Five Senses' Blog
2012 SCAA mini-wrap
While I had full intentions of tweeting and blogging the SCAA experience, the lack of WIFI and the total consuming nature of the show meant that for better or worse #SCAA2012 had my complete and undivided attention for five full days. So this is me, on a flight from PDX to LAX after it all, contemplating the big ideas that caught my attention during the show.
From my perspective, the best part of the show is how it provides a neutral platform where interacting and sharing ideas flows easily. This is the time and space to ask questions, interact with members from all parts of the supply chain, have a coffee with your competitors and seek advice from your mentors.
Economics, supply and demand, market volatility, foreign exchange, hedging … how do we communicate to the end user, barista, cafe owners some of this information so they can better align their expectations and also maximise their strategies into the future. I found the topic of increasing consumption in producing countries and it’s expected impact on supply and demand a particularly interesting one. With the demand for specialty coffees on the rise not only in consuming countries but also in producing, it means increased competition to buy great coffees and also no doubt higher price tags. There can exist a large gap between what the highest end specialty buyers are asking for … trusted varieties that are often more fragile and lower producing, selective hand-picking, micro mills and small lot separations vs the extreme end of the market (and also the biggest users) developing higher yielding more robust varieties as well as increasingly mechanised picking and sorting. Although these two philosophies are worlds apart and moving in different directions at this point, it’s hard to deny that the success of the large scale commodity coffees to meet demand will have a big impact on the viability of speciality coffee production into the future. OR .. maybe this just means the increased demand for specialty coffees will see them moved completely away from the volatility of the market and into a completely different price bracket of their own. Either way, I find economics a really interesting topic and my prediction (I’m by no means an economist and this is a complete oversimplification) is that specialty coffees will continue to rise in price and the long term effects will be a larger price adjustment at the cafe level. Maybe a good thing? Finally really making a value statement to the end consumer, who knows.
I loved James’ speech on how we deliver coffee in retail. It made me think of the “exclusive” wave that focuses on exclusivity of a coffee to differentiate rather than focusing on how its delivered to create a valuable and marketable customer experience. I would never dispute the fact that a large percentage of customers are definitely looking for a great coffee, but I’d say many of them are looking for something experience based without being overcomplicated. We are the experts, we don’t necessarily need to bombard people wish literal information to prove it, especially on a retail level. The moral … a less complicated memorable and creative experience that better communicates the true value of what they are drinking … plus lots of info for that small percentage that are interested … clever ways to profile your customers without asking, how do we deliver the product?
You know, I had a great time, I was run off my feet and I drank a lot of COFFEE! I could write way more about every little detail, but maybe you should message me and take me out for a coffee and I can share some more fun stuff with people directly.
India — Gems of Araku 2012
It’s that time of year again and I’m back in amazing India for the “Gems of Araku” cupping competition. This is the fourth year this competition has been running and the second that I have had the opportunity to be involved as a judge. All of us internationals (Irish, Korean, Japanese, American and myself) alongside Sunalini got started on Monday with cupping the 51 national winners over two days and the finally the top 21 again on Wednesday. With inspiration from the very successful ‘Cup of Excellence’ and ‘Tastes of Harvest’ competitions, Mrs.Sunalini Menon (the Indian coffee guru) has helped the Naandi foundation run and incredibly well organised competition of their own. The idea for a competition was born from the realisation that to make this program successful, it was not just about quantity but about quality and so the competition platform works well to encourage excellence and promote the region’s potential.
Naandi Foundation is an non-government organisation (NGO) involved in a number of livelihood programs across India. Coffee in the tribal region of the Araku Valley is only a small piece of a much larger picture. The coffee combined with other commodities in the Araku are about helping create a small sustainable source of income and at the same time creating opportunities for education in the villages, medical care, better food sources, nutrition, fresh water, etc. The valley has naturally been using organic practices and so Naandi’s very own David Hogg spends his time experimenting and teaching the farmers how to maximise organic and biodynamic practices in the region.
The overall vibe is that the people working with Naandi are passionate, dynamic and commited to this very long term project. Each year there is news of something new that they have implemented to continue moving forward and making sure they are doing the best possible job they can. This is certainly reflected in the coffees … while I thought last years coffees were great, I can see more improvement again from this year.
We spent the last two days post cupping, making our way out to the valley and back where we had the chance to see some farms, the nursery, the CRU, visit some villages and schools and dance at the celebration dinner. The awards ceremony didn’t dissapoint with a massive turnout of 1000′s of tribals from the region.
It’s an absolute pleasure to be here and play a small part in this project. Keep your eyes on our website for some of these coffees in the next couple of months.
A Gems of Araku winner
Post Gems of Araku celebration
Following the coffee
I know it’s been a while since my last post, but the truth is we have barely had a moments rest this past week. We spent a solid two full days of cupping, Panamanian, Costa Rican and Guatemalan coffees in San Jose. It was exhausting but equally exhilarating as we purposely left our schedule open to visit our fav’s. We snapped up a huge variety of micro lots from these three countries including some delicious naturals, Pacamaras, Geishas etc … The hard part is only really going to be waiting for these to land in Australia.
Post cupping we decided our next stop was Panama, we had some great results from Hortigal, Lerieda and Don Pepe and so we made arrangements to drive with our new friend Rumi from Natures Best Coffees to Panama. It’s a beautiful drive through the misty mountainside and via the famous Terrazu region. We spent the first night in Volcan visiting some great farms Los Cantones, Hartmanns and Bambito … from there we drove through the mountains to the other side of the Baru Volcano and into the stunning Boquete region.
We spent the next two days staying at Lerieda and visiting our favourite farms. Don Pepe and Hortigal were both overly organised and amazing hosts, they have fantastic properties with some of the higher coffee growing altitudes of this region. All of their coffees are immaculate and super organised, the mills are clean as a whistle and so it was clear why these farms stood out on the cupping table.
We also visited Don Pachi and tasted his famous Geisha cherries right from the tree … we’ve been fortunate to taste many geisha cherries on this trip, from Guatemala to Panama and both Nolan and I have been gobsmacked by how sweet and distinctly tropical fruit, peach, mango they have been. For me, it’s a testament to how much impact a variety in the right growing conditions can have.
We cupped and cupped and cupped some more which was awesome and totally what we came for. So it’s with little sleep and lots of coffee that we find ourselves about to board a flight for Honduras. This is our last stop in Central America and we’ll be here until Thursday. We have not yet really tasted anything from Honduras and we are keen to see what’s on tap!
I’ll keep you posted.
Geisha cherries
Nolan, myself and Don Pepe
El Salvador — so much quality in such a small place
It’s amazing how quickly you can get around in Central America, a short 3-4 hour bus ride and we were in San Salvador. We were really lucky to be able to spend some quality time at El Manzano, a farm run by Emilio Lopez and owned by his family for that last five generations. It’s squeaky clean and highly organised, whilst licking the patios is not recommended, I’m sure you could get away with it here. Lots of experimental processing going on, not only to manipulate the flavors, but also to have more control over the fermentation regardless of weather. Basically, Emilio wants to find out what works best for his specific farm, in specific micro climates, with specific varieties and processing. Sounds to me like and endless search, but I have no doubt he will continue to uncover some surprising results and also get the best out of his coffees.
Next we head to visit the Pacas family for a couple of days. They also have some farms that have been in their family for generations as well as a couple newly aquired ones. The Pacas family are well known for first discovering the PACAS coffee variety mutation on their farm some 100 years ago. If you have never tasted PACAS variety, many of you will have tasted the hybrid Pacas — Maragogype at some point, better known as Pacamara. We spent a couple days visiting Santa Sofia, San Joaquin, Esperanza and La Guachoca. They have some great profiles and I think this could be a good family to work with in upcoming years.
We ate lots of cherries, cupped lots of coffees and met tons of new people. It was such a quick trip, it would be nice to spend some more time in El Salvador in the future.
From here we fly to Costa Rica.
Central American picking
So much going on in Guatemala!
Our first stop was Guatemala and we’ve left feeling like our finger is on the pulse. We visited a number of farms, but most importantly, we cupped coffees, lots of coffees! Table after table of freshly harvested and available Guatemalan coffees, from micro’s to full lots, we were able to narrow down the masses of great stuff, to a select few. From here, we send samples home to our lab to be cupped on Aussie soil (ensuring I’m not just getting caught up in the moment) and we’ll make our final decisions. In my opinion, the selected profiles are all great options and it’s more about the complete package, who do we want to work with and what will benefit our clients most. We managed to jam so much into our short five day trip and I can’t say enough great things about all the people who went out of their way to ensure we were well looked after. We nibbled on the sweetest organic geisha cherries (Mango, pineapple, passionfruit!!!) at Santa Felisa in Acetenango, we four wheel drove up Santa Clara, we soaked up Antigua, we saw our way around the city, we visited some of the producers of La Travesia, and we met and spent time with lots of new and exciting contacts. Coffee passion is in the air here, all sorts of things to be excited about in Guatemala in the present and in years to come. Guatemala is a stunning country, once this is all said and done, my next visit here will hopefully be a vacation. Time to hop on the bus and head to El Salvador.
More tomorrow …
The slopes of Santa Clara
To Central America
I’m sitting on a plane on the first leg of a coffee buying trip to Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. As the harvest has just been completed, this trip in many ways is all about business with very little sightseeing. The coffees selected on this trip will represent us for all of next season and so first and foremost I need to make sure the quality is there and also that the flavour profiles are dynamic and versatile. Premiums above market, often significant ones are always paid for these types of coffees. This means that we (as well as most specialty buyers) happily pay above Fairtrade premiums on a regular basis if not 100% of the time at farm door just because we actually want the coffee and recognise its quality and value. This is without any sort of relationship, expensive certifications, audits etc. The farmer is recompensed for their experience and hard work and we are equally rewarded with increased value reflected in quality. I’m not saying that relationships are unnecessary, but instead, I’m saying that just because their is no relationship or certificate, it’s best not to assume the farmer didn’t get a great deal or that the coffee is not of really high quality. In fact, farmers who are experienced in selling to these types buyers know that if they can produce something of a certain caliber, not only will it get sold, the more distinction and/or unique character it displays, the more potential they have for multiple buyers driving the price up. This type of trading has been a real catalyst in driving quality as well as experimental processing for the sole purpose of creating new flavour profiles. Where processing was once just a means of taking the skin and mucilage off the beans and prepping for end usage, it is now a valuable tool for those that know how to use it.
The question is, if this type of buying is so successful and mutually beneficial why would we bother trying to build long term relationships? I guess it’s a matter of personal preference, do you invest in a conservative portfolio or a high risk one? The answer for most people is neither one nor the other, the most attractive solution is to diversify … don’t put all your eggs in one basket. So when we are talking real relationships in coffee, we are talking about weathering the storm together, riding out the ebbs and flows with an element of stability and longer term predictability. The test of a true relationship as we all known is not about how many smiling pictures you have arm in arm, but rather how each party reacts when the balance shifts a little in or out of their favor. What do I mean by this? Let’s assume a perfect harvest, quality crop and a solid market price. The buyer pays a good premium for the added value, the farmer has no trouble selling all his crop at the desired price and everyone is happy, that would be best case scenario. There are number of potential risks for each party that can easily skew this balance, hence a strong relationship can become very valuable. For the farmers, unpredictable weather, coffee tree diseases and pests, foreign exchange as well as large swings in the commodities market have the potential to have a big impact of their bottom line. For the buyer, a lot of the fluctuations lie in the commodities market and the foreign exchange, both of which have been very unstable in the last couple of years. In a solid relationship, buyer and seller can agree to not trade based on the fluctuating market value. It can be as easy as agreeing on how much cost of production is as well as negotiating a fair profit for the farmer that is affordable for the buyer. Stick to that each year while slowly increasing with inflation and taking into account any changing circumstances. Buyers are also not bound to paying in USD, they can pay in local currency if it means that is a better option. The end result is that when the market dips, farmers can enjoy very high premiums without having to sacrifice profits. While at the same time, should the market rise dramatically, these same farmers need to be willing to accept lower premiums while buyers enjoy the benefits of being cushioned from the the market. The bottom line is premiums go up and down, but the actual $ per kg paid remains the same which seems sensible as far long term business planning goes. This requires a lot of trust as well as a sturdy handshake to make sure either party doesn’t jump ship when it’s in their favor. It could be considered as a long steady return on an investment. This is just one example of why diversifying your portfolio and entering some longer terms relationships for both the buyer and seller can be a sound strategy.
While this is just a very small snapshot of some of the dynamics of coffee buying, it’s on my mind as I near Central America. The goal of this trip is to get of hold of some fantastic coffees for our customers but also keep an eye out for at least one new group the we can start building an ongoing relationship with into the future.
Jen and Ben in Guatemala in 2009
COE winners are grinners … off to Sul de Minas Gerais
The Brazilian COE has only just come to an end, it was a busy week and most certainly a very intense last couple of days. It’s exciting, draining and lots and lots of work for everyone involved, but most importantly, an invaluable experience and program for producers, buyers and consumers the world over. I’ve always had a soft spot for Brazilian coffees and it’s probably the reason why I originally chose Brazil as a jury I wanted to be on. I’m not sure if it’s because I find them often misunderstood as I often hear “I really don’t like Brazilian coffees” from speciality coffee buyers, drinkers etc. Being here, learning and tasting super fresh Brazilian coffees has proven to me once again, that Brazil has a lot to offer the speciality world, especially (but not exclusively) the espresso market. Caramel, juicy, fruity, clean, sweet, spicey, chocolately, malty, citric … need I go on.
Jules (Juliana Nobre) and I have packed our bags once again and are now in Sul de Minas Gerais (South of the state of Minas) … a very well known coffee growing region in Brazil. We are surrounded by rolling hills of coffee and spending the next couple of days of the Santo Antonio Estates, where for the first time this year, our fresh crop Brazils are coming from. In fact, they are due to land in Australia just around the corner in early December. We are also spending time on some of the estates we get our micro lots from, Samambaia, Villa Boa, Pinhal as well as some new ones. The air is fresh, the coffee is sweet and those warm cheesy buns straight out of the oven are absolute heaven!!
We saw two Toucan’s yesterday … I couldn’t believe my eyes!!
The final days in Brazil
Zee best of zee best!
We’ve spent the last two days further narrowing down the original 60 coffees … things are starting to get really tight and it’s like comparing lots of great apples with apples but we’re still trying to pick out the best apples in the process! Today is the finale, a nice reward for a week of hard / fun work … I’m about to run down to the lab to taste our top ten picks, some 90+ coffees (in my opinion) so this is going to be a real treat.
More news soon …
Check out this vid for some thrilling cupping action:
Brazil COE — Dia numero Dois (that’s doi-ce to you!)
Official sipping, slurping and spitting is in full swing and the first real day of the competition is under our belts. We cupped 30 coffees today, and as you would expect, the standard was pretty high with a handful of “ exquisite” coffees showing up that you can almost guarantee will make it into the top ten. Lots of personalities in the room, most notably Andreas “the Gatekeeper” Hertzberg from Norway, who’s doing his best to make sure only COE auction worthy coffees make it through to the next round. His philosophy is that to give a coffee a score of 84+ (a pass to the auction) it must be a coffee you’d be willing to bid on, can’t argue with that. It means international buyers can trust the winning lots and also the Brazilian farmers get a clear indication of what we, the speciality buyers, feel is a example of an exemplary coffee. We did a mini field trip this arvo and visited a large well organised farm, Fazenda Palmeiras in Santa Marina, a couple hours from the city of Londrina. A well oiled machine, literally, and an example of a large Brazilian farm that has been in the same family for three generations, originally from Switzerland. Another long day and time to hit the hay … another 30 coffees to go tomorrow.
Seedlings at Fazenda Palmeiras in Santa Marina
Juliana cupping
The crew in Brazil
Brazil COE — Day 1
We’ve all arrived safe and sound in the city of Londrina in the state of Parana. It’s nice to see so many familiar faces from all over the world … US, Poland, Japan, Korea, Hamburg, Norway, Australia (Ross Quail and Juliana Nobre) UK, Guatemala as well as a whole bunch of new ones. We had a massive day today starting with the standard calibration rounds; first with solutions representing different acids, combination acids and sugars, body, astringency etc .. an exercise that’s light and easy as well as a great way to draw focus to the fundamentals of cupping and the character (good and bad). The next three rounds are the same eight coffees three times over, a chance to evaluate your own consistency as well as how calibrated we are as group. By the end, I think we zoned into a good rhythm and there was a clear direction with scores. Lots of food, talks, welcomes and ceremonies to kick things off … we’ve all wet our whistles with a couple of standout coffees today and I think most of us are keen to put our serious cupping hats on tomorrow morning and do our best to select the top lots of the competition. Interesting fact we learned today was that Londrina used to be considered the coffee centre of Brazil until a major frost hit in 1975 and decimated the trees in this region, many of which were never replanted.
Brazil COE day 1
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