May 10 Cuppings in Gothenburg

Last Thursday Da Matteo roastery graciously hosted Collaborative cuppings for roasters interested in buying incoming coffees from Honduras and Panama. Since Giancarlo was also in Sweden at the time, Virmax took the opportunity to present on varietals in Colombia - specifically in the Santander, Valle del Cauca and Huila regions. El Roble is a state-of-the-art farm Kaffa started buying from last year and during this cupping, we presented three varietals from this farm (caturra, bourbon and typica), as well as a geisha from Cerro Azul Estate and a caturra from Omar Viveros' farm.

In attendance were representatives from Åre Kafferosteri, Johan & Nyström, Kahls kafferosteri, Dear Coffee, I Love You, Coffee and Memories, First Degree Coffee and Kaffemaskenin. From Santa Barbara in Honduras, 18 lots were cupped; 6 lots from the Los Angeles, Helsar and Don Mayo Mills in Costa Rica were selected; 1 lot each from the Yukro and Hawa Yember washing stations in Ethiopia were sampled; and finally, a variety of coffees from the Don Pepe, Lerida and Esmeralda farms in Panama were presented.

In general, cuppers were very excited about the Honduran and Ethiopian lots and felt that the Costa Rican lots were very clean but perhaps lacking in distinctness and character, in comparison to some of the others. Also of interest, and leading to much discussion, were the differences in cup profiles of the different varietals coming from El Roble, as well as the naturally processed geishas from Panama. Cuppers felt the Honduran coffees presented cleanly, distinctly (i.e. varietals as well as locations), with many exotic fruit notes, intensity and sweetness.

With respect to the geishas, we decided to dedicate a table to coffees from Esmeralda, specifically from the Jaramillo farm. Back in 2006, Robert asked the Petersons to begin separating lots from different areas of Jaramillo and year after year, he has preferred coffee from "Mario's area" (Mario is one of the people who live on this part of the farm). Even more specifically, Robert has cupped at various times this year and is most interested in pickings from February and March.

So, based on feedback we've received from last Thursday's cuppings in Gothenburg and in addition to prior organizing, we are in the process of finalizing shipments from Honduras and Panama. To allow for further contribution, we are hosting a cupping in London this Friday at Prufrock so that UK roasters can participate. News from this event to follow...

Until then,

Melanie

SCAA and Omar Viveros' visit

Cupping with Exclusive

It's been a busy, eventful and educational last few weeks at the Collaborative with our jurying at Best of Panama, participating at both the Specialty Coffee Association of America's (SCAA) annual event in Portland and Omar Viveros' and Giancarlo Ghiretti's visit from Colombia. With everything said and done, it's now time for us to communicate with you all about these happenings because much work has been done over these last weeks to establish relationships, build upon existing ones and to learn more about how specific partners are contributing to this community of quality-focused coffee professionals.

SCAA

When we talk about partners we are not only referring to original cherry producers or end coffee buyers/roasters. There are many people along the way that contribute skills, knowledge and equipment to the green coffee a roaster receives. The number of partners that contribute depend on many things: geography, the particular skillset of a farm owner and the equipment/facilities available on his/her farm, how a miller and/or exporter works with both producers and the coffee, etc., etc.  So while the work done on the initial product, from agricultural practice to picking, is of utmost importance, the work done after picking up until the coffee is delivered is almost, if not just, as important. Thus it isn't enough to have great relationships with just cherry producers or coffee farm owners; a coffee buyer must be able to trust those milling and exporting coffee.

Right now we are buying from approximately eight coffee producing countries and are looking to reestablish buying relationships in one or two more. Within these eight countries, we are buying coffee from a minimum of 70 individual cherry producers. So even if we have the chance to visit each and every one of these partners in a given season, it is not possible to get all the work done in those short visits as is necessary to establishing and maintaining meaningful contact. The regular contact and work done with each of these producers is one of the many reasons our exporting partners at origin need to be acknowledged.

I had the privilege of meeting the majority of our export partners at this year's SCAA event in Portland. I've "met" and worked with them a lot over the last few months through email but nothing replaces face-to-face contact. I learned much from these meetings and conversations, amongst which were: 1. A bit of context about the producing region each exporter works within; 2. How each exporting partner works with and views the relationship between cherry producer and exporter; and 3. Where they would like to see the industry go and how they plan on innovating and growing within their own region and context to see through this vision. In some cases we were able to talk about more but these were the most significant parts of the conversation for me, as a communicator and facilitator between/amongst partners throughout the coffee chain.

Robert has been working with these partners for several years and has assessed the work and merits of them. This made it easier for me to just talk with them about the current season and to begin planning for the next. All of us are excited - many ideas flew about during those four days. Now that we're all back home, it's time to work on these ideas. The work has already tangibly begun with our partners in Colombia.

Cupping with HiU

Omar's and Giancarlo's Visit

Omar Viveros is a cherry producer who we've been buying coffee from with the help of  Virmax, our exporting partners in Colombia, over the last two years. He is a producer who works hard, is innovative, is becoming a model for neighbouring producers and simply produces clean, excellent coffee. Virmax work with the most quality-focused coffee producers in Colombia and even amongst these dedicated producers, Omar stands out.

A few days after SCAA ended, Omar and Giancarlo Ghiretti, one of Virmax's founders, travelled to Oslo to lecture at Kaffefestivalen (the annual Norwegian coffee show) in Haugesund and so Omar could meet some of his end customers and see how his coffee is brewed in coffeebars in Norway. Omar's visit was educational for everyone who participated. For us at the Collaborative, a lot was learned about what it takes to produce excellent coffee in Pitalito. For Omar, it was inspirational and instructive to see how the many things he chooses to do on his farm have an impact on how the final consumer experiences his coffee. He also had the chance to see what is done in between, during the roasting process, at KAFFA.

Amongst the many things the Collaborative learned during Omar's visit, the following details kept reemerging as practices Omar follows to ensure the highest quality in his coffee:

• He pays his pickers well and provides bonuses in order to keep them. Once a good picker is found - someone who understands what a ripe cherry looks like and consistently picks ripe cherries - you don't want to let that person migrate elsewhere.
• The common practice in Colombia is to allow cherry to dry ferment for 18-hours before it is depulped and sent for delivery. Omar has found, through experimentation, that soaking cherry in water for 24-hours provides much better temperature stability, which allows for a more even fermentation process.
• Omar's drying facility is constructed so that some areas have more or less shade, so that coffee can be rotated at specific times, for an optimal drying process.
• Omar is constantly looking for new ways of doing things to improve quality. He follows through on the advice of Virmax's  agronomists and is a member and participates in a growers' association that provides education and training.

As a result of educating himself, experimenting and listening, Omar has learned that certain varieties cup better, thus receive higher scores and prices, than others. Currently his farm is half made up of the Caturra variety and the other half is made up of the Colombia and Castillo varieties. The Colombian government promotes and encourages the planting of Colombia and Castillo because they are "hardier" plants. But (without getting into a long debate about it) Caturra cups better. We'll leave it at that for now because not enough is understood/known about this topic for us to make statements about the whys and hows of this.

We will write more about Omar's visit. He and Giancarlo lectured at both Kaffefestivalen and at KAFFA about what it takes to be a great coffee producer in Pitalito. When we described the work we do to Omar, he wanted to find ways that he can engage more. One of his ideas is to livestream activities on his farm, so we'll be working on how to do that over the coming weeks.

Omar and Silje

Tasting his coffee as competition coffee

Cupping his and other Colombian coffee

Upcoming at the Collaborative

This month, we receive shipments from Kenya, Brazil and Guatemala. We are cupping in Gothenburg today and are arranging cuppings in other locations, which are yet to be determined.

If you would like to be involved/would like to attend a cupping, or you're part of a group of roasters wanting to work with us and would like to cup as a group, email Per or me.

Until next time,

Melanie

Collaborative Cuppings: Oslo - Malmö - Paris

Cupping at Kaffa

A couple of weeks ago, we had the opportunity to cup some of our samples from Kenya together with roasters and members of the coffee community in London. Soon after we started planning another cupping at KAFFA in Oslo, where we cupped more samples from Kenya. This time we included samples from Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, Ethiopia and Brazil, as we are working on bringing coffee in from these regions. Again we managed to invite not only roasters from Norway, but also roasters from Sweden, Finland and Russia. Quite an international cupping! We decided to do more Collaborative cuppings not only because it is important for us to meet roasters and share our coffees but also because it is very important for roasters to get together, cup together and share their thoughts and ideas.

So, after the Oslo cupping and on quite a short notice, we managed to put together two more cuppings the following week. First in Malmö, Sweden and then in Paris, France. Several enthusiastic roasters got together on both occasions and cupped some very interesting lots. I especially enjoyed cupping the coffees from Bella Vista in Antigua, where I was able to taste the fruit of Bjørnar's work during his visit to Guatemala.

Overall, the cuppings were interesting. Some lots received more attention than others but I personally enjoy every coffee we carry. I also truly appreciate meeting with engaged roasters and to hear feedback on the Collaborative Coffee Source.

I would like to thank all the roasters that took the time to come and cup with us in Oslo, Malmö and Paris. And special thanks to Dan, Johan and Jonas at Solde kafferosteri and David and Nicolas at Télescope for hosting the cuppings for us!

Where will we cup next time? We don’t know. Maybe you do?

Per

Omar Viveros in Oslo

Omar Viveros

We are very happy and proud to announce that Omar Viveros will be in Norway this week and next to speak about his experiences as a coffee producer in Colombia. He will present at both the Norwegian Coffee Festival & National Barista Competition in Haugesund and at KAFFA roastery and lab in Oslo.

Omar's farm is located in the village of Pitalito, near San Augustine in the far south of the Huila region. Coffee producers in this region enjoy great growing conditions and produce high quality coffee but changing weather patterns are becoming more and more challenging for producers each year.

During the past few years in particular, producers have experienced unpredictable rain patterns (e.g. rain during typically dry periods), which has led to the damaging of coffee bushes and subsequently made it difficult to dry beans evenly. Omar is, however, both an ambitious and conscientious producer and has found ways of working within these challenges. He understands that in order to receive a higher price for his coffee, good cupping scores (i.e. 86+ points) are required. In order to achieve these scores and prices, he must consider many things: plant species (in Omar's region, caturra produces the best quality), sound agricultural practices, careful picking and processing and good drying systems, amongst many other things. Omar’s lots show his understanding of these practices; his coffee is exceptionally clean and fresh compared with other lots in this region.

The first lecture takes place on April 26th at 1pm at the coffee festival and barista competition in Haugesund and at 5pm at KAFFA roasterty and lab on May 2nd. Hope you can make it!

Farm Profile: La Esperanza

Hector raking

Farm Name: La Esperanza
Owner: Hector Artunduaga
Size: 7 ha
Height: 1,700 masl
Varieties: 80% caturra and 20% castillo
Processing: Washed

Description

Hector Artunduaga is married to Maria Yanit Sanchez and they have 2 children: Hector Mario and Laura Camila. Hector and Omar Viveros (another Collaborative partner) are neighbours. 50% of the farm is planted with coffee and the rest is a native forest that he does not want to cut. La Esperanza also produces plantain and yuca mainly for family consumption. Hector produces about 12,000 kg of dry parchment per year, equivalent to about 120 bags of green per year. In addition to coffee producing, Hector has studied and holds a bachelors degree in Economics.

Best of Panama 2012

Robert has been in Panama this week reprising a role as Head Judge for Best of Panama. The first couple of days were spent cupping with the national jury, to decide what to present for the international jury with cuppings for this panel starting today and continuing through to Saturday.

For those of you unfamiliar with this competition, Best of Panama began "in 1996, during the crisis of low international prices of coffee and the beginning of Special Coffees category and a high global demand, a group of 7 coffee producers from the areas of Boquete and Volcan – Candela got together to form the SCAP to promote Panama's excellent coffee."

This year is groundbreaking due to the splitting up of the competition, into three separate, based on processing and/or varietal:

1. 16 washed submissions (all varietals)
2. 10 washed submissions (geisha)
3. 12 natural submissions (of which 4 are geisha)

The above submissions have made it past the national panel and will be cupped by the international one.

Panama has been a special origin country for us and KAFFA has been buying and establishing good relationships with partners here and the Collaborative is looking forward to benefitting from these. Stay tuned for news about this week's competition from Robert.

The calm before the cupping storm

Price Transparency

It hasn't been perfected, but below is an example of what we provide to roasters as part of their invoice when they buy coffee from us. When we originally discussed doing this, we thought it would be fairly simple to get this information. As it turns out, and perhaps as we should have expected, getting this information takes quite a bit of time because of the number of (necessary) parties involved. All of us (from origin country to here in Oslo) are not used to explicating each of these items but everyone involved believes this is the way to go and we're more than happy to go through the efforts necessary to provide these breakdowns to you, dear roasters.

The items in this example are fairly common but there are more or less items depending on the origin, as is to be expected. The numbers in this example are accurate for this particular coffee. In this case, our partners in Kenya are working on providing the "price to farmer" item.

What are your thoughts on this?

Melanie

Cost Breakdown

COFFEE ID	PRICE TO FARMER (USD)	PRICE TO EXPORTER (USD)	INCL. SHIPPING (EXW) TO NORWAY	LBS TO KG	USD TO EUR	CUSTOMS CLEARANCE	CCS SERVICE FEE	PRICE PER KILO (EUR)
Karagoto 17CK0243 AA	?	5.86	6.09	13.42	10.08	0.01	1.40	11.59

Farm Profile: Gerais

Name/Brand Name: Gerais Farm
Name of Farm Owner: Mr. Maridalto
Address (Producing Region): Chapada Diamantina Region
Coffee Growing Area (Hectares): 2,5 hectares
Annual Production: 100 bags
Processing System (Natural/Washed): Pulped Natural
Variety of Trees: Red Catucaí
Altitude (Meters): 1.300 masl
Harvest Season: June to September
Exporter: Agricafé LTDA

Special Features and History

This farm is dedicated to the production of specialty coffee and is located in Piatã (Chapada Diamantina Region). At this location, the weather is ideal for growing coffee: high altitude and enjoyable temperatures throughout the year. The coffee variety cultivated is red Catucaí. Mr. Maridalto is the producer and the farm is managed by his family and they hand-pick harvests themselves. The lots in the farm are dried in terraces, then moved to the mill warehouse. The family started the plantation in 2002.

Farm Profile: El Roble

Morning at El Roble

We are proud to present El Roble - a farm we've been working with and buying from over the last few years. Bjørnar is there now and sends this overview:

Region: Mesa de los Santos, Santander

Farm geography/description: 1,700 masl. The entire farm is relatively flat.

322 hectares, of which 281 is dedicated to the cultivation of coffee.

1 060 000 coffee trees, 66% Caturra, 13% Bourbon, 20%Typica, 1% Colombia

History and Overview: The owner of the farm is Oswaldo Acevedo. Oswaldo and his cousins inherited El Roble from their uncle  but Oswaldo bought out his cousins in 1995. Coffee has been cultivated on this land since 1976 and Monica Fuentes, who is now manager, has worked at Roble for more than two years. In the last few years, El Roble has really begun to focus on the quality of the coffee with much help from Virmax. Varietals are now separated, as well as day lots. Every lot is cupped; this year alone Virmax has cupped about 400 lots/samples.  Virmax have also initiated training programs for pickers, so there is more of a focus on picking for quality. All parchment is stored in grainpro to protect from outside moisture and humidity, as well as for general protection.

Output: Normally, El Roble produces 5000 bags of coffee per annum, but in the last few years they have averaged about 2000 bags because they are renovating (i.e. they are pruning and replanting), leading to a lower output.

Harvest/Season:  From October to December; one crop per year.

Processing: Depulping, dry fermenting approx. 18 hours, washed and then sundried.

Certifications: Smithsonian Bird Friendly, USDA Organic, JAS Organic and Rainforest Alliance.

Description: El Roble is a fantastically beautiful farm, located two hours away from Bucaramanga, in Santander, northern Colombia. One of the most special things about this farm is its canopy of shade trees. Like an enormous roof, this canopy covers the entire farm. The ecology on this farm is diverse with many different animals living on the farm. Thanks to reforestation processes, the management have found new water sources and the organic farming practices combined with the shade canopy have contributed to creating a home for several types of animals, including 125 identified bird species.

The farm's water sources include five lakes and two creeks/rivers.

El Roble planted an experimental coffee garden with 72 varietals. This garden has provided the possibility to plant new varietals on the farm, for example, Mocca and Geisha (HR-61 and HR-62). The garden also provides the opportunity to see how different trees react to a specific climate and terroir.

Incoming Coffees from Bella Vista

Good afternoon, good coffee people!

It's already been close to five weeks since Bjørnar left Oslo for Antigua. He's been cupping furiously during this time and he's put together a container of fantastic coffees processed at Bella Vista by Luis Pedro Zelaya and his team. He's also been mastering Spanish during this trip - his language course was one of the main reasons for his going away.

Very soon, he will post stories, information and photos of his cuppings, farm visits and travel adventures. For now, here is a list of farms we've bought coffee from:

Hunapu Felicidad Buena vista Dario Hernandez Potrero Colombia Folie Pulcal Santa Cruz

I realize this doesn't tell you much (unless you've bought or tasted coffees from these places before). Bjørnar and I are hosting a cupping on April 4th from 13.00-16.00 at KAFFA for those of you who are interested in tasting these coffees yourselves. The container will be shipped next week and will hopefully arrive first week in May. At our cupping, we will also sample the Kenya coffees that will arrive this month. Let me know if you're coming! Hope to see you then.

Melanie

Antigua

Senor B

Kenya origin cupping in London

On Thursday, Robert and I had the pleasure of sharing some samples of Kenya coffee that will soon arrive in Oslo. We had six short days to pull everything together but with the help of Jeremy and his great colleagues at Prufrock, we were able to pull it off. There were some great and interested participants from all over the London coffee community in attendance.

We had 10 samples of current crop and for comparison, we brought two of KAFFA's production roasts from last year's crop. Interestingly, Robert thought the past crops were tasting best on the table. Goes to show you there's more to cup quality than what prevailing thoughts/theories assume about crop age. Also interesting to compare sample roasts v. production roasts. This was a difficult table, in some ways, as there were pairs/trios of coffees that differed only in picking dates. A great table overall though - we're very excited and eager to get this shipment from Mombasa.

For those of you who weren't able to make it and have expressed interest in receiving Kenya samples, I'm organizing a cupping at KAFFA. Several of you have requested samples (I will email you about this) but we simply don't have enough to send out to all of you. So if you're available to come to Oslo in the next couple of weeks to cup, this will guarantee that you have a chance to taste incoming coffee. Having said that, I will do my best to send you samples if you can't make it. I'll be in contact with you shortly.

To cap this post off, I'd like to send a sincere thanks to the fine folks at Prufrock Coffee. Your café is beautiful, your coffee tasty and your people wonderful. Looking forward to doing this again soon!

Melanie

Who's Involved?

Transparency is a term that is thrown about a lot these days. When intentions are sincere, the communicator is trying to find a way to convey to the reader/audience the "behind-the-scenes" goings-on. The case of coffee is no different - the process of getting coffee cherry to the end coffee drinker is a long, complex and varied journey. It is our intention to be transparent and to us, this means breaking down what happens at origin, including providing information about which people are doing what. It's different in each region - we are dealing with a living product that goes through many people, after all. In some regions the cherry producer is the same person/people that do the wet processing (as is the case of some producers in Indonesia). In other regions, the cherry producer only produces cherry and all the processing and milling is done by other parties.

In the near future, look for variations of the above image for each region we partner with (except with real names, not just labels, of course!). Stay tuned for what transparency means from a price standpoint.

Farm Profile: Ouro Verde

café 078

Farm Name/Brand Name: Fazenda Ouro Verde
Name of Farm Owner: Mr. Candido Vladimir Ladeia Rosa
Address (Producing Region): Piatã - Bahia (Chapada Diamantina Region)
Farm Size (Hectares): 1150 ha
Coffee Growing Area (Hectares): 550 ha
Annual Production: 11500 bags
Processing System (Natural/Washed): Natural and Pulped Natural
Variety of Trees: Catuai
Altitude (Meters): 1120 masl
Soil: Sandy soil
Annual Rainfall: 11200 mm 1600 mm
Harvest Season: June through September
Exporter: Agricafé Ltda
Processing Mill: Coopmac - Cooperativa Mista Agropecuária Conquistense

Special Features and History

Candido Vladimir Ladeira Rosa’s father acquired Fazenda Ouro Verde at the end of the 1980s. His purpose was to invest in a property to obtain stable family income. Candido Rosa learned from his father how to take care of the farm’s coffee plantations. He provides continuous work for the families that have been working on the farm since the time his parents were the owners so that they have an income that allows them to continue living in the rural area with good living standards. Great care is exerted to produce quality coffees, from adequate preparation of the soil, to planting nursery trees, to careful processing and storage.

Cherry is picked manually into a hand-held basin. Twice a day tractors transfer cherry to the pulper area in order to prevent fermentation. Coffee is dried on terraces, where pulped coffee is spread in thin layers of 4cm and revolve approximately 20 times a day.

After drying, the lots are numbered and kept separately in a warehouse that has proper conditions for coffee storage. Mr. Rosa is always paying attention to new techniques to improve the quality of his coffees and he invests in the most good equipment in order to obtain the best final results.

Farm Profile: Cafundo

Pedro_047[1]

Farm Name/Brand Name: Fazenda Cafundó
Name of Farm Owner: Mr. Pedro Santana
Address (Producing Region): Piatã - Bahia (Chapada Diamantina Region)
Farm Size (Hectares): 28 ha
Coffee Growing Area (Hectares): 5 ha
Annual Production: 200 bags
Processing System (Natural/Washed): Pulped Natural
Variety of Trees: Catuai 144
Altitude (Meters): 1360 meters
Soil: Sandy soil
Annual Rainfall: 1200 - 1600
Harvest Season: June Through September
Exporter: Agricafé Ltda
Processing Mill: Coopmac - Cooperativa Mista Agropecuária Conquistense

Special Features and History

Fazenda Cafundó was acquired by Pedro Santana from a friend in 1989, a quiet place where he wished to live together with his family. He invested in coffee cultivation, taking advantage of the 1,360 m altitude of the property lands.

The altitude and the climate alone already contribute to the coffee plantations. The soil is adequately prepared to receive the nursery trees. In addition, cherry is picked selectively, and the coffee is pulped by the wet natural system, aiding in the preservation of the coffee’s best properties.

Technical monitoring occurs periodically and soil analyses are carried out so that fertilization is made correctly. Coffee is harvested selectively; Cafundo produce Pulped Natual and Natural coffees. Leaves and green beans are separated before the drying process and the dry coffee is processed and appropriately stored in order to maintain its quality.

Farm Profile: Emma Chantre

Emma is 57 and she is married to Juan Bautista Pichica. They have 3 children (Nelson, Javier and Jonny) and two of them help out with the farm work. Emma has been working in coffee for 30 years and the coffee is picked by Emma herself, as well as her family and they try to only pick ripe cherries. Aside from coffee they also produce sugar cane, plantain and yuca, which they use for their own consumption.

Farm: Buena Vista

Area: 3 hectares, of which 2 are planted with coffee, 100% caturra. 7,500 trees

Height: 1,918 masl

Beneficio: Washed, then fermentated 15 to 16 hours

All coffee sun dried on "African" beds

Kenya: The Final (for now) Word

Before we get into the following, I want to make note that much of the previous two posts, as well as what will follow in this one, is necessarily detailed. We are being detailed in an effort to be transparent. Transparency doesn’t just have to do with prices; the buying process is complex and has been unnecessarily vague to those not buying coffee on the ground. We’re changing things. So when you read these posts, much of the information on buying process goes for all the origins we work with.

Potential

Cupping for potential is something we do a lot. We have to. Some coffees are fantastic when they are fresh, but some do not express their best attributes at the time of first cupping – it’s simply too early. Sometimes coffee is presented right off the drying bed and is so fresh it expresses in ways that may not follow-through in later cuppings. It can go either way. Sometimes the coffee will become even better than during the initial cupping, sometimes worse. At origin, coffee is usually stored in parchment up until the moment it will be cupped, or is sent for cupping. The process of preparing a sample is an important process but just as important is knowing/understanding what one is assessing when tasting a sample. For example, is the coffee a representation of everything in the lot, is it a screened representation of what is being offered, or is it a readily prepared coffee? We sometimes talk about the taste of parchment in a coffee: how fresh it is, as well as how and when it was hulled. These things matter. As an example, a slight upward variance in moisture content (i.e. coffee that has not sufficiently rested after drying and has too high a moisture content), combined with being stored in a tight plastic bag in a warm environment, right after parchment is taken off, will affect the resulting flavor profile, whatever the coffee’s inherent qualities were.

Some Notes on Screen Quality

During my visit to Central Kenya Coffee Mill (CKCM) in February 2011, the floor at the warehouse was barely littered with coffee bags. This year, the warehouse is filled to the roof. There has been a serious congestion of coffee coming into the CKCM mill from the cooperatives. Coffee has been kept in parchment and was theoretically ready to be milled in early January. The parchment coffee is "resting" in open bins and while they are under a roof, they are still exposed to moisture from outside air. Due to the unusually high volume of coffees that were processed and dried in December, and because of rains in the Nyeri district in mid-late December, coffees may have been put in resting bins prematurely. In any case, at the time of delivery to CKCM it was also discovered that there was a need to re-dry some lots under open sun. Re-drying is okay, but it can also damage the coffee if it has not been properly dried in the first place. This has been an issue all over Nyeri this year. Last week while at the tasting lab in Nairobi, I tasted some parchment samples (i.e. samples taken from a lot that is then hulled but not screened). All bean sizes are present within this kind of sample. However, I mostly tasted samples of AA, AB, PB grades – these are coffees that have already been milled, screened and are ready to be packed and shipped. I even had the opportunity to taste comparative parchment samples of AA, AB, PB screenings from the same factories: Karagoto, Tegu, Ngunguru. This provided a pretty good picture of what is going on at these places. The coffees I liked best had outturn numbers (i.e. an identifying number given to a coffee lot when it arrives at CKCM that tells us what stage in the harvest it is from) from weeks 15 to 20 (Week 1 begins October 1st) – different samples of lots from the same factory. It is fascinating to taste how different coffees from the same place can be everything from awesome to just plain awful.

And Without Further Ado… Tasting Notes!

KARAGOTO AA I have tasted at least a dozen Karagotos and with some reasoning, I would guess that the lot we ended up choosing (from outturn week 17CK) is from, more or less, the same outturn as the ones I tasted in December 2011. These were picked and processed in the very beginning of November. Our experience with Tekangu coffees over the last five years is that the earlier pickings are the better ones.

Cupping notes: Intense aroma with floral notes. Sweetness, as if from well-matured fruits, a well integrated acidity, clear berry attributes. A full-bodied mouthfeel and juicy aftertaste.

TEGU We have passed on buying at this stage. The tastings in December proved a little disappointing, generally due to weaker intensity and more anonymous attributes; particularly in comparison to sister factories, Karagoto and Ngunguru, which to me are STELLAR this year. However, we will continue to cup samples from Tegu from newer pickings/millings as the season proceeds. We are hoping for great stuff and if we find any, those lots will come in the next shipment. For now, we will not buy Tegu just because of its (well-deserved) fame. It has to prove delicious too, baby!

NGUNGURU AA, AB, PB We are getting a lot of Ngunguru this year, which is an absolute pleasure. Interestingly, the various screen qualities, as well as varying stages in the season (outturn weeks 15CK to 20CK) show beautiful nuance/complexity in character. Overall greatness in this coffee. The earlier pickings showed more complexity and balance; newer pickings show fresher acidity and transparency.

Cupping notes: Intensely floral aromas. Good sweetness, crisp and well pronounced acidity, distinct flavors of red currant (AA), fresh peach (AB), and darker berries (PB). Clean and elegant mouthfeel with a lingering aftertaste.

KANGOCHO AB, KIENI AB, KARATINA AB, GATOMBOYA AB I have chosen these AB lots, some from earlier pickings in the season (outturn week 16CK), some from later pickings (outturn weeks 19CK & 20CK). All express what I find to be desirable and classic attributes.

Cupping notes: Intensely sweet and heavy aromas. Sweetness and flavors as if from sun-matured blackberries, with an acidity giving it spine and strong character. Velvety mouthfeel with a soft and lasting aftertaste.

Acidity junkies are raving in Kenya. The question is: how much and what kind of acidity one wants in the coffee, rather than whether one can find it. We'll work hard to get these Kenya lots in quick and fresh this year so you roasters can have all the acidity you wish to play with. Look for a well prepared, vacuum-packed and clean selection. Get in line for some Kenyan awesomeness!

- Robert

Kenya: The Breakdown

One of the few truths in coffee is that cupping is key! If you want to understand a coffee you need to taste it. If, however, you can’t cup the coffee yourself, work with coffee cuppers you trust. Part of this trust comes from being confident not only in the other’s palate but, just as crucially, in his ability to be able to communicate, meaningfully, the essence of the coffee's character and flavors.

My trip to Kenya this week was for the purpose of finding the best lots of 2011/2012 and to bring them to market. Our goal is to get what we think are the best lots of this year’s harvest to roasters anticipating fantastic Kenyan coffees. My mission for this trip was to cup as many coffees as possible but this work was focused; we are not “starting from scratch” every time we come.

Years of experience have really taught us how to limit our search at this origin. At the same time, we are always open to surprises and are ready for new partners and flavors. Kenya has a well-established and well functioning auction system. The coffees are unique in flavor profile, which is very difficult to replace. As a result, Kenyan coffee has its own price dynamic in the international coffee market that, even if it follows the NYSE to some extent, will ultimately be sold with solid premiums on top of "the C".

The system at the Kenyan Coffee Auction is refreshingly transparent in its communicating where coffees come from, its systematic organization of coffee by screen quality (such as size and physical attributes), and in its practice of rewarding cup quality/sensorial attributes. (Note: at the time of this writing, I am in Ethiopia on a similar mission but the state of the auction system here is in a sorry state. More on this in a future post.)

Most coffee producers in Kenya are so-called small holders. Each producer’s total volume might only be a few bags, thus hundreds of farmers, when living in the same area, are likely to be members of a cooperative that is marketing and selling coffee on the whole community's behalf. Each cooperative usually runs several "factories" (i.e. processing and washing stations) where each producer delivers cherry from his farm. Sometimes a producer chooses to deliver to the closest factory but certain producers prefer delivering to a different factory, due to differing management practices. The usual reason for choosing one factory over another is based on the prices a given factory manages to obtain for its cherries.

Good management, hence a good factory, will not allow for unripe or unevenly matured cherries. This is because accepting such cherry damages the potential to receive optimum prices for everyone concerned. We pride ourselves in knowing the factories we buy from pride themselves on ensuring their community of members deliver only red and mature cherries. In Kenya’s market make-up, cherry price is directly linked to cup quality. Still, one must cup for himself!

In Kenya, a cooperative is a democratically run organization with producers acting as both members and as representatives of the governing board. One key function of the board is to nominate a marketing agent: a body/organization/company that retains a license to sell the co-op’s/client's coffee at the highest possible price. This works in both parties’ interests. Normally a coffee lot is sold at auction, but it can also be sold outside auction if the co-op and marketing agent believe they can get an even better price outside auction through selling directly to a customer. That is where we come into the picture.

At this stage (when coffee has been delivered and processed at the factory), coffee is not ready to cup. The marketing agent, at least in our case, partners with a company that does the dry milling of the coffee still in parchment. These parties also grade, check quality, and record volumes of each coffee grade (i.e. AA, AB, PB, etc.). Finally, they prepare samples for potential buyers. If the marketing agent chooses to sell the coffee at auction, which is generally the case, they need to present a "catalogue" of coffee lots in good time to the market, prior to auction. Auction takes place every Tuesday during the season, beginning on the 1st of October. Catalogues are prepared and presented each auction week by the various agents. In addition to providing a catalogue, each agent must provide samples to potential buyers. Potential buyers must have a buying license.

One such buyer is Dormans, based in Nairobi, and we usually go to them in order to sample coffees we are interested in buying. Dormans has a reputation for retaining good cuppers. We like them, we trust them, and they rigorously search for the best coffees to offer us. In the peak of the buying/auction season they will screen thousands of coffees each week. When we arrive we are presented with just a few hundred of these. These coffees are representative of the best presented to the market. We spend days and days screening these lots in search for what we actually end up buying. If necessary, we'll re-roast coffees to ensure each has been given a fair shot. We also re-cup the “winning lots” many times.

I prefer to cup blind when decision-making is the agenda. As it so happens, coffees from many of the same factories stand-out on the table, as though old friends are re-visiting. These friends include Karagoto, Tegu, Ngunguru of Tekango co-op, Gichathaini, Karagocho, Ndaroini of Gikanda co-op, amongst others. These stand out, time after time, year after year. But there are more! As with a good group of friends, new members sometimes join. We are always welcoming of new and exciting coffees and are buying new ones even more than usual, now that we are supplying more roasters excited about great, diverse and unique coffees.

Dormans has a license to buy at the auction, but as it also happens, they are sister company to a marketing agent/mill where coffee is processed after it finishes drying at the factories and leaves the resting bins. This means we can test coffees way before auction. I always like to go to the mill (CKCM in this case) anyway, to get closer to the action. Ernest at CKCM, who we mentioned in the last post, awaits us each visit and sets up tables of coffees he thinks will be of interest, in addition to coffees from factories we already buy from (due to their consistent and indisputable merits).

In the last few years we have taken advantage of the possibility of buying coffees directly from, or at least in understanding and agreement with, the cooperatives. The cooperative is the seller of the coffee and always wants the highest price possible in recognition of: 1. The hard work of quality oriented farmers and factories, 2. Cup quality, and 3. In recognition of the current price of coffees of "similar quality" being sold at auction in Nairobi. Negotiating the price of the best coffees is important to a buyer eager to secure lots before it goes to auction where somebody else might buy it. The price offered has to be high enough for the cooperative to ensure it won’t be sold better at auction, which can, in turn, discourage quality-minded producers. As a matter of fact, all the best coffees are sold this way, thus the only way to get hold of these lots is to be present at origin while they are coming from the mill, which is now. And we were there to accomplish this!

The question is always: when is the best time to visit to cup? Well, we have chosen to go early and to come back in time. The crop was a month late this year, thus I was there about a month later than usual. Last year, I must say, we managed to get hold of some pretty good stuff. The timing just felt (and was) right.

This year we will buy more coffee, spread from various stages of the crop, from various factories, and even from the same factory but from various representative dates of the season. We want to bring the freshest coffee possible to an eager and freshness-keen market as soon as possible. For the next shipment after this one, just a few weeks later, we are selecting and expecting even more of the good stuff. Why wait longer and settle for less?

We want to buy direct (i.e. as directly as is possible; in Kenya’s case, outside auction). As soon as we have settled prices with our suppliers, we will announce what they are, as well as being totally clear and transparent about other costs necessarily brought into the equation of bringing in each kilo of coffee; costs for all the processing and handling that coffee goes through. The more work put that is put into a coffee, the higher the cup quality potential. Our coffees will be vac-packed and shipped as soon as possible.

Watch for the last Kenya post in this series. We will go through the coffees we’ve chosen, in detail. To be continued...

Robert

Sample roast

Kenya: Some Background. Some Current.

Fields of drying coffee

There’s no doubt: Kenya is an amazing coffee destination.

The promise of finding some of the most unique coffees in the world keeps us coming back year after year. The potential of finding perfection in a cup – coffees with powerful aromas, refreshing acidity, flavors of sweet berries, rich mouthfeel, finishing with a clean and lingering aftertaste – is what keeps us on our toes and constantly searching for more. As you know, perfection is elusive; most of the coffees from Kenya are not exactly like this.

My first visit of the season was in mid-December 2011 and I knew it was premature – that there wouldn’t be much to cup. But I also knew it was the perfect time, harvest time, to visit farms and chat with producers about husbandry and cherry picking processes. I also wanted to see the washing stations in full operation. I wanted a better understanding of how and why the coffees taste as great as they do.

At the time of my visit, the producers were overwhelmed with the high yields of the season and excited by the prospect of high prices. To give some background, this harvest has turned out to be more or less what it should be, given the fact that last year’s volumes were catastrophically low, which followed a poor harvest the year before that. With volumes 2.5-3 times more than 2010/2011, yields are back on track. Producer and washing station manager alike were convinced coffee quality would be better this year despite the high volume. This is due to more even cherry maturation, leading to better consistency and easier picking.

Laying cherry out

Last year’s rock bottom yields fortunately coincided with the highest prices seen in the Kenyan coffee trade over the past forty years. At least farmers were well paid for the little coffee they did have. Coinciding with record-breaking prices, we paid the very highest – $7.60 FOB Mombasa – for all our AA-lots last year. The washing stations that produce our coffee pride themselves on having some of the best-paid cherry producer members in the country. When I interviewed producers and cooperative managers in December about the situation this season, they acknowledged that the high prices of last year incentivized spending an unusual and disproportionate amount of money on more resources in the field: more fertilization and overall better preparation for the season to come. They were eager to thank buyers for paying such good prices last year. At the same time, they were anticipating the same high prices this coming season. As we now know, 2-12 months later, "the market has come down". NYC is at 220+/- this week, down from 320+ in February 2011.

This year’s harvest started late due to unexpected weather patterns during flowering season, followed by rain and cold while cherries were maturing, all resulting in a month’s delay in cherry picking.

Picking in the altitudes we buy our coffees from started in mid-October 2011 and harvest was well into its peak during my visit. As the harvest was very big, there could have been a lot of coffee made available for sampling and sale in mid-December, however, the cooperatives held back coffee, waiting out the market in an attempt to see if prices would return to previous levels. By the end of 2011, running into the beginning of 2012, a lot of well-rested coffees were being kept at the co-ops’ warehouses and were thus not being presented for sale. A bottle-neck-situation at the mill was inevitable…

All our coffees from Kenya are dry milled at the Central Kenya Coffee Mill (CKCM) in Karatina, Nyeri, after initial processing at the cooperative-owned washing stations. I went to CKCM for a couple of days in December and found a lot more coffee to cup than I had expected. Ernest, manager of quality control, roasting and the cupping room at the mill, knows our preferences and had prepared representative samples from previously favored washing stations, as well as samples from new acquaintances.

My notes from these cuppings: Karagoto - of Tekangu co-op - a constant winner. Even the very early pickings (November 1st) were stunningly complex and rich in body – characteristics we have experienced from previous years.

Tegu - of Tekangu co-op - keeping up with some good lots, but not as outstanding as in previous years.

Gatomboya - of Barichu co-op - some good lots, but the early right-out-of-the-drying-bin lots were not as expressive in fruit attributes as we are getting from current crop.

Kieni - of Mugaga co-op - a couple of interesting samples; enough to trigger our already established curiosity from last year.

Gichathaini, Kangocho, Ndaroini - all of Gikanda co-op - showed some promising super cleanliness, fruity sweetness and an elegance that piqued my interest and had me searching for more to cup.

There were other samples but these were not our “cups of coffee”.

[gigya src="http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649" width="700" flashvars="offsite=true&lang=en-us&page_show_url=/photos/kaffa1/sets/72157629372731679/show/&page_show_back_url=/photos/kaffa1/sets/72157629372731679/&set_id=72157629372731679&jump_to=" allowFullScreen="true" ]

About the Current Visit The full picture of this season’s offerings remains to be seen but there is no time to waste! I have waited until the last minute to be able to taste as many coffees as possible and have started a process of booking the very best of the 300 samples we have been through this week so far.

At the time of writing, there are still quite few samples yet to be presented from the co-ops but whatever is out there now is up for grabs and is being sold – quite literally – off the sampling table. Timing is of the essence in green coffee buying these days.

Collaborative Roasters, unite! Stay tuned...

Robert

Chatting

Karagoto

Karagoto Factory

For the sixth year running, Robert will be heading to the Nyeri district in Kenya to buy coffee. Starting Monday and for the following two days, he will spend his days cupping as many coffees as possible to find us the "cream of the crop".

The Place At the foot of Mt. Kenya is the town of Karatina and our favourite coffees have consistently originated from here. The Tekangu cooperative owns the washing stations (called "factories" in Kenya) and the Tegu, Karagoto and Ngunguru stations have, in particular, produced fantastic coffee.

For now, we'll focus on the Karagoto station because today we cupped a table of samples from Kenya and our favourites come from here. Karagoto is a washing station/factory with 1000 members and the harvest this year has been substantial: three times as big as last year's. While this year's yields are larger than normal, they are also substantially higher than last year's catastrophically low volumes. One of the results of last year's low yields were sky-high prices (the demand remained the same). Karagoto has developed a great reputation and steadily garner more and more interest from coffee buyers based on the merits of their consistently great coffee (i.e. excellent management and farming practices follow through in the cup). This season is a good example of Karagoto's solid management: the people at Karagoto decided to put the proceeds from last year's sales to good use and invested in better husbandry and fertilization. The results of these decisions are showing: the trees are healthier and there is better/more even maturation of the cherries.

Management happens on several levels and I will elaborate one in particular: that of factory management. Coffee that is processed at Karagoto is of such a high standard because the managers there are rigid about the quality of the cherries they receive. They will reject cherry that is not up to standard, or they will take the time to sort the unripes out.

The Buying Process It is important to elaborate on how we approach buying coffee here because it is both similar to how we approach buying from other regions and is more complex than simply flying into a region, cupping coffee, telling the supplier we want it and then coming home and waiting for it to arrive.

The first step is to visit the region early in the season (even prematurely, as Robert did in December last year) to cup samples and determine what the coffee might/will be like when it is eventually harvested. Although he was early and couldn't predict exactly which lots would be best, today's cupping acknowledged the benefits of "going early": the coffees most interesting in December are the ones we liked the most today. In particular, we enjoyed Karagoto's AA and AB samples. AA was sweet and showed a lot of complexity and AB was a more acidic and interesting profile.

And now it's time to follow-up on December's trip. As mentioned above, Robert will spend the first few days of his week in Africa (he's going to Ethiopia at the end of the trip) cupping extensively and intensely and will begin the process of getting a shipment together for delivery at the end of this month.

We are incredibly excited about the coffees coming from Karagoto - if you want to get your hands on some, contact melanie@collaborativecoffeesource.com as soon as possible. The sooner we know how much you would like, the sooner we can have the coffee sent.

Have a great weekend!

Addendum: I would like to add an important development that wasn't fleshed out above that has to do with the process of buying coffee in Kenya. Traditionally, coffee is bought at auction - even the fantastic ones we cupped today. We would like to do away with this time consuming and unnecessary process. We are currently working with the Karagoto factory on buying directly (this term is problematic for me but the discussion on that is for another post/series of posts). Within this context, "direct" means outside of auction. What are the benefits? There are many but from a quality perspective, buying before auction means quicker transport and thus, fresher coffee. But the only way for us to bypass auction is to offer a good enough price. Which is where you come in. Expressing your interest in these coffees now means we can commit to them and have them shipped sooner. Fresher coffee, new crop to your customers sooner, quicker/more direct payment to the supplier. Enough said.

Upcoming

Surveying their efforts

Friends, we are working on specific pages for each region. Within these pages, look for a breakdown on what we mean by "traceability". It's not only about varietals, soil and microclimate. It's also about who is doing what. Who are the cherry producers? Who is processing the coffee? Who is exporting it?

For now, here is some general information on the regions we are expecting shipments from. Contact melanie@collaborativecoffeesource.com with inquiries.

Brasil

-  two containers from two different regions will ship this month (February)

 Colombia

- first shipment arrives first week in March. This container is sold out but we are in the process of putting together a second container with coffee from a later harvest, starting April.

 Costa Rica

-  shipment in early April

-  cuppings of samples in late February – early March

 Panama

- shipment in April

- cuppings of samples in February – early March

 El Salvador

-  shipment in March

-  cuppings of samples in February – early March

 Honduras

- shipment in April

- cuppings of samples in March – early April

- delayed harvests

 Kenya

- shipments in February and May

- cuppings of samples in February – early March

 Ethiopia

-  Robert will be in Ethiopia this month. News from this region to follow.