All posts by Ben Gangloff

Coffee importer, blogger, and adventurer.
Coffee, Curibamba, Peru, Sustainable Farming

Real People, Really Good Coffee Update December 2015

December is the month of short days in the northern hemisphere. As I write this today, however I’m in Peru where summer has recently started. Yet, in spite of the disconnect from my “normal” winter hibernation mode, it is still a time of reflection and remembrance as the year ends and a new one soon starts.

The year in review: From the farms

The Curibamba Coffee Project

This year we started to see good things at every level. The farmers seem to be more enthusiastic about the project than ever, and it’s no wonder with coffee prices being in the basement. Overall quality of the coffee has improved each year, and with a large effort to get solar drying tents and tables into the majority of the smallholder farms we’re expecting that quality will be better again with the 2016 harvest.

Meanwhile, we’re streamlining the purchase process, and besides buying the higher quality micro lots, we’ll be also buying coffees that are specialty grade (although below the quality of the best lots,) and paying a premium to be able to fully support the coffee growing community in the hills above San Ramon. Rather than picking and choosing only the “winners,” we’re taking a more holistic approach, and making sure that every farmer has an opportunity to receive a just price for their coffee. We will continue to test each and every lot in the lab, and work for the highest quality possible.

Curibamba was featured in Expo Milan this year, as well as the Mistura Foodie Fair in Lima. It’s currently being sold and enjoyed mainly in the southwest states of Colorado, California, Arizona, Nevada, & New Mexico, but also as far east as Ohio and Wisconsin.

We will continue to focus our support efforts on solar drying tents and tables, but we’re also working with agricultural engineers to see what might best serve the growers. It may be new coffee trees, or strategic washing stations, we’re awaiting input from the fields.

Every year brings more education on the specifics of harvesting, fermenting, and drying. Edegel will be funding not only the educational programs, but will continue funding for the agricultural engineers, organic fertilizers and assistance with promotional programs for the brand. Continue reading Real People, Really Good Coffee Update December 2015 →

Coffee

London Coffee Fest Scheduled for April 2016

(Reposted -it won’t be long!) Visiting London in early April? From April 7-10 the London Coffee Fest will be held. This the UK’s largest specialty Coffee & gourmet food event. Over 30,000 people are expected to attend the festival which features coffee competitions, latte and coffee art, and of course a wide variety of small to large roasting companies showcasing their fine coffees from the thriving London coffee scene. It will be once again located at the Old Truman Brewery.

The London Coffee Festival will return next year from April 07-10 and promises to be an unmissable event for discerning coffee lovers and those working in the coffee scene.

The festival will feature over 250 artisan coffee and gourmet food stalls, tastings and demonstrations from world-class baristas, interactive workshops, street food, coffee-based cocktails, live music, DJs, art exhibitions and much more.

Visitors will also gain access to Milk & Sugar, the fashion and lifestyle district showcasing some of the most inspirational brands spanning from fashion to design and food. The London Coffee Festival is also proud to be the official launch event of UK Coffee Week™.

Source: The London Coffee Festival 2016 – Venue & FAQ

London Coffee Fest (Photo: Saddle Drunk)

Old Truman Brewery

The Old Truman Brewery houses over 200 small creative businesses, as well as a bar. Covering 19 buildings, linked by a series of alleyways and courtyards, the main area – the Boiler House – is easily identified by its 49-meter chimneystack with ‘Truman’ written up the side.

It’s a prime location for artists, Dj’s & graphic artists. There are several world renowned exhibitions. Once London’s largest brewery, it now has become a thriving shopping and visitor spot.

Truman Brewery (Photo: Nick Cunard)

Traveling to London before May 15th allows for off season pricing, or using fewer airline miles for travel. What could be better than a delicious espresso on a Spring London day?

 

Coffee, Import/Export

Peru Joins the International Coffee Organization

Peru has become the latest country to join the ICO (International Coffee Organization.) The benefits of being a member are a big plus for Peru. By enacting more standardized procedures including: traceability via regional tracking of coffee crops, training, and more importantly shared information on conditions in the fields, the end result can be beneficial to all involved in the coffee supply chain. Congratulations Peru!

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) and Peru have become the latest two producing nations to be accepted into the International Coffee Organization (ICO).

The Executive Director of the ICO Robério Oliveira Silva met with Ambassador of Peru to the United Kingdom Claudio De la Puente this week, to deliver the new member’s instrument of accession to the International Coffee Agreement (ICA).

Peru’s accession and DR Congo’s ratification brings the ICO’s exporting membership up to 24 countries.

Peru’s total coffee production in crop year 2014-15 was 2.9 million 60-kilogram bags.

Full article here: DR Congo and Peru join the ICO | Global Coffee Report

About the ICO (from the official website:)

The International Coffee Organization (ICO) is an intergovernmental organization created under the auspices of the United Nations to serve the international coffee community. Established in 1963, the ICO is unique in bringing producing and consuming countries together to exchange views on coffee matters and market conditions, and address coffee policies. Among the services provided by the ICO are: up-to-date information and statistics; innovative projects to benefit the world coffee economy; coffee market reports and economic studies; consultations on coffee sector finance; as well as conferences and seminars.

The Organization is working to promote an awareness of the need for a sustainable coffee economy by making stakeholders in the coffee sector aware of the threat to sustainability posed by negative economic conditions for producers, and proposing measures in areas such as quality, promotion and diversification to maintain balance in the world coffee market. Recognizing the exceptional importance of coffee to the economies of many countries which are largely dependent upon this commodity for their export earnings and for the achievement of their social and economic development goals, the Organization also encourages sustainable development and poverty reduction in producing countries through projects which have as their principal beneficiaries the coffee producing countries of Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific region.

The International Coffee Council will hold the 4th World Coffee Conference in 2016 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The theme of the conference will be confirmed soon.

Coffee, Curibamba

The Curibamba Project, One Year Later (Reposted)

Curibamba Coffee

I’m reposting this from last fall, the harvest begins again soon for this year, it’s so exciting! More details to follow…

This was our second year with the Curibamba Coffee project in Peru. It was gratifying to see the farmers again, to share the pictures of happy customers, and most of all to cup this years’ crop & see that the quality had increased about a full point score on average for pretty much everyone.

In August, I was interviewed by Terry Slavin of The Guardian newspaper in London. Terry specializes on articles relating to sustainability and projects that help empower farmers and small communities in the developing world. She was interested in the Curibamba Coffee Project & had heard of our work there. Here’s the article:

Cafe Curibamba: Peruvian farmers’ co-op makes better coffee – and better lives

In the cloud forests high in the central Peruvian Andes, a group of local farmers are drying their coffee beans in solar-powered plastic tents instead of the age-old method of drying them on tarpaulin sheets spread out along the roadside, where they can easily be contaminated by insects, pollution from passing cars, and humidity.

Inside a community hall in the town of San Juan de Uchubamba, David Torres Bisetti, a coffee roaster and cafe owner from Lima, is holding a workshop, introducing these farmers to the taste of their own coffee for the very first time, and explaining the finer points of aroma and acidity.

More than a quarter of people in these remote mountain communities are extremely poor but, since 2012, 180 coffee farming families in the Jauja and Concepción areas near to Chanchamayo province in Peru’s central Junín region – known as one of the main places where coffee is produced – have been supported to transform the way they work. After producing coffee in the traditional way for generations, they are joining together to form a co-operative to improve the quality of their product – and with it their life prospects. Continue reading The Curibamba Project, One Year Later (Reposted) →