In Rwanda Coronavirus restrictions increase labor costs for coffee farmers

May 8, 2020

Yesterday The Conversation, an on-line newpaper targeting the academic community published an article on how the Coronavirus pandemic is affecting coffee the coffee supply chain in Rwanda. Two researchers we know at Michigan State University are the authors - Andrew Gerard and David L. Ortega. Click here to read! It is a short article and well written.

A key take-away from the article is that "health restrictions are increasing coffee production costs in Rwanda..."  At Artisan Coffee Imports we have also been investigating the impacts of Rwanda's Coronavirus policies on coffee farmers. Our informal research confirms that costs of production are going to be high for farmers this year due to the increased labor costs. Labor is known to be about 75% of all costs for coffee farmers in Rwanda, (click here for source), and harvesting labor is 36% of that total labor figure.

Click here to hop over to our "Resiliency Coffee Blog" and read a summary of 10 interviews with female farmers conducted April 22 - 27, 2020, which is right near peak of the coffee harvest season for Rutsiro district, where they are.

Roaster of the Week: Zeke's Coffee in Baltimore

May 14, 2018

Zeke's Coffee Roasters opened in Baltimore in 2005. It's a family-owned, family-run business with three cafes now, (Baltimore, the "original", DC and Pittsburgh). The retail operation also services seven farmers markets every week! They have a growing wholesale segment, which today is even larger than the retail business in terms of volume.

Brett's selfie

Zeke's was the pioneer roaster in their market, ahead of the others in serving up fresh-roasted, great-tasting, specialty coffee in Baltimore, according to Brett Rhodes, Sales and Special Events Manager. They were sourcing quality coffee and paying attention to roast profiles and freshness before it became a "hot" thing to do in 2009. Brett says their roasters, Dennis Doxy and Nick Hedinger, are the center of their operation. Consumers have grown to appreciate the lighter roast that Zeke's offers, so Dennis and Nick must be sure their fans aren't disappointed.

With their first-mover advantage, Zeke's has built a strong brand identity in the market. They offer several blends with special names that have loyal customers like 1812 Espresso, Tell Tale Dark, Charm City and Armistead's Blend. Brett says people may not know it, but they taste the fact that Zeke's turns over their entire roasted inventory every week. They only sell fresh coffee.

"Another one of the keys to growth," says Brett, "is our customer service. We're small enough that customers feel like we're approachable. We have great employees who go the extra mile to help customers." Brett says they are rolling out new programs this year to help their customers have an even better experience with Zeke's: mobile-ordering for consumers and "blue cart" for the restaurant industry.

Brett is excited to bring the Rwanda Ejo Heza women-grown coffee, imported by Artisan Coffee Imports, into their offerings of high quality, single origin coffees. He expects customers in all three cafes to be intrigued by its newness, and then to come back for more of its fruity, citrus with chocolate and spicy notes. The story of the women this coffee benefits is a draw also. Especially in this month where we celebrate mothers, consumers want to pay tribute to the women farmers whose lives depend on a fair deal from the high-quality coffee they sell.

Women of Ejo Heza during a picking day at their community plot.

President of Ejo Heza, Therese, with importer, Ruth Ann

Roaster of the Week: Ritual Coffee in San Francisco, CA

Feb. 28, 2018

We're celebrating our customers at Artisan Coffee Imports and this week we'd like to give a high-fiveRitual Coffee Roasters in San Francisco, CA. Ritual is another female-owned roaster-retailer (see our blog about Espresso Elevado last week) with 6 or 7 retail locations now, and a thriving wholesale business. Ritual was founded in 2005 by Eileen Hassi, and began with their Valencia street location in the famous Mission district.

Aaron Van Der Groen, Ritual Green Buyer

Today the roastery is at 1050 Howard St. Ruth Ann had the opportunity to visit back in November 2017 and delight in the sights and sounds. The high-ceiling roasting-packaging area is flooded with light from an open bay door, and circled by a mezzanine walkway around the perimeter. A custom-made cupping table complements a library-card drawer set re-purposed to neatly store samples of coffee.

One notices a number of employee-friendly aspects about the location also. First, everyone seems pleasant and friendly. Convenient bike racks just inside the door welcome the bicycle commuters. There is an employee coffee pot next to some delicious looking crumbs remaining from a treat that was available to workers earlier. Around 2pm, I catch a glimpse of the "community coffee break" where everyone gets to relax for a few minutes in the lounge area with sofas and over-stuffed chairs.

Aaron Van Der Groen, Ritual's green coffee buyer, gave me the million dollar tour of the roasting area, green storage area and packaging line. We cupped on the cool cupping table, and peeked in at the room with a least a dozen chrome-plated high-end brewing devices. Next we headed to the up-and-coming Bayview area and enjoyed expertly brewed coffee while sitting on heated seats in the outdoor courtyard of the Flora Grubb nursery. We were surrounded by giant ceramic planters and an amazing variety of succulents (cactus).

Altogether, the team at Ritual is at the top of the game of "crafting the very best cup of coffee available anywhere" (Ritual's motto). I will vouch for that, and their delicious assortment of coffees available, including KOPKAMA's Nyagatari from the Lake Kivu area of Rwanda!

Enter the roastery.

Custom cupping table.

Packaging line.

Employee coffee break.

Bayview location is inside Flora Grubb.

Ruth Ann, Artisan's President, admires the sample roaster.

Back in Detroit - with fine Spartans billboard

April 13, 2015:

Back in Detroit after red-eye flight from Seattle. Ironically, this is the billboard on the skybridge from terminal to parking structure (see photo). MSU ad featuring my advisor, Dan Clay, in Rwanda. (See YouTube video: "Rwanda rebirth" for more of the story)

At SCAA, the new Roast Magazine issue was distributed with my feature article on Rwanda and Burundi, "A New Focus on Farm-Level Economics" which uses the same great photo from Jim Peck, Michigan State University.

Burundi and Haiti Coffees Storm Espresso Royale

Monday, May 13, 2013
Landmark coffee roasting co. and multi-location cafe, Espresso Royale, launched a new "single origin" initiative today in SE Michigan. Owner/founder Marcus Goller is introducing what he calls two single-origin "gems" -- one from Burundi and the other from Haiti. They are "gems" because they both create a direct connection between an Espresso Royale customer and a coffee producer or specific small group of producers half-a-world away. 




Crop to Cup - Burundi Single Origin Training @ Espresso Royale

In a staff training event at the State. St. store in Ann Arbor, MI, Goller invited Crop to Cup representatives to deliver a workshop on the topic "what is single-origin coffee?" and the story behind the Burundi Buhorwa coffee that Espresso Royale will now carry. After all the words and talk, it was time for some tasting. The Burundi coffee was brewed with several different brew methods by staff working in teams.

Crop to Cup has been engaged with Burundi farmers since 2007. Jake Ester, one of C2C's partners, explained his story of how he got started learning about coffee in Uganda, then moved to neighboring Burundi. He describes a pivotal moment where he and his partner were standing in an export warehouse and a colleague pointed to the 2 or 3 pallets that were shipping to a café that is heavily marketed as "helping farmers by buying direct." Jake explains how in that setting, with aisles of coffee stacked floor to ceiling, and a football field length long, it did not seem like 2 or 3 pallets of coffee could possibly make much of difference at all. That's when they decided as a company that they would do "whole crop" purchasing. The Burundi Buhorwa coffee Espresso Royale is now selling is part of that whole crop project.

 

 

New Bolivia Green Decaf

Coffee drying tables in Bolivia

October 15, 2012
Just arrived! We're excited about two decaf Bolivia direct trade coffees we've received and cupped. They're sourced by the respected Invalsa Coffee group based in West Newberry, Mass. Nelson Valverde has strong connections in Bolivia and has built relationships with several cooperatives there. Over time, these relationships enable a level of trust and communication that results in great coffee arriving at his Boston area warehouse.

San Ignacio AA Organic: the decaf is from the San Ignacio cooperative. These beans come from the farms of Humberto, Isidro & Juan Carlos Mamani from Colonia San Ignacio in the Yungas region of Bolivia. For the past four years Invalsa has bought all of San Ignacio's coffee production at guaranteed minimum prices, based on quality, as part of a multi-year contract. We also pay for the cooperative's annual organic certification. We are very happy with our long term relationship with San Ignacio and we have already seen significant improvements in the quality of their coffee and the lives of the farmers. We are proud to be the main source and inspiration for both improvements.

Lucio Vilca, San Ignacio Coop President

This coffee is shade-grown in the higher altitudes of the Carrasco La Reserva County, Caranavi Province. It was depulped and washed using pure Andes mountain spring water, sun-dried on wooden table tops and hand sorted by "Palliris" (Aymara Indian women food graders).

Varietals: Tipica 90%, Caturra 10%
Harvest Year: 2011/12.
Storage: Packed in GrainPro bags at origin, re-packed in GrainPro after decaffeination.
Altitude: 4,000+ feet.
Certifications: Organic.
Screen: 16/17
Decaf process: Mountain Water Process, Veracruz, Mexico

Bolivia/Brazil Blend AAA: while Artisan Coffee Imports typically stays away from blends, this one cupped so well, we had to add it to the line-up. This is 2011/12-crop, 100% Arabica.
Varietals: Brazilian Bourbon from Grupo BSC in Sul Minas, Bolivian Typica from San Ignacio
Storage: Packed in GrainPro bags at origin, re-packed in GrainPro after decaffeination.
Altitude: 2,500+ feet.
Screen: 16
Decaf process: Mountain Water Process, Veracruz, Mexico
Cupping Notes: Remarkable, creamy body with citric acidity. Brown sugar and chocolate tones. Smooth mouthfeel. Balanced flavor. No apologies for decaf.

CoffeeReview Awards: The July 2010 issue of CoffeeReview.com, the world's leading coffee buying guide, ranked Invalsa as the best decaf coffee in North America; the only one with a score of 90 points. Obviously, these coffee beans are new crop, not the ones reviewed in 2010, but we like these even better.

Are decaf coffee drinkers tired of limited choice?

Dear Fellow Decaf Drinkers:
Is anyone else tired of walking into an inviting cafe only to find that their choice for a decaf coffee will be limited to one "house" option and that the folks behind the counter have no idea what the origin is. "It's a blend," they typically state.

The limited choice is just my pet peeve, I guess. The real issue is, do I get a coffee that tastes great? Since I'm what they call a "dual drinker", I know that the "regular" crowd can please their palatte whether they're craving a dark roasted Indonesian or a light and citrusy Ethiopian. And, that "house coffee", if it's regular and at a place that calls itself a "cafe", has a reasonable chance of tasting OK. Not so for a decaf drinker! Too often I'm reminded that we are an after-thought, a necessary evil to many cafe-owners.

Especially that cafe with the green, round label. NO decaf served after the morning rush! How absurd! Can we not think of alternatives like offering only SPECIALTY coffee drinks -- like the made to order espresso drinks or pour-over coffee?

The root of this problem -- cafe owners who just aren't thinking about their after-thoughts.

~ Ruth Ann