Michelle in Nicaragua at "Let's Talk Coffee"
When asked by our Director of Sales if I wasn’t too busy and would like to go along with Aaron, our Director of Coffee, to Nicaragua the first week of October, of course I jumped at the chance: Too busy? How could I not make time for that experience‽
Of my three years plus as ‘Retail Sales & Service Representative’ for Ethical Bean Coffee, this was to be my first time travelling to origin. This is where I would be able to experience firsthand: see, touch, feel and taste, the start of coffee’s journey from plant to green beans, before it travels to our facility for roasting & packaging, then ultimately to grocery stores and into our customers’ morning cups.
Having experienced travelling to tropical countries in the past, I’m always in anticipation of that first burst of warm, humid air upon stepping off the flight. Nicaragua certainly did not disappoint, at a balmy 30C, even though it was after 8pm! For me, this is my cue to be patient, slow down and relax into ‘developing country’ time, as daily life becomes so much simpler than it is for us in North America. Everything takes place on its own schedule; no need to try and rush as to do so would be futile. Best to just take it all in as part of the experience: take time to chat with others, really listen and appreciate with interest, the differences of the culture.
The first three days were spent in seminars where I would meet others in the coffee industry, each having travelled from various cities and countries from around the globe: farmers, roasters, baristas, writers, business owners, Non-Government Organizational (NGO) workers, other sales folk and more. I was surprised to learn how far reaching the coffee industry can be and how many lives are affected by what is a staple in so many daily regimens around the globe.
When speaking to an NGO worker, I learned how the coffee growers who form co-operatives manage their funds through open voting: how will the profits be spent: on schools, community projects, split between farm families? He spoke of how much work it takes for farms to gain their organic certification, the benefits that go along with this regarding the ability to sell their crops & also the downfalls of reduced production without the use of chemical fertilizers. However, I was interested to learn how the farmers are able to capture the pulp of the coffee ‘cherry’ during the wet mill process or ‘washing’ of the coffee in order to use it to produce natural fertilizer.
Since coffee is grown on a plant, there is a natural growing cycle of the crop. This varies depending on origin but for somewhere like Mexico, where one of our ten coffees comes from, the growing season is May to December. I have been told the plants start to flower during May’s rainy season, which is apparently quite a beautiful sight.
Coffee Cherries
The downfall of seasonal crop growing for coffee farmers in particular is that they often experience one to three months of food shortage during the off-season, bringing forth the issue of crop diversification. So, I thought: ‘That’s easy enough, just grow something else to supplement during these months’. Wrong, not so easy. Reason being, at least for organic coffee farmers, they must be very careful not to contaminate with non-organic crops. Should they choose to grow another organic crop, there must be a market for it in order to make the endeavour worthwhile. This is an expensive process that can be difficult to make profit from when selling locally as indigenous folk are not apt to pay a premium for organic items as other world markets are.
One of the other discussions we took part in brought up the Brazilian study of using caffeine in schools to boost students’ learning productivity, an obviously controversial one! Another spoke to the fact that the recent economic recession has not affected coffee consumption on the whole, suggesting it is a commodity that is ‘recession-proof’.
We had Dr. Larry Jones of Pasadena, CA speak on the ongoing question of how the consumption of coffee affects personal health – good or bad? Well, both depending on how much is consumed and whom it is consumed by. Studies suggest that the polyphenols found in plants protect against cancer and cardiovascular disease with the possible exception of liver cancer. It has been found that coffee drinkers are 50% less likely to develop Type 2 Diabetes and heart attacks are more preventable when drinking three cups of less per day compared to none. Women who are pregnant or breast-feeding are not recommended to exceed three cups per day as coffee can block intestinal iron absorption. Coffee can also control gout, increase sexual motivation and be helpful for children with hyperactivity issues. Fascinating stuff! Dr. Jones suggested reading the book, ‘In Defense of Food’ by Michael Pollan which is now on my list.
I have to say though, that the two most interesting presentations I heard were, ‘Coffee & Honey: The Perfect Marriage’ & ‘Pulp to Protein: the ZERI Project’. As it may suggest, the first of the two is not about using honey to sweeten our morning cup, but about how coffee farmers can double as beekeepers in order to supplement their income between crops – brilliant! Bill Mares, the President of the Vermont Beekeepers’ Association, spoke to the fact that they are learning from the South Americans in these regards and that the growing industry is working well in other countries such as Mexico. The organic honey products have been a huge hit in the EU, Japan, North America and unexpectedly in origin for the Mexican producers. Honey offers more stable and predictable pricing than other supplemental crops and can be produced by one or many farmers within a co-op but does not have to be all.
The ZERI (Zero Emissions Research & Initiatives) Project, ‘Pulp To Protein’, co-sponsored by Equator Coffee & our symposium hosts, Sustainable Harvest, was the winner of the Specialty Coffee Associations 2009 Sustainability Award. This initiative highlights the effort in Tanzania to teach a group of orphaned girls how to cultivate high protein mushrooms in coffee pulp, the by-product waste of coffee processing. The coffee ‘cherry’ refers to the fruit in its natural form when growing on the plant, much like a cranberry or grape. Once picked, the skin and inner fruit (or pulp) surrounding the two beans inside is washed off and typically discarded. However, in this case, the pulp is being set aside and transported to the site where it is being used as ‘soil’ for oyster mushroom spores grown in make-shift tented greenhouses. Pound for pound, these cholesterol free mushrooms contain almost as much protein as meat when dry. They have been used to supplement the diets of the Mkatanga Village residents in Northwest Tanzania where yucca, cassava & bananas are the main staples of their meals.
So, in addition to all of this (and SO much more!) information, we were fortunate to be able to tour two successful coffee ‘finca’ or farms: one owned & operated independently and one which is part of a co-operative. If you have not done so already, please read Aaron’s story on the latter of these experiences.
Even though our trip was quick, I am very thankful to have had the opportunity to view a snapshot of the coffee world from the other side of the fence and I highly recommend the experience!
We’ve just opened our second Ethical Bean Xpress location in the Granville Skytrain Station so downtown commuters can now enjoy carbon neutral, Fair Trade certified organic coffee on their way to and from work.
