Pollinator Diversity increases fruit production in Coffee Plantations.

A recent study about pollination in coffee plantations done by Carlos H. Vergara and Ernesto I. Badano. I understood the importance of this subject for the future training and research for coffee producers.  During the study which was done in the state of Veracruz, the second most important producer of coffee in Mexico, and where most of the cultivation takes place in the central region of the state.
Management for pollination is not common among coffee producers in Mexico and very often this aspect is not even considered as a management practice.  However, beekeepers usually move many hives of  A. Mallifera or Western Honey Bee into coffee plantations to take advantage of the intense nectar flow associated with coffee blooming.  The purpose of this study focused on the effects of insect pollinator diversity on coffee fruit production in two types of environmental management systems one being the low environmental impact management systems  or in other words the native forest is not completely removed and the second one the high environmental impact management systems, the native forest is completely removed.
At a global scale, about one third of the human food is obtained from plant species that depend on pollinators to produce fruits and seeds, and these pollination services have been valued at 112 billion US Dollars. This services being so lucrative and important for human food play also a tremendous roll as to our total consumable production of food.  In this study we will focus on pollination with out the use of this services and focus only in natural pollinators.
Moguel and Toledo (1999) identified five management systems in Mexico coffee plantations:
1. Rustic shaded coffee, where plantations are located beneath the canopy of native tropical or temperate forest after removing vegetation of the lower strata.
2.Traditional shaded coffee, where vegetation of the lower strata is removed and coffee is grown beneath the native forest canopy together with several other plant species for local subsistence such as bananas, oranges and others.
3 Commercial polyculture,  where the native forest is completely removed and replaced with a set of nonnative trees with high economic value such as pepper and cedar, which provide shaded for coffee.
4. Specialized shaded coffee, where native forest is removed and replaced by tree species only belonging to the family Fabaceae such as legumes  for shade and soil nitrification.
5. Sun Coffee, where forest is removed and coffee plants are directly exposed to sun without vegetation cover.
By identifying this 5 different management systems we can clearly see that all of them are used in all the coffee producing country's and that is way I believe this study is of such importance to all of us who want to see high production of healthy and high quality coffee as well as the well being of the growers land and his economy.

So here is the results of the study.  Are you ready?

Fruit set was higher for open pollinated flowers in the less intensively managed systems (rustic shaded and commercial polyculture) but not for the intensively managed systems.  This difference could be related with the low number of pollinator species found in these management systems and not to low abundance of pollinators, because the total number of pollinator recorded in the specialized shade coffee sites was, in fact, higher than in any of the other management systems.
The results suggest that diversity of insect pollinators can be influenced by the management of system applied by farmers, and that such effects may have strong consequences on coffee fruit production. Hence, management measures that favor pollinator diversity could result in increased farm productivity and will enhance biodiversity conservation in coffee growing regions.

So in conclusion it benefits us all to understand how much managed systems can help or harm coffee production and the importance of having an open communication between ecologist and farmers to find the right system that will propagate large harvest and high quality.

A

B

C

D

E

Here is a little test choose each picture with the correct management system

Which picture is an example of  

Rustic Shade Coffee? ________

Traditional Shade Coffee?_______

Commercial Polyculture?_______

Specialized Shaded Coffee?_________

Sun Coffee?_________

I will post the correct answer on Monday.

Guatemala and the grower as a Entrepreneur.

This year me and Emma had the great honor of being invited by the Borlaug Institute to teach in Guatemala the essentials and must know about the coffee industry to coffee growers in the area.
It was a great experience for us all, not only for the growers but also and I will only speak for my self for me.
This trip was key for me, in my carrier in this industry I have always had the grower at the center of my heart. 
Not only because I understand that with out them I would simply not be able to do what I love to do every day which is to work with coffee. Therefore since the very early stages of my work I have committed my self to help and work with them in any way I can.
To me trips to origin are not a budge to show off  how many Country's I have visited or how many co-ops I know. This trips for me represent why I started in this industry in the first place, and that is the Grower.
The grower is an entrepreneur in essence, whether he likes it or not, whether he or she chooses to or not.  

The definition of Entrepreneur is:  A person who organizes and operates a business or businesses, taking on financial risk to do so. 

Unfortunately as Entrepreneurs go the Coffee Grower as a 

majority,  has no training in any facet of business  administration, development, or management.  They pretty much run their business at full speed with a bandana covering their eyes. 

The majority of them rely on a system or purchase in which 90% of the time they will be taking advantage off.  When a business men or woman come to a negotiating table to sell their product they usually have an idea of how much their product cost to produce and how much profit they need to get not only to cover their bottom line but also to make a profit.  

But not the majority of coffee growers.  When they approach the potential buyer they are not sure how much their production actually cost them, or how much is their coffee really worth.  They do not understand or know how to asses the quality or place in the international market. 

When we ask each and every one of the groups that came to take part in our class not one group could answer the most basic of financial questions about their business.  
As we started to teach one thing was certain, the coffee grower wants to learn and wants to understand their place as entrepreneurs. It is important to communicate with them at a level that they will be able to understand and learn the important and most basic information that will allowed them to know the cost of their production, or their bottom line and the quality of their coffee.
I agree science, cupping , sensory skills are all important in the scope of teaching the grower, but how can all of this really make a difference when their bottom line is never met?.  How can we guaranty that the grower will stay in their field if they never get out of poverty? How important is really to teach some one how to cup their coffee when in the back of their mind is what is going to be the next time their kids eat?.
Quest Coffee International is committed to take on this challenge for the next 5 years we want to teach the grower how to be an entrepreneur.  To know their bottom line and what the quality and value of what they are selling is really worth. We will start in Chiapas, Mexico.  Focusing in 4 areas Family and their well being, Management, Quality and Assessment of their product, and finally Economics 101 how much does it cost me and how much I need to sell at.  
I am not declaring that we at Quest Coffee International know it all but I do know that there are great minds in the coffee industry who's great talents and expertise will be need it for this project. We are certain that we will have the funding need it for this project and I know that because of whom I put my trust in. I do not expect to call on any one without compensating them for their time and expertise being used for this project. So who knows you great and talented minds of the Coffee Industry might get a call from Quest Coffee to come and share your talent and knowledge with the growers. I will let you all know from time to time how things are coming along.  
So please keep us in your prayers and well wishes there is a lot to do and to many to reach but we are willing and joyful to have the opportunity to shape the Coffee Grower as an Entrepreneur. 

EL COYOTE is he a saint or evil in the land.

Take a good look at the picture above, can you tell who is a Coyote and who is a grower?.

That is exactly the problem, the grower many times is also the Coyote, which makes it very hard to know who you are dealing with when negotiating pricing of coffee at origin.

The root of El Coyote is in many ways vital to the life of the grower not because he is not able to sell his coffee to an independent client but because growers in general do not have the know how or the infrastructure need it to sell their coffee independently or export to the international market. The growers in general have not even ever tasted their own coffee, they sell every single bean that they produce.  So how does the Coyote really work.

You have 3 types of Middle Men or Coyotes I will describe each one of them and how they work with in the market.

The first kind of middle men might be a leader of the Ejido or group, he is usually better off financially and has a lot of ties with in the community. If a grower finds him self needing money in between harvest he goes to this men and ask him to borrow money and he will pay the money with his coffee, the coffee price will be payed at a much lower price then the market but since the grower needs money quickly he usually is persuaded easily.  Then the middle man during harvest time receives all the coffee from the growers whom he lend the money and he resells the coffee at market price or a bit bellow depending on his customer. The problem with this is that the grower is in a  hard cycle to get out of  depending on how much the loan is for and how much he agreed to sell his coffee back to the lender or middle men. That means that part of your harvest is already compromised and what ever else is left you will sell at a bit better price but since the money he owes is usually a lot more than what he will make with the coffee that is free of debt, yep, you guess it right he will go for another loan before the next harvest.

The second kind of middle men is the one that works for the big companies that export internationally this Middle Men is also a grower but is mainly on a smaller scale his main bread and butter is by stimulating the rest of the growers in a community to sell their coffee to this major companies and they get a commission for every grower who sells the coffee to that company. The way that this middle men works is by letting the rest of the growers know the offers of this companies to buy their coffee, what he usually does not tell the grower is that the exporter will not give them the high price that they where told and that they will get a "factura" or invoice for less than what they bought from them, this is important because the government will pay the grower an extra commission for each bag that they sell but they have a limit as to how many bags they invoice for that commission. So the grower still does not get a fair deal.

The third and last one is the one that purchases the coffee from growers at almost nothing by laying to the grower as to the quality and type of defects that their coffee has, and purchases large quantities of coffee for the export companies with out any care for quality or price to the grower this middle men is very aggressive in country's where the price can be manipulated for higher or lower they are the ones who work for the huge coffee companies or exporters who I wold love to name but I will not for the security of my team and my self, but they are payed by this companies and could care less about the growers or the consumer they are in the payroll of this big giants who only care about volume. 

What would a grower need to do to sell direct to a small roaster or an international client?

When a roster sells their coffee to a group, coop or a coyote usually they bring it in parchment and in sacs that weight 57.7 kilos per bag. In order to sell this coffee internationally it has to be clean the parchment has to be removed and it has to be put in a bag that has all the export markings and weighs 69 kilos. Not to mention having the FDA permit and the exporter permits which cost a lot.

To do all of this to the coffee is extra cost for the grower and a lot more work that they are able to do there fore they opt for the easy route to sell to the middle men or join a coop who would facilitate this work for them.

The problem with the grower not able to do a lot of this work is that a lot of the high quality coffee is being lost in the tons and tons of coffee sold to volume there fore even do the price of coffee is at the highest in history it does not mean that the quality is getting better.

The higher the pricing of coffee in the market is the more good quality coffee we will loose since the middle men or coyotes are getting much more aggressive in the market.  The false reports from the media as to the lack of coffee produce world wide and the giants pushing the pricing in the market higher is making for a nightmare coming soon to the small independent roaster and for the consumer.  Why? well the fact is there is in off coffee growing for the market but by squishing the market to believe there is less production the giants who manipulate the market can make a ton and I mean a ton more money, not only in the NY stock and with the UK but also in the shelf at the consumer level, since this giants also are the ones that have the majority ownership of the piles of coffee that means less high quality and independent roasters will not be able to be competitive to purchase coffee and to sell their coffee.  The relationship coffee programs that where vital in preserving high quality coffee from small growers and that independent roasters had the chance to purchase will be hard to salvage with such volatile market.

It is unfortunate the amount of casualties that this high prices of coffee will result in not only with coffee shop owners, small roasters and growers but it will be almost impossible to try to put in place projects that preserve and encourage high quality coffees in the world. 

Is this another bubble that sooner or latter will crash? Not for a wile every one in the industry sees the coffee pricing getting higher and in my humble opinion what would help rescue the specialty roaster and coffee shop owner will be to start forming groups where they invest in the permits and the extra work that the coffee grower needs to have done to their coffee, and come in agreements with them to purchase their coffee at a fair price for them and for the grower.

Is this possible yes but it will take courage and the passion of all independent specialty coffee professionals to work together. Unity makes us stronger. 

What is important to learn from the middle men is that we like them need to become vital to the international coffee market, to the grower and to the consumer. If we can team up to rescue and purchase high quality coffees, to become a independent force in which growers can come and have a voice and power to sell in the international market then we have a better chance to survive.

Chiapas changing the market one community at the time.

Well I have been two weeks here in Chiapas purchasing coffee directly from the growers and getting it ready to send to San Antonio, let me tell you it has not been an easy task.  The way the price of coffee is fluctuating in the market  and the huge confusion that is causing all the growers is not easy to deal with.  The coyotes who are also some of the growers are going wild securing contracts for future harvest before the market goes even higher.
Promising the moon and the stars to growers who agree to not sell to any one but them.
While doing all of this I have been traveling with my team through out all of Chiapas talking and teaching how to grade their coffee and cup their coffee there are some growers who have never tasted their coffee believe it or not, they choose to sell every bit of it and for their consumption they prepare something call corn coffee, it is burned corn ground and prepared like coffee.
You should see their faces and their eyes come alive when we come in and talk to them, teach them and explain to them way is important not to sell to the Coyote.
This is a very controversial point the reality is that in this market the Coyote has been allowed to have such power and vital role in the international purchasing of coffee that with out them there would be a great crisis in the purchase of this commodity if they would sees to exist abruptly.   
So how can we preach the importance of not selling to the Coyote when we know how vital they are?  Well the grower has been giving a certain and control amount of information, jest inof to get bay and not inof to know to much to give them independence and control of their own product.   Quest Coffee Koben Yah International which is us has been created to be an avenue of open information for any grower who wishes to learn every thing they need to learn to become independent and to deal directly with clients. Emma, Betty and I have put over $10,000 of our own moneys and our own time for more then a year to take this information to the growers.
We are seeing some of the little bits of fruit of our labor this last days going to some of the communities and sharing information that they request.  We are starting to see some growers who are so pumped and excited to finally have some understanding. They are getting hungrier and hungrier for more to learn and to know.
The Bible in Matthew tells us the following:

Matthew 5:13-16 ESV / 

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven

 This is such a powerful verse, it not only speaks of the value of each and every one of us to each other and to God, but how important it is not to keep what you know and can change some ones life.  It's powerful and truthful evidence is not only represented in how they are changing me in gaining understanding of their lives and families, their work and hopes and dreams.  At the end of the day we all want to be good for each other and to each other, we want to believe that we can trust in each other and that we rejoice in seeing each other prosper and live well to see our children have a future with food on the table and clothes to ware to be able to offer them the best that we can give them.

We will not stop our work I am so great full that God has given me such great clients who have decide it to make me their roaster so that I can invest a bit at a time in the lives of this growers I am internally great full for your trust.  I am so grateful to my daughter who goes to great sacrifices two work not only her job but also roast for my clients while I am here in Chiapas.  To my mom and dad who always believe in me and pray for me and my teams safety.  And I am beyond grateful to all the communities of growers who welcome us and travel far from their community's to come and learn and ask and grow.

Emma, Sylvia, Betty and I are happy being the salt on this earth.

  

GCQRI and the big "Q"

Last week I had the amazing opportunity to be a part of the first Global Coffee Quality Research Initiative Congress. It is a big name for a big project. The goal for this congress was to provide a forum where the Specialty Coffee Industry's top leaders and thinkers will dialog with top coffee research scientist and development specialist on supply and quality issues facing the industry.
Needless to say for a meeting of this caliber I had no idea what I sign my self to be a part of, and I want to give you all a small window as to what happen during this historic event through my experience.

65 Coffee Industry professionals and Scientist participated in this congress which was initiated by a smaller group of professionals such as Peter Giuliano and Tim Schilling to name a very few. The initiative evolved out of two major concerns in the International Market.
1. Coffee consumption is growing, coffee production is not.
2. Coffee quality.

This two main points are the main drivers of what all of us in this Industry recognize as major factors in the future of Coffee. We understand that unless there is a change on how we conduct our every day business with coffee in what ever capacity we play in this Industry such us grower, importer, roaster etc, we are heading for a very bumpy ride.

In order to bring a much needed order to the Coffee Industry in general we need the input of every one involved in the chain, and we must include the scientific community to help us prevent further loss of quality coffees in the world, future technology for the grower to implement healthy growth and also the rest of the chain to establish a universal language that we can use in determining quality in coffee.

Not all coffee beans are the same, the problem is that we do not have a common measurement to classified all its characteristics we have so many protocols and they are all different, so what quality is for a grower, is very different then what quality is for a roaster or a scientist.

On top of that add the fact that we all negotiate for this commodity differently since we do not have a common language in classified coffee quality, the grower can not have a specific protocol in winch to grade their coffee for a better price.

This is a huge task for every one in this industry but we must take action or the consequence of not doing something are to grave, the challenge as I see it is to find that commune language in all of the chain of the industry, to unified and to learn to work as one. We all left mesmerized of the task at hand, and its enormity. We all have seen great projects that where put in place and very quickly diminish and not take effect, and now we find our selfs with a great proposal to make a difference and to be a part of something of such important magnitude to so many families.

And at the end of the day that is really the root. Coffee is a great product with an amazing number of consumers who have been misguided many times about thinking is jest a cup of coffee to wake you up. But is so much more then that, it represents stability and quality of life for millions around the world, it represents national security for all of us by securing livelihoods that other wise will change professions to other industries who will not have the best intent for our nations, it represents families staying together instead of the head of household migrating illegally to another country to make a better living. It insures that we have a great competitive and healthy industry that offers great quality coffee to the consumers.

Will this be and easy change, no, change is never easy is painful and uncomfortable, it requires digging and prowling in areas that are not easy to look at, it will required agreeing and disagreeing but allowing for the best to be chosen from the majority. Understanding that some times the best ideas come from the small guy and not from the big guy, as well as understanding the limitation that a small company has and allowing for the big one to facilitate an answer for the good of all of us.

There is much to do and at least 65 people who are willing to work at it. What about you, what ideas do you have to change the Industry? What do you think is need it for the quality of coffee to be improved? What kind of research would you like to see about coffee?.

It is important to have your input so please share we need your ideas as consumers, roaster, baristi, grower be a part of this.

A brand new way to purchase our coffee

So while we finish all our marketing materials and our website we have made it possible for every one to purchase our coffee from our blog.

So please tell your friends and every one you know if they want great coffee to come and order from our blog.

Also I will have some specials coming up. If your company is looking for a great gift for your clients or employees give me a call and I will design a blend for your company and private label your coffee bags so that you can make a great statement this holidays.

I understand how tough things are financially for all of us so I will work with you so that you can give a great gift with in your budget.

We are working hard to have great coffee and hot chocolate for the change of season.

So get ready is going to be delicious.

The high price of coffee in the international trade market.

So I am a roaster who needs to purchase coffee right before the beginning of harvest and in the midst of probably the highest price of coffee in the trade market at this time.  I have always pride myself in purchasing the most that I can directly from growers or co-ops that I have establish relationships with and always payed them a fair price for their coffee.  If I work with an Importer to purchase coffee I try to purchase relationship coffees which means a pay a bit more so that the grower can benefit from that extra bit of money.
Now we find our self's in a situation where I don't care what you are baying as a roaster you are paying fair pricing for that coffee because the market price for Coffee is so high.  But is that making any difference at the growers level?  You would think it does some way some how.  The truth is no, is not making not one bit of difference.  Why?, is simple the ones who are really profiting from this high pricing of coffee is the importers who purchase all their coffee early on the season and all the coffee is in their warehouses already, that coffee has been payed at a much lower price and the grower had to negotiate at the lowest possible to have all of their coffee sold.
The importer will sell you know that same coffee for the high market price of coffee today plus their commission which usually is about $.75 cents per pound more.  
As a roaster I have establish my market and have my clients who expect their coffee order every week. So I have no choice but to purchase last years coffee for a very high price, knowing perfectly well that none of that extra cash is going to the grower or benefiting the consumer with better product at all. Is the importer the bad guy here?, no they are challenge with a different set of problems that frankly I do not have any desire to handle as a roaster.   The coffee production will decrease in some country's because of many different problems, from to much rain, to the inability of growers to get financing for their harvest and there fore they move on to other trades, to the giant companies having very dirty and scary tactical ways of securing their coffee through their middle man.  I don't care how much they try to brain wash you with all the so call good they do for the grower such us putting a water hole in some communities, till you talk to some of this growers who have been confronted by this men you have no idea what really goes on.
Consumption of coffee is growing, and that is a great thing, but it is only a great thing if the Independent Roaster can establish a direct relationship with the grower, and the growers is able to sell directly to the roaster.  Is this possible when an Independent Roaster does not purchase a full container of coffee?, or when the small growers does not produce a full container of coffee? how can they come together and start purchasing from one another?.  The logistics alone to transport 10 bags of coffee or less is almost impossible you would have to pay 5 times more just to transport that coffee then what you actually  payed for the coffee.
Well a group of women started to think about all of this and came up with a great idea that is taking root in the beautiful state of Chiapas, Mexico.
Quest Coffee Koben Yah International is a company that has started a project to evaluate, grade, cup and profile and build a huge database that has an international trade mark for its protection and ability to work all over the world.  This database which will be available at the beginning of next year to all who are involved in purchase of coffee at any label to become members.  In this database roasters like me will be able to select and start a relationship with a grower of my choice. And all the growers will have a international representation through this data base where they can also find clients for their coffee.  Its like a major shopping center for coffee.  Where the growers is free to look for clients internationally and same for the international client.   And what is really cool is that small roasters like me can become members and be able to purchase the 10 bags I need or 3 or what ever number and through a logistics company that has been created to send this smaller lots of coffee at certain times of the year I wont have to pay those outrageous fees to bring that coffee in.
Is this an ambitious project?, yes it is.  Is it going to be easy, no nothing that is worth having succeed ever is.
Can the consumer, grower, importer and roaster benefit from this project?  Absolutely yes, the only ones who will suffer will be the middle man and the giant coffee companies little by little since the world of coffee will be more transparent and have freedom.
It will take time but this industry will change it is to important, and they are to many lives involved in the process not to try to make it better.
As a roaster I am excited for the future of this Industry, I am excited for the grower, and for my clients.