Many of us in the coffee world are concerned that El Niño could have a disrupting effect on coffee production. When rains are extreme, besides loss of crops roads become difficult, and the harvest can be reduced or lost. Here’s a guest post from Stu Macleod of Vournas Coffee Trading in California:
Recent weather headlines have screamed about a potential “Godzilla El Niño” weather pattern affecting winter weather for the United States. Similar headlines began popping up in coffee related websites, not regarding U.S. weather but rather how an El Niño could impact coffee growing and coffee production throughout the world. What is El Niño and why does it matter?
El Niño is a tropical weather event in the Eastern Pacific Ocean that can increase rain and snowfall totals in the Southwest U.S. Warmer ocean waters in the Eastern Pacific redirect the jet stream winds southward and eastward as it moves through the U.S. Eastern Pacific ocean waters are currently 1.2 degrees Centigrade higher than normal; this has alerted NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) to declare a “strong” rating for an El Niño weather pattern for the winter of 2015. This strong rating has occurred 5 times since 1950 so is a relatively uncommon event.
Historically, the El Niño weather pattern has also influenced rain and weather conditions in other countries. Central America, Brazil and Colombian coffee growing regions can receive less than normal rainfall during an El Niño leading to drought and decrease coffee production. Indonesia can also be affected; in a recent letter to their investors, Rabobank highlighted the likelihood of El Niño bringing unusually dry weather to South East Asia. Most Indonesian specialty coffee farmers do not use irrigation and depend on rainfall to water their trees. This could result in lower than normal coffee production from Sumatra, New Guinea and Java.
What does it all mean for us? As usual there are events outside of our power that control coffee prices and availability.
Peru has been bracing for extreme weather due to the El Niño warming in the Pacific Ocean, and working to fortify communities that are frequently flooded during heavy rain seasons. This year has seen so many landslides and washouts that many roads have not yet recovered. Many fear that any more extreme rainfall will isolate some villages for weeks at a time.
Time will tell what effects we’ll see, and how coffee will fare.
Peru has made great strides in the fight against poverty. As the economy has grown, many areas have seen a reduction n the poverty rate. Sadly though, some areas remain entrenched in poor economic conditions, and have seen little improvement according to a report published in El Comercio Peru. Continue reading Mapping the Poorest of Peru: Report→
Interesting data from point of sale systems company Square regarding coffee & more gleaned from cafes across the US. (Via Roast Magazine:)
Popular point-of-sale systems and analytics provider Square today released the Square Coffee Report, which includes some interesting although generalized data related both to consumer trends and operational strategies among thousands of U.S. cafes.
Coffee Leaf Rust has had a devastating effect on many coffee growers, small and large. Many farms have lost production & quality for many years now. The Rust continues to plague many farmers, and the search is on for a safe, environmentally friendly method to combat this fungus.
Just one more reason to drink coffee: reduced risk of falling. European scientists have determined that coffee can improve your stride and help prevent dangerous falls.
Research published in European Journal of Clinical Nutrition has found that consuming more than one cup of coffee per day is associated with better gait – an important health indicator that relates to the risk of falling, morbidity and mortality, and is influenced by the nervous and cardiovascular systems, as well as musculoskeletal structure.
The research, conducted at the Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, investigated associations of alcohol, coffee and tobacco consumption with gait, using 2,546 participants with a median age of 68 years.
The results of the study showed that consuming more than one cup of coffee daily was associated with better gait when compared to drinking one or less cups of coffee.
Specifically, consuming one to three cups of coffee daily was associated with higher pace (or length of stride) and consuming more than three cups daily with better variability in stride length, pace and turning time compared with consuming one or less than one cup of coffee. Such effects may have important implications on the risk of falling in older populations. Source: Coffee & Cocoa International
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A meeting to share the knowledge of ancient Peruvian cultures from the old to the young is taking place in Cuzco. Via El Comercio Peru (Google translate)
A “Meeting ofsages” brings together40 representatives fromthe provinces ofCalca, Quispicanchis, Canchis, CanasandChumbivilcas.
Here at A Little Further South we promote Direct Market, and single origin coffees. These are coffees that we buy from small farmers, everything is traceable, and we actually get to see the operations behind the coffees that we are importing.
Here’s an article that appeared in the “Perfect Daily Grind.” Please read the excerpt, and click on the link for the full article. Enjoy!
Single origin is a small phrase with a big definition. The meaning’s often simplified to a coffee that’s sourced from one single producer, crop, or region in one country. Single farm and single estate mean that the coffee is sourced from one farm, mill, or co-operative. Then you can go a step further and find coffee labels that tell you the estate name, the specific lot or paddock the coffee was grown on, or if it’s a microlot (a specific varietal from a specific farm).
Update: 9/22 We’ve passed Customs Exam! We now await pickup by our warehouse, which should be by mid-day today. We’ll next return to Arizona where we’ll be cupping and roasting.
The “buy” buttons will soon be active, and we’ll announce it here when your fresh coffee is ready for purchase. Meanwhile, sign up for our email list in the box on the right.
See this years coffee lineup below.
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Our ship has come in (literally) and we just now await Customs inspection and release. We’re already FDA approved. From there, our coffee will head to the warehouse, and we’ll be heading over to California in order to pick up a few bags so that we can begin roasting and cupping (tasting) again prior to sending out roaster samples to our wholesale customers.
Meanwhile, if it seems a little quiet on the online side of things, it’s because we’re buried in the details of our upcoming “official” launch. Being somewhat of a geek, I maintain the website, do some social media promotion, and coordinate all of our online payment systems etc. It’s a big task on top of selling, roasting, cupping, and all the other “hats” I end up wearing in the coffee business.
We’re also wired from all of the excitement. We went to the farm, bought some amazing coffees, and somehow managed to work our way through the myriad details involved in international shipping. We did it!
Support your “local” coffee farmer!
Click “continue reading” below (if you are on the home page, and not already reading this full article) to see the latest coffee offerings. Stay tuned for purchasing details which will be announced later this week. Continue reading Real People, Really Good Coffee Update September 2015→
