August 2007

Corporate coffee

More bad news from corporate coffee

Kraft Foods recently announced that beginning this fall, all of its Maxwell House brands of coffee (except instant and Master Blend) will be 100% arabica beans rather than a blend of arabica and robusta.

Robusta is the lower quality coffee species often used in cheaper coffees and blends. Robusta is able to grow at lower elevations and hotter temperatures than arabica, and is typically grown in sun. The biggest source of robusta is Asia, mostly Vietnam. Typically, getting any of the big corporate coffee roasters to admit they use robusta and/or how much or where it comes from is like pulling teeth. In a response to Kraft’s move, Proctor & Gamble offered that it will continue to use robusta in its Folger’s brand and Massimo Zanetti Beverage USA will keep on using robusta in Chock Full o’ Nuts. Now we know.

Kraft says they are doing this to improve flavor and quality. However, any sudden pronounced change in flavor profile would risk losing customers. So that reason doesn’t totally hold water, unless the change will occur over a long period, yet Kraft says the change to 100% arabica will be complete by year’s end. Kraft denies that this move is in response to rising robusta prices, brought on by low supply — recent robusta crops from Vietnam have been too inferior for even grocery store blends.

An important fact in this announcement is that Kraft also says the price of Maxwell House coffees will not change. Therefore, they will be buying arabica beans at robusta prices. That, in combination with keeping true to the established flavor profile, means that the arabica beans Kraft will use will be low grade and (for all the cost and economy-of-scale reasons we have previously discussed here) likely grown in big sun monocultures. I expect much of this cheap arabica to come from Brazil and Colombia. An increase in demand for cheap arabica could result in more forested areas or (in the case of southern Brazil in particular) savannah being cleared for production.

If anybody who knows more about coffee market forces can propose other possible environmental impacts, please chime in!

Corporate coffee / Dunkin Donuts

P&G to provide Dunkin' Donuts coffee

Big corporate coffee monger Procter & Gamble has partnered with Dunkin’ Donuts to offer a Dunkin’ Donuts branded coffee for sale at retail outlets including Wal-Mart, Costco, CVS, and Kroger. Although some articles say that P&G will "produce" the coffee, and others note that P&G will "distribute" the coffee, it sounds like P&G will roast the coffee to DD specifications. It will not, therefore, be exactly the same coffee sold at Dunkin’ Donuts outlets. Regardless, neither Dunkin’ Donuts nor P&G will reveal where they source their coffee, if it is sustainably grown, or whether they pay farmers anything near a living wage. (Hint: who knows, no, and no.)

Recall that I mentioned this deal when I wrote about the purchase of Dunkin’ Donuts by a private equity firm. These entities are concerned with one thing: making profits, a situation not conducive to sustainable coffee growing. Nor is P&G concerned with offering good-tasting quality coffee. For more on why this is completely bad news for sustainable coffee, you can take a look at my recent post on the connection between quality, price, and sustainability.
 

Coffee reviews / Latin America

Coffee review: Brown Coffee Co. Finca Vista Hermosa

Plainspoken Coffee. A Coffee Review for Ordinary People by Ordinary People, #26.

I first read about Guatemala’s Finca Vista Hermosa in Roast Magazine, in a series written by Edwin Martinez, Diary of a Grower. FVH is the Martinez family farm, and it was interesting to get a first-hand look at various aspects of coffee growing. Edwin also writes a blog about FVH. FVH has to have one of the most visible Internet presences of any coffee farm in the specialty coffee world!

FVH is in northwest Guatemala, in the Huehuetanago region. The growing area of the farm is around 35 ha, and they have just added some additional plots. Altitude ranges from 1600 to 2000 meters. Although not certified, FVH is “is ecologically sound and healthy, a model for many shade grown and organic plantations” according to the web site. I’ve gleaned from various sources that weeds are controlled the old-fashioned way (machete), a flock of sheep contribute natural fertilizer, and photos depict a jungle-like setting.

FVH coffee is used by ANACAFE (the Guatemalan coffee trade organization) to represent the Huehue region at trade shows, etc. FVH has won many awards, most recently placing 8th in the 2007 Cup of Excellence. The Japanese snapped up the CoE lot, but other lots of FVH coffee are available. Here we review:

Brown Coffee Co. Guatemala Huehuetanengo, Finca Vista Hermosa.

We chose Brown Coffee Co. because they have a great relationship with FVH, much of which is outlined in owner Aaron Blanco’s blog, the Coffee Press. In fact, to commemorate that this is the 50th anniversary of FVH, Brown put out a pretty cool t-shirt honoring this fact. It’s not easy for a smaller roaster like Brown to have direct relationships with growers, and they are to be admired and supported for their efforts. The whole Brown philosophy and manifesto is also right up our alley.

Brown’s crop comes from a section of the farm called El Eden, a pretty rugged plot with much intact natural habitat. It was a light roast, which we have concluded is a must to bring out the subtle flavors in Central Americans. The beans had an intoxicating aroma, with a hint of spice; one person also smelled fruit, perhaps cherry.  In the cup, it was another classic coffee –with notes of chocolate and caramel — and felt a little fuller on the palate and richer than many Guatemalas we’ve had. This was one of the sweetest Centrals we’ve ever tasted. Sweetness is not surprising in a Central, but we all noted the very long finish, which we tend to associate with Asian, African, or more complex coffees. That lingering sweetness gave the FVH a depth that we found pretty unique and very enjoyable. 3.25 motmots.  Here’s another review of Brown’s FVH, at Barisimo. And P.S. — Brown’s service is outstanding.

As an aside, now that we’ve reviewed over 30 coffees (yes, this post says #26, but short reviews are usually not numbered), something is obvious. There are a few dogs at 2 or fewer motmots, very few exceptional coffees at 3.75 or above, and a whole lot bunched up in the middle. Not only is the process of reviewing coffee this way (= amateurs!) really subjective, but providing a lot of ratings between 3-3.5 isn’t especially useful.

It is my hope and goal that much of the value in these reviews lies in the background information provided about the origin/region, farm, growing methods, and roaster. It’s my way of educating consumers on how to make responsible, sustainable choices, and highlight sources of coffee to seek out — or avoid. It’s the most time-consuming part of writing these reviews, and quite unusual (unique?) in the realm of coffee reviews. So don’t just go by motmots alone — the other stuff is just as important!

Retail and specialty roasters / Smithsonian Bird-Friendly

Caffe Pronto goes Bird-Friendly

One of C&C’s favorite roasters, Caffe Pronto in Maryland, has just received Bird-Friendly certification from the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. Most people associate the SMBC certification with farms, but roasters may also participate. Obviously, they need to sell SMBC certified coffee (although not exclusively), and contribute $0.25 per pound of certified SMBC coffee to Smithsonian, which goes to support the certification program.