample distribution
• Operational management, planning, and fiscal control.

Some of the most successful TNS coops managed to pay back the investment of equipment and infrastructure in less than 2 years, which is considered a great success by any business standard.

The ECX

TechnoServe During the time of the Revamping ECX

Little did TNS know that their program would be in stark contrast to ECX’s coming implementation of anonymity in the auction process. The new ECX structure was coincidentally put in place very soon after the TNS cooperatives were inaugurated and ready to hit the market with their attractively traceable coffees. The Coffee Initiative's original intention in Ethiopia was never to work with the Unions. In the first year, 2009, it tried to create a model where coops could work directly with private exporters. However, the Unions/government brought this process to a grinding stop. Eventually, all the coffees had to be taken over and exported by the Unions, and the contracts renegotiated. This was a major blow to the program because no one, including TNS, trusted that the Unions would be efficient, transparent, etc.

Specialty coffee buyers were flocking to TNS’ washing station projects. Although the coffee quality was not top-notch in the very beginning, the model at least provided a transparent trade model and TNS was pushing to make sure the farmers and their communities were rewarded with premium prices above the Fair Trade/Organic models.

When a washing station is owned by a cooperative, the contributing farmers collectively own the coop, but they must nominate a union to handle their milling and marketing for which the coop is charged a service fee. It usually makes sense to get these services from a union that is involved in the region, and hopefully it is also offering competitive terms. Even if the milling fee is regulated by law, unions have a reputation for taking advantage of the coops by charging the maximum fee possible and/or screening and processing lots to their own benefit (e.g. ‘mixing up’ lots, blending and even stealing).

The coop-union relationship is generally one where the union arguably has the ‘upper hand’. Since the union ends up with the parchment coffee in their possession, and being that they become the party that markets the coffee, they are the ones to send samples out to potential buyers.

In other words, even if a union is intended to be an intermediary part in the transparent relationship between a producer and a buyer, the unionis the primary contact and by default becomes the ‘owner’ of the relationship.

All this said, that dynamic briefly changed as soon as the TNS coops and washing stations earned their own fame, consequently bypassing the unions in building relationships directly with their end buyers (roasters).

TNS coops were obliged to deliver to various unions, as made geographic sense. Unfortunately, this only lasted for the first year of operation under TNS supervision. Once the Oromia Unionand its powerful and charismatic leader saw the success and prestige associated with trading directly with affluent coffee buyers around the world, it didn’t take long before all the TNS coops were forced to mill and market their coffee through the Oromia Union.

Oromia Union’s experiencewith lot separation, handling of the respective samples, and the necessary marketing efforts were generally not well developed initially. To overcome this, TNS opened regional offices with cupping facilities, training local staff and offering opportunities for buyers to access coffee without having to depend on the union. These efforts were meant only to be an temporary solution, while Oromia Union was supposed to equip itself with skilled staff, adequate systems and protocols, and building marketing strategies.

In my opinion this became and remained the weakest link with the TNS-developed supply chain. When TNS ended their project term, Oromia was still struggling to get things right.

Limmu is primarily where our coop coffees this year will come from

Returning to Cooperative Coffee

I am very pleased to announce that CCS is going into this season with a more diverse approach to sourcing and buying in Ethiopia. In addition to offering stellar ECX coffees; and micro-lots from private estates; CCS will introduce cooperative coffees to the menu. It is promising indeed thus we are looking forward to presenting a carefully curated list of lots from thoughtfully selected coops in the Limu/Djimmah region of the west!

The reasons for this optimism are these necessary turn of events: 1) Other Unions, for all the above-mentioned reasons, have emerged to service the coops; and 2) Quality, compliance, and commitment seem to hold a higher priority than in the earlier years of my experiences with the cooperatives and the Oromia Union.

We cannot wait offer you to taste the 'fruits' coming from all these emergent changes. Enjoy!

Robert

—founder of KAFFA and Collaborative Coffee Source (CCS)

Corrections: 1) the previous version incorrectly stated that TechnoServe was founded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and has been corrected to reflect the fact that the NGO was founded in 1968 and that the Gates Foundation is  one (albeit a large one) source of funding for TNS.

2) it was never TNS' original intent to work with Unions, as was implied in the earlier version. The post has been corrected to reflect the fact that TNS' aim was to work directly with cooperatives, independently of the Unions/government from the beginning.

Cupping back in 2012

Farmer Profile: Cresencio Izaguirre

Family Details

Farmer’s & Spouse’s names: Cresencio Izaguirre & Maria de Los Angeles Martinez Farmer’s Date of Birth: 10 June 1972
Children’s names & years of birth: Ruber Joel (1999); Ingrid Jackeline (2000); Jairo Nahun (2002); Lusby Roxeni (2005); Yeldy Maritza (2008); Seiri (2010)
Year farmer received/purchased first coffee farm: 1989
 

About Cresencio & his family

Cresencio comes from a coffee growing family; he is a second-generation farmer. His brothers (Bernardo, Glenis & Juan Angel) and mother (Maria Adilia) own their own coffee plantations, which neighbour Cresencio’s plantations. Together, the family share drying facilities and are currently constructing a beneficio/wet mill.  His current focus now that he has purchased more land, is to build a new house for his family.

When asked why he chose coffee farming, Cresencio responded that coffee provides a stable income. He also wanted to continue the coffee farming legacy of his parents. When asked what his biggest accomplishment has been to date, Cresencio responded that he is most proud of the fact that he is a coffee producer. According to Cresencio, the biggest challenge he faces in relation to coffee production is disease, like “roya”, along with not having enough resources to fight them.

Farm & Production Data

Closest town: El Cedral
Region: Santa Barbara
Altitude: Three plantations: 1. 1600 masl; 2. 1580 masl; 3. 1580 masl
Farm Size: 3.8 ha
Approximate number of trees planted per hectare: 2450
Soil composition: Volcanic
Harvest season: January to June
Harvest peak: March
Approx. annual production: 15 bags (per 69kg)
Variety: almost 100% pacas with a few bourbon plants
Process: dry fermentation for 24 hours, then washed 3-4 times with agitation
 

Other Data

Other crops grown: corn & beans for family’s own consumption
Percentage of income coming from coffee production: 100%
Number of people employed at farm: 5 pickers/seasonal workers + family
Pickers’ wage: 50 HNL/5-gallon bucket

About the Farm & Coffee

Cresencio’s coffee production comes from three separate plantations (as noted above) and in 2015, Cresencio purchased more land at a lower elevation. This plot was already planted with coffee (of the bourbon variety), which Cresencio stumped, meaning the re-growth will begin producing in 2018. Most Cresencio’s production is from the pacas variety, with maybe one bag of bourbon. We’ll see the bourbon production increase once the newly purchased and stumped plantation is producing again. For the first time (2017), Cresencio has agreed to separate out his bourbon production, even though this will only produce about a bag. Both he and we are curious about what the cup profile will be.

Cup profile: Guava, nectarine, hints of pine in the aroma. Starfruit, dried nectarine, some citrus peel, pear-like in the cup.

The Relationships

We were introduced to Cresencio by our good friends and exporters, San Vicente, based in Peña Blanca, the closest city to almost all the farmers we work with in Honduras. San Vicente has been an invaluable partner to us, helping the development process of our relationships with the farmers with whom we work, introducing us to new potential partners, providing milling & logistic services, and actively working together with farmers on new strategies to improve farm-level practices to improve cup quality each year.
 

Background to Santa Barbara

The villages Cielito, Cedral and Las Flores follow one after another along the mountain range in Santa Barbara. Grown on this hillside is mostly Pacas, a coffee species akin to Bourbon, as well as Yellow Catuaí and Pacamara. It is challenging to process coffee cherries in areas like these, which are close to the jungle and thus, to rain. The drying process is especially demanding. But when these processes are precisely controlled, seemingly problematic factors (like drying under challenging conditions) are what make coffee from this area particularly interesting. The coffee produced here cups with flavour attributes not found anywhere else in Central America.

Since 2005, the region, Santa Barbara, and the small producers living and working there, have shared the distinction as the place and the people producing exceptional coffee within Honduras. Our work and the

beginning of the on-going relationships we’ve since established here began during the 2005 Cup of Excellence. We came to realize that there are exceptional producers from this small area. And since that inaugural year, we have purchased from over twenty different Santa Barbara producers.Located in the village of Pena Blanca is coffee exporter San Vicente – the company that coordinates the coffee we buy from Santa Barbara. Over the past several years, one particular hillside has become the largest supplier of CoE winners in Honduras. The most successful farms with the smartest and most innovative farmers are neighbours on this hillside and they help each other to refine the best of their lots.

There exists an eagerness here; a willingness, motivation and ambition to produce the best coffee in the country. But there are also large differences amongst the farmers and our purpose is to be close to this special coffee community and get to know the most ambitious of the farmers here; the ones we can develop something with. In order to build relationships – that allow both parties to have a common understanding of quality coffee – there must be frequent and long-term presence.

To produce coffee that tastes fruity is not very complicated. But to produce coffee that is clean, clear, fresh and fruity – that’s an art. One of the biggest assumptions within specialty coffee is that coffee from high- altitude areas naturally exhibits these characteristics. But high elevation can lead to potential problems, even in tropical climates.

In the highest areas of Santa Barbara, up to and over 1800 meters, producers can experience “freezing”: the combination of temperatures between 4-5C and rainfall that combine to cause cherries to not ripen and leaves to die on the bush. These conditions create a cold and humid climate, which is hazardous for processing and requires steady and reliable drying conditions for coffee so quality will not deteriorate. These natural conditions, of course, cannot be evaded. But clever and prescient coffee farmers, like the ones we collaborate with, invest in drying systems that minimize the risks associated with weather.

Farm Profile: Buena Vista

Farm & Production Data

Farm Name: Buena Vista
Owner: Luis Pedro Zelaya Aguirre
Farm manager(s): Carlos Patal (daily operations); Franklin Quiche (overall)
Closest town: Jocotenango
Department: Sacatepéquez
Altitude: 1772-1900 masl
Farm Size: 80 ha
Approximate number of trees planted per hectare: 3200
Soil composition: Clay mixed with volcanic and sandy loam
Harvest season: December to April
Harvest peak: February to March
Approx. annual production: 1330 bags (per 46kg bags)
Variety: 25 ha planted with bourbon; 6 ha planted with caturra; 3.5 ha planted with catuaí; 3.5 ha planted with villa sarchí; 15 ha planted with catimor.
 

Wet process

Washing

• Cherries go into reception tank and floaters are separated out, then pumped into the depulper
• After being depulped by a mechanical depulper, cherries are sorted in two ways: clean and those that still have fruit
  • The ones with fruit go to a separate channel to undergo a second depulping
  • Clean cherries are moved with recycled water over to fermentation tanks
    • If there happen to still be cherries with fruit, they are sent to another tank where they will most likely be processed as commercial grade
    • Dry fermentation for 14-15 hours
    • Clean water then used to rinse the parchment which is then moved to a mechanical washer and finally transported to the drying patios or beds.

Three types of drying methods. Dependent on quality:

Green house with raised beds

• • Used for small lots (e.g. Hunapu). Do some honeys and naturals
  • Temperature, moisture, humidity levels are monitored
  • There are windows that can be opened to allow for more air flow when needed

Mechanical dryers used for biggest/commercial lots

• Stay in the dryer for 24 hours @ below 50C
• Then dried for five days on the patio

Patio

• Most volume dried here
• 12-16 days
• Tube test in the middle of coffee lots to figure out whether coffee is dry enough to be measured for 11% moisture content. If it sticks to the tube, it still needs drying. If it doesn’t, moisture content reading is taken.

Post-drying

• Parchment is packed in grain pro and rests for 30 days
• At the dry mill, there are three different mechanical sorters that grade by A (biggest), B and C (smallest)
  • This process is repeated at least seven times to ensure even grading
  • Finally, the coffee is deparched and packaged.
     

Other Data

Number of people employed at farm: 18 permanent; 100-150 temporary/seasonal pickers. A law was recently passed in Guatemala that requires employers to register workers as employees and this provides them with government social and healthcare benefits that they didn’t previously have access to.

Pickers’ wage: 50-70 GTQ/45kg.
 

About the farmer & plans for the farm

Luis Pedro Zelaya Aguirre is the patriarch of the Zelcafé group of companies, which includes Bella Vista Mill (see below) and several farms either owned or managed by the group. Buena Vista has been under LPZA’s management since 1998 and the farm has been planted with coffee since 1991.

The biggest challenges for Buena Vista are disease (especially roya) and drought.

Projects include replanting all the catimor with gesha (seeds coming from Finca Carmona, a farm owned by a relative of LPZA’s, Maria Zelaya) and replanting a plot of 3 ha currently planted with bourbon & caturra with a newer bourbon strain that grows shorter (easier to pick) and has a better cup profile. 1 ha of Buena Vista has been planted with the java variety and will first harvest next season.

The farm’s coffee trees are fully replanted every 30 years, with the first pruning cycle occurring after seven years. Pruning occurs every year, while stumping occurs every third year.
 

About Bella Vista & Zelcafé

Background

Luis Pedro Zelaya Zamora (LPZZ) is the fourth generation in his family to be working in the coffee business. The Zelaya family’s first farm was Carmona, followed by Bella Vista, which where the wet, dry mill facilities, and Zelcafé staff offices were later built and are currently located.

For many years, the family’s business focus was on commercial coffee production and export but in 2000, LPZZ began developing and changing Zelcafé’s focus into specialty coffee/microlots, with the support of some early clients. Over time Zelcafé has been able to successfully transition the business into solely focusing on specialty coffee. For the Zelaya family, their coffee endeavours are not only about business; their aim is to provide a good basis for generations of their family and community to come. With this in mind, they are constantly looking for ways to provide jobs to as many families in their communities as possible, as well as supplying the best quality coffee they can to their clients.

Partnerships & Services

The family has worked with small producers in Antigua since they first started coffee farming. New relationships almost always come from introductions from families already working with the Zelaya family, ensuring close and stable partnerships. In addition to buying cherries from farms, Bella Vista also manages estate farms that owners don't want to sell but don't know how manage themselves.

The Bella Vista team take care of all the planning, execution and monitoring of the resources each farm they own or manage have: human, technical, financial, and knowledge/training. In the case of the small producers that they buy cherries from, the team not only buy cherries at a premium, they also provide technical assistance and the financing of inputs. Bella Vista is constantly looking to improve its agricultural activities to reduce chemicals to a minimum and in turn share their scientific knowledge with other farms.

Sustainability & the Future

Bella Vista continuously encourages its workers to get proper education and in special cases, finances education for some of them. The facility also often offers workshops on different topics. The Zelaya family farms all have C.A.F.E Practices implemented and in the coming years the family will try to implement a WaSH project at one of their biggest farms.

Other future plans include research on water treatment and the building of treatment plants and hopefully, the construction of another greenhouse.

Acevedo Cup: Recap

The CCS Acevedo Cup 2018 Awards Ceremony

The inaugural Acevedo Cup was one of the most inspired/inspiring events CCS was a part of in 2016. What a motivating way to finish off the year. It’s difficult to imagine just how much preparatory work the Fairfield team had done in advance of the competition but the resulting four days we spent cupping, discussing, scoring and ranking the top 20 lots were an absolute pleasure.

Those of you who’ve cupped at origin know how arduous full cupping days can be, so the fact our group of judges enjoyed cupping and re-cupping these coffees says everything about the standards to which the Fairfield team operates.

This competition was a great way to start our work in the Acevedo municipality of Huila. It gave us the opportunity to taste a wide variety of cup profiles available within this community, while the closing ceremonies, in turn, gave the community the opportunity to learn about CCS’ and Fairfield’s work and ambitions for working in and around Acevedo.

Between 20-30 families came to the closing ceremonies and while many of them weren’t “winners” in the sense of having submitted top-20 coffees, it was fascinating to speak with several of the families afterward and learn about their perceptions not only about the competition, but about how they view working with Fairfield and us in the long-term. Some well-established community leaders were in attendance and they had already decided to organize meetings amongst Acevedo Cup winners and their neighbours to first discuss the winners’ protocol and strategies for the winning lots, and then determine how and what strategies neighbouring farms could implement to improve their own production.

Left to right Eduardo Urquina of Fairfield Trading, Miller Bustos collecting the certificate for his brother Fernando Bustos, and Alejandro Renjifo of Fairfield Trading. 

Field Notes

Day 1

Calibration round + two competition tables. Screened 29 coffees down to 12 which will move on to the next round.

Learned about the National Learning Service (SENA), a government initiative that provides workers, adults and youths with technical training within the areas of industry, trade, agriculture, mining and cattle breeding. Some of volunteers helping with the Acevedo Cup are students of SENA and are currently undergoing training to become professional baristas, cuppers and roasters.

Day 2

Screened 29 coffees down to 12. Day 3 is the cupping of the top-24 coffees from Days 1 & 2.

First introduced to the winning coffee which I described as one of the best coffees I cupped all year. I gave it a score of 93 points with the following aroma/flavour descriptions: a floral, lemony, jasmine, and bergamot aroma. Cup is complex, juicy, well-structured, citrusy, clean, with a red currant finish. This coffee has all the elegance of great washed Ethiopian coffees, while also maintaining a Kenyan-like acidity.

Day 3

Top-24 coffees screened down to top-20. Ranks 11-20 determined today; top-10 will be cupped and ranked on Day 4.

Visited Los Angeles farm, owned by Maria Bercelia and her partner, Jose Erazo. We purchased coffee from them for our first ever shipment from Acevedo and are pretty certain at least one of their coffees will be amongst the winning coffees.

Day 4

Final round/table of top-10 coffees.

Winners, lot sizes (per 70kg bags) and varieties are as follows:

#10: Jhon Wilson Poveda, 11 bags, Colombia & Caturra

#9: María Bercelia, 15 bags, Colombia & Caturra

#8: Otoniel Morales, 7 bags, Castillo

#7: Nicolas Delgado, 18 bags, Colombia & Castillo

#6: Ciro Lugo, 12 bags, Colombia

#5: Elizabeth Abaunza, 5 bags, Caturra

#4: Ciro Lugo, 12 bags, Colombia

#3: Alexander Ordoñez, 12 bags, Colombia & Tabi

#2: Fernando Bustos, 18 bags, Colombia

#1: Jesucita Cuellar, 5 bags, Tabi

Jesucita is a new grower to Fairfield and the Fairfield cupping team hypothesized that this coffee would win the competition during their screening of all the coffees submitted for competition. Must learn more about the Tabi variety!

Ciro Lugo won 4th and 6th place. 

Final Notes

A big thank you to our three roaster judges:

Ria Neri, Four Letter Word, Chicago, IL

Tali Robbins, Barismo, Cambridge, MA

Dillon Edwards, Parlor Coffee, Brooklyn, NY

The remainder of the judging panel were Ana Beatriz Bahamon, Eduardo Urquina Sanchez, Esnaider Ortega & Alejandro Renjifo, all of Fairfield Trading; along with David Stallings & myself, who represented CCS.

Until next time,

Melanie