In
honor of Earth Day (Earth Week?), we look at how the
sustainable environmental practices of several of our producing
partners continue to result in the fine Café Campesino
coffee you know and love!
Ethiopia — In the fall of 2001, we introduced
Ethiopia Limu and it quickly became one of our best
selling coffees. Ethiopia is the homeland of all coffee
and is still found growing in a wild state under the shade
of the rainforest of the southwestern Ethiopian highlands.
Several years ago we met representatives of the Oromia
Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union, or OCFCU, as they
visited the United States looking for direct markets.
Several members of our importing organization, Cooperative
Coffees, recently visited these farmers and reported that
they have never witnessed a better example of fair trade
at work, nor have they ever seen as much need for this
form of trade partnership that allows the farmer to earn a
just wage for their harvest.
Most coffee grown in Ethiopia is naturally organic because
fertilizers and pesticides have not infiltrated the local
economy. Organic certification, however, is rare due to
the technical reporting and fees required by certification
agencies. The strength and commitment of the Oromia Union
is demonstrated by their recent certification as one of
the first organic-certified cooperatives in Africa. In
achieving this certification, the farmers earn
considerable price premiums for growing coffee the way
they always have – in the shade with natural
fertilizers.
Sumatra
— Our full-bodied Sumatra Gayo derives it’s
interesting name from the producer group Gayo Mountain
Organic Farmers Association. Based in northwestern
province of Aceh, this association of farmers continues to
offer one of the best examples of the classic Sumatran
coffee often sold under the trade name "Sumatra
Mandheling." Deliveries of the 2002 crop were
severely hampered this year by the intimidating presence
of the Indonesian army and difficult road conditions. In
the midst of local conditions described as chaotic by
recent visitors, the 450 Gayo Association farmers tend
their shade-covered plots of coffee and deliver their
exceptional harvest. This year Café Campesino has
switched from purchasing a blend of the Association’s
various production methods to a more classic green coffee
comprised of 100% parchment collections. The technical
explanation of this change is rather complex and we will
provide this in later newsletters. For now, here’s what
you’ll notice in the cup. The coffee will have more
body, or "mouth-feel", a characteristic that we
love! And you’ll notice a more complex taste indicative
of the subtle differences in the parchment coffee
collected from hundreds of small producer that comprise
this proud group of organic farmers.
Nicaragua
— This excellent Latin American coffee is grown and
exported by the small farmers cooperative CECOCAFEN, or
Central de Coopertivas Cafetaleras del Norte. This group
of 12 village cooperatives boasts a total membership of
over 1,900 producers as is quickly becoming recognized
within specialty coffee circles for growing some of the
best Nicaraguan coffee available today. Café Campesino
purchased our first lot of green coffee from CECOCAFEN in
late 2001 and just received the 2002 crop in early April.
Once harvested, this coffee is sun dried and processed
using the traditional Latin American wet mill processing
method. The coffee is certified organic by OCIA and, like
all of our other coffees, grown under a natural shade
canopy.
(Back to Headlines)
|
