Travel Blog

Equator is Proud to Become a Certified B Corp

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 21:10:00 GMT

by Maureen McHugh
Coffee and the computer industry share a surprising number of supply chain parallels. Apple Computer’s recent decision to become the first technology company to join the Fair Labor Association and submit to supply chain audits in an industry notorious for secrecy could be a boon for overseas workers. The coffee business, like any industry where production is conducted offshore, shares the same characteristic of a murky supply chain, often leaving both the farmers and the environment in the lurch. Equator has always put benefits to coffee farming communities first in any conversation we have about quality. Roasters seeking transparency regarding farming practices, farmer income, and living standards must work extra hard to obtain information and develop relationships on the ground.

We’ve been working directly with farmers in coffee growing regions for 17 years and we were one of the first roasters in the country to back the Fair Trade Certified label to ensure farmers a better standard of living. We were also one of the first roasters to consider the environment first by installing a Loring Smart Roaster with lower emissions and energy use, and we are the first we know of to build eco-friendly worker housing complete with clean burning cookstoves on our own farm, Finca Sophia, in Panama. Now we join a few other roasters across the country such as Sustainable Harvest and Grounds for Change in becoming a Certified B Corporation, the first roaster in the San Francisco Bay Area to do so.

We’ve always taken a holistic approach to our business by considering the impact of our decisions not just on the bottom line, but also on our employees, suppliers, community, farmers, and the environment. B Corporation Certification is a new third-party certification for companies like us that want to use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. B Corporations (or Benefit Corporations) are a new form of corporation now becoming legally recognized in a growing number of states, including California.

What this means is that, unlike traditional companies, Certified B Corporations are legally required to consider the impact of their decisions on all the stakeholders connected to their business, as well as the environment. The certification process required us to answer a series of questions that demonstrate transparency and accountability in our financial records and supply chain, and consideration of workers, the community, and the environment in our decision making. It was a valuable process that pushed us to articulate policies around issues we previously hadn’t, such as employee volunteerism. It also provided metrics we can use to establish benchmarks for improvements in future performance in diverse areas of our business like energy use and minority hiring.

When we started out in 1995, we were a very small business. Just a few employees, a warehouse, and a roaster. From the beginning, we’ve believed that sourcing and roasting the highest quality coffee is only possible with a transparent supply chain that contributes to social welfare for farmers and employees, and environmental sustainability at home and abroad. With public awareness growing about the impact of businesses on the collective welfare of our communities and environment—for both good and ill—we are so proud to join a forward-thinking group of companies from over 50 industries that represent $2 billion in collective revenues and have opted to become Certified B Corps. We are the wave of the future.

Linking Food Security and Quality Coffee: Visiting our Coffee Partners in Ecuador

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 16:46:00 GMT

by Kimberly Easson
Nestled high (1750 – 1900m) in the mountains of Southern Ecuador, the El Batan coffee community harvests high quality, organic, Fair Trade Certified washed Arabica coffee. But coffee is not a year-round crop and a sustainable coffee community that provides food security for its members requires other forms of income.

That’s where the women of El Batan come in. I visited this farm to find out more about the link between food security and quality coffee; this connection has always been important to Equator, and it’s even more so as coffee farmers face climate change and a volatile coffee market.

The roots of the El Batan Coffee Co-op go back to 1986 when a group of three women (that later grew to 30) came together to find ways to earn income for their families. They took out small loans to start micro-enterprises such as growing and selling yucca in the local market. Years later, men joined the group and it became the foundation for the coffee farmer cooperative. This year, the President, Vice President, and Treasure of El Batan are all women. Overall, the women say that they work well together with the men, sharing duties on the farms, and participating in meetings. Of note though, and as is typical worldwide, housework is not recognized or valued and women still do more work than men overall.

Though coffee is the focus, the agricultural roots planted by the original female founders run deep. While the people of El Batan may be considered ‘poor’ in terms of their economic resources, a wide array of produce grows together with the coffee on small plots, providing shade and numerous food sources for home consumption and local sale. This diversity of production enables the community to better mitigate the effects of climate change and enhance food security.

Dona Flor’s Lush Farm

Dona Flor is just one of the many amazing, energetic women I met in the co-op. She knows how to take advantage of the richness of the land and the microclimate of El Batan to produce a wide variety of food. Dona Flor guided me through her lush one hectare plot and pointed out yucca, plantain, banana, grapefruit, avocado, orange, corn, chamomile, sugar cane, beans, sweet lemon, and other tropical fruits such as passion fruit, papaya, naranjilla, and chirimoya. To supplement what she grows on the farm, she buys beans, sugar, rice, oil, and butter at the local market. She also has chickens and a few pigs. From this, she and her brother (who is deaf/mute) can not only feed themselves, but also have food left over to sell, if the local market conditions are right.

But back to the coffee: Equator Coffee has been working with El Batan for four harvests. Equator’s customers love El Batan’s soft floral notes and sweet, balanced flavors of brown sugar and dark chocolate. It’s a crowd-pleasing coffee.

To ensure the continued success of the co-op and a steady supply of this fantastic coffee, Equator has issued numerous short term loans to facilitate the coffee harvest or enable members to invest in other farm, domestic or income-diversification projects. Many of the members are using the money to invest in irrigation for their farms to safeguard the harvest during unpredictable weather.

El Batan community is a founding member of Procafeq and Fapescafes, two cutting- edge farmer-owned organizations focusing on producing and exporting quality coffee with environmental and social benefit to farming communities across Southern Ecuador. Fair Trade certification assures democratic decision-making, community development, and transparency in the supply chain. Premiums and better prices through Fair Trade and direct relations with buyers like Equator enable producers to invest in planting a broader variety of food crops on their farms, which in turn leads to a nutrient rich, healthy diet for not only the farmers themselves, but also the broader community – essentially, greater food security.

We visit El Batan every year to foster a deep connection between farmer, roaster, and consumer. Knowing where their coffee ends up inspires and motivates El Batan’s members to continue their quest to produce the best quality coffee possible. Equally, the Equator team is proud to work with the El Batan community, and promote the coffee to their customers – recognizing that the connection throughout the supply chain strengthens its viability for the long-term. In an upcoming blog, we’ll cover how El Batan farmers use the loans we offer to strengthen their businesses.

Santo Domingo - A New Partnership in Nicaragua

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 17:41:00 GMT

by Kimberly Easson
When I visited Nicaragua last summer to help Equator launch a new partnership with the Santo Domingo Cooperative, I was prepared to taste some really great coffee. Yet nothing could have prepared me for the stunning beauty of the countryside and the ecological soundness of the cooperative’s small family farms. Set in the rugged, yet lush mountains of Northern Nicaragua, a four-hour drive from the capital of Managua, Santo Domingo’s members’ small farms are difficult to spot under the dense canopy of shade trees.

In order to even get close to the farms, one must first traverse miles of country roads made of cement blocks that wind through the hills of Madriz Department, from Palacaguina to Telpaneca, and then on to Santo Domingo. Gazing out over the rolling hills densely covered with forests and coffee farms, it’s easy to understand how the guerilla war that took place in the region in the 1980s continued so long.

Not only is the cooperative dedicated to producing high quality, organic and Fair Trade Certified Coffee, these farmers go beyond, to produce truly “ecological” coffees. In the heat of the day, when temperatures reach 90+ in the full sun, stepping into the lush farms brings immediate relief, thanks to a dramatic drop in the temperature. Birds and butterflies alight on the branches of the coffee trees and native forest tree species, all of which thrive in this biodiverse habitat.

The cooperative’s 115 members, of whom 39 are women, take their responsibilities for business, environmental protection and social development seriously. All of these factors are closely tied together. Ecological practices lead to higher quality and higher prices, and they can also protect yields during increasingly common periods of extreme weather by providing shelter for the delicate coffee trees.

Under the rigorous standards of Fairtrade certification, the farmers must be democratically organized and transparent in their decision-making. The premiums they receive from coffee purchases are allocated separately to projects, which all the members vote on.

It was exciting to be on hand to help launch this new relationship. It’s clear that the quality of the coffee will fit well into the Equator line-up, and that the premium price the farmers receive for this quality product will translate directly into both community and business development. As part of the partnership, Equator has pledged a micro-loan for the cooperative to use to boost organic coffee yield and quality.

Good organic seedlings, careful organic fertilizer application, and sound farming practices can double yields of organic coffee in a short amount of time. Higher yields lead to higher incomes, allowing farmers to invest in additional farm and mill improvements that will increase quality over time. Higher quality coffee is less dependent on commodity markets, fetching consistently higher prices, which leads to economic security for the farming families.

As the projects resulting from our micro-loan develop, we’ll be providing regular updates. In the meantime, harvest is starting this month, and we’re all looking forward to sharing this promising new coffee with you in the spring.  

Kimberly Easson has taken hundreds of coffee industry professionals on tours throughout Latin America and Africa to forge connections between traders, roasters, retailers, coffee aficionados and farmers. Visit the Java Ventures Website.

Pilot Projects

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 17:05:00 GMT

by Brooke McDonnell
3 years after Finca Sophia’s conception, on my 9th visit to the farm, I relish the walk up its mountain side to join co-owner Willem Boot and Kelly Hartmann, our farm manger, at the top. I am gratified and relieved, after some early setbacks, to see most of the 30,000 plants looking lush and healthy. We are there to create test zones for a new plant-based fertilizer that was getting remarkable results elsewhere in the world. The farm is one giant experiment: little is known about the rare Geisha varietal we chose to plant. We will try different nutrient delivery systems.

Organic methods of managing pests and diseased plants will be deployed. The zones we planted will be sub-divided into micro-sections of terrain like the fragmentation of the wine region in Burgundy, France. What we do know is that the high altitude (2000 meters) and terrain of Finca Sophia appear to agree with our Geisha. The view from the top is breathtaking. We take in the silence alternating with the soft sound of wind. Facing west, we see our 4 hectares of protected forest that abuts the Amistad Preserve extending into Costa Rica. Facing south, in the distance we see the Pacific Ocean. Overhead, the clouds move through in time-lapse effect. The weather is in constant flux, dazzling sun gives way to rain remarkably fast.

We head back down the mountain towards the new campamentos. One of the rooms will be prepared for the arrival of the first Finca Sophia intern who will spend several weeks at the farm to work on projects. Priorities: a new prosthesis for Angelica, a vegetable garden, composting, the neutering of the animals. How we support the nearby community needs to be defined. As with every visit to the farm, we are energized by the possibilities.

Making a difference: Angelica's story

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 17:38:00 GMT

by Helen Russell
There are many reasons why we love running a coffee company. One is watching top chefs fall hopelessly in love with our single-origin coffees and blends. Another is leveraging our business to create social change. In our 16 years roasting coffee for restaurants and cafes, we’ve focused as much on social equity as we have quality in the cup, because the two issues are intimately connected. To get closer to the family farmers upon whose labor we depend to grow our coffees, we’ve supported social enterprise pioneers such as Sustainable Harvest and mission-critical projects such as Women in Coffee. Now we’ve taken an even more hands-on approach.

Last week Brooke and I returned from Finca Sophia, our coffee farm in Panama. Since we purchased the farm in 2008, we’ve made great progress. On this visit, we saw that we still have far to go. We inaugurated our safe, comfortable and eco-friendly worker housing, washed our first cherries from our rare Geisha variety coffee plants, and saw the progress on our farm, which we’re stewarding as a labor of love in order to grow the best coffee in the world. From the beginning, when we’ve said “best” coffee, we’ve not only meant taste, but coffee that is grown with the best practices to support the environment, community, and workers.

One of my proudest moments on the farm thus far was seeing one of our farm workers’ daughters, Angelica, beat the tremendous odds stacked against her: we watched her as she rode her horse down a tree-lined dirt road, on her way to school for the first time.

What odds did Angelica have to beat? More than anyone could imagine. Many children in coffee-growing countries do not even have the most basic educational opportunities, as many families struggle with daily survival needs such as food, housing and medical care. While global coffee prices are now at a 34-year high, the farmer communities who do the hard work of planting, pruning, and harvesting the coffee see little increase in their wages or improvement in quality of life. Unless they make enough money to send their children to school, the cycle of poverty they live in will continue. Angelica’s challenge was even more difficult.

When we first met Angelica in 2008, she was a shy six-year-old. She is one of four children of Angel and Argelia, ethnic Panamanian Ngobe Indians who live in the new worker housing we built on our farm. When we greeted the family, Angelica hid behind her mother’s skirts, too shy and overwhelmed to make eye contact with us. And we noticed something else that concerned us. The farm manager’s voice was sad as he told us that Angelica’s leg was badly deformed. Catherine Cadloni, our partner Willem Boot’s wife, who has a background in nursing, confirmed our fears that Angelica wasn’t able to walk properly. With her serious deformity, she would never be able to walk the 2 miles down to the bottom of the farm to catch the bus to school.

As soon as Catherine’s evaluation sunk in, we decided to take action. We rushed Angelica to a doctor, and found that as a result of an untreated infection in her infancy, her leg would never be normal. She would always walk with an extreme limp, and her spine would become deformed, causing her great pain and difficulty in later life. Because her ankle and knee joints had not developed normally, the possibility of reconstructing her leg was small, and would mean that, even if successful, she would always have legs of different lengths. At every step, she would be at risk of losing her leg.

Despite the odds, we were determined to help Angelica lead a normal life. We arranged to fly her to Shriner’s Hospital in Tampa for treatment, which agreed to pay for her surgery. We raised money - including a contribution from the First Lady of Panama - to help pay for Angelica and her mother’s expenses during the long recovery period in Tampa. They were very frightened to get on the airplane in Panama City and then on to Tampa since they had never been further from the jungle highlands where they live than the nearest town -- but we had people helping them every step of the way.

The doctors in Tampa agreed with the Panamanian doctor’s assessment, that Angelica’s leg could not be saved. What they could do though, is amputate her damaged leg and give her a state-of-the-art prosthesis, so that she could run and play like any other child. The doctors at Shriner’s were wonderful; one of them, who was from Panama, took a special interest in Angelica’s case, lavishing attention and concern on the little girl. To our delight, the surgery and her long recovery were both highly successful. With her new leg, she can walk, run and play. Her prosthesis will expand as she grows older, so that she will always be able to walk properly.

We saw Angelica in April on our trip to Panama, and she was a transformed little girl. She is still shy, but she beams with a big smile, and is proud to show how she can walk like her siblings and all the other children. To make sure she could catch up in her education, we arranged for her to be sent to private school. Even with her new leg, Angelica couldn’t walk the rough dirt road the distance to her school, so we bought a cream-colored horse, Barista, for her to ride.

Now she goes to school every day, and this bright little girl returned with a good report card. She loves her new school uniform, twirling it proudly to show off its pretty colors, and is just a normal, smiling, playful kid.

The distance between Equator’s headquarters in Northern California and our coffee farm in Panama is far, in terms of distance and economic, social and cultural factors. Yet, we’re committed to breaking the cycle that prevents children from accessing educational opportunities, at least on our own farm. One of the reasons we love the specialty coffee business is that, with proper attention and sincere investment, coffee is all about deepening relationships with the people who grow it.

In this case, we’ve been able to change the life of a little girl who otherwise would never be educated or have a happy life in her farming community, and who would have a deformity that would worsen throughout her life. We depend on the people who grow our coffee to do the work required to make the coffee great. That relationship is a two-way street, and we’re proud to say that we’ve made a difference to Angelica’s family, and that specialty coffee can make a difference to coffee families around the world.

Worker Housing Ribbon Cutting at Our Coffee Farm Finca Sophia

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 19:10:00 GMT

by Helen Russell
We just returned from Panama, where we had a ceremony at our new coffee farm, Finca Sophia, to inaugurate the new worker housing there. It was such a moving experience to stand in a circle in front of the colorful new building with the family and workers who will live there, as well as other coffee farmers and neighbors, celebrating the completion of the project—a truly joyful occasion. The clouds in the high jungle hills parted and it seemed the sun shone down especially for our gathering.

My business partner, Brooke McDonnell, and myself, along with our partner in the farm, Willem Boot, built the new housing as part of our project to grow the world's best coffee in Panama. When we say the "best" coffee, we mean quality every step of the way--treating the soil, the plants, the environment, the workers, and the community with utmost respect. We want to create a model coffee farm, striving for excellence on all fronts.

When we started this project, we realized right away that we needed to build clean, comfortable housing for the workers. We want to attract the right people to stay on the land, to nurture our coffee plants, and building housing gives us a guarantee that they will continue to work with us. If we treat our workers with respect, they'll help us grow great coffee, in what Kelly Hartmann, our Panamanian farm manager, calls a "chain of well-being."

Two years ago, we started the housing project. We went down to Panama with Susan Church, a Berkeley-based contractor, to investigate the coffee worker housing that exists and to figure out how we could build it better. We looked around, and were generally very discouraged. It didn't matter if it was an affluent farm or not, the worker housing was uniformly airless, dark, and dank, with a lot of smoke indoors. Generally there was no running water, with earthen floors. We all noted that the children who lived in these environments seemed to have chronic colds and runny noses. We determined that we would build healthier housing for the people who work for us.

When we bought the land for Finca Sophia, there was only a shack there, where a family lived that now works for us. We've come to know this family—Angel, who is the head worker on the farm, his wife Argelia, and their four children. In some ways, when you buy land in Panama, you inherit the people who live there. We sat down with this family and with the other coffee workers and asked them what they would like in their housing. The men mentioned larger rooms, and locks on their doors. Generally the women in this indigenous group—the Ngobe Indians—are very shy. But Susan suggested we speak with them, too, to find our what their needs were. The women wanted a larger kitchen and a larger community area. The men thought it was amazing that we asked the women, because it's so foreign to their culture. The mother in the family, Argelia, smirked at their astonishment. I wondered if it was the first time in her life anyone had asked her opinion.

We got down to work building the house. Susan spent a lot of time with local contractors and at the Home Depot in David, the nearest large city, an hour and a half away. She found an Italian material, M2, which is highly insulating, and doesn't hold moisture. She consulted the family about the colors they wanted the house painted—which are bright and cheerful. She created large cooking areas and common spaces, and we put in smokeless stoves and flush toilets. All of this took over a year, since all the materials had to be carted up the rough 4-wheel-drive road up to the farm.

Completed, the building is filled with light and color. We had a party at the celebration, eating local sweets and drinking coffee from the Hartmann farm, where we bought seedlings, and whose family members—third generation coffee growers in the area--have been incredible mentors to us during this process of creating a farm. The end result of the building is so nice that the bank managers who came to the celebration kept asking if the house was for the owners, not the workers.

We're proud to have built worker housing that respects the people who will live on our farm and work for us. Hopefully, we'll have a long relationship with them and they'll be invested in helping us grow the best coffee in the world.

The day of the inauguration, we had something else to celebrate: the first little harvest of Geisha coffee beans from the farm. It will be a couple of years before we have a real crop, but I held some of the first cherries from our farm in my hands. I felt so thrilled at what we've already accomplished at the farm, and everything we have to look forward to. I washed the cherries in my hotel sink and can't wait to roast them!

Ethiopia's Unique Aleto Wondo Region Captures the Interest of Equator

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 15:09:00 GMT

by Helen Russell
Recently the Equator team had the opportunity to participate in an event that not only highlighted the uniqueness of the coffee produced in Aleta Wondo, Ethiopia, but also illuminated the human side of coffee in this very special part of the world.

Equator customer, Peter Schumacher, hosted us and an organization called Common River at his Mill Valley restaurant, Dish . We presented on the current state of coffee in Ethiopia, and the experiences of the coffee farmers we know there. Common River, Common River a Mill Valley non-profit that works to make a difference in the lives of the people in Aleta Wondo was on hand to talk about their work in the birthplace of coffee. Several Equator customers and members of the community attended to learn more about both the coffee and the people of Aleta Wondo.

We recently returned from a buying trip to Ethiopia where farmers grow and process some of the most consistently highly ranked and best quality coffees in the world, with little to no technology. Ethiopia possesses the perfect climate for coffee, but I think one reason Ethiopians produce such great coffees is because it's also a country of coffee lovers—rare for a coffee-producing country.

The Ethiopian coffee ceremony is such an important part of the culture, and is so widely practiced that 50% of the coffee produced in Ethiopia is consumed there, even though coffee is one of the country's most important export crops. In our slideshow, viewers met people like the vibrant Asnakech Thomas, the only female miller/exporter in Ethiopia, whose passion for coffee is evident in her enthusiasm. Asnakech is the producer of the stellar Amaro Gayo coffee, which we have purchased in the past.

Experts in the coffee industry talk a lot about the superior coffees grown in Ethiopia, almost all of which are grown by smallholder family farmers. What we don't hear a lot about are the human beings tending to and harvesting the crops.

25% of the population of Ethiopia relies on coffee income, which is historically uneven, and seasonal to boot. Coffee also makes up a full 40% of the country's export revenue, putting the country's economic health in serious jeopardy, even during years of high coffee prices.

Coffee farmers in Aleta Wondo produce some of the best coffee in the world. Coffee that Americans are happy to pay $3 or $4 a cup for. Yet their children historically haven't had enough to eat, haven't attended school regularly, and lack proper medical care. If most Americans could see the real price of their daily cup, and the small amount of money it takes to make a real difference in Aleta Wondo, I think they'd be willing to help in any way they can.

You can do so by supporting the work of Common River directly, and also by purchasing coffee from Aleta Wondo.

Mill Valley residents Tsegaye Bekele, who was born in Aleta Wondo, and Donna Sillan, a former international public health consultant, founded Common River in order to create a balanced, productive, self-sustaining community in Aleta Wondo.

Common River shared some of its accomplishments since breaking ground in 2007. Because the first priority for the people of Aleta Wondo was education, Common River's first project was to build a schoolhouse out of traditional woven bamboo. However, though children were eagerly attending the new school, many were fainting in the afternoons from lack of nutrition. In some cases, families were only sending the boys to school, and many children missed days due to illnesses like malaria. Donna, Tsegaye, and the teachers quickly saw that they needed to do more. So they did.

In just three years, Common River has grown beyond its original mandate. Fundraising locally in Mill Valley, mostly from individual doners and with the help of many families from the Mill Valley school district, Common River currently runs a school that educates 130 children in the community. Girls make up at least 60% of the student body and the teachers work with elders in the community to grow food for the school lunch program. The school recently added a few cows whose milk is used for yogurt, Equator will be purchasing another cow in June. Youth volunteers from Mill Valley staff a summer camp program, and other community members regularly travel to Aleta Wondo to lend a hand.

Common River runs all of their programs on less than $1,000 a month, but the long-term sustainability of the project depends on the people of Aleta Wondo making a living selling their coffee.

You can support the people of Aleta Wondo by purchasing Aleta Wondo coffee from Equator Coffees, the Aleto Wondo website , or San Rafael and Mill Valley Whole Foods Markets.

Cleaner Stoves = Better Coffee!

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 18:57:00 GMT

by David Pohl
The human health and environmental implications of cooking received a flurry of interest a month ago when Hillary Clinton announced that the US would contribute $50 million to the “Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves”, a new consortium of governments, NGOs and private enterprises dedicated to changing the way half the world cooks – on open fire pits.

From where I sit, both as a roaster for Equator Coffees, and a co-manager of our coffee farm in Panama, this initiative is long overdue. What do cookstoves have to do with coffee? Let me explain.

As a coffee roaster, I work day in, day out in an environment that, if I weren’t using a sophisticated machine, would be very smoky. Happily for me, Equator sprung for a machine that is one of the world’s most advanced: a fuel-efficient Loring Smart roaster that roasts at 450 degrees Fahrenheit with almost zero emissions, while using 80% less fuel than the industry standard. If I didn’t have it, roasting coffee could be a dangerous and unhealthy way for me to spend 40 hours a week. Luckily, advanced equipment and high health and safety standards for US workers mean that I am usually spared direct contact with the harmful byproducts of roasting.

This wasn’t always the case. I can remember just a few years ago learning to roast coffee at home on my stove, filling my kitchen, and lungs with smoke, making my wife rush to open the windows, and setting off our smoke alarm regularly. It was definitely not something I wanted to do every day.

Unfortunately for most of the people in the world, smoke inhalation from cooking is a health hazard. In coffee producing countries, small landholders often struggle just to have enough food to put on the table and can’t afford the basic equipment with which to cook it. This is why the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves is very important.

1.9 million people die prematurely each year from such stoves, making it the fourth biggest health concern in the third-world. The solution is, on the surface, surprisingly simple, costing as little as a few dollars per stove. In reality, permanently changing the traditional cooking habits of half the world’s population — 3 billion people — is not at all easy to accomplish. Three rocks in a pit with a few chunks of wood may not be healthy or efficient, but it puts a warm meal on the table after a hard day in the coffee fields.

Here at Equator, we believe in technology and progress. Finca Sofia, our farm in Panama, which I co-manage, recently bought five “clean-burn” stoves for the workers who live and work there. We are also in the process of building worker housing that is highly insulated and should require minimal heating, even on cold, rainy winter highland days. While it was easy to find insulation in Panama, we were surprised to find no clean stove projects in Panama. We had to go to Guatemala, where we found an innovative nonprofit called Onil. The Onil stoves use 60-70% less wood and reduce indoor emissions by 99%. But they were expensive.

Despite the cost, we decided that the stoves are a good business investment, not merely a humanitarian or environmental gesture. The reason is simple. The best specialty coffees do not happen by accident. They require constant focus and attention. Every single day there is pruning, composting, pest control, and shade cover to attend to, all of which affect the final quality of the coffee. We can taste it in the cup – the more attention in the field, the better the coffee. But we can’t expect our farm workers, or any worker for that matter, to do their best if they are suffering from chronic respiratory problems. So we’re investing in our workers in Panama by investing in technologies that are good for the planet and our people.

Our new Onil stoves will be installed in the worker housing in the next month. See the site on the farm in this YouTube video. I believe they are a key to the long-term success of Finca Sofia, making workers’ lives a little better so that they are healthier, happier and more productive. As I see it, cleaner stoves mean better coffee!

How do we take clean burning stoves to the next level of adoption in Panama and around the world? I’m convinced that landowners in Panama would make the shift if they saw that cleaner stoves would make them more profitable. The $50 million offered by the US may help to create awareness, but somewhere along the line, people with limited resources must value the technology enough to invest in it, or momentum will be lost and folks will go back to what is easiest.

I genuinely hope that the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves will make a lasting change in cooking habits of people in coffee growing lands. I think regulation on a global level is key—perhaps a combination of a carbon tax and stringent health and safety standards for workers. But whatever the technology choice, it must be grounded in respect for traditional cooking customs. Meanwhile, on Finca Sofia, we will be monitoring the effectiveness of the Onil stoves, and working with our neighbors to see if they too will embrace cleaner stoves for more productive workers. Who knows? Maybe Finca Sofia can be the catalyst for a clean stove project in Panama.

The End Of Coffee As We Know it

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 19:06:00 GMT

by David Pohl
Coffee pundits are fretting about a coffee “shortage”, which has led to a 35% price spike over the past four months on the NY ICE Coffee Futures Exchange. We’re hearing dire predictions of doom and gloom, an “end to coffee as we know it.” Leave it to mainstream media and hedge funds to create a mountain out of a molehill. Yet as a green coffee buyer who scours the world over for the best boutique coffee, works with trusted importers and growers to bring it to my doorstep, roasts it with artisan sensibility and packages it for the retail and wholesale coffee market, I am inundated with high quality coffee – more than I know what to do with. The truth is that while there are legitimate concerns about supply, from where I sit the future of coffee has never looked so good.

My reason for optimism is simple: we are in a renaissance that is transforming coffee from a cheap commodity to a much more sophisticated beverage. I work for Equator Coffees & Teas in San Rafael CA, and I seek the best, most exotic coffees in the world. I evaluate coffees from Africa, Asia and Latin America every day, and travel to coffee farms several times a year. What I find absolutely striking is that throughout the industry quality is up, even if supply isn’t. So, is the shortage such a bad thing?

Back in 2002 when I started in the industry, green coffee prices were at historic lows. The market price was $.40/pound, while the minimum cost of production was twice that. Farmers were going broke daily, abandoning their farms in search of work in the cities or abroad. It was devastating.

Flash forward to 2010: green coffee prices are up around $1.90 and everyone is alarmed – except for the farmers who understandably love the price. There are a number of reasons for the price spike: smaller than expected harvests in Brazil, Colombia and Vietnam; farms that went broke during the crisis earlier in the century are still not at peak production (it takes 3-5 years for a coffee plant to produce); increases in global demand are outstripping increases in supply; and a weak global economy means that hedge funds are pouring money into commodities like coffee hoping for short-term returns. I don’t feel comfortable with the bubble risk posed by institutional investors, but all of the other reasons for the increase are legitimate and stem from the fact that people are drinking more coffee – arguably a good thing.

What I really find encouraging about the trend that has emerged in the wake of the coffee price meltdown eight years ago, especially as we head into another “crisis”, is that consumers are willing to pay more for quality and sustainability. And farmers, keen to avoid another meltdown, have learned that they are better off producing higher quality coffee in a sustainable manner, not just more coffee. 20 years ago practically the only measure of a farm’s success was its yield – now quality is the number one issue. Today coffee growers are approaching their work, and are viewed by consumers, as artisans rather than struggling farmers at the bottom of the food chain. They are taking control of the situation and delivering coffee consumers are willing to pay a premium for. More farmers are focusing on the quality of their harvests, refining their growing techniques, installing hi-tech, efficient processing equipment and doing more to promote themselves by entering their coffees in competitions and reaching out to roasters via social media (we regularly communicate with farmers on Facebook). This positive development stands at odds with the “crisis” we are told is destroying the coffee industry.

Consider what has happened to coffee in Panama over the last few years. It has gone from an undervalued origin to one of the most prized. I spend a couple of months each year on Equator’s own coffee farm, Finca Sofia. Since starting the farm from scratch three years ago we have planted 25,000 “Geisha” variety coffee trees, which we tend with the attention of a new mother. Geisha, an heirloom variety from Africa, took the world by storm a few years ago, sweeping every tasting competition it entered. Coffee judges could not believe it was grown in Panama – known primarily for clean, mild coffees, not wild, exotic ones. They were convinced it was from the crown-jewel of the coffee world, Ethiopia. Since then, green, unroasted Geisha grown in Panama has been selling at astronomical prices ranging from $25–170/pound. By first shattering taste expectations, this coffee went on to shatter price expectations. This had a trickle-down effect – the best coffees from many other origins now sell for prices exponentially higher than the commodity price. Rarely do coffees sell for over $100, but it is quite common to see coffees from El Salvador, Guatemala, Ethiopia, Colombia and Peru sell for $10-40. This is the exciting future of the coffee industry as I see it.

So while the coming “shortage” will quite possibly have an impact on the world of coffee, and consumers will have to pay more for their coffee, they will also likely be treated to better quality coffee. Farmers will be rewarded for investments in quality and sustainability. If this is the “end of coffee as we know it”, good riddance. The renaissance already underway suggests that the best is yet to come

Finca Sofia - The Road Ahead

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 19:07:00 GMT

by David Pohl
I just returned from a month on our farm in Panama. I have been writing about the progress on the worker housing as well as good news we received about the health of our coffee trees. Things are looking good.

My last week in Panama saw significant progress to the worker housing - much of the cement was applied to the walls, enabling the workers to begin putting up the roof this week. This was despite incessant rain, delayed materials and a flu epidemic that affected much of our workforce and their families (mine was spared). My last day on the farm I brought lunch for everyone, and we were able to share in a little informal, social time together - a rarity given all the work to do on any given day.

Looking back on my time in Panama, the complexity of Finca Sofia stands out - it is about more than just coffee. It is about roads, people, the environment and buildings too.

Beyond Coffee
Ok, there is of course the coffee, and establishing this aspect of the farm is priority number one. We heard from Edgardo Miranda, the agronomist working with us since the beginning, that our trees are looking quite good. Good news. But beyond the coffee there are many other associated elements that are vital to the eventual success of the farm.

The Road to Finca Sofia
The road up to Finca Sofia is 3.4 kilometers long. It is unpaved, rocky and this time of year quite muddy. It is also beautiful, meandering through pastoral landscapes, climbing ever higher into the mountains of the western highlands of Panama. The only way up is in a 4 wheel-drive vehicle with ten inches of clearance. Or on foot, which takes 45 minutes. When conditions are good, meaning not too wet, it takes 11 minutes in a truck. When conditions are bad it can take twice as long or can be impassable. To give you a better idea of what I mean, here is a (long) video of the trip from bottom to top.

We need to be able to easily access Finca Sofia. One of our biggest expenses is transportation, and this will increase as we begin harvesting. We would love to pave the entire stretch but this would be prohibitively expensive at this point. So, we are looking into paving the last 600 meters of the road, and we have petitioned the local government to help with the first 600 meters. While I don’t know whether our request is going to be approved, Panama is currently on an infrastructure improvement push, in an effort to attract foreign investment. Of course our road isn’t priority number one (that would be the widening of the Panama Canal), but it does serve as a vital link for some 15 farms near us, all of which send produce to Panama City. Who knows?

Our Workforce is A Top Priority
As mentioned previously, the 8 people working on Finca Sofia spend at least 40 hours a week there, and many of them also live there. They have a deep understanding of the farm, know which trees are healthy, as well as which parts of the farm harbor snakes. We need to care for them, which is why we are building worker housing, giving out raises and offering support to family members like little Angelica, who is returning to the farm after three months in the US where she received much needed surgery to her leg.

Improving the Natural Environment is Another Priority
Finca Sofia is not an organic farm, and may never be, but we use a negligible amount of non-organic inputs compared to our horticultural neighbors. Furthermore - we are maintaining and reforesting all of our land, an important fact when nearly all of the land around us has been deforested, and we are right next to the Parque Amistad, an international reserve shared by Panama and Costa Rica. Most of the surrounding farms rely on chemical fertilizers and pesticides, usually applied by hand or with blowers. It surprised me, honestly, that workers on other farms would operate blowers with little or no protection.

So, why aren't we organic? The prevailing opinion in much of the coffee world is that if you don't use chemicals your coffee isn't as good as it could be. And while we know that great coffee can be grown organically, just like great tomatoes, the truth is that some of the best coffees are not organic. Why? It takes something like 40 pounds of compost per plant to have the same impact as three applications of liquid or granular fertilizer. Producing this much compost is not possible for most farmers, and the cost of labor to apply it makes it prohibitive. Imagine, on Finca Sofia we will have 35,000 plants. If done organically, this would require 1.4 million pounds of compost per year! The simple fact is that it is much easier and cost effective to use non-organic fertilizers for most farmers.

Finca Sofia has been relying on local resources and knowledge to get our farm started. Each of our coffee seedlings costs around $1.00, so it is our goal to make sure each plant stays alive and thrives. There are a myriad of pests and plagues that attack our coffee plants, and if left uncontrolled these would completely destroy the farm. We also fertilize based on the soil PH, to ensure the plants are getting the nutrients they need. Our long term vision is to be as "organic" as possible, replacing non-organic inputs with organic to the greatest extent possible. One possibility, demonstrated by farmers in Boquete, Panama, is to set up a compost cooperative in Volcan, allowing a group of farmers to invest in and benefit from the production of organic compost.

Building More Worker Housing
Over the next two years we will be building more worker housing for the people who will be harvesting our coffee as well as a mill to process our coffee. While we could hire people from town to pick our coffee, without offering housing, it is a long way from the main road and we know from experience that farmers that don’t have enough workers at the right moment can lose much of their crop. So, we will need another building within two years.

The mill can technically wait, as we could use one of our neighbor's. But in the long run we will want to have control of the entire process, and milling is a critical aspect in terms of the final cup quality. Putting our treasured “green gold” into the hands of another miller, even one we know and trust, is a gamble. I cannot tell you how many times we have seen coffee quality fall off significantly because a coffee has been improperly milled or stored. So, really, we will want to have our own mill up an running as soon as possible.

In the end Finca Sofia is a grand adventure – a project that will span many years and, we hope, decades. We have our work cut out for us, but we are excited and pleased with the progress so far.

The Farm Looks Great

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 19:07:00 GMT

by David Pohl
This week, my second of three on the ground in Panama, we had a visit from Edgardo Miranda, a well respected Panamanian agronomist and coffee producer. Edgardo has been visiting Finca Sofia since the day we bought it, and has been involved in the development of it from an unplanted piece of land to what it is today - something approaching a coffee farm.

Visits by Edgardo are always a mixed bag - we see what is working and what isn't. Having invested so much in Finca Sofia it is agonizing when things aren't going well - and indeed we have had more than our fair share of challenges, despite a lot of hard work and carefully considered decisions. On this visit, however, Edgardo had the feeling that Finca Sofia had actually turned some corners. While walking along, I heard him say, "You can stop worrying - this looks like a coffee farm!"

The sections that looked "critical" before looked "established" now. The sections of the farm that didn't have enough shade now had too much shade and needed to be cut back.

So said Edgardo, "From my perspective the farm is looking good . . . the are some details to attend to but in general it looks really good". Kelly was happy, I was happy, Helen, Brooke and Willem were happy when I reported this to them. While we know that we have a long row to hoe and that this farm is never really done, that this is "lifestyle" and a long term labor of love, it is gratifying for all involved to know that we are doing some things well.

So what does this upbeat assessment mean in the long run - well nothing really. I have heard too many reports of farmers that have lost their farms to plagues, financial missteps, or market fluctuations, to be too comforted by this report. All it means is that right now we are doing well, the farm is taking shape, the weather has been cooperating, and the hard work Kelly, Angel, Andres, Eligio, Abdis, Jesus, Franklin and Vicente dedicate to the farm 6 days a week is paying off.

In the "long-run" we will have to maintain a sense of urgency, adaptability, and patience for this to continue to be a success and to become a productive coffee operation. We also want to keep and support the workers we have that in many ways understand the farm - from the soil to the trees to the wildlife to the weather patterns - better than we do. They after all live on the farm, or close to it, and spend 8 hours a day 6 days a week traversing, working and monitoring it.

As such we know the farm will benefit immeasurably by keeping our "team" happy and engaged - which is why we are building what the locals are calling "5-star" worker housing. The "campamentos" as I have earlier reported are nicer than you normally find in Panama. We approached them with simplicity in mind, and by western standards they are basic, but the design is both creative and efficient, the materials are top-notch, and the process of building, which I have been a part of the past few weeks, is professional and intentional. The result is something we hope the workers can comfortably embrace as a true "home" for many years.

Regarding the campamentos, we had a big week - bad weather turned really good just as the workers that had "deserted" the work site the previous week returned (or their replacements showed up). By Friday afternoon a lot of cement was up on the walls, and I was feeling for the first time that I could step back and stop worrying "that not enough was happening".

Enrique, the general contractor for the project, was a little more relaxed, though he carries the weight of all of the upcoming details and probably wasn't as relieved as I was. Still, we all were talking about the roof Friday, which had to wait on until the first layer of cement was applied to the walls, and I'll be getting quotes on materials Monday. Once the roof is up the work site will be protected rain or shine, and things should move along more quickly.

After just two weeks on Finca Sofia I am struck by what a huge undertaking this is. Next week, as I wrap up my time here in Panama, I will reflect a little more one what I mean by this.

Finca Sofia Update - Week One!

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 19:08:00 GMT

by David Pohl
I have been on Finca Sofia for just over a week and have seen amazing progress with the worker housing we are building.

When I arrived the foundation and one or two walls had been completed. This in and of itself was a great achievement. Now, despite a lot of rain, sick employees, and delayed delivery of supplies all of the walls are up and we are preparing to plaster them.

Enrique, the general contractor, is a skilled and hardworking builder and a funny guy. He is very precise and is reinforcing the building beyond the requirements to make it safer, dryer and longer-lasting. Kelly and I have been pitching in wherever we are needed - such as picking up supplies, sealing joints or separating sand for cement. We have the World Cup on in the background whenever there is a game on.

When I leave here in two weeks we should have much of the plastering done, as well as part of the roof up. Time will tell.

Beyond the worker housing the farm looks great. There are actually some geisha cherries on a few plants, including some at 1950 meters! This is a promising sign that our trees will be more productive next year.

And of course we have been seeing snakes on the farm, including the bright green "eyelash viper".

Vac-Pac, Grain-Pro or Jute? A New Test!

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 19:09:00 GMT

by David Pohl
There are many ways to store green coffee after it has been processed and prepared for export. Traditionally coffee was put in "jute" - a fiber like burlap. Due to concerns of the "bagginess" of coffees stored in jute too long, coffee exporters have been experimenting with other forms of packaging. We have reported in blogs and Facebook posts on some of the other types of packaging solutions, and in this blog we want to report on a cupping we recently did comparing a one-year old coffee in vac-pac versus the same one-year old coffee in grain-pro.

First of all, vac pac is essentially a process where the coffee is put into 25-50 pound bags, which are then vacuumed to remove all oxygen and sealed at this point. The bag looks like a brick, and if stored properly will retain its shape from the country of origin into our warehouse. Usually the bags are sealed in boxes, to help protect them. The cost per pound for vac-pac is about $.15. Next we have Grain-pro, a packaging solution that creates a hermetically sealed environment without the vacuum. This technology has been applied to grains for years, and was introduced into coffee in the last decade as exporters and roasters sought ways to protect coffee. It is usually considered the next best thing compared to vac-pac and it is also considerably cheaper at $.05 per pound. The results of our cupping? The grain-pro coffee was demonstrably more faded and old-crop tasting. The vac-pac was much more fresh, showing after one year almost no aging whatsoever! Our tentative conclusion from this experiment is that removal of the oxygen from green coffee may truly be the best way to preserve quality over time. We will continue experimenting and reporting back our findings, but for now we feel that boutique grade coffees benefit from being "vac-packed".

Finca Sofia - Snake Bites!

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 19:10:00 GMT

by David Pohl
Two days ago our field supervisor, Angel, was bitten by a venomous snake. He was rushed to the hospital in David by Kelly Hartmann, farm manager, and given the antidote immediately.

Kelly said Angel was looking quite ill when they arrived, and his arm had already begun to swell, but by the time he left that evening, Angel was looking much better. Today Kelly reports the swelling has gone down some and Angel should be released in the next day or two. We are still trying to find out the type of snake that bit Angel, but from experience we know that there are lots of them on the farm and in Panama - some 20 that are venomous!! Another reality is that our farm, the ecological bastion that it is, is fast becoming a refuge for animals of all types, since many of our neighbors rely heavily on the use of pesticides. Needless to say, when I travel to Finca Sofia in the summer I will be taking a snake-bite emergency kit! We are grateful that Angel is doing better and will do everything to strike a careful balance between ecology and safety on our farm.

SCAA Perspectives - Ecuador Perla Negra and Decaf Colombia

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 19:12:00 GMT

by David Pohl
I am just back from SCAA in Anaheim. This wonderful event highlighted some spectacular advances in coffee quality. In particular I had the pleasure of cupping coffees from Ecuador and Colombia that "reset" my expectations for these origins.

Nico Velez, a coffee farmer/exporter/roaster and native of Ecuador, has started a boutique-grade coffee renaissance in his country, focused around the capital, Quito. At a cupping at the SCAA, Nico's first attempts at micro-lot coffees were placed around a table for a group of 20 coffee professionals to sample. Tasted blindly, the coffees showed an array of flavors, some of which were very unusual for this origin. In particular, the Ecuador Perla Negra, grown by Magdalena Zavala in the town of Nanegal in the provence of Pichincha, just outside Quito, far exceeded our expectations, showing an abundance of floral aromas and flavors, peach and green apple. This 100% typica coffee, was full-bodied and bright, but very nuanced. Furthermore, we are proud to be the owners of the first lot of this coffee ever exported from Ecuador - having just arrived last week. We have been searching for just such a coffee for years, and came upon it through our good friends at Exclusive Coffees, who until recently have focused on micro-lots from Central America, but branched out into Ecuador this year.

The best part of the cupping was that we were able to compare our lot to the current harvest, due to ship in June, which is just beginning to be picked and which was also on the table. Both coffees were world class, and left us excited at the prospects of this fantastic origin! Available now on facebook. The other surprise at the show was a cupping of Colombia micro-lots, with boutique exporter, Virmax. Among the coffees on the table was none other than the winner of the Coffee of the Year Competition at the SCAA, the coffee which received the highest score overall from a panel of judges. What we did not know is that there was also a decaf coffee on the table. Well, to everyone's surprise, the coffee that rated highest at the end of the cupping was the decaf! We were all shocked, and those of us from Equator were delighted because we had just received this very coffee a few days earlier! This unusual coffee is called Colombia Las Serranias and is currently available on facebook - it is like a sweetly acidic southern Hulia, but with banana, pineapple and cream notes no doubt imparted through the decaffeination process that uses a derivative from sugar-cane known scientifically as Ethel Acetate (EA). It isn't that this is the first lot of coffee to be decaffeinated using EA, far from it, but the difference lies in the fact that Las Serranias is an A grade coffee, selected by Equator BEFORE decaffeination. This, tied in with the pleasant characteristics sugar cane adds during the decaffeination process, rather than the "off" flavors often associated with decaffeinated coffees, makes this a wonderful option for decaf drinkers, and one of the most popular coffees at the SCAA!

These and other wonderful events at the SCAA demonstrated the vigor and dynamism evident in the specialty coffee industry right now. The bottom line is that coffee drinkers will have some wonderful new options to choose from today and, I think, some even better options as origins like Ecuador gain momentum!

Best, David Pohl