| Our Co-op
- - - - - - -
- - - - - - -
- - - - - - -
- - - - - - -
- - - - - - -
- - - - - - -
- - - - - - -
|
|
|
|
|
Nicaraguan Coffee Producers Come to MA to Refine Their Palettes and Exports |
|
|
Equal Exchange, Fair Trade
coffee pioneer, hosts "cupping camp"
Canton, MA (July 12, 2004) - - Since coffee trees
cannot survive even frost, let alone a New England winter, what could
six Nicaraguan men and women learn about coffee production by coming to
Massachusetts? A lot, actually. That is why the Fair Trade company,
Equal Exchange is hosting an unusual week long "cupping camp" in
Canton, starting July 12th. "Cupping" is a specific method of sampling
brewed coffee that allows one to identify the precise taste, aroma, and
body characteristics of a given batch of beans. Improved cupping skills
will enable the attendees — representatives of four Fair Trade
registered small farmer cooperatives in Nicaragua — to better assess
the quality of their harvests, detect any defects before exporting, and
match the taste profiles of their coffee shipments to the exact needs
of their North American and European customers. This in turn helps
their cooperatives stay competitive and achieve better prices for their
farmer members.
In addition to refining cupping skills the camp will also cover
the finer points of coffee roasting; the quality standards of the U.S.
specialty coffee industry; and work towards establishing a common
‘quality vocabulary'. Through many days spent sampling coffee together,
in a controlled environment, the Nicaraguan producers, and their
counterparts at Equal Exchange, will come to a common understanding of
what qualifies as ‘bitter', ‘sweet', ‘salty' or ‘sour'. This shared
vocabulary will be crucial in future months when the Nicaraguan
producers are discussing coffee samples with Equal Exchange and other
coffee importers around the U.S. |
Carmen Vallejos, of the Nicaraguan co-op CECOCAFEN
and Beth Ann Milardo, Equal Exchange’s Quality Control Manager |
But why in Massachusetts? In part because cupping is a skill that has
long been cultivated by specialty coffee companies like Equal Exchange
as an essential part of their quality control. As part of the camp
Equal Exchange will also bring the Nicaraguan participants to observe
in person how the company's coffee is prepared, roasted and
packaged. Finally, the Equal Exchange cupping camp team, lead by
Quality Control Manager (and Board Chair) Beth Ann Milardo, will
provide the participants an up close introduction to America's
specialty and organic coffee market, including visits to the stores and
restaurants where Equal Exchange's Nicaraguan coffee is sold and served.
To help create this overall educational experience Equal
Exchange, and their partner, Lutheran World Relief, have secured funds
from a United States Agency for International Development project,
administered by Chemonics, Inc..
Gaining these skills, and thereby being able to offer the highest
quality coffee, is increasingly a key survival strategy for small-scale
farmers, as the market price for raw, green coffee remains stuck at
dangerously low levels. The world coffee market collapsed in 2000 and
has yet to recover. Since then millions of farmers and their families
have struggled to stay in business and hang on to their land. In
the wake of the coffee crisis thousands of families have been forced to
leave the countryside looking for work or assistance wherever they can.
Fortunately, some farmers have found relief thanks to belonging to
farmer cooperatives, like the four Nicaraguan cooperatives — PRODECOOP,
CECOCAFEN, SOPPEXCCA, and COSATIN — that are sending
representatives to this summer's cupping camp.
Like 21 other farmer cooperatives around the world these three have
been able to withstand the crisis somewhat thanks to their "Fair Trade"
coffee sales to companies like Equal Exchange. Under Fair Trade Equal
Exchange pays cooperatives at minimum $1.26/lb. of green coffee, and
another 15¢/lb. for certified organic coffee. This compares to
the current market price of only 73¢. Last year Equal Exchange
alone paid its farmer partners an additional $2.2 million
above-and-beyond normal market prices. This extra income has been
critical in providing a higher standard of living for the farmers, and
in allowing the cooperatives to continue to improve their coffee
quality.
Equal Exchange, the pioneer and U.S. market leader in Fair Trade coffee
since 1986, is a full service provider of high quality, organic coffee,
tea, hot cocoa and baking cocoa powder to retailers, food service
establishments, and houses of worship. 100% of Equal Exchange products
are fairly traded, benefiting 29 small farmer cooperatives in 14
countries around the world. Major customers include Kroger, Safeway,
Shaw's, Stop & Shop, and Hannaford supermarkets, cafes, and
thousands of places of worship nationwide through our nine Interfaith
denominational partners. In keeping with its Fair Trade mission
Equal Exchange is a worker cooperative, owned and democratically
controlled by its 65 employees.
EQUAL EXCHANGE
www.equalexchange.coop
###
|
|
|
Our Co-op 
