May 2018 by CoffeeTalk Magazine

May-June 2018 | Vol. XXXI No. 5

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S D O P E L B A T S O P COM

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nsumers o C t a h t ion

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SEE EXHIBITOR

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HIGHLIGHTS

ROASTER'S ROCK

Change is Hard

16 COFFEE SERVICE CORNER Make Decisions as if You Own the Business 20

Specialty Coffee Women are the Force 22

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TOC/Who We Are

The View

Contents

Compostable Pods

The Simple Solution that Consumers Want for Single Serve Waste

10 12 14

Roaster's Rock

Change is Hard

Volcafe Awards and Recognitions 5 Reasons Why You Should Improve Your Office Coffee Today Why Your Office Coffee Needs an Upgrade - Backed by Research

History of Brewing

Coffee’s Modern Era Continues

Coffee Fest Denver Show Coffee Service Corner

Make Decisions as If You Own The Business

Profiles of Women and Coffee

Building an Inclusive Coffee Industry – Specialty Coffee Women are The Force

World Coffee Producers Forum Will Become An Organization

Newsbites

A Bit More Wouldn’t Hurt Me

Advertiser Index

Calendar

Feature

Compostable Pods 4 May/June 2018

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THE VIEW Kerri Goodman

“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.” Steve Hawking

which we all discuss sustainability, profitability remains a dirty word. That has to change.” In fact, “Sustainability initiatives,” according to Roberto Cardona of The Volcafe Way, “are becoming fragmented and certifications are getting tired and are not sufficient.” Worse, in many cases, the costs are shouldered by those farmers who are in the most need.

lready January feels like such a long time ago. I was expressing my fear of the exponential escalation in the pace of change. It turns out the topic of Innovation, Disruption, and our Industry is more meaningful than I ever envisioned. Scary? Absolutely! However, as Benjamin Franklin said, “When you’re finished changing, you’re finished.” Though Franklin wasn’t officially an entrepreneur, his words echo true more than ever. The last 25 years have been the most fast-paced technological change in history. Twenty-five years ago, you probably didn’t use email, have your domain and website, and never heard of social media. Change or Die Alan Deutschman’s 2005 article “Change or Die” for the magazine Fast Company has never been more fitting. We all have the choice to embrace change and take advantage of new opportunities in our industry or refuse to adapt and watch our business slowly decay. However, what happens if you don’t perceive change is even an option much less how to change? This is the situation for a vast majority of our coffee producers. The issue: they do not treat their farms as businesses. It’s not their fault, they were never given the tools or taught the principles of good business such us how to track production costs, record and analyze data, or in some cases, even read a spreadsheet. Instead, they continue to use practices that worked for their grandparents without knowledge there is another way. Imagine being stuck in a business that is not making money, not feeding your family, and having no hope for that changing unless the market changes and the coffee prices “magically” go up again. Now imagine the same person, given information and tools, to have more control over their profitability and future. Now that is change! Sustainability: a new definition The reality is, without profitability at origin, there can be no sustainability! Indeed, Trishul Mandana, Managing Director of Volcafe reports, “True Sustainability must include profitability. Moreover, yet, despite the fervor with

Enter, The Volcafe Way This new approach focuses on an important, simple, yet elusive method to create profitability. The message to farmers: Don’t concentrate on things out of your control (the c-price of coffee). Instead, discover what you can control! The Volcafe Way is a data-driven approach cutting through the sustainability hype to track impact, increase transparency, enable full traceability and focus on results. Training embeds commercial and agronomic acumen with one clear aim: to ensure that farmers make money and thereby incentivize future generations to carry on the family tradition. Carlos Ortiz, Global Manager for the Volcafe Way, explains, “Volcafe’s objective is to empower volunteer farmers to make their own, well-informed business decisions and pro-actively drive their future.” You can read more about The Volcafe Way on page 27, “A Bit More Won’t Hurt Me,” a coffee consumer’s perspective after their first trip to origin, by Kim Richards. The Lesson: Create a new mindset Don’t bury your head in the sand, be open to new possibilities, and never stop learning. Learn to recognize what is and is not under your control and then open yourself to new options to adapt your strategies to the ever-changing landscape. Closer to home CoffeeTalk, now 25 years old, is also poised for change. We have spent the last 12 months optimizing our website, improving and expanding our digital publications, and improving reader experiences in print and digital. After analyzing trends, changes in technology, industry consolidation, subscriber preferences, and a great deal of soul-searching, I have come to the decision it is time to make a change in the CoffeeTalk universe. CoffeeTalk Magazine will change its publishing schedule from 12x per year to 8x per year. What that means is more streamlined marketing placements with higher value. There will be NO change in tradeshow bonus distribution. (This change will not have any effect on CoffeeBuzz digital e-news.) Thank you to the industry for your support this last quarter century!

“Every success story is a tale of constant adaption, revision, and change.” Richard Branson May/June 2018

Compostable Pods The Simple Solution that Consumers Want for Single Serve Waste

ingle serve coffee is under fire for its part in contaminating plastics and paper recycling across North America. Compostable single serve pods are emerging as an answer for recyclers and the taxpayers and consumers who pay for many recycling programs. With nearly 4,000 shipping containers a day heading from the US to China, paper, plastic and aluminum were big business for recyclers around the world. That changed under China’s new “National Sword” policy. It bans many kinds of wastes from the country and sharply tightens acceptable quality levels for everything else coming in from elsewhere. This makes coffee a growing challenge for recyclers – and a growing opportunity for composters. As a recent report to Toronto City Council pointed out “What was acceptable last year in the Blue Bin Recycling Program (e.g. a piece of paper with a coffee stain) is no longer acceptable at market due to stricter quality requirements.” That same report cites single serve coffee pods as a specific problem in Toronto’s recycling bins. City officials report major financial impacts because of items that can contaminate recycling bins in Toronto and cities around the world. Toronto staff project a $9 million per year financial impact on the City’s waste diversion programs from all forms of contamination, including full coffee pods in local plastic recycling. They predicted a possible 3% increase in solid waste tax rates for Toronto residents in the future without significant efforts to rein in contamination. Coffee producers in the US and Canada are responding to those growing concerns. Companies such as Club Coffee and Canterbury Coffee in Canada and San Francisco Bay Coffee in the US are marketing certified compostable pods that deliver a simple, convenient way for consumers to avoid the waste often associated with single serve while getting all a quality coffee experience in every cup. Club Coffee CEO John Pigott points out “We knew that consumers wanted a simple solution and compostable made the most sense. Straight from the brewer to the kitchen waste container and off to a local composting service with no mess and no need to take anything apart.” The R&D behind Club’s pod involved the company’s suppliers and scientists at the University of Guelph. One key breakthrough came when coffee chaff was identified as an excellent material for the pod’s unique brown ring. Chaff brings properties that accelerate the breakdown necessary for effective industrial composting. It has gone rapidly from a waste by-product of coffee roasting into a key ingredient of the new pod. An advanced thermoformable filter mesh was another critical step forward.

by Solange Ackrill, Vice President, Marketing & Corporate Strategy, Club Coffee LP

The business response recognizes the increasing scrutiny that environmental claims are receiving. Regulators have become more active in challenging product marketing that they perceive to fall short in practice. The certification that all three companies have earned from the Biodegradable Products Institute for their pods is an important signal, rallying behind a uniform certification logo that many municipalities, including San Francisco, Minneapolis, and New York City, use to determine what they will accept in their food scraps collection and composting programs. The work of the Compost Manufacturing Alliance (CMA) in testing pods is another new step forward for compostable products. The organization brings together major composting operators across America to provide real-world field tests of compostable products, adding credibility with composters using similar processes. Club Coffee’s successful tests in the Seattle area with leading composter Cedar Grove and in the New York City area with regional CMA partner We Care Organics have confirmed that its pod breaks down successfully in covered and windrow systems. Those tests are boosting confidence in compostability as a solution. Similar efforts are taking place in Canada where most people live in municipalities that offer curbside food and organic waste collection services. Members of the provincial legislatures in Ontario and British Columbia have proposed recent bills to ban non-compostable single serve pods after fouryear transition periods. While not expected to become law, the bills have attracted substantial media and public attention to the compostable option. At the local level, the City of Toronto has been examining waste diversion for all single serve pod formats since late 2016. The city has held two rounds of consultations with all major single serve producers to determine what a path forward might look like for both the city’s food waste diversion program and its general products and packaging recycling program. Toronto has signaled it is working toward a mandatory testing process for pods and other new materials that producers want to see accepted in waste diversion programs. Businesses are beginning to see more opportunities ahead for compostable products, far beyond coffee pod innovations. As Club Coffee’s John Pigott notes, “Compostables are a clear way to address consumer concerns about plastics in our environment. Brands are beginning to see why consumers are naturally attracted to compostable choices that divert waste from landfills. This means benefits to their image and the consumer experience, where they need to stay ahead in a very competitive marketplace.”

8 May/June 2018

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Roasters Rock

by Rocky Rhodes

CHANGE IS HARD

am going to write this article in ‘first person’ because I want to start an important conversation about the Coffee Roasters Guild. I am conflicted about it so really I am looking for readers to help me through my angst. Am I just an old guy who was comfortable living in the past and is resistant to change or is there a real underlying concern at the heart of it all? So let’s be clear: I AM OLD. I don’t know when that happened but I looked at early pictures of me attending the Roasters Guild Retreat in Keystone and I wasn’t old then! One of the Roasters Guild Executive Council (RGEC) members I served with coined the phrase “Silverbacks” to refer to those that came before us and launched the Guild. I am both proud and regretful I have become one. I attended the Roasters Guild Annual Meeting at the SCA event in Seattle. I am not alone in asking, “What the heck was that?” Let me set a scene for those that were not in attendance. It was a huge ballroom. Half the room had 10 seat round tables and the other half was standing tables and open space. There was a table of hors d oeuvres that would comfortably serve about 50 people and ONE bar. ONE! For an RG event. Not surprisingly the poor bartender was flustered beyond belief and had to keep calling for supplies and many just gave up waiting. Oh, and it was my impression that there were far less attendees than usual but I could be wrong on that as I have never counted. It came time to start the meeting and the Chair, Emilio, started speaking but the stage was empty. In a way to show that this is a different guild, they had NOBODY on stage. I am sure they thought it was to show some hip, new, inclusive format but frankly it looked like anyone involved just wanted to hide. On the screen came a PowerPoint that was to explain all of the changes. The European Roasters Guild and the US Roasters Guild have merged to become the Coffee Roasters Guild. It was pointed out that the word ‘coffee’ was added so no one would get confused that we might roast nuts. My head LITERALLY hit the table and all those around me started to mutter. Apparently we all voted on this but as anyone knows from dealing with SCA voting the choice is baked before it goes to a vote just like seats on the BOD. (For the record I voted no on the merger because I never got a good explanation as to why it should merge – I just didn’t understand it.) Time to reveal the new logo! I swear to you that I felt stupid because I didn’t get that it is a bunch of roast curves in a circle. Someone next to me asked, “Are we in the spaghetti guild?” I thought it looked like a bad comb-over. A person on the other side of me cleared it up with, “It shows that we are now inclusive of ridiculous roast curves and/or celebrate the lack of consistency in our craft!” (I thought that was funny!) The tone was now set for a contentious meeting from anyone that was unsure of this merger. Emilio had lost the crowd as he tried to explain why this would be good for us. The PowerPoint continued with the background logo obscuring words and names. It looked like it was put together minutes before

the meeting. (To be fair, I remember doing that when I was on the RGEC so I will cut them some slack. They are, after all, volunteers.) We learned that committees were changed, chairs assigned and I left having NO IDEA what the guild stood for and wanted to accomplish. OH! And membership rules have changed. It used to be that anyone who roasted as part of their profession could join. Then we opened to hobbyists that roasted at home. The new rule is IF YOU ARE BREATHING you can join siting inclusiveness. I am finding a hard time understanding where being a member of SCA and a member of the CRG are different. THIS IS A RANT OF LOVE AS WELL AS FRUSTRATION I have so much respect for all of the people that now make up the ‘leadership’ of the CRG. (I guess executive council is out now?) These are amazing folks with hearts of gold and they really want to advance the organization. I admire those that step up to serve. There are so many more events, larger membership and diversity issues that I really never dealt with when I served. I am not sure I would have thick enough skin to serve on the leadership committee now as I am quite certain I would make some ‘joke’ and offend someone and be run out on rails. And this gets us to what I see as the CORE issue I have: The guild has gone ‘organizational’ and lost its soul. We used to be about advancing the craft and now it is about advancing the organization. It used to be about brothers and sisters helping each other, laughing with and at each other and no one getting overly-offended when a fellow roaster did something stupid. Now the organization has to be set up to protect itself from us idiots that make up the membership. Don’t even get me started on the lame excuses as to why the RG party is on the ash heap of history. No RG Party? Really!?!? DON’T BITCH IF YOU ARE NOT GOING TO HELP! We all know some of our membership that throw complaint grenades and run away. I am not going to do that. I voiced my concerns and honest reaction to the meeting while I was there. I also at the same time volunteered for the membership committee. I think I can help there. Maybe I will understand it better if I am a part of the solution. It is the responsible thing that should be done if you care about the legacy of this thing we started 20ish years ago. CALLING ALL SILVERBACKS! It is time to step up and help. Rocky Rhodes is an 18 year coffee veteran, roaster, and Q-Grader Instructor, and his mission now is to transform the coffee supply chain and make sweeping differences in the lives of those that produce the green coffee. Rocky can be reached at rocky@ INTLcoffeeConsulting.com May/June 2018

Photo by Trish Rothgeb

Volcafe wins Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Standard-Setter Award

yagalanyi Coffee, Volcafe’s subsidiary in Uganda, has been presented with a Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Standard-Setter Award. The award recognises companies who have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to sustainability, improving livelihoods and conserving forests all around the world. It was received by Dr. Anneke Fermont, who leads the sustainability department at Kyagalanyi Coffee and is an industry representative on the UTZ Standards Committee, at the Rainforest Alliance’s 31st Spring Gala on May 9 at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Uganda’s coffee is grown by more than one million smallholder farmers and is often their most important source of income—but Ugandan coffee yields are among the lowest in the world. Kyagalanyi Coffee has been working closely with colleagues from the UTZ certification programme—and with the Rainforest Alliance—to address these issues through sustainable farming methods. Kyagalanyi works with over 14,500 UTZ and/or Rainforest Alliance certified households that produce Arabica coffee. The company has developed a strong farmer support programme, which has increased coffee yields and income for these families by 35-45% in West Nile and 60-70% in Mt. Elgon. Key elements include a focus on continuous improvement and a range of innovative approaches to sustainably improve coffee production, work with youth, encourage joint decision making within households and promote the use of mobile money. This approach is complemented by the in-house Volcafe Way responsible sourcing programme, which is consciously built around profit for coffee farmers. It has one clear aim: to ensure that farmers make money and thereby incentivise future generations to carry on the family tradition. Additionally, Kyagalanyi is a vocal leader in the effort to reduce child labour on coffee

farms in West Nile. As part of the UTZ Sector Partnership programme, Kyagalanyi and its partners are expanding this work to identify cost-efficient strategies to eradicate child labour in the coffee value chain. “The kind of transformational, global work the Rainforest Alliance undertakes would not be possible without the partnerships we have established with forward-thinking, progressive companies,” said Han de Groot, CEO of the Rainforest Alliance. “The individuals, communities, and businesses we have highlighted are working to address the significant and related challenges of climate change, rural poverty, and biodiversity loss. Their work has resulted in real changes on the ground, and is helping to improve conditions for farmers and forest communities.” Established in 1783, ED&F Man is an employee-owned agricultural commodities merchant with 7,000 people in 60 countries and annual revenue in excess of $10bn. We trade sugar, coffee, molasses, animal feed, grains and pulses. We help our counterparties manage price risk through hedging and provide access to commodity and capital markets through our brokerage business. ED&F Man’s coffee business, Volcafe, is one of the world’s largest traders of arabica and robusta coffees and provides beans for 50 billion cups of coffee each year. Our expertise spans green coffee procurement and preparation, quality control, risk management and logistics. We work in countries that collectively account for over 90% of world production. From single origin micro-lots to mainstream commercial grades and customised blends, we have what it takes to get the right product to our roaster and retail customers – on time, every time. We are also big on sustainability and traceability: our unique farmer outreach programme, known as The Volcafe Way, works direct with coffee growers to train them in best agronomy practice and sound business management.

Volcafe Recognized for Stop Child Labour Project in Uganda

yagalanyi Coffee, part of the Volcafe group, has been actively involved in the prevention of child labour in Uganda for several years. Working closely with UTZ certification, CEFORD (Community Empowerment FOr Rural Development), UNATU (Uganda NAtional Teachers Union) and Hivos (Dutch NGO), Kyagalanyi has helped more than 500 children from poor families in the West Nile sub-region to go back to school. This achievement contributed to their nomination for a Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Standard-Setter Award, which was presented at the Rainforest Alliance’s 31st Spring Gala on May 9 in New York City. Child labour is a big problem in some of the poorer areas of Uganda, but there is no simple solution to it. While efforts such as agronomy training and infrastructure development will bring returns on investment for the private sector, ending child labour cannot easily be translated into a clear-cut business case. Any resolution demands a dedicated, sustained effort and must get to the root cause of the problem, which is to improve the economic viability of households so that parents can afford to let their children attend school.

When Kyagalanyi realised the extent of the child labour problem in West Nile, it worked together with its partners to develop a Child Labour Free Zone (CLFZ). With different partners sharing a common goal, they were able to identify many cases of child labour, raise awareness of the risks and change the behaviour of many families. Each partner had its own role to play. Kyagalanyi’s staff focused on preventing child labour among its coffee farmers by improving coffee harvests and thereby increasing family income. This was achieved by training the farmers in good agronomy practices, such as regular rejuvenation, fertilisation and pest control. The Kyagalanyi team also provided guidance on the quality and taste that buyers will pay a premium for, as well as encouraging farmers to understand their production costs and to record where investment delivers a higher yield per hectare and commands a healthy price. Change takes time to bear fruit, so the team also recommended short-term economic activities to increase a family’s income quickly and allow the children to get back to school without delay: these side businesses included rope making and banana growing. Kyagalanyi Coffee is currently working with its partners to expand the CLFZ in West Nile and to identify cost-efficient strategies for eradicating child labour. May/June 2018

5 Reasons Why You Should Improve Your Office Coffee Today Why Your Office Coffee Needs an Upgrade Backed by Research

t is rare nowadays to see offices that don’t have coffee machines. Several studies have even shown that drinking coffee is one of the most important parts of the work day, and an impressive amount of people claim they could simply not live without it. According to a survey conducted by Staples, 84% of workers drink coffee every day and feel like their day has not started until they have had their first cup. However, having a coffee machine in the office is not always enough. There are several reasons why it is important for workplaces to offer not just coffee, but good coffee. 1. Good Coffee Is an Important and Inexpensive Office Perk Free coffee may not be the most valuable benefit an employer can offer, but having a coffee vending machine contributes to a good office culture and a positive work environment. Of course, a coffee machine alone is not going to attract or retain workers, and it will not improve your employees’ happiness without other measures. However, it is hard to imagine a great workplace with happy employees that does not have good coffee. According to a survey conducted by Staples, one in four workers would give up their vacation to keep their daily cup of coffee and, interestingly enough, one third of respondents claimed they would rather run down a busy street completely naked instead of giving up coffee for a year! The fact that treating your employees to a nice cup of coffee is a small gesture doesn’t mean it’s not an essential one, as it makes people feel cared for and increases the levels of satisfaction in the workplace. In fact, according to NCDT data, over 50% of workers who drink coffee at the office are not satisfied with their office coffee service situation. 2. Drinking Coffee Can Boost Your Productivity Coffee is no magic potion, but caffeine is the most widely used psychoactive drug, and it affects your brain in several ways. The most commonly known effect of caffeine - and the most useful for sleep deprived office workers - is its ability to keep you alert. We all know that coffee makes us feel better and less sleepy, but how this actually works is a mystery to some. Caffeine acts on the brain in two main ways: it increases dopamine levels and it blocks adenosine receptors. Dopamine is commonly referred to as the “feel-good” neurotransmitter because it is responsible for feeling pleasure and other positive feelings. On the other hand, adenosine receptors are responsible for making us feel tired and sleepy. Caffeine molecules have a similar structure as adenosine and when it locks these receptors, it “tricks” them into thinking that we’ve had enough sleep. The lesser-known benefits of coffee include increased memory and recollection: a study conducted by a group of researchers from John Hopkins University showed that caffeine enhances memory consolidation for up to 24 hours after consumption. This means that if you drink coffee right after learning something, you will remember it more clearly the next day.

Another study by Norwegian scientists concluded that drinking coffee can help ease pain associated with desk work. In fact, the subjects who drank coffee before performing office tasks registered significantly lower pain levels in the neck, back, wrists and arms.

by Marketinspector.co.uk

3. Coffee Breaks Are Essential for a Healthy Workplace Although multiple health benefits have been recognized in the past few years, many would say that the greatest benefit of drinking coffee is a social one. A Danish researcher conducted a study on how coffee breaks help workers cope with workplace stress. The study concluded that the ability to gather in front of a coffee machine helped overworked employees form 'coping communities', which greatly helped them cope with stress. Another study conducted in Hong Kong found that drinking caffeinated coffee enhanced co-operative behavior. Moreover, people who drank coffee expressed of negative feelings more openly, which led to seeking support from other people and therefore bonding. 4. Changing Behaviors and Attitudes Towards Coffee Drinks In 2017, for the first time since the National Coffee Association (USA) started collecting data about coffee 68 years ago, the consumption of drip coffee has declined to only half of all coffee drinkers. At the same time, the daily consumption of espresso based drinks has nearly tripled since 2008. Their research reported that 59% of coffee cups consumed daily are considered gourmet. This includes gourmet (premium whole bean or ground) coffee, iced/coffee blended with ice, cold brew coffee, nitrogen carbonated coffee and espressobased beverages such as cappuccino, espresso, latte, café mocha, macchiato, café Americano and flat white (NCA). The reason behind this change in habits is probably due to the generational differences within the workforce: the younger workers are the so-called millennials, and their consumption habits are very different from the previous generation. This also goes for coffee consumption. In fact, consumption of gourmet coffee drinks rose from 13% to 36% among 18-24 year olds, and from 19% to 41% among 25-39 year olds. The numbers for espresso-based beverages alone, rose from 9% to 22% for the 18-24 group and 8% to 29% for those 25-39. The new generation’s focus on innovation and specialty coffee is driving a huge change in coffee trends, and we can only expect this to grow in 2018. Luckily, the market for coffee machines offers from various suppliers, and there is an option for every taste. 5. Coffee Is Not Bad for Your Health (at All!) Despite what was believed a few years ago, coffee is not bad for your health. Studies have actually found that a moderate consumption of coffee can be part of a healthy diet. Moreover, coffee drinking has been linked to a variety of health benefits and reduced risks for a number of diseases, including cancer, diabetes, Parkinson and Alzheimer. According to another study, drinking two or more cups of coffee every day helps against liver diseases. There are many reasons why having a good coffee machine is beneficial for the office, so you might want to splurge on this simple office perk. Offering quality coffee to your employees will improve their work life and their productivity, and it will be a much appreciated addition to your office space.

May/June 2018

History of Brewing Coffee’s Modern Era Continues

ur industry is alive. It is fascinating to study its history. A great novel could be written about the travels of the coffee plant and its fruit: Conspiracy, spies, love affairs, royalty, border wars, the Pope!... The list goes on, and the history of coffee is a sure sell in the entertainment sector! But, could the story be so good if the product could not back it up with its almost mystical effects on our souls? As industry professionals, we have what seems to be an innate desire to present it to the world in the best possible ways we know. Coffee is like our child. We are proud to nurture it at every point of its life in the purest of ways, then talk incessantly about it to others, gushing compliments and boasting its uniqueness that make it so very special. As producers, roasters, café owners/restauranteurs, we know we are most successful when the truth of the bean can be discovered in the cup. It is the deep desire to drink an honest cup of coffee, one that is craftily brewed retaining the nuances of each origin that keeps what we do an honorable challenge at every level. It is almost painful to the producers to taste their coffee that has been butchered by a careless roaster. Just as it is painful to the producer AND roaster to see their coffee brewed incorrectly or in unclean equipment. We pursue a coffee that isn’t robbed of the flavorful oils that are responsible for brightening the flavor profile… or stripping that comforting velvety mouth feel that makes the world pause for a moment. We cringe when boiling water is poured over the grounds leaving an unintended sharpness, or when the water is not hot enough to pull out the entire flavor profile. It disgusts us to see rancid oils lining the brewers making even the most premium coffee taste like nobody cares about quality. Just as humans have evolved socially and intellectually over the years, so too has our understanding of coffee preparation. Our attention to brewing is now at a point of enlightenment. Here is an outlandish, if not arrogant statement, but one that I am sure all of my coffee friends will love: Did you realize that there is correlation between the human intellectual expansion and our discovery of coffee? If you don’t believe me, drink another cup and continue reading. It is highly interesting how we evolved coffee right along with our needs. We have made it fit into our lifestyle every step of the way. Humans have gone through eras…as we know from grade school. Many great things happened and were invented prior to the discovery of coffee: The Roman Empire, the Silk Road, Greek architecture, democracy, to name a few. However, the Middle Ages (circa 5th-14th centuries) brought on coffee as we know it. Historians can place coffee being used medicinally and for nutrition clear back to the mid 500s. They made wine, porridge, and even ghee coffee balls. But then, towards the end of this Age, our advancement as humans moved fast, coffee became a black drink, and coffee got exciting! This is where the entertainment sector steps into play.

by Julie Spitzley, Storm Mountain Coffee Roasters

The history begins: While a few well-known legends exist on the origin of coffee, we can agree that the time period was somewhere between the mid 800s and the mid 1300s. These legends include goat herders, monks, traders, etc. This is a time when monks and explorers were out meeting new cultures, trying to learn from others. Spices and trading were at the forefront, great conquests were happening. People yearned for answers and deep conversations began. People began to ritualistically and socially drink coffee as we know it. The conversations frequently revolved around government and life topics. Mecca banned it in the 1500s for fear that the people drinking coffee had gathered to form revolutions. Coffee was brewed in a cezve (sometimes ibrik), a pot with a spout over an open fire. Originally, the coffee beans were boiled whole. Eventually, and probably the first attempt at improving this new brew, the beans were put into a flour mill and the grounds were then boiled in the water. The grounds were very fine. It created a much deeper taste than boiling just whole beans. As coffee reached new lands, different countries created their own spin on the drink and took pride in their own versions. Turkish coffee, Greek coffee, Indian coffee, etc. People were adding delicious spices and even cream. Their swelling pride in their version was creating an ownership and a special identity of country that they loved to share with others. As the popularity of coffee soared and spread, people were now gathering in larger numbers while drinking coffee. Conversations became even deeper and explorative. In the meantime, Constantinople fell leading into Modern history and the Italian Renaissance in 1453 AD. How about that? Could coffee drinking in the Ottoman Empire have inspired conversation to overtake the Byzantines? Timely, yes. Provable, no. Entertaining theory, absolutely. The first official coffee house in the Modern Era opened in Constantinople, of all places, in 1555. Before long, coffee houses were popping up everywhere. Conversations grew even deeper as the coffee drinkers delved into scientific conversation and debates. Astronomy and mathematics started to emerge like never before. The scientific method was a great invention that, still today, we filter all science through in order to prove validity. The Scientific Revolution officially began. Again, coincidence? As science expanded, new worlds were created. Science had opened new doors. Business became a new topic in coffee houses. Financial trading can owe a great thanks to coffee houses, where the finance industry was born. Businesses would post stock sheets in coffee houses, and some coffee houses are even where some people received their mail. In walked the Industrial Revolution. People were becoming entrepreneurial and inventive, looking for ways to improve their lives, to make things easier, cont. on page 18

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History of Brewing become independent by creating their own businesses. Coffee really took off globally at this point. The mood was set. Coffee was at the center of attention as it grew in popularity. People wanted to drink it at home. Minds were primed to think creatively about their loved beverage. The first coffee invention that is noted in the Industrial Revolution is that of Instant Coffee by the Brits in 1771. Talk about an easy brew. Probably not the most flavorful. 1773, thanks to the Tea Act resulting in the Boston Tea Party, coffee flourished in the Colonies. In 1842, Mme. Vassieux created the Glass Balloon vacuum pot in France. She used her scientific knowledge to brew a nice quality coffee with no grounds in the cup. The first successful syphon brewer. In 1848, an English woman by the name of Elizabeth Dakin developed the cafetierre. The basis of what we know as the French Press. She also had grown tired of grounds in her coffee cup. 1851 was the year the Americans came up with their own version of instant coffee pucks so that they could ration it to their soldiers in the Civil War. Then in 1889 Hansen Goodrich developed the Percolator to brew more coffee at once while keeping the grounds out. Great idea for brewing for the masses, but none of the coffee was ready to serve in a timely manner. 1901, Satori Kato, a chemist from Chicago developed the first successful method of creating instant coffee. In 1908, Melitta invented the first pour over brewer using her patented coffee filters. 1929 Attilio Calimani improved upon the cafetierre that he saw in France and patented it as what we know today as the French Press. 1938, Max Morganthaler, upon request by Brazil, developed a new spray dried coffee to preserve their coffee surplus. 1938, Achille Gaggia invented the espresso machine. 1957, Bunn Company, invented the first commercial drip brew machine.

A benefit by insulating the process and automating the water heating and brewing. All done to supply a large volume. 1970, Samuel Glazer of Mr. Coffee patented the first home use automated drip brew machine. 1998, Keurig began selling its first single-serve coffee pod drip brew machines. As we attempt to improve our brewing techniques today, it is noted that we have not gotten away from the drip brew technique in the commercial setting since 1957. That is over 60 years of the drip brew. In fact, in an effort to create something new, many coffee shops have begun offering the pour over. The barista is able to direct the water supply in a manner that they feel suits the coffee best, giving more control to the barista. However, even that is a drip brew method. Drip brewer manufacturers have designed new spray heads, options for temperatures, energy saving modes, and some other improvements to continue to make their product better. Certain other low volume coffee brewing inventions have indeed come down the pipe in recent years. However, the commercial industry could use a high-volume brewer that retains the flavorful coffee oils, the velvety texture, and the nuance flavors of origin. One that gets coffee in the customers’ hands in a reasonable amount of time, and while we’re at it...something that looks dynamite! So, you see, in this coffee roaster’s eyes at least, coffee has been an instigator to many major revolutions and eras during modern times. On a smaller scale, inventions are now even focusing on the improvement of coffee itself. Maybe we should not be so bold as to say that coffee changed the world, after all, it has not been proven using the Scientific Method! But, it certainly has been loved enough to partner with us since the first millennium during some pretty intense conversations that invoked the nature of our cultures today. So proud that our industry is paying it back by supporting the movement to make coffee the best it can be!

Please Make Sure to Visit these Coffee Fest Exhibitors AeroPress Inc. 904 aeropressinc.com (650) 493-3050 The AeroPress coffee maker utilizes a breakthrough in the coffee brewing process to yield the smoothest, richest coffee that you have ever tasted. See our ad on page #26

Brewista 401 mybrewista.com (307) 222-6086 As a collaboration of engineers, designers, coffee aficionados and roasters with decades of experience, Brewista designs, manufactures and distributes the finest brewed beverage products available. See our ad on page #29

Coffee Holding Company 605 coffeeholding.com (800) 458-2233 From one bag to a full truck, Coffee Holding Company provides green coffee solutions to specialty roasters including exclusive Daterra Estate and Organic Certified coffees. See our ad on page # 13 & 21 CoffeeTalk Magazine T12 coffeetalk.com (206) 686-7378 CoffeeTalk - Industry Intelligence for Smart Business People. Subscriptions free to Industry Professionals @ coffeetalk.com

Java Jacket 516 javajacket.com (800) 208-4128 The Original Green Coffee Sleeve. Comes in 100% Recycled Natural Kraft or White. Can be custom printed with your design. See our ad on page #15 & 23 & 29 North Atlantic Specialty 416 northatlanticbags.com (773) 504-2593 North Atlantic Specialty bag is a division of Diversified Packaging Concepts inc. Our main focus has been and will always be to give the same attention to detail to all our customers big and small. See our ad on page #27

May/June 2018

Vessel Drinkware 300 vesseldrinkware.com (855) 833-7735 oneVessel by Vessel Drinkware provides retailers with high-quality, reusable drinkware featuring lifestyle driven artwork to capture the attention of your customers. Please visit us at www. vesseldrinkware.com, or call (206) 763-0366 See our ad on page #15 Wilbur Curtis Co., Inc. 310 wilburcurtis.com (800) 421-5150 A leader in the industry for over 70 years, the Wilbur Curtis Company is a premier manufacturer of state-ofthe-art specialty coffee and tea brewing equipment. See our ad on page #7

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Cup for Education’s mission is to help poor, rural coffee communities around the world build schools within their communities, and assist in providing them with teachers and the basic tools needed to educate the future generations of coffee farmers. Cup for Education is a non-profit organization with 503(C) tax-exempt status. 100% of all donations go to our projects.

Donations can be sent to: Cup For Education 3475 Victory Boulevard Staten Island, NY 10314 Or Paypal at

www.cupforeduction.org www.CoffeeTalk.com

Coffee Service Corner MAKE DECISIONS AS IF YOU OWN THE BUSINESS

ne of the best pieces of managerial/leadership decision making advice that I was ever given came from Boatner Reily, a mid-career mentor and CEO of The Reily Companies, the parent conglomerate of my former home, Standard Coffee Service. “Make decisions as if you owned this company” advised Boatner. That was it…no elaboration, telling expression nor comforting gesture. His comment came as our Leadership Team was concluding a meeting in which I was advocating a major change in our delivery vehicle fleet which would come with a hefty bump in our capital expenses. In retrospect, even before he made this statement, I strived to ensure that my business decisions and actions were aligned with his goals for our company. But after that encounter, I made it a point to mentally record all such nuggets that gave insight into Boatner’s philosophies. At the end of the day this list that I comprised was neither long nor profound but rather, simple and logical. • Sacrifice short term profit for long term value. • Maximize shareholders’ return on their investment. • Hire smart, honest, positive team players. • Team before self. • Don’t suffer a fool. (I learned this through observation, not a statement) • Have a well-developed succession plan, especially for yourself. • And of course this one: Make decisions as if you owned this company. We did not make the move to change our fleet mainly because my boss at the time recognized that the bottom line benefit of this change would not fully mature until we hit year three and beyond. (He confided that he was planning to leave the company before that). He openly said to me that such a move would impact his annual bonuses in a negative way. He aggressively fought the proposal though it would have been the appropriate decision for the company. Yes, this actually happened. Interestingly, when Standard Coffee Service was sold a number of years later, the acquiring company quickly transitioned to a fleet closely resembling what our team had proposed. Would You Buy Your Own Company? – Another tactic that our team employed as we oversaw corporate operations was to review our monthly financial statements and supporting reports as if we were a prospective buyer. Would we buy this company? What would we look for? What could be done to optimize the market value of our company? During the 1990’s and early 2000’s, our company was in an aggressive expansion mode. We were seeking a national footprint and consequently acquired many Coffee Service companies as that was a more rapid expansion path than organic growth. Once potential buyer and seller mutually executed a non-disclosure agreement, we had a first step list of requested information from which we could look to gain insight into certain questions and concerns. Here are some of them: • Customer longevity • Customers generating a disproportionate amount of total revenue (too many eggs in one basket?) • Sales and Profit Trends — Recent price adjustments? — Recent sales campaigns? — Do sales reconcile to the financials? — GP trends overall and per location

by Ken Shea

• Assets on location; age of assets; single cup %; water machines; • Accounts Receivable Aging Report • Employee Turnover (Could there be morale issue?) From these Key Performance Indicators we ultimately developed a measurement and management tool for our route professionals and front line managers that instilled a self-motivating and competitive atmosphere. Every metric was completely visible and the rankings and empirical data were published once per month. Additionally, all of these goals were aligned with our corporate objectives. After some initial turnover from a few that did not appreciate the transparency of these new tools, employee retention improved significantly and our total company performance in most all categories improved to our best ever percentages! And these tactics and resulting successes originated largely from a group of worker/leaders that assumed owners’ hats. Leading From Any Position – Not every person desires to nor is equipped to rise to the highest level in their company and many, not even necessarily within their own department. It’s healthy, perhaps even desirable, to have certain number of employees in career support roles. A key to higher performance from the team is to recognize the importance of everyone on the team and allow for all to experience personal and professional growth. Given a supportive culture and instilled with the confidence and trained to efficiently communicate, some great ideas can originate from any person in any position. And not every successful idea needs necessarily to be recognized monetarily. But good suggestions do need to be recognized. Share the praise openly. I have found that an encouraging, nurturing culture breeds mutual respect and a positive workplace. And a positive workplace and a highly disciplined, well organized business are not mutually exclusive concepts. A combination of these forces results in high level execution and output. A Continuing Process – Building or enhancing a company’s culture is not a singular event that has a beginning, middle and end. Companies that I have worked with that have produced sustained results are those that approach their company’s cultural development as an evolving process that is a recurring part of business reviews and employee meetings. Maintaining and encouraging leadership from all positions within a company is a key contributor to cultural enhancement. Perfection is not achievable in my opinion. I have never experienced a perfect company environment. Problems can and will surface at every level. But having an environment based upon expectations of open communication both to and from superiors, cohorts and subordinates will ensure a higher likelihood of problem recognition and remedy. I am still trying to think like the owner of my former Coffee Service Operation. Until next time - Ken

20 May/June 2018

Ken is President of Ken Shea and Associates and also serves as V.P. of Coffee Service for G&J Marketing and Sales

CoffeeTalk

May 2009

Cup for Educationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mission is to help poor, rural coffee communities around the world build schools within their communities, and assist in providing them with teachers and the basic tools needed to educate the future generations of coffee farmers. Remember those back to school adventures shopping for your new loose-leaf or spiral notebook, the perfect pencil case, or the coolest book covers? In in these rural communities there are no pencils to put in those cases, nor books to cover. The children in these areas do not have the basics. With our help though, they can have the materials they need to study hard, create a better future, improve their coffees, their lives, and their countries. A little goes a long way in these countries. For $1,900 you can sponsor a teacher for an entire year in Nicaragua. You can put a roof on a school for $500. Imagine how many pencils $25 can buy. Books cost money, and many of the schools do not supply them to the students. These are just some of the ways your donations can help. Please join in our cause of improving the educational situation of our partners in this wonderful industry of coffee. As we send our kids off to school with their backpacks weighted down with books after downing our morning java, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s give a thought to who picked the beans, processed them, and helped create that wonderful brew.

Library created through raffle held at SCAA 2003. Jinotega, Nicaragua

Cup for Education is a non-profit organization with 503(C) tax-exempt status. 100% of all donations go to our projects.

Donations can be sent to: Traveling Library in Chacaya 2013. The Traveling Library was created to bring story hours and book kits to rural schools in Santiago Atitlan.

Cup For Education 3475 Victory Boulevard Staten Island, NY 10314 Or Paypal at www.cupforeduction.org www.CoffeeTalk.com

The teacher on the right was sponsored by Coffee Holding Company (Brooklyn, NY) through a Cup for Education project

Profiles of Women and Coffee Building an Inclusive Coffee Industry – Specialty Coffee Women are The Force

he specialty coffee industry is a dynamic force that continues to evolve with the ever growing needs of the more than 125 million people1 worldwide who are impacted by coffee farming, mostly in rural and developing areas. The emerging “force” within the industry is the millions of women specialty coffee chain actors; farmers, extension agents, buyers, millers, roasters, baristas, scientists, etc. These women bring exceptional expertise in every segment of value chain to form a “web of actors” and this “female force” within the coffee industry is global. One such person is Maria Ruiz, a fourth generation Panamanian coffee producer and coffee shop owner. “My daily task is to become the window for presenting the work behind a great product. In doing so, I have dedicated over a decade to find the best way to educate my customer to support the grower. At the same time, I pay attention to the desire of my customers to engage them in understanding our industry and to embrace being part of the process and because of this, my customers are helping to lead the way. We need to be inclusive and celebrate the participation of everyone; we know we have the chance to improve, to Maria Ruiz serving customers in her coffee shop. become better. We are writing in the book of coffee history.”

by Roberta Bernhard, Executive Director, Earths Choice Women of Coffee Microfinance

Because coffee, or any agriculture product, is a risky proposition for lending institutions, the USDA Coffee Rehabilitation Program offers a guarantee fund used as leverage with Banco Hipotecario that provides micro loans for coffee women. The program is new, but already one AMCES loan recipient , Maria Rosa Elena Romero who producers 3 hectares of coffee has bought a small roaster for the local market and a delivery truck with income earned from her loan investment. Delmy Regalado, president of the Honduran International Women’s Coffee Alliance Chapter and youngest of 10 children, Delmy knows firsthand about team work and cooperation. As a young child she and her siblings helped her mother pick coffee cherries to provide the family with income. She became an accountant and moved to the US but had to return when her father passed away. She and her close friend Roberto put in many long hours to start their coffee business. Not only did she do the accounting but they learned how to dry, roast, sell and ship coffee. Together they have formed several companies and created thousands of jobs in their home state of Ocotepeque Honduras.

Maria feels the key to women’s success in the coffee industry is inclusiveness and teamwork. “The rule of business success at a small, medium or big organization is the greatness of its internal teams. Rarely, or almost never, do we find an economic activity whose success is not based on team performance. Every soul that pitches in toward the existence of the Specialty Coffee industry is part of that team.” Another great example of team work to build an inclusive coffee industry is the “trinity” of El Salvador’s Banco Hipotecario, the “Women's Coffee Alliance of El Salvador” (AMCES), and USDA’s “Coffee Rehabilitation Program.” Maria Botto, a coffee farmer and President of AMCEs implements AMCES mission to “support women in the coffee industry to improve their quality of life through educational programs and social welfare.” The Hipotecario Bank Vice President, Nora Lopez, is also a coffee producer and oversees a large portfolio for the bank, including a special microcredit program for AMCE’s members. The loans are co-financed by the “USDA Coffee Rehabilitation Project” managed by long time El Salvador organic production and coffee champion Stanley Kuehn.

“We are working with producers, testers, buyers, baristas, artisans, specialists in the financial area; any woman who has something to contribute and who is willing to collaborate with other women is welcomed. We have trained women - and men- in quality control and proper agronomic practices and educated them on how coffee is traded internationally. I have been able to fulfill myself as a woman, a producer, and business owner by helping other women succeed by providing the tools for them to learn how to do things better every day and work as a team. This enables us to move forward and to help other women to do so. I have the best job in the world!” Booker T. Washington once said, “If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.” The “Women of Coffee Force” are doing just that.

AMCES President Maria Botto (left) and Learning loan recipient Elena with her roaster and roasted coffee. Stanley Kuehn, USDA Coffee Project.

Estimated by the Specialty Coffee Association. https://www.scaa.org/PDF/resources/facts-andfigures.pdf

May/June 2018

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World Coffee Producers Forum Will Become An Organization by Colombian Coffee Growers Federation

• Coffee producers concerned by devastating consequences of current international prices.

Ishak Lukenge, Board Member of the African Fine Coffees Association (AFCA) said that “at the current price levels, coffee is just not economically sustainable for millions of coffee farmers in Africa and all over the world. We are all co-responsible to make the coffee value-chain sustainable as a whole, but also each one of the links that make it”.

• The WCPF will work with the coffee industry to identify and implement actions to improve social and economic situation of farmers. • The WCPF asked the International Coffee Organization to coordinate initiatives that include increase of consumption in emerging markets and producing countries. The executive committee of the World Coffee Producers Forum (WCPF)* met in México City on April 8th and 12th, 2018, to analyze and discuss several topics concerning the sustainability of the global coffee value chain, especially the constant decrease in the income of coffee growers during the past 3 decades, that compromises their economic sustainability. The devastating consequences of the current coffee prices on producers drew special attention. Among the topics discussed was the need to take serious actions to improve producers’ income, through joint work with the rest of the supply chain on initiatives that will translate into actions to -among others- expand consumption, increase coffee prices, address the consequences of climate change and enhance productivity in coffee producing countries. As agreed during its last meeting in Colombia in July 2017, the WCPF commissioned a study to Professor Jeffrey Sachs (Special Advisor to the United Nations General Secretary on the Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) and director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University), to conduct research in Economic and Policy Analysis for Improving Smallholder Coffee Producers’ Incomes. The initial structure of the study was presented by Professor Sachs to the delegates of the ICO gathered in México, and partial results and findings will be presented in September 2018 and March 2019. The final report will be presented at the 2nd World Coffee Producers Forum in July, 2019. The representatives of the WCPF will ask the International Coffee Organization (ICO) to play a key role to implement some of the initiatives, such as promotion of consumption in producing countries and emerging markets and facilitate the dialogue among all the actors in the coffee chain. It was agreed to start the process to formalize the structure of the WCPF as a not-for-profit organization that will address and raise awareness of the challenges of the coffee value chain, especially those related to the economic and social situation of the coffee growers and will look for mechanisms that will improve their social and economic situation. “We need to ensure that coffee production is sustainable and profitable while making sure that that there will be a strong global demand for our product. Coordinated actions among producers, producers’ associations, the coffee industry and the ICO to increase consumption in emerging markets and producing countries are crucial”, said Silas Brasileiro, President of the Conselho Nacional de Café of Brazil.

Ric Rhinehardt, President of the Specialty Coffee Association SCA, underscored that “today’s consumers are discerning and demand excellent quality, but also the assurance that their coffee is being produced in a sustainable manner”. “It is impossible to have a sustainable coffee value chain with an extremely weak first link, the farmers, that does not have an income that makes their activity profitable”, said Roberto Vélez, CEO of the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia. According to William Murray, CEO of the National Coffee Association (USA), “with some estimates saying that the world will have to double coffee production by 2050, the coffee value chain needs to secure that coffee production is sustainable to meet the future global demand”. M. B. Bopanna, representing the India Coffee Trust, said that “India’s middle class is comprised of 450 million people. We believe that if we expose them to the quality and benefits of coffee, we will increase consumption in our country significantly”. “How can we expect the next generation, our children, to stay in coffee production if they see that their parents cannot even satisfy their basic needs after decades of work?”, said René León, Executive Director of Promecafé. *The 1st World Coffee Producers Forum met in Medellín, Colombia, in July 2017, with close to 1,500 attendees from 41 countries. The 2nd World Coffee Producers Forum will meet in July 2019. Representatives from the following national and regional organizations and countries attended the meetings in Mexico: African Fine Coffees Association (AFCA), Agence de Cafés Robusta d’Afrique et Madagascar (ACRAM), Inter-African Coffee Organization (IACO), National Agriculture Exports Development (Ruanda), Coffee Industry Corporation (Papua New Guinee), Uganda Coffee Development Authority, Coffee Directorate of Kenya, Commodities Fund of Kenya, Ethiopia, Burundi, Office National du Cacao et du Café (Cameroon), Brazil Specialty Coffee Association (BSCA), Conselho Nacional do Café do Brazil, National Coffee Association (USA), Instituto del Café de Costa Rica (ICAFE), Instituto Hondureño del Café (Ihcafé), Unión de Cooperativas Agropécuarias Ltda. (Honduras), Asociación Nacional de Caficultores de Honduras, Asociación Hondureña de Productores de Café, Fondo Cafetero Nacional de Honduras, El Salvador, India Coffee Trust, SAGARPA (México), Amecafé (México), Sistema Producto Café de México, Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia and the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA, USA and Europe).

24 May/June 2018

NewsBites Manos al Agua Receives Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) Sustainability Award The Manos al Agua Project, implemented by the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC) as part of a publicprivate partnership, was granted the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) Sustainability Award 2018, the most important of its kind in the coffee world, thanks to the results achieved in the category of Sustainable Projects. This award was achieved thanks to the importance of Manos al Agua as innovative intervention project towards coffee river basins management with an emphasis on integrated water resources management, a replicable model for sustainable rural development in Colombia. “We receive this recognition on behalf of the Colombian coffee growers at a turning point. We are concluding the project, which lasted five years, and it confirms that Manos al Agua is a holistic project, one of the most successful of the Colombian coffee institutions, with great results for the benefit of coffee growers’ profitability,” said Roberto Vélez, the FNC CEO, at the awarding ceremony. NAMA Fly-In 2018 Registration Tops 100

Register Now and Join the Industry July 24-25 in Washington, D.C. With registration topping 100, the NAMA Fly-In 2018 is already up and running. “Join your convenience services colleagues to ensure that the industry’s voice is heard on Capitol Hill,” said Jason Eberstein, NAMA Director of State and Federal Government Affairs. “One of our key goals this year is to help define convenience services so that elected officials in Washington understand the breadth and scope of the industry and the dynamic nature of our members’ businesses,” said Larry Atnip, Chair of the NAMA Government Affairs Committee. “This year’s Fly-In will feature an evening event and networking reception on July 24, followed by a

robust schedule of meetings with elected officials on Capitol Hill throughout the day July 25,” Eberstein continued. Registration for this event is free for NAMA members; family members and colleagues are invited. Visit http://www.namaflyin.org/ register. Brewista® Does It Again! Another 1st Place Award at Baltimore Coffee Fest Brewista® scored backto-back 1st Place Awards for Best New Product in the non-consumables category at Coffee Fest. The newly released, patented Ratio Scale is Brewista’s® latest tool helping baristas and home users alike make perfect pour over coffee. This innovative scale paces the timing and amount of water to pour ensuring consistency every time. Based on the amount of coffee grounds used and chosen ratio the Ratio Scale automatically calculates the water needed. Dual timing bars display the actual and desired pour rates. Matching the timing bars achieves the SCA recommended 2½ minute pour time. It features automatic and manual modes, and the water to grounds ratios are adjustable. The Ratio Scale is the perfect training tool for coffee enthusiasts and professional baristas. Currently available online at www.mybrewista.com. See it in action on Brewista’s® YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=AwExi_Ex7B8. Introducing Horizon Elite 2110 Series Ice Machine Follett LLC has launched the newest and largest capacity member of the Horizon Elite™ family. The 2110 series Chewblet® ice machines have the same patented scale-inhibiting design as the 1010 and 1410 series with greater production capacity. Offering foodservice operators low cost of ownership and superior performance even in challenging water conditions, Horizon Elite’s design dramatically reduces scale build-up and associated costs of scale mitigation, while using 35-50% less water than comparable cube-type ice

machines. “In scale-prone waters, Horizon Elite ice machines can save operators significant cost by doubling or tripling the time between required cleaning and descaling, and they can use less than half the water required by similar sized cube-type ice machines,” said President Steve Follett. “With an overall decrease in both water availability and water quality across the country, Horizon Elite represents a huge win for operators and for the industry.” To learn more about Horizon Elite, visit www.HorizonEliteIce.com.

brewing. The commercial size pint container is good for over 9,450 cups of coffee. For fraction of a penny per cup, you can have fresh tasting coffee, down to the very last sip, every time. It even reduces or eliminates the indigestion some coffee drinkers feel when they drink coffee that has not just been brewed. Viachem LLC is seeking distributors, reps and/or partners to market this highly profitable product. Those interested can contact Mel Blum, 631−752−8700, X102 or melblum@ gmail.com.

Wilbur Curtis Company Welcomes Marc Heffner as Senior Director of Marketing Wilbur Curtis Company has announced the appointment of Marc Heffner as their new Senior Director of Marketing. Marc brings over 25 years of B2B experience gained by helping many Fortune 500 companies—notably Ingersoll-Rand, Fortune Brands and Black & Decker—launch new products, boost sales and increase market share. Before joining Curtis, Marc was a principal consultant of marketing strategy for Ascension, where he drove sales enablement, lead generation, product positioning customer pricing and strategy, as well as new product development and launch initiatives. He is also a former business owner himself. In his new role, Marc will lead the Curtis marketing team as they unveil new products and services aimed at the commercial foodservice, c-store and roaster segments. “Marc’s experience, energy and enthusiasm make him the ideal choice to help us realize our marketing goals in the coming years,” says CEO and President Kevin Curtis. Please visit wilburcurtis.com.

Dave’s Coffee Celebrates Pride Month With a Special Blend Dave’s Coffee, a Rhode Island based coffee roaster, is celebrating Pride 2018 with a unique offering. Adam Bonaccorsi, the head of the coffee

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cont. on page 28

A Bit More Wouldn’t Hurt Me by Kim Richards, coffee lover

Consumer’s Perspective I savor coffee. I am not a coffee snob, but I do value my morning latte. I appreciate a cappuccino and an espresso as well. I have always enjoyed sitting down at a small stand and experiencing the flavor and the conversation. I really had no idea where or how coffee came to me. I just expected the enticing flavors to materialize in my cup. A recent trip to Guatemala for a friend’s wedding frankly opened my eyes. While impressed with the country, the friendliness of the people, the art, and the culture, I did not expect the effect the final day of exploring coffee farms to have such an impact on my mindset. Volcafe, a specialty coffee trading business, graciously guided us on an illuminating journey to experience four “model coffee farms” who have benefited from “The Volcafe Way.” I have to admit; my perceived notion was that a farm would be something out of the southern United States experience with gracefully built houses with broad views to the fields. Boy, was I mistaken. Arriving at the first plantation, which was very small from my misguided expectations, was shocking. Coffee plants were “kind of in a row,” but interspersed with banana trees and other fruit trees. I soon was informed that the fruit trees were a part of the profitability of the plantation. Coffee was just the key ingredient.

Education, Data and Tracking are Key Every part of the program is designed for not just a quick fix, but longterm changes in farming and economic practices to ensure a sustainability livelihood for the producers. Step one was helping them understand their actual cost of production by tracking details such as fertilizer use, labor costs, and the effect on production value. It was incredible to see this laid out on a spreadsheet for all to see. Immediately persuasive, this does not do this scene justice. At a subsequent plantation we viewed how a new coffee plantation was being set up. Plants in rows with the distance between allowing for easier picking and pruning as well as a greater distance between the rows to allow for the pickers, who are an integral part to having more room to pick and work. Just a few more inches and the people who pick the cherries can do it faster, with more ease and less strain. All are winners. Perhaps the most stunning find on this tour was the difficulty of the terrain. I have spent years climbing mountains with a full pack, but these people are carrying hundred-pound bags of coffee up very steep slopes, all day, day after day. I have to say climbing Mount Rainer was far less severe than what these people do.

Guided through the area I realized that working on a coffee farm was not for the weak. It was work climbing steep hills, making our way through a “jungle” of coffee trees. Then, we came to a very small section of the farm, the only section the farmer had agreed to allow Volcafe to show them “a new way” to grow coffee. The farmers, were naturally hesitant to allow someone to come in and tell them how to do what they have been doing for generations. Thus, only the worst part of the farm was selected as the test plot. As we strolled around they showed us what was happening to the coffee trees. They were pruning and modifying the rows so that they would be more productive. Banana trees were moved or taken out as well as trees that provide too much shade. The result was that the worst part of the plantation had become in one year the best producing coffee plants. Not only that, the coffee was better quality.

As I revisit my experience in Guatemala, I am struck by the fact that there is a group of people who are trying and succeeding in working with the plantation owners and the pickers to provide a better coffee product, and a more profitable. My Epiphany I now believe the coffee I enjoy is undervalued. It is something that I use to stimulate my conversational relationships with others, a drink that brightens my day, and gives me a chance to digest thoughts and wander into my future. As I sit at a small coffee stand in Rapallo, Italy with a cappuccino, which cost me one Euro, I realized that to pay a bit more would not hurt me and provide a significant impact for those farmers.

NewsBites program at Dave’s Coffee, came up with the idea to do a limited coffee offering for the month of June: The Big and Fruity. This blend, comprised of beans from Ethiopia, embodies the name with bold notes of fruit. Dave’s Coffee wanted to provide support to a demographic that often gets marginalized. Partnering with Youth Pride Inc. of Providence, Dave’s Coffee is arranging to donate a portion of the proceeds to the local non-profit believing it crucial to support youth organizations. InterAmerican Inc., the importer supplying green coffee for the blend, has also agreed to a dollar-to-dollar match up to $500 in donations. The Big and Fruity will be available starting June 1st at both retail as well as online (www.davescoffee.com). To learn more about Youth Pride Inc., visit www.youthprideri.org. Introducing The New Texpak/ AF501 Printer The new Texpak/ AF501 printer is the perfect solution for roasters who want to print a high quality color label to match their premium product. With a print resolution of up to 2400 x 1200 dpi the text, pictures and graphics are bold and jump off the label. The AF501 provides maximum label flexibility with a label width up to 8.5” and length up to 48”. The best news is that this printer is much less expensive than you would expect for a top of the line product. Texpak is a major supplier of labels and label printing equipment to food converters and packagers. The company is over 80 years old and in addition to our sales staff, we have an in-house product support team that can help you install your printer and set up your label system. You’ll be easily printing your own color labels in no time. Contact us as info@ texpak.com or 1-800-645-3416 or see our full product line at www.texpak. com.

Competitors Set for Coffee Fest Denver The mid-west specialty coffee community will gather June 8-10, 2018 at the Colorado Convention Center for Coffee Fest Denver. Over 3,500 specialty coffee industry professionals will descend on Denver for three days at this industry-only event. Attendees will participate in over 155 hours of coffee & tea industry education, meet new business suppliers, discover innovative new products and equipment, and network with the coffee community. Three unique coffee competitions will take place over the weekend– America’s Best

Espresso, America’s Best Cold Brew, & Latte Art World Championship Open. A fourth competition will be for products in the Product Showcase. Three industry professionals will evaluate each new product entry based on innovation and retailer appeal. Attendees will vote for their favorite new or featured product in the People’s Choice “Best of Fest” Product Competition and one winner will be awarded. Brackets for Coffee Fest Denver competitions can be viewed at https://www.coffeefest.com/ catalog/competitions. 20 Million Women to Address Climate Change in Coffee The initiative for coffee & climate promotes gender equality and drives change for women and climate change in coffee production. One of the most impactful ways to promote sustainable development in coffee households and producer communities is to drive change for women! As there are 20 million farmer families producing coffee there are also 20 million women that are ready to perform their role. Therefor the initiative for coffee&climate is expanding its gender-focused climate component. Strengthening their rights, supporting their participation in household decision-making, incorporating them into farmer organizations, and empowering their knowledge supports families and communities to grow stronger. Further materials will be provided upon request. Read more at www.coffeeandclimate.org. The initiative for coffee&climate is implemented by Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung. www.hrnstiftung.org. Call For 3rd National Coffee Quality Competition ‘Colombia, Land Of Diversity’ Is Open From May 15 to August 15, the call is open for receiving coffee lots for the 3rd National Coffee Quality Competition “Colombia, Land of Diversity,” which recognizes excellence, quality and diversity of the country’s coffee. All producers, with first-semester harvest, interested in participating are invited to submit their lots to the cooperatives’ points of purchase that are closest to their farms. The coffee lots will be assessed according to a protocol developed by Almacafé’s Coffee Quality Office to recognize the unique attributes of Colombian coffee. In addition to the recognition in cash for each winner, the best coffee lots in each category will participate in an exciting

live auction before national and international bidders, which will take place in Bogotá on October 5 as part of “Cafés de Colombia Expo 2018.” For further information, write to: concurso.calidad@cafedecolombia. com. State Farm Agents Are Perfectly Positioned To Help You Protect Your Small Business State Farm® agents run small businesses too, and we’re here to help protect you like nobody else can. Talk to your local State Farm agent about getting insurance for your business at a great value. For more information, visit st8.fm/SmallBusiness or call 1-800-STATEFARM. FNC Receives Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Standard-Setters Award For its exceptional commitment to sustainability, improving coffee farmers’ livelihoods, and conserving forests, the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC) received one of the Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Standard-Setters Awards at the organization’s Annual Spring Gala. “For Colombian coffee farmers, sustainability is closely linked to their raison d’être. So much so that over 236,000 coffee farms in Colombia meet some sustainability standard, and by 2027, when the FNC becomes 100 years old, we aspire to make all Colombian coffee sustainable,” said the FNC CEO, Roberto Vélez, upon receiving the recognition on behalf of the Colombian coffee growers. The Rainforest Alliance Annual Gala is one of the most important events in the industry, honoring companies or individuals committed to transform agricultural and forestry supply chains, motivated by the need to stop deforestation, conserve biodiversity, and create a more sustainable future. For further information, visit federaciondecafeteros.org. GCP Announces New Chair of the Board Representing over 150 coffee stakeholders from across the entire coffee sector, the Global Coffee Platform (GCP) has appointed a new Chair of the Board, Mr. Carlos Brando. Mr. Brando is set to further strengthen the relationships between GCP and international donor bodies, ensuring that more and more of the $350M spent annually on coffee

May/June 2018

sustainability is aligned with a shared sector agenda, better coordinated and therefore more effective. By doing so, Mr. Brando aims at increasing the scale at which GCP enables its members to collectively act on local priorities, increasing the availability of sustainably produced coffee and channeling the added value directly to producers. World’s Greatest Coffee Experiences Named in Lonely Planet’s Global Coffee Tour For coffee enthusiasts and travelers alike, Lonely Planet’s Global Coffee Tour (Lonely Planet Food / $19.99 / May 15, 2018) showcases 150 memorable coffee experiences to have in 37 countries around the world. Researched and compiled by Lonely Planet’s network of travel experts, Global Coffee Tour shows readers how to find each recommendation and suggests other local highlights so you can make a day or weekend of your visit. For each country in the book, Global Coffee Tour will tell you how to ask for a coffee in the local language, their signature coffee style, and what food to order with your coffee. The definitive guide also features a primer on different brewing methods. Whether your preferred brew is a single origin ristretto, skinny latte or large Americano, allow Global Coffee Tour to help you discover coffee at its very best, direct from the source. Aripack Announces Partnership With Neo Plastics to Unlock a New Solution in Sustainable Packaging Packaging Supplier, Aripack, is excited to announce their partnership with NEO Plastics, an innovative plastics company offering a new tool toward a zero-waste sustainability strategy. Plastics have been accumulating in landfills for decades at alarming rates. NEO can offer a solution where the problem exists. NEO Plastics are designed to convert waste to useful biogas and ultimately sustainable clean energy. With the rise of Landfill Gas to Energy efforts, including the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Landfill Methane Outreach Program (LMOP), NEO Plastics can help support these endeavors in a big way. NEO’s creative solution allows ordinary plastics the opportunity to provide value after discard. Brands looking for sustainable packaging solutions can now look to NEO as a new resource. As part of a Waste to Energy (WTE) strategy, NEO Plastics unlocks a solution in our “ALL IN” fight for a cleaner environment. For more information, visit NEOplastics. com and Aripack.com.

When we say Passion for All Things Coffee, we mean it. From farm to cup, Behmor donates product back to coffee farmers to help improve their beans and provide for their families.

Behmor 1600 Home Roaster

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VACUUM CONTAINER

TIGHTPAC AMERICA, INC. 888.428.4448 WWW.TIGHTVAC.COM We offer the largest selection of vacuum sealed containers in the world! We have developed a patented vacuum open and close system that acts exactly the same way as a one-way degassing valve, allowing natural gasses to escape without allowing oxygen in. Perfect for Coffee & Tea, guaranteeing freshness & flavor. Simplicity that works.

COFFEE FLAVORINGS

COSTELLINI’S 877.889.1866 WWW.COSTELLINIS.COM Delight your taste buds with our delicious Chocolate and Vanilla Frappes!

WATER PURIFICATION SYSTEMS

BRANDED PROGRAMS

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SLEEVES

JAVA JACKET 800.208.4128 WWW.JAVAJACKET.COM Java Jacket provides the best insulation of all sleeves on the market. Protects customers from hot or cold to-go beverages, and provides a more grippable surface than other coffee sleeves.

At IdentaBrew, your brand is our passion. We specialize in brand integration and extension that will get you noticed in any environment, with any budget. Call us today, and discover how we can bring your brand to life! Contact: Carol Andrews carol.andrews@c2imaging.com Direct: (253) 893-1132

Advertisers Index Company...........................................Phone...................Web............................................................. Page...Coffee Fest Booth Add a Scoop Supplements...........................(415) 382-6535...........addascoop.com.............................................................25 AeroPress.......................................................(650) 493-3050.........aeropressinc.com..........................................................26................................904 Behmor Inc....................................................(775) 833-3363..........behmor.com..................................................................29 Brewista.........................................................(307) 222-6086.........mybrewista.com...........................................................29.................................401 Buhler Inc......................................................(763) 847-9900.........buhlergroup.com..........................................................25 C2 Imaging/ Identabrew..............................(888) 872-7200..........c2spark.com/beverage-dispenser-branding/............29 Cablevey Conveyors......................................(641) 673-8451...........cablevey.com.................................................................17 Club Coffee L.P...............................................(800) 387-4367..........clubcoffee.ca..................................................................31 Coffee Bags Outlet........................................(614) 859-6125...........coffeebagsoutlet.com...................................................29 Coffee Holding Company.............................(800) 458-2233.........coffeeholding.com........................................................13 & 21..........................605 Colombian Coffee Growers Federation.......(305) 532-7950..........federaciondecafeteros.org...........................................3 Costellinis.......................................................(877) 889-1866..........costellinis.com...............................................................29 Don Pablo Coffee Roasting Company.........(305) 249-5628.........cafedonpablo.com........................................................15 & 29 Eastsign Int’l Ltd...............................................................................eastsign.com.................................................................19 Fres-co System USA, Inc...............................(215) 721-4600..........fresco.com......................................................................11 & 15 Fuji Electric Corp. of America.......................(732) 560-9410..........americas.fujielectric.com/fecoa_products/...............4 Grounds for Health.......................................(802) 876-7835..........www.groundsforhealth.org.........................................9 International Coffee Consulting Group.......(818) 347-1378............intlcoffeeconsulting.com..............................................25 Java Jacket....................................................(800) 208-4128.........javajacket.com...............................................................15 & 23 & 29.................516 North Atlantic Specialty...............................(773) 504-2593..........northatlanticbags.com.................................................27..................................416 Primera Technology Inc................................(800) 797-2772..........primeralabel.com..........................................................25 Shore Measuring Systems............................(765) 769-3000.........moisturetesters.com.....................................................19 State Farm Insurance.......................................................................st8.fm/bizinsurance......................................................7 Texpak Inc......................................................(800) 645-3416..........howard.weiss@scolarieng.com...................................29 Texpak Inc | Scolari Engineering..................(856) 988-5533..........scolarieng.net................................................................2 Vessel Drinkware..........................................(855) 833-7735..........vesseldrinkware.com....................................................23.................................300

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WHO WE ARE Phone: 206.686.7378, see extensions below Publisher / Advertising Inquiries Kerri Goodman, ext 1 kerri@coffeetalk.com Director Educational Publishing Shane Gillispie, shane@coffeetalk.com Managing Editor Libby Smith, ext 8 libby@coffeetalk.com Ad Art & Accounting Laurie Veatch, ext 4 laurie@coffeetalk.com Web Design Justin Goodman, ext 6 justin@coffeetalk.com Print Design Marcus Fellbaum, ext 5 marcus@coffeetalk.com

Waterlogic.....................................................(800) 288-1891..........waterlogicdealers.com.................................................29 Wilbur Curtis Co., Inc....................................(800) 421-5150..........wilburcurtis.com...........................................................5...................................310

Calendar

For complete and updated show information visit our online calendar: http://coffeetalk.com/industry-calendar/

May 19-22

National Restaurant Show, Chicago, IL, USA

June 8-10

Coffee Fest Denver, CO, USA

June 12-14

World Tea Expo, Las Vegas, NV, USA

June 20-23

World Barista Championship, RAI, Amsterdam

June 21-23

World of Coffee Europe, RAI, Amsterdam

June 30-July 2

Summer Fancy Food Show, New York, NY, USA

August 10-12

Latin America Coffee Summit, Centro de Convenciones Puebla, Mexico

August 19-21

Western Foodservice & Hsopitality Expo, Los Angeles, CA, USA

August 19-21

Coffee Fest, Los Angeles, CA

August 23-26

Coffee Roasters Guild Retreat, Skamania Lodge, Stevenson, WA USA

September 3-5

Tea & Coffee World Cup Europe

September 12-15

Natural Products Expo East, Baltimore, MD, USA

September 19-22

Golden Bean North America, Portland Oregon, USA

September 20-24

Sustainable Harvest® Let’s Talk Coffee® 2018, Huila, Colombia

November 1-2

82 Asoexport Cartagena 2018, Colombia

November 8-9

Allegra World Coffee Portal CEO Forum, Los Angeles, CA USA

Mailing Info Mail: HNCT, LLC, 25525 77th Ave SW Vashon, WA 98070 Phone: 206.686.7378 Fax: 866.373.0392 Web: www.coffeetalk.com

Disclaimer CoffeeTalk does not assume the responsibility for validity of claims made for advertised products and services. We reserve the right to reject any advertising. Although we support copyrights and trademarks, we generally do not include copyright and trademark symbols in our news stories and columns. CoffeeTalk considers its sources reliable and verifies as much data as possible. However, reporting inaccuracies can occur, consequently readers using this information do so at their own risk. Postmaster: Send address changes to HNCT, LLC, 25525 77th Ave SW, Vashon, WA 98070 Subscription: The cost of a subscription in the U.S. is $47.50 per year; in Canada, the cost is $72.00. Free to qualified industry professionals. Non-qualified requests may be rejected. Publisher reserves the right to limit the number of free subscriptions. For subscription inquiries, please call 206.686.7378 x1 or subscribe online at www.CoffeeTalk.com. Copyright © 2018, HNCT, LLC, All Rights Reserved

May/June 2018