After a year of intense traveling related to our coffee business, we headed south as the cold winds of December began to blow in Northwest Arizona. Just today I saw on my Facebook page that the Hualapai mountains are covered with snow & Kingman, AZ awoke to a beautiful Colorado Rocky like display.
Meanwhile, it’s tropical hot and humid here in the cloud forest of the Andes & the beautiful City of the Palms, Tarapoto. As any self respecting city, Tarapoto has a pretty nice Plaza de Armas (town square) where every year is a Christmas display.
This year was no exception, but we were surprised at the amount of lights. The municipality did a great job this year. We’ll try and add some more pics in the next few days, but for now here’s a handful to give you a taste.
We hope that everyone has had an outstanding Christmas and that all are enjoying the holidays. For me, it’s a nice time to pull back on the throttle, and reflect on the year behind. May we all share in abundance in the New Year 2017.
First, let’s start with some snow…
Snow in the Mountains – Arizona
Snow in the Hualapai Mountains near Yucca, AzSnow in the Hualapai Mountains near Yucca, Az (Photo: Jim FedericoSnow in the Hualapai Mountains above Kingman, Az (Photo: Kristi Rose Turman)
Now for a more tropical Christmas…
Nativity Scene, Plaza de Armas Tarapoto, PeruLighted Christmas Tree, Plaza de Armas Tarapoto, PeruTarapoto Christmas Lights 2016Nativity Scene, Tarapoto, Peru 2016
We here at A Little Further South Coffee would like to wish you and yours a very happy weekend. Enjoy some great coffee, forget the news and relax. We need you fresh & rested. But first, do a little dancing…
We just attended the CoffeeFest Anaheim trade show in Southern California. It was an excellent event, featuring useful classes, plenty of networking opportunities, and endless samples of exceptional coffees (hot and cold brew) as well as tea & flavored drinks.
Held at the Anaheim Convention Center, CoffeeFest Anaheim was one of several CoffeeFest Events held every year. There were espresso and cold brew contests. We were thrilled when our Peruvian Chasqui coffee was included in a cold blend that won 2nd place. Congratulations to Damian Scott of Scotty D’s Jamaican Coffee who took home the prize. (First place for cold brew was Klatch coffee.)
Loaded with vendors hawking everything from eco friendly cups to flavorings & food items for coffee shops, there was something for everyone. In addition to coffee & coffee supplies, there were an abundance of tea vendors and green coffee sellers. There was even an earplug vendor. (Those earplugs come in handy at the farm where roosters like to start at 2:30 am!)
We made the rounds, took in some classes, and reconnected with coffee friends from all over the country. It was especially nice to be able to meet with our California friends who we don’t get to see as much as we’d like.
The event seemed well attended & we look forward to seeing everyone again at the Specialty Coffee Big Event in April.
The last few months have been a flurry of activity. (So what else is new!) Besides wearing the green coffee importer hat, we’ve been steadily growing our retail, online, and wholesale roasted (and green) coffee business. I do have a couple of unfinished posts that I hope to publish soon.
The green coffee business has slowed over the summer, but we’re diligent in contacting new roasters to see if we can build a friendship, and some interest in the work (and coffee) that we’ve been doing. The direct trade coffee business is challenging in the real world, because although most would love to help the farmers, sometimes the bottom line seems to outweigh those “out of sight, out of mind” families that labor intensively to harvest, ferment, dry, and bag our daily cup.
The competition is ferocious. The large companies own farms, and contract for the cheapest possible price whenever they buy from local growers. In the ever changing commodity coffee market, this often places the value of the farmer on the bottom end.
Our direct trade model requires the farmer to put in a little more quality control, and attention, but allows earnings that are double or more for their efforts.
Paying more though, puts the smaller direct trade coffee importers at an immediate price disadvantage vs. the “big boys.”
Luckily, we do find many roasters that are interested in more than just price. While the idea of a truly sustainable coffee supply chain may never be completely realizable, we’ll never know what the possibilities are unless we make the attempt. We truly appreciate those who see the bigger picture, and support the small family farmers. The Curibamba Coffee Project is changing lives, and every cup makes a difference.
Meanwhile, the roasting part of the coffee business allows for a better profit potential. Here, the most important thing is quality. We recently purchased a Sonofresco Coffee Roaster for use at Farmer’s Markets & Shows. It’s a fun roaster, and produces excellent flavor in the cup. It works via hot air, and results in an amazingly consistent roast every time. Because we can roast live, it’s an attention getter. Most people are surprised to know that we actually went to the farm to buy our coffee. It’s a wonderful story, and we love to share what we learned along the way. Being warmly received makes it all worth while.
We recently had to contact Sonofresco regarding changes to accommodate roasting at high elevation. The response was very fast, and it’s always nice to know that there is someone behind the scenes. It was relatively easy, so we’re ready to roast fresh coffee sea level to Colorado Rockies!
Farmers Market – Candy Kitchen, New MexicoFarmers Market, El Morro, New MexicoFarmers Market, El Morro, New MexicoMusicians at the Farmers Market, El Morro, New Mexico
What a busy time in the coffee world. London kicked off April with Coffee Fest London (see here) & we also had the Specialty Coffee Associations’ big Event in Atlanta (see here.) We couldn’t make the London show this year, but exhibited at SCAA Atlanta.
SCAA was a wonderful experience, and we’ve already reserved our spot for the SCAA event 2017 in Seattle. It was delightful to reconnect with friends, and meet new ones.
We regularly follow Michael Sheridan of the Coffeelands blog. A recent post includes a must read SCAA White Paper on Farmworker Inclusion. Here’s a bit of the article and links. Anyone interested in a sustainable coffee chain must begin with the farmworkers themselves. Excellent reading! Continue reading On Farmworker Inclusion in the Coffee Supply Chain→
The Specialty Coffee Big Event was held in Atlanta, Georgia this year. Thousands of coffee lovers & professionals gathered for classes, exhibits, workshops, and just old fashioned networking.
This was our first year as an exhibitor & it was a blast! We met lots of new friends, and saw all of the latest innovations in the coffee world. We met producers from all over the world, and sampled many fine coffees. Fun! Continue reading SCAA 2016 – Atlanta→
We took the redeye from Las Vegas to Dallas, Dallas to Atlanta & arrived rather dazed, but happy to be attending this years’ SCAA Big Event. We’re off to our exhibit, so more details will follow. Here’s a few photos from behind the scenes in the exhibit hall. Enjoy! Continue reading SCAA 2016 Prologue→
If one word could describe the mission of Wild Goose Coffee Roasters’ Nathan Westwick & Joe Capraro it would be community. This amazing duo has not only set the bar high with quality coffee, but have made their business into a vital part of the Redlands, California community.
From a humble start in 2008 at local farmers market, Wild Goose now sells thousands of pounds of fresh roasted coffee, and with each sale, food is donated to local food banks and charities.
We will be promoting Curibamba at the Specialty Coffee Association of America conference where we are exhibiting this April. (Photos!) Curibamba is being sold and enjoyed mainly in the southwest states of Colorado, California, Arizona, Nevada, & New Mexico, but also as far east as Ohio, Kentucky, and Wisconsin.
The first of the Curibamba workshops for the growers will be in late April. After these meetings, we’ll have a better idea what’s happening for this year in regards to what we can do at a A Little Further South to continue the work for the overall community.
This year it appears that we’re going to see an abundant crop, and a return closer to production levels not seen since the coffee rust outbreak in 2012. Recently, we’ve heard news that Brazils production will be lower this year, and perhaps prices will rise from multi-year lows. We’re anxiously watching world markets for some guidance. Continue reading Real People, Really Good Coffee March 2016 Update→
Real Farmers, Really Good Coffee, Direct to Your Cup
