Voices of our Producers: Interviews with Women Producers in Rwanda

Interviewing Olive NYIRAGAHIGIRWA (center),
Bridget VUGUZIGA, translator, (right)

In 2024 we conducted our 4th round of ‘sample group” interviews with the producers of our Rwandan women grown coffee. We started this practice in 2019 in hopes of integrating our data with that of other groups doing larger producer surveys. The collaboration with others hasn’t happened, it was disappointingly difficult to engage other, larger groups in a joint effort. However, we’ve found the work valuable in many ways, despite the fact that that our “sample” is too small to in any way represent the average for the groups we work with.

What We Learn

In these interviews I gain context that is impossible to gain other ways. I use the context to strengthen our supplier - buyer relationship and achieve the mission of Artisan Coffee Imports, which is to improve the lives of farmers (and strengthen the brand promises of roasters). I know, for example, why making our payments on time is so important. We learn about the farmers' struggles, their dreams and their every-day life.

Melanie MUKAMUNANA 

For example, Melanie, one of the Ejo Heza members I’ve known the longest has been raising one of her grandsons since the genocide in 1994. [Ejo Heza women are part of the Kopakama Cooperative.] He was planning to get married in a few months and Melanie was planning to use her Ejo Heza premium, and the token of cash I give to each interviewee, to support his wedding gift.

Olive, another Ejo Heza member, also raised her grandson. She tells us the story of how at first he hated working on the farm. But gradually, he saw how the coffee harvest brought their household good things like better food and a tile roof. Then he realized coffee paid for his school fees. He started asking how he could make the coffee plant produce more cherries and became interested in agronomy. This gave him motivation in school that he hadn’t had. Now he’s proud to be farming with Olive. In turn, Olive is proud of the good house with a good floor and roof she provides. “Now it’s a house a widow can truly be proud of,” she says.

Olive also endured a tragedy since the last time I interviewed her. She was in a “moto accident”, which means when she was taking a motorcycle taxi, it got in an accident. She was wearing a helmet as is the Rwandan law, but she was severely injured and hospitalized. Now she has a significant scar on the side of her face.

We also interviewed women of the Agaseke group. [The Agaseke women are part of the KOPAKAKI cooperative.] One of them, MUSABWAMANA Marie Chantel, struck me as quite accomplished, and it turns out she is a relatively new member. Chantel’s family consists of her husband and two children, ages 3 and 5. Together they have 6500 coffee trees, which means she is a large coffee farmer in Rwanda (land size is about 3 hectares). She was a field officer for the Kopakaki cooperative before she got married. She explained that “Group A” is the designation for the farmers with the best marks from the cooperative agronomist for maintaining their coffee. She’s proud to be a Group A farmer, because you must be in group A to be in the Agaseke women’s group.

Marie Chantel MUSABWAMANA 

Sabbath Roasters' Generous Gesture - 'Cause That's What Coffee People Do!

Ruth Ann withTrevor Graham, Evan Kamrath
 of Sabbath Coffee Roasters (l to r)

Ruth Ann was cupping at COCAGI cooperative's cupping lab in Rusizi, Rwanda on June 17-18. "The grinder issue kind of smacked me in the face this time," says Ruth Ann. We were preparing for the second day of cupping. Dativ had 10 offer samples of Agasaro women-grown microlots for the team to cup. I watched uncomfortably as Dativ prepared the cupping using the 'wrong tools for the job'." Several pieces of the lab equipment are old or damaged, but the grinder, in particular, was not only broken, it was not the right type for cupping. "I decided to see if I could find some help among Artisan's roasters and followers who often express interest in helping in tangible ways." 

Ruth Ann made a post, sharing the details of Dativ's labors and the broken Rancilo "Rocky" espresso grinder with a paddle-lever that pushes the coffee into the hopper. Trevor Graham and Evan Kamrath at Sabbath Roasters in Clawson, MI, happened to see the post and within 24 hours, they contacted Ruth Ann via IG direct-mail. "I was thrilled!" comments Ruth Ann. Before she returned to Detroit, Sabbath had arranged for a Mahlkoenig X54 to be delivered to Artisan's office. It now waits in Ann Arbor, MI for Ruth Ann's next trip to Rwanda.

THANK YOU SABBATH for your generosity and getting the job done!

Some context: this was probably Ruth Ann's 5th or 6th visit to the cooperative over the past 6 years. It was probably her 4th time cupping coffee with Dativ, the head cupper. A collegial friendship develops over such a long period, so empathy for a friend was a big part of the motivation here, but there was more. 

1. Time savings for Dative. "As I watched her patiently using the grinder I became curious about how much time it was taking. I used the stopwatch and found each cup was taking 2 minutes to grind. 10 coffees x 5 cups/coffee + 10 purges = 60 grinds. 60 grinds * 2 min/grind = 120mins or 2 hours! That's a long time to spend on grinding to prepare a cupping. 

2. Ability for the Cooperative to taste and appreciate their coffee. Part of the ethos and values of many organizations in specialty coffee, Artisan Coffee Imports included, is to help farmers understand how good their coffee is... or isn't. The more they can accurately evaluate (cup) coffee right there at the farm, the more they are able to do everything else better in their coffee business. "This grinder will have positive ripple effects on all of COCAGI's functions: cultivating, processing, and educating farmers," says Ruth Ann.

While the new grinder will mostly be appreciated by Dativ and all the members of COCAGI cooperative, Artisan and Artisan's customers, like Sabbath, will also benefit. Artisan and many other guests who visit COCAGI will love the fact that Agasaro's women-grown coffee is being prepared with proper equipment. To the extent the cooperative staff are able to improve quality, we'll all be able to enjoy even more of the fruity, apricot jam with lemon and clove flavors on cupping tables in Rwanda and the US!

Artisan Team Grows with 4 (and a half) New Members!

May 7, 2024

NEWS FLASH: The Artisan Coffee Imports Team is growing! 

We're happy to announce the new consultants on Artisans growing team. Plus Marie Hucal is expecting a special arrival in July. So we're currently at four-and-a-half new people!

Marcia joined our team in late March and three new part-time consultants joined the Artisan team in May!  

Cody Gallagher - Green Coffee Logistics - part time. Cody's based in Detroit and will be coming to Ann Arbor 1x/week for on-boarding and job-shadowing with Marie. While working at Artisan, Cody will continue his current position as communications specialist at Food 4 Farmers. He brings a wealth of experience, including roaster, green buyer and barista roles at Schuil and Ferris in Grand Rapids and Uncommon Grounds in Saugatuck. 

Shaa'ista Sabir - Green Coffee Sales - Western states - part time. Currently residing in San Diego, CA, Shaa'ista just completed the 1-year NKG Pace fellowship** funded by the Neumann Kaffee Gruppe. She was based in IA's San Diego office and rotated through a number of departments and functions, including QC. Shaa'ista passed her Q Grader exam in March of this year (congrats!), is a past competitor and volunteers her time with the USCC championship events, is a former Glitter Cat grad, has managed cafes in Atlanta, GA and was a barista in London in 2017.

Ryan Grenier - Green Coffee Sales - Eastern states - part time. Ryan is based in the Grand Rapids, MI area. He is the founder/owner of Good Medicine Coffee. He roasts on an SF-6 San Franciscan. He's growing his on-line roasting business - check it out - and contributing to the GR area roaster community. Ryan recently developed and sold a luxury lodge business in Montana where guests were treated to his expertly curated and delivered coffee experiences. A highlight from that experience was when Connie Blumhardt, publisher of Roast Magazine, was one of his guests!

Marcia Higgins - Office Administration. marcia@biz.artisancoffeeimports.com. Marcia is based in Ann Arbor and works part-time for Official Driving School. She brings a wealth of
experience in all types of organizations and many different roles. She loves coffee! 

Each of our new team members brings a wealth of amazing experience and skills to the Artisan team. We are grateful to have them joining Artisan and contributing towards our mission to   

"Trade coffee in sustainable ways that improve the lives of farmers. And we will offer artisan roasters taste with consistency and transparent sourcing that supports the roaster's brand."

The Artisan group is 10 people now including Ruth Ann. Current contractors are:

Marie Hucal - Logistics Manager / QC / Office, part-time

Portia Almendras - Accounting, part-time

Jenn Green - Bookkeeping, part-time 

Lane Mitchell - Marketing Manager, part-time

Joe Santiago - Website support, part-time

We could not do what we do without the valueable work of each of these people!

**We are honored to have a graduate of the NKG Pace program join Artisan. This program is one everyone at Artisan, especially Ruth Ann, has admired for its depth of understanding of the issues of racism we face as an industry. We will all benefit when we have more black people in leadership and decision-making positions. We are seeing change, but it feels too slow. NKG Pace is picking up the pace!

What is NKG PACE? It is the Partnership to Advance Racial Equity, a program facilitated through the Coffee Coalition for Racial Equity (CCRE) and the Neumann Kaffee Gruppe. In 2020, CCRE Founder Phyllis Johnson put out a call to action to the greater coffee community to create equity in decision-making positions within the industry of which Black Americans have the fewest numbers; despite coffee being an agricultural product of black and brown countries. The program offers an entry-level position in Quality Control at an NKG USA office and a robust educational program that offers insight and real-world experience into the green side of coffee. 

 

Announcing Artisan's Warm Referral Program for Roasters!

Have you ever heard of a warm referral? It's a sales step that is 180 degrees different than a cold call. Instead of the seller attempting to guess who might want to hear from her, there is an invitation. The prospective buyer has already expressed interest through a trusted third party.

At Artisan Coffee Imports we seek to grow to become the preferred supplier of East African coffee to roasters with high ethical standards. If you are a current customer, first of all, thank you! We'll do our best to promote your business whenever we can. You're already helping to achieve our mission to:

Trade coffee in sustainable ways that improve the lives of farmers. We offer artisan roasters taste with consistency and transparent sourcing that supports the roaster's brand. Through consulting we offer supply chain management techniques to producer organizations at origin. Together we improve quality and grow the share of export price for the farmer.

Would you be willing to support Artisan's mission even more? If you know other roasters who you would describe as 

"open to new sources of ethically grown, traceable and sustainably traded East African coffee"

... we should talk! But better yet, why not connect Artisan's president, Ruth Ann, to your roaster friend with a friendly email? (Send to info@biz.artisancoffeeimports.com to reach Ruth Ann.) This saves your friend the time and effort of writing a 'cold call' email to Artisan, and instead makes all three of us feel like we've just shared a cup of coffee with people we trust. Your email to Roaster Y with Ruth Ann copied is a warm referral.

We understand your time is valuable, too. So for each email you write, we'll take $20 off your next green coffee order. That's correct! If you can introduce us to five qualified roasters, you can save $100 on your next invoice. 

Who is a qualified roaster? Start with the phrase above ("open to new sources..."), then speak to that roaster-friend and let them know you'd like to put them in touch with Artisan. If they agree to take a call from Ruth Ann, this is a qualified roaster. 

A warm referral email might look like this:

Subject: Introducing two great coffee people
Dear Roaster Y:
As discussed earlier, I’d like to introduce you to Ruth Ann at Artisan Coffee Imports. She does a great job connecting us with our Ejo Heza coffee from Rwanda. I think she might be able to help you with your sourcing, too.
 
Dear Ruth Ann:
Please meet Roaster Y. They said during our meeting the other day they’d be happy to take your call and explain why they’re considering some new sources for green coffee. Roaster Y’s number is: 734-123-4567.
 
Good luck to you both!

Together, we can create the world where coffee Artisans, even the producers, can live from their craft.

Getting Ready for Expo in Chicago!

The countdown is on! We're looking forward to having SCA Expo in the Midwest this year in the beautiful windy city of Chicago, Illinois! 

We'd like to share a few highlights and a couple maps to help you plan your time at the McCormick Place convention center on the magnificent Lake Michigan.

Fri., Apr. 12, 1:30 - 3pm, Artisan Cupping, Cupping Exchange, S404D

Sat, Apr. 13, 8:00 - 9:30am, IWCA breakfast, keynote speaker is the Exec. Director of World Coffee Research, tickets $150 available during Expo registration and at the door.

Sun, Apr. 14, 9:00 - 10:00am, S401D Panel/lecture: "Celebrate Women in Coffee", Ruth Ann is moderating this panel with expert panelists: 

Teopista Nakkungu, Regional Chapter Relations Africa for IWCA;

Grayson Caldwell, Director of Sustainability at Bellwether; 

Kyle Engelman, CEO at Grounds for Health; 

Sylvia Calfat, Senior Project Manager, COSA.

The Exhibit Hall will be in the Lakeside Center. The lectures and Cupping Exchange are on the fourth floor of the South Building. Plan time for the 10 -15 minute walk over the bridge and up some escalators!

Go to https://www.mccormickplace.com/facility-overview/floor-plans/ or  https://www.coffeeexpo.org/ for more info.

Tour of Dessert Oasis Coffee Roasters New Facility in Ferndale, MI

 Feb. 5, 2024

We were thrilled last week to have the opportunity to share the Ejo Heza story at Dessert Oasis Coffee Roasters' (DOCR) Ferndale retail store and HQ. It's the fourth location for them and just opened in April 2023. It's an amazing 9000 sq ft coffee roasters' dream! First, there's the large education and cupping room where we got to give the presentation. The space is separate from the bar and seating area, allowing any event to be private. This is a departure from the more open stage arrangement in other DOCR locations.

The event space doubles as a cupping lab because of the cool long, hardwood tables on wheels and the fully equipped espresso bar with a sink. Along one side of the event space is a huge conference room with a gorgeous long natural wood table with inlaid coffee beans! I've never seen anything like it!

Another unique feature of the DOCR space - the commercial kitchen for baking their famous, one-of-a-kind cheesecakes. Have you ever had baklava or raspberry, white chocolate cheesecake?! 

In the roastery, it was a treat to see the old, 10 kilo Mill City roaster that I knew from its prior location in Rochester, MI. It now sits next to its new 'big brother' Probat which is a 24 kilo roaster. 

Nate Hamood (right), owner/roaster/co-founder of Dessert Oasis talks with participants.

Amelie Haakenson, manager at Dessert Oasis, sets up the cupping table.

Ruth Ann presenting the Ethiopian coffees on the table.

The new space has room for two roasters! (Old, small one in the foreground, new larger Probat in the background.)

DOCR and Artisan make a great partnership!

Forward Contracting - Easy and Profitable!

Forward booking can be a practice that lets every member of the supply chain,

including the producer, be proactive rather than reactive, thus creating resiliency that is a core value at Artisan.  Most of Artisan's coffee is sold via fixed price, forward contracts with roasters.This means the rosater signs a contract with Artisan before the coffee has shipped. 

Advantages to the roaster include: securing good coffee and being able to plan ahead for its physical arrival and the impact of the payment on the green coffee budget. But there are some disadvantages. Making a projection about needed volume can be difficult. We've created the following Pros and Cons table. What would you add to this?

Table: PROS and CONS of Forward Contacts

The contract has quality terms that must be achieved at the pre-ship sample stage and on arrival. Price and terms for payment are also defined. We typically start signing contracts for Ethiopoia in January and go through Mardh. For Rwandan coffee, we contract February - April for coffee that arrives October - November.

Our minimum is one bag or 132LBs.