. . Safely back home even though my mind is still there. The whole last week was to spread all of my senses out to feel El Salvador. Visiting several leading farms, mills and cafes, even coffee council and locally-held auction, I traveled through farm to cup; where I found a tradition to be preserved – @malacaracoffee to invent Pacamara varietal – and also a modern to lead speciality coffee movement –@jraulrivera to win the first place in the CoE 2019. . Thank you @yusuke_kado and @yukapooh2 for hosting us. The coffee tour cannot be real without your dedicated effort. I was glad/inspired – with a little jealousy – to see @yusuke_kado being in a good relationship with local coffee people for just one year. Also big thanks to other participants from diverse backgrounds in coffee for offering me perspectives that I might never got otherwise. Now the tremendous amount of information is in front, I need to put all together to share with you through the month. Stay tuned! ⚫︎ ⚫︎ 心はまだエルサルバドルにいる気がするが、無事に帰国。エルサルバドルのイマを存分に見て聴いて感じることができた一週間。From Farm to Cupを体現するように、国を代表する農園・精製場・カフェ、産業を司るコーヒー審議会、そして地域の品評会まで堪能してきた。そこには国が守るべき伝統がありー訪問した農園の一つはパカマラ種の生みの親であるマラカラ農園( @malacaracoffee )、またスペシャリティーコーヒーの文脈で産業を牽引していくモダンがあったー2019年COE1位のサンタロサ農園( @jraulrivera )にも訪問。 . 改めてホストの@yusuke_kado と@yukapooh2 に感謝したい。彼らのホスピタリティがなければ、このような経験はできなかったと思う。特に一年強という短い期間で現地の人との関係をしっかりと構築している@yusuke_kado の存在は不可欠で、同世代の活躍はとても嬉しく羨ましくもあった。また、他の参加者にも恵まれ、多種多様にコーヒーに関わられているメンバーが揃っていたため、自分とは全く異なる視座を得ることができた。そんなこんなで事前のインプットを遥かに凌駕する情報が入ってきてしまったので、3月一杯はエルサルバドル特集になりそう。Stay Tuned! . #farm #origintrip #elsalvador (at El Salvador) https://www.instagram.com/p/B9NQagBp6NN/?igshid=1tjxwzsc6lvv5
“Do you have any advice for any young coffee producers who are entering into the industry?” “Understand that this is hard; this is not for the faint hearted. Folks do not understand, I did not understand and I grew up in this, that my parents made it look easy. I worked in corporate America a significant period of time in positions of respect, and this will challenge even the best; this is not easy.” #vivalafincaoriginexperience #vivalafinca #vivalafincaproject #origintrip #specialtycoffeeroaster https://www.instagram.com/p/CShvgJ7p_NS/?utm_medium=tumblr
(Enrique speaking on his father, Dr. Ferrufino and the story of finca La Aurora) “..so he has always had this dream. Everything you see here, every single road, plan, layout, alley is his vision. Basically, he created everything. As I got involved with the farm, we realized that we were just investing money from different companies and always losing money. I decided in order to make it sustainable we had to change the model. Coffee creates so much wealth, it’s just badly distributed. It’s everything in the middle, there’s so much inefficiencies that can be reduced and that everyone can benefit out of it. That’s a problem, we realized that, where we believe that and we’re creating Sabio in order to change that. That’s kind of the whole idea.” #vivalafincaoriginexperience #vivalafinca #vivalafincaproject #vivaelorigen #origintrip https://www.instagram.com/p/CSSDCqFAX_h/?utm_medium=tumblr
Byron Corrales has been producing coffee for 3 generations and has dedicated his life to organic and sustainable agriculture. Through biodynamic and symbiotic farming practices he has created a self-sustainable environment on his coffee farms that use little to no inputs. The Corrales family’s coffees have received great recognition across the globe, earning many accolades and awards for their hard work and dedication to quality. . The Corrales family manages and operates 5 farms in Matagalpa and Jinotega, though finca Los Pinos in Aranjuez is considered their home base. They produce many varieties on their farms including Java and the prestigious Maracaturra which were the first plants that were grown from seed on their farm. is always likely to stand out on the cupping table. . Natural Java 🫐🍫 Lavender, Blueberry, Dark Chocolate, Cashew . Washed Arabica SHG 🍫🍊 Bittersweet Chocolate, Orange, Nougat . Natural Maracaturra🍫🥝🥭🍓🍑🍈 Bittersweet Chocolate, Kiwi, Mango, Strawberry, Peach, Honeydew . Honey Maracaturra 🫐 Cacao Nibs, Apricot, Blueberry . Nicaraguan Specialty Coffee Done Differently. #vivalafincaoriginexperience #vivalafinca #vivalafincaproject #vivaelorigen #origintrip https://www.instagram.com/p/CSNDDzugisN/?utm_medium=tumblr
“Today I realize the failures of chemical agriculture and of the levels of contamination in the world with the waters and the health of the people, so I can't make a mistake I always have to do healthy agriculture and it is the one that I see as the most appropriate and sustainable for the future of life and that is why it is a matter of principle, it's a matter of principles that fill your mind and you have to prove it works, as we saw it today in the coffee plants, organic farming works as long as we can put it into practice and develop it with all the necessary knowledge and technology.” #vivalafincaoriginexperience #vivalafinca #vivalafincaproject #vivaelorigen #origintrip (en Aranjuez, Matagalpa) https://www.instagram.com/p/CSKcCxmJUaL/?utm_medium=tumblr
“So here at the dry mill, could you touch a little bit about the design concept that you guys have here?” “Yeah; so on the other side of this greenhouse, we actually have like our larger patios that I was explaining to you, we don’t really dry on concrete. Those are for very large lots, I’m talking container sized lots and everything that we dry there and then in here, this is our greenhouse where we have our raised beds and this is more specifically for micro lots that we want to achieve the slowest drying possible. But also, Beneficio Don Esteban was picked, ‘cause it’s kinda on an incline, it’s very mild, but what that helps with is that when it rains, all the water flows. It’s never gonna stay in one place and cause maybe puddle issues and pooling, so that’s another thing. The other one was,that it basically had enough space to actually build the dry mill, but also enough warehousing space to store the coffee.” #vivalafinca #vivaelorigen #vivalafincaproject #nicaragua #origintrip #coffeetours https://www.instagram.com/p/CSDfrKzggXE/?utm_medium=tumblr
I'm roasting "The Best of Both Worlds" coffee blend from @goldmtncoffee. It is a blend of three different ways of processing coffee: Washed, Natural and Honey Process. Several years ago, I walked through 19 coffees and met all of the farmers. For me, when I met Don Francisco and Don Yader, to name a few, it was like meeting a rock star. Apres-Pandemic, I'm looking forward to visiting again! I'm going to taste this coffee as a pourover, French Press, espresso, and aeropress tonight. Then I'll share my tasting notes. #Directtrade #origintrip #thegoodlife #freshroasted #goodcoffeemakesyousing #specialtycoffee #FerndaleMI (at Chazzano Cafe) https://www.instagram.com/p/CGnfwg7D_GY/?igshid=1vxihqx0xi656
Earlier this month, we traveled to India for our annual buying trip. We use this to meet with our existing partners, to visit new farms, and to see this year’s coffee as it’s being harvested and processed.
On this year’s trip, a roaster from Oklahoma accompanied us for the first half of the trip during which we visited Aspinwall (our monsooning partner) and seven different coffee farms.
THREE TAKEAWAYS (Bullet Point Version):
1. Summer Monsoon Challenges (Again!)
2. Coming Soon: Specialty Grade Naturals
3. Continuous Improvement: Drying Experiments
Want to see photos from the trip? We’ve already posted the first photos to the Josuma Coffee Instagram page. Look for even more posts in the months to come.
THREE TAKEAWAYS (Longer Discussion)
Takeaway #1: The Summer Monsoon (Again!)
Although most roasters assume the summer monsoons are important only for monsooned coffees (i.e. Monsooned Malabar and Monsooned Robusta), they play a HUGE role in the cultivation of coffee and other crops. Called “The Most Important Forecast in the World,” the summer monsoon rains provide 70%+ of the rainfall needed to feed a country with more than a billion people.
Below-average level of monsoon rains in 2017 were followed by super heavy levels of rain in 2018. Not only was total rainfall 50% above typical levels in 2018, but many areas also experienced 60+ consecutive days of rain during the summer. The irony of the light 2017 monsoon and the heavy 2018 monsoon: the average of the two monsoons was in-line with historical averages.
While the farms we know didn’t experience major permanent damage, all are seeing 2019 harvest volumes impacted by the heavy monsoon. Best case has volumes flat with last year. More common, though, are harvests that will down 20%+ compared to last year.
It’s not easy being a coffee farmer...
Takeaway #2: Specialty Grade Naturals
In India, Specialty Grade coffee is nearly 100% washed coffee with the occasional honey coffee lot as the one exception to the rule. Whatever dry-processed coffees other importers and exporters offer (i.e. “Arabica Cherry” and “Robusta Cherry”) start with the unripes and floats that get rejected in the washing process.
We have yet to encounter a true Specialty Grade Naturals (i.e. ones that start with ripe cherries)... until this year.
Helped by a growing number of local micro-roasters, many of the farms we visited have begun experimenting with what they call “Whole Crop Cherry”- in other words, dry-processed coffee that starts with RIPE cherries. While still a work in progress, we cupped a few lots that can hold their own with counterparts from other origins currently offered by American and Canadian roasters.
Consistency isn’t quite at the point where we’re inclined to bring natural coffees to the US in 2019 but there’s a good chance that you’ll see one or two lots included in next year’s Microlot Program.
Takeaway #3: Drying Experiments
Last year, we mentioned that one of the most encouraging aspects of these trips is seeing farms that already produce fabulous coffee looking for even more ways to improve the quality and consistency of their beans.
While most tinkering still focuses on improving pulping, fermentation, and washing, several estates have launched new experiments focused on drying. While raised beds are widely deployed, a few estates are now also exploring ways to slow down the drying process. These include steps to mitigate the speed of drying during the hottest parts of the afternoon and also to stretch out total drying time.
