JulieCraves

Coffee news and miscellany / Corporate coffee

After the Harvest

When discussing the problems associated with commodity coffee, and why you need to pay a little more to make sure people and the environment are protected, I’ve actually had people tell me they have a “right” to cheap coffee. I often hear that certified coffees are too hard to find, and people tell me they’d buy sustainable coffee if only it were at the grocery store.

At least you have access to a grocery store.

There is no such thing as “cheap” coffee.

Please visit the After the Harvest web site to learn more about the large percentage of coffee farmers than do not have enough to eat for a portion of the year, and the organizations that are working on food security in the coffee lands.

Certifications / Rainforest Alliance

Rainforest Alliance to require upping the ante

A frequently heard complaint about Rainforest Alliance is that they allow their seal on coffee that contains as little as 30% RA-certified beans. I understand RA’s rationale: that for a very large roaster to source 30% of many tons of coffee has an arguably larger impact than a small company sourcing 100% of a half ton, and allowing less-than-total content gets big corporations to the table. But while the percentage of certified content has to be specified on the label, many consumers, roasters, and coffee professionals I’ve talked to think that the ”30% rule” tarnishes a great certification, confuses or misleads consumers, and indicates too much concession to corporate interests.

The mantra from RA has always been that these “30 percenters” must continue to increase the amount they source. For instance, the RA blog says, “We are committed to ensuring that companies scale up their commitments… If a mainstream brand begins … by sourcing, say, 40 percent of its coffee from certified farms, that brand must agree to source increasing quantities from certified farms as they become available.”

Alas, that does not seem to have happened in practice, with the most glaring example being Kraft’s Yuban coffee, still at 30% since it began using RA beans in 2006. (A very notable exception is Caribou Coffee, which has increased the number of offerings that include RA certified beans and the percentage in those offerings. In 2006, their stated goal was having every one of their coffees 100% RA certified by the end of 2011; they are currently on track to meet the goal.)

The problem has been, apparently, that the actual rules do not seem to be specific enough. RA’s “Use of Seal” Guidelines dated December 2007 states that “Companies requesting to use the RAC seal on single-ingredient products with less than 90% certified content should also agree to a SmartSourceTM plan: a step-wise approach to scaling up the percentage of certified content over time with specific benchmarks and timelines along the path of sustainability.”

This is due to change with the next update of the Use of Seal Guidelines. Any company that offers a coffee that does not contain 100% certified beans will be required to scale up the amount at least 15% a year until the content reaches 100% certified beans. I thought this might mean 15% of the current certified content per year (e.g., from 30% to 34.5% to 39.7%, etc.), at which rate Yuban would not be 100% until I was past retirement age in 2020 or so. However, I confirmed with Alex Morgan, RA’s U.S. Manager of Sustainable Agriculture, that this meant 15% of 100 (30% to 45%, etc.).  This is a significant, meaningful, and important milestone, in my opinion.

This rule will apply not just to coffee, but other products using the seal, such as cocoa. Thus it is taking awhile to implement to accommodate varying production methods associated with different products, but the update should take place sooner rather than later. It’s my understanding not every partner is thrilled with this change, and it will be interesting to see if anybody drops the certification. My guess is that it would be pretty awkward for a player like Kraft to quit Rainforest Alliance after touting their involvement for years. We will see which big companies are actually committed to sustainable sourcing, and which may have been using RA certification to greenwash via token sourcing.

Coffee awards and competitions

SCAA Sustainability Award 2011

Each year since 2004, the Sustainability Committee of the SCAA has given out a sustainability award, presented at their annual event. The award is open to individuals, businesses, and organizations that have created innovative projects to expand and promote sustainability within the coffee world while inspiring others to initiate similar endeavors that are replicable, scalable and raise the bar of sustainability.

This year’s winner was Grounds for Health. This organization has a simple and focused mission: to work with coffee-growing communities to establish sustainable cervical cancer prevention programs. Cervical cancer is the number one cause of cancer death for women in developing countries, yet it is one easiest cancers to detect, treat, and cure when caught early.

Other finalists were:

  • Cenicafé for “Participatory bird census in coffee-producing areas in Colombia.” Cenicafé is the coffee research arm of the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC). Part of its mission is to develop scientific programs favoring environmental conservation and biodiversity in the country’s coffee regions. Since 2004, Cenicafé has been engaging coffee farmers, their families, and researchers to conduct bird inventories in and around coffee farms. Twenty-nine communities and hundreds of farmers have now participated. The project  includes educational programs including games and workshops, and publications (more than 100,000 copies of educational bulletins and thousands of posters have been distributed so far). The project has resulted in conservation and reforestation initiatives, educational programs, and has recorded nearly 450 bird species…and counting. Partners include the U.S. Forest Service International Program’s Wings Across The Americas, The Nature Conservancy’s Migratory Bird Program, and Optics for the Tropics.
  • Café Femenino. A social program for women coffee growers in rural communities around the world, founded by Gay and Garth Smith, owners of Organic Products Trading Co. (OPTCO). The Café Femenino project helps women in Bolivia, Colombia, Nicaragua, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Mexico, and Peru gain empowerment, build social and support networks, and earn income through the production and sale of the Café Femenino Coffee, of which OPTCO is the exclusive importer.
  • Efico, Rainforest Alliance, and Anacafe for “Climate-friendly coffee farming.”  This project, which rain for 18 months through January 2011, aimed to develop the climate-friendly module that can be added to Rainforest Alliance certification which I wrote about here and here. Using pilot locations in Guatemala, the project conducted workshops for farmers and auditors, helped raise awareness of climate issues and adaptable farming practices, and tested the robustness of criteria (carbon storage metrics, greenhouse gas reduction best management practices), the practicality and usefulness of the module.

Coffee awards and competitions / Rainforest Alliance

Rainforest Alliance Cupping for Quality – April 2011

As promised in the last post, here are the winners of the Rainforest Alliance Cupping for Quality awards from the April 2011 cuppings, which covers countries in Latin America, Ethiopia, and India. The award is designed to recognize exceptional coffees carrying the Rainforest Alliance seal and to highlight the linkage between sustainable farm management practices and cup quality.

In the April cupping, 76 coffees from 10 origins competed. Aside from the origins of the top ten winners noted below, the other competing countries were Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic.

  1. Aguadas Rainforest Group (Alegrias, El Diamante, Villahermosa), Colombia (89.00). Located in the Andean rainforest in northern Colombia, the group has over 1800 ha under certification, at 2100 m.
  2. Sidama Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union, Ethiopia (86.79). Also Fair Trade.
  3. El Diviso, Colombia (86.46). Near TimanÁ¡, Huila at 1550 to 1700 m.
  4. COMICAOL, Honduras (86.07). A cooperative out of El ParaÁ­so, growing at 900 tp 1500 m.
  5. Santa Teresa, El Salvador (85.71). A rather well known estate located in the Apaneca-Ilamatepec region, near Ahuachapan, part of the Cofinanzas Estates. Also produces Smithsonian Bird-Friendly certified coffee from its certified organic crop.
  6. Jumboor Estate, Tata Coffee Ltd., India (85.50). Tata is a very large company running multiple farms. Jumboor is in northern Coorg (which is in southern India), growing S795 (which has Kents variety in its background) and HDT x catuai on 370 ha at 915 m.
  7. Finca Kassandra, Mexico (85.46). In central Veracruz, at 1200 to 1500 m.
  8. El Guayabito, Catalina, Los Naranjos, San Antonio, Colombia (85.36).
  9. Finca el Zapote, Guatemala (85.35).
  10. ADESC, Guatemala (85.29).

Congratulations to all the participating certified farms.