The new Black Apron edition coffee from Starbucks, Ethiopia Gemadro Estate, showed up in our local stores within the last few weeks. Despite our generally low opinion of the taste of many Starbucks coffees, C&C is happy to review them if they can be determined to be sustainable and environmentally friendly. From the description on the web site, the Gemadro Estate selection seemed like a good candidate. But as always, we research each source carefully, and in this case we found that the reality of this coffee is not exactly what Starbucks has indicated.
From the Starbucks description:
“In this nation of more than more than 300,000 small, family-run coffee farms, the expansive Gemadro Estate stands as an exception. With its pure water supply, near pristine growing environment and dedication to conservation-based farming methods, this 2,300-hectare farm on the banks of the Gemadro River is setting new standards for progressive, sustainable coffee farming.
At the Gemadro estate, high altitude coffee plants flourish in the protective shade of towering 50-foot ferns. With just 1,100 hectares under cultivation, the remaining estate is devoted to a natural, primary forest that supports the local ecosystem.”
According to my research, this is not exactly the case.
- The plantation was started in 1998, and the Estate web site confirms the Starbucks information: “Between 1998-2001, a total of 1010 ha of the 2295 ha of its holding was planted with coffee. The remaining land is left for preserving the existing natural vegetation.” Information indicates the site was written in late 2001 or early 2002. Last month an article in the Ethiopian Herald reported a spokesman said the Gemadro project “had developed coffee on 1,000 hectares of land, adding, the project has began activities to develop additional coffee on 1,500 hectares of land.” (Emphasis added.)
- This results in damage to the ecosystem. A report on coffee growing in the region of the Gemadro farm (1) described how the expansion of coffee and tea plantations requires opening up of forests, thinning of large trees, and clearing of the understory vegetation. This in turn exacerbates soil erosion and reduces habitat for wildlife. There is an Important Bird Area in this zone, the Bonga Forest, and the central Ethiopian Highlands are considered a biodiversity hotspot.Additionally, these forests are genetic repositories of wild strains of coffee. Another report (2) states that wild coffee strains are being endangered because montane forests are being cleared or thinned for coffee farms (with the Gemadro Estate parent company being specifically mentioned) and this type of intensively managed “forest” coffee replaces wild coffee with nursery-raised plants. Nursery-raised coffee is what is planted at Gemadro.
- Gemadro Estate is owned by the Ethio-Coffee and Tea Plantation and Marketing, PLC, a division of MIDROC Ethiopia, a MIDROC International Group company. MIDROC is a conglomerate that owns gold mines, hotels, construction and real estate companies, multiple oil companies, cement factories, and other interests that are not generally recognized as being environmentally friendly.
- MIDROC is owned by Ethiopian-born Saudi Sheik Mohammed Hussien Al-Amoudi. I’ve seen some unflattering profiles of him, but even if he’s the cleanest-living guy in the world, his net worth of $6.9 billion doesn’t inspire me to line his pockets with his latest venture.
Gemadro Estate employs 250 regular and 650 seasonal workers, according to an article in African Business. Al-Amoudi’s companies are Ethiopia’s largest employers, and he is well known for his philanthropy. Aside from the fact that good deeds don’t always come from wholesome organizations, you can benefit more Ethiopian small-holders and the environment by purchasing coffees that are organic, forest grown, and Fair Trade.
Consider the well-known and widely available Oromia Co-op, with over 23,000 members. A number of other co-ops are listed at the Sidama Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union site, which indicates which are organic and Fair Trade. Novo Coffee has a great selection of Ethiopian coffees, including wild Kaffa forest coffee, and we will be reviewing some of their great alternatives soon.
I don’t hate Starbucks. They have introduced the public to something akin to specialty coffee, and raised awareness to regular consumers that there is something beyond grocery store slop. But whereas they have offered some Fair Trade or organic products, this Black Apron selection sounds like a corporate conglomerate sell-out, and calling it sustainable, or saying that it is preserving habitat, is misleading.
UPDATE: See this post for a follow up investigative report.
1. Vlek, P.L.G., ed. 2005. Forest conversion – soil degradation – farmers’ perception nexus: Implications for sustainable land use in the southwest of Ethiopia. Ecology and Development Series No. 26, Cuvillier Verlag GÁttingen, 169 pp.
2. Richerzhagen, C. and D. Virchow. 2002. Sustainable Utilization of Crop Genetic Diversity through Property Rights Mechanisms? The Case of Coffee Genetic Resources in Ethiopia. BioEcon Workshop, 24 pp. (PDF)
