GCR Jan 2014

January/February 2014

CRUEL COFFEE

Animal activists speak out against Kopi Luwak

BATTLE FOR RUSSIAN GROUNDS

Branded shops claim their stake in a growing market

ROASTING CONSISTENCY

Top companies say how technology can help

PEACETIME PRODUCTION

African coffeelands back on the scene

THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN

GREEN MOUNTAIN COFFEE ROASTERS’ LINDSEY BOLGER ON SECURING SUPPLIES OF QUALITY COFFEE www.globalcoffeereview.com 29.00

CONTENTS January/February 2014

COVER STORY SOLUTION-FOCUSED

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Green Mountain Coffee Roasters is facing head on the coffee leaf rust that is threatening its supply.

IN THIS ISSUE

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FEATURES

INDUSTRY PROFILE

ORIGIN

10 SOURCING A SOLUTION

22 A GLOBAL SLAM DUNK

49 WAR & COFFEE

14 COFFEE SHOPS BATTLE FOR RUSSIAN GROUNDS

31 KICKING HORSE

GMCR’s Vice President of Coffee Sourcing and Excellence on protecting coffee supplies

Opportunities lie in a country thirsty for more branded cafés

18 CRUEL COFFEE

Animal activists are calling for certification of Kopi Luwak to protect the civet cat

26 TRENDS IN 2014

Leaders gives their

insights into what will affect the industry and prices in 2014

Dunkin’ Donuts has emerged as an unassuming leader on the global branded coffee chain market The Canadian coffee company has been the best-seller of Fair Trade for 13 years in a row

The end of war in many African nations is freeing up land for coffee production

58 ASIAN HORIZONS

The Global Coffee Review Leaders Symposium heads to Singapore

“THIS IS A KEY INTEREST OF GMCR – WE DON’T JUST WANT TO SECURE THE COFFEE SUPPLY CHAIN, WE WANT TO SECURE THE SUPPLY OF VERY HIGH QUALITY. ” Lindsey Bolger Vice President Coffee Sourcing and Excellence

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RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY 35 DISCOVERING YEMINI ROOTS World Coffee Research has its eyes on coffee from this Far East nation

39 CONSISTENCY & CAPACITY IN ROASTING

This special promotional feature looks at the efforts of the world’s leading roasting equipment manufacturers

REGULARS 04 EDITOR’S NOTE 07 NEWS DRIP BY DRIP 55 DIARY DASHBOARD 56 MARKETPLACE 58 LAST WORD

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EDITOR’S NOTE Global Coffee Review

PUBLISHER John Murphy john.murphy@primecreative.com.au EDITOR Christine Grimard christine.grimard@primecreative.com.au ASSISTANT EDITOR Nick Sheridan nick.sheridan@primecreative.com.au

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JOURNALIST Sarah Baker sarah.baker@primecreative.com.au

QUALITY MATTERS

WE’RE STARTING off a new calendar year with our annual petitioning of industry leaders.

As this magazine went to print, the daily International Coffee Organization (ICO) indicator price dropped below US$1.00 for the first time in five years. It seems, then, especially relevant to have asked about coffee prices in the year ahead (see page 26).

The outlook isn’t overly promising for the many farmers dependent on market price, and who aren’t able to cover their costs of production. Although almost anything can change in the course of the year, few are anticipating a major jump in prices. It’s a far different situation than when we started the annual feature in 2010, and columnists were discussing strategies to deal with spiking prices.

A lesson learned over the years, is that dropping prices is bad news for the industry as a whole. Our cover interview with Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) coffee sourcer Lindsey Bolger (see page 10) is a prime example. Working for the largest coffee retailer in the US, Bolger has spent more than a decade devising sourcing strategies. She tells Global Coffee Review this month that her focus is on ensuring farmers have a secure source of income, to continue investing in their farms and producing the quality coffee GMCR so desperately needs.

With many coffee farmers living below the poverty line, coffee continues to attract the attention of humanitarian organisations.

What is novel to the industry, however, is the attention of animal activists. Kopi Luwak, a coffee harvested from the faeces of civet cats in parts of Asia, has recently made headlines

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because those animals are being kept in cruel conditions. We look at this phenomenon, and highlight organisations looking to bring an end to this practice (see page 18).

From a quality, “cruel-free” bean to a quality roast, we’re fortunate in this edition of Global Coffee Review to speak with four of the world’s leading providers of roasting equipment on the key to maintaining consistency in roasting operations. Buhler (page 40), Loring Smart Roast (page 42), Neuhaus Neotec (page 44) and Probat (page 46) all share insights into how technology can assist roastmasters in achieving a consistent quality product.

Because quality starts with an educated market, Global Coffee Review is thrilled to be bringing its pre-eminent professional development opportunity to Singapore in March 2014. The event will welcome industry leaders from around the world to discuss the nuances of the Asian marketplace (see page 58), and identify opportunities for growth.

ART DIRECTOR Michelle Weston DESIGN Blake Storey, Alice Ewen, Sarah Doyle BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Steve Roberts steve.roberts@primecreative.com.au GENERAL MANAGER COFFEE MEDIA & EVENTS Brad Buchanan brad.buchanan@primecreative.com.au PRODUCTION CO-ORDINATOR Michelle Weston michelle.weston@primecreative.com.au ADMINISTRATION MANAGER Chloe O’Brien chloe.obrien@primecreative.com.au PHOTOGRAPHY Carolyn Bates, Patrick Varney, Maja Wallengren CONTRIBUTORS Deborah O’Malley, Eugene Gerden Maja Wallengren HEAD OFFICE Prime Creative Pty Ltd 11-15 Buckhurst Street South Melbourne VIC 3205 Australia p: +61 3 9690 8766 f: +61 3 9682 0044 enquiries@primecreative.com.au www.globalcoffeereview.com SUBSCRIPTIONS +61 3 9690 8766 subscriptions@primecreative.com.au

Global Coffee Review Magazine is available by subscription from the publisher. The rights of refusal are reserved by the publisher

ARTICLES

All articles submitted for publication become the property of the publisher. The Editor reserves the right to adjust any article to conform with the magazine format.

Christine Grimard Editor

COPYRIGHT

Global Coffee Review is owned by Prime Creative Media and published by John Murphy. All material in Global Coffee Review Magazine is copyright and no part may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means (graphic, electronic or mechanical including information and retrieval systems) without written permission of the publisher. The Editor welcomes contributions but reserves the right to accept or reject any material. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information Prime Creative Media will not accept responsibility for errors or omissions or for any consequences arising from reliance on information published. The opinions expressed in Global Coffee Review are not necessarily the opinions of, or endorsed by the publisher unless otherwise stated.

NEWS In Brief

NEWS DRIPBYDRIP 

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) has joined with the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) of the Inter-American Development Bank and Skoll Foundation to support the non-profit agricultural lender Root Capital’s Coffee Farmer Resilience Initiative.

The initiative is designed to stabilise supply chains by investing in coffee farmers at the base of the value chain, who are at the front line of battling the leaf rust epidemic in Latin America, Lindsey Bolger, Vice President of Coffee Sourcing and Excellence for GMCR tells Global Coffee Review the move is one of many to safeguard the company against supply interruptions. See page 10.

Dunkin’ Donuts has emerged as the world’s second-largest branded coffee shop behind Starbucks, with more than 10,800 restaurants in 31 countries around the globe.

In the third-quarter of 2013, Dunkin’ Donuts added 141 new international restaurants worldwide.

Thanks to increased sales at these new outlets, total international revenue increased 13.7 per cent from the year-earlier period, to US$4.2 million.

One point of difference that could contribute to the success of both chains, is that the two coffee shops appeal to different income classes, and will likely draw different crowds. For more see page 22.

Kicking Horse has been the bestselling Fair Trade Organic coffee in Canada for 13 years in a row. Part of

its high quality comes from the mixer with which it blends the beans.

The company first blended the roasted beans in a wire type blender that damaged them. KHC replaced it with a Munson 3.1-cubic-metre capacity rotary batch mixer with a mixing action that ensures thorough blending without damaging the fragile beans. See page 31.

EUROPE

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AMERICAS

Branded coffee shops are announcing expansive plans for growth in Russia, with experts saying current market saturation is currently only sitting at between 60 and 70 per cent.

Lavazza and its partner NTK Town Restaurants announced it will look to open up to 70 coffee houses in Russia and neighbouring countries over the next three years.

Starbucks similarly announced

aggressive plans to increase its number of Russian locations. The company currently operates 67 shops in Russia, with the majority of those shops concentrated in Moscow. McCafé is looking to extend its presence, concentrating on country towns rather than capital cities.

These international players are competing against domestic chains Chocoladniza and Coffee House, which are both experiencing strong growth. See page 14.

The world’s best baristas will gather in Rimini next June when the Speciality Coffee Association of Europe and World Coffee Events host the prestigious World Barista Championship (WBC). The flagship competition will take top billing at World of Coffee 2014, a three-day coffee event set to attract more than 5000 attendees to the Italian city from 10 – 12 June.

RUSSIAN PLANS

Lavazza has announced it will look to open up to 70 coffee houses in Russia and neighbouring countries over the next three years See page 14.

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NEWS In Brief

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Kopi Luwak, the “novelty” coffee that is cultivated from civet cat droppings, is attracting the attention of international animal welfare bodies such as the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). The coffee can attract prices of around US$250 per kilogram for roasted coffee, making it a highly lucrative business.

The WSPA says that farmed civets are often caught using snares and other inhumane methods. They are kept in small, bare cages where they are overfed with coffee cherries instead of their usual mixed diet.

These practices are said to place massive stress on the civets and often lead to illness and early death.

As a result, the WSPA is working with certification bodies to develop criteria for cage-free certification.

See page 18.

World Coffee Research (WCR) is now working with Sana’a University in Yemen to study Yemeni coffee species with the support of the American Embassy and the Fulbright Scholarship program. As part of the project, Yemeni coffee professor and breeder Dr Amin Abbo al Hakimi is spending one year at Texas A&M University working with scientists in breeding and genomics to conduct a genetic diversity analysis on the Yemeni coffees that have always attracted specialty coffee roasters for their unique taste attributes.

See page 35.

The Global Coffee Review Leaders Symposium will take place on 5 March 2014 in Singapore. The event welcomes industry leaders to discuss the potential for business operations

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in the booming Asian market, as well as challenges. See page 58.

AFRICA

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ASIA

Many coffee producing countries in Africa are getting some lost lands back, with the end of years of war and turmoil. With so many years of war and conflict stories all over the world of coffee, there is a significant amount of potential land that could come back into production.

See page 49.

Fairtrade Africa has appointed a new Executive Director, Kenyan Dr Nyagoy Nyong’o. He brings to this position a wealth of experience in the Fairtrade sector as well as hands-on management experience in the humanitarian and development sectors.

YEMINI GROUNDS World Coffee Research is working with Sana’a University in Yemen to study Yemeni coffee species.

See page 35.

Prior to joining Fairtrade Africa, Dr Nyong’o worked for more than eight years as a Fairtrade auditor in Max Havelaar Switzerland and at small farmers’ organisations and agricultural companies in Africa.

Today, Fairtrade Africa supports more than 700,000 farmers and workers through 410 producer organisations in 29 countries across the continent. Fairtrade Africa’s annual Africa Fairtrade Convention was held in Stellenbosch, South Africa in the last week of November 2013. The Africa Fairtrade Convention brings together African small‑scale farmers, workers and other stakeholders from across the continent and beyond to improve the livelihoods of producers in Africa.

During the four-day event producers and stakeholders discuss how trade conditions, market access and producer support can be improved.

COVER STORY GMCR

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URCING A SOLUTION

GREEN MOUNTAIN COFFEE ROASTERS HAS BEEN AN ACTIVE PLAYER IN ADDRESSING THE RECENT RUST CRISIS IN LATIN AMERICA, BUT AS LINDSEY BOLGER TELLS GLOBAL COFFEE REVIEW, THE COMPANY MUST ALSO PROTECT ITS OWN SUPPLIES IN TIMES SUCH AS THIS.

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s the person in charge of sourcing strategies for the largest sellers of specialty coffee in the US, Lindsey Bolger makes it her business to anticipate potential supply problems.

However, while the Vice President of Coffee Sourcing and Excellence for Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) has spent more than a decade devising strategies to safeguard her business against supply interruptions, she is more passionate about finding ways to prevent those interruptions in the first place.

That is why GMCR has been so active in working to address the root causes behind the most recent outbreaks of coffee leaf rust in Central and South America, while also helping farmers get through the challenges these outbreaks have thrown up in the short and medium term.

Along with her role at GMCR, Bolger sits on the board of World Coffee Research (WCR), the industry-funded scientific body that is dedicated to the improvement of the supply of quality coffee and the livelihoods of those who produce it.

“Long term we are working on opportunities to develop new varieties of coffee that not only have the traits of high-quality coffee but are also far more resilient to pests and climate change,” Bolger tells Global Coffee Review. “This is a key interest of GMCR – we don’t just want to secure the coffee supply chain, we want to secure the supply of very high-quality coffee.”

Bolger says that, in addition to research into the genetic side of coffee, WCR is busy studying the potential for introducing companion species – those organisms that grew and co-evolved alongside coffee in its native environment in Africa. It is hoped that, if these species are able to be safely introduced to other coffee producing nations, they will help to protect the plants from infections and pests in the future.

In the short to medium term, however, GMCR has joined with the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) of the Inter-American Development Bank and Skoll Foundation to support the non-profit agricultural lender Root Capital’s Coffee Farmer Resilience Initiative.

The partnership combines long-term lending to finance the replacement of coffee trees affected by the fungal disease with short-term trade credit, financial management training, climate-smart agronomic assistance and household-level income diversification.

The US$7 million initiative will allow Root Capital to lend more than US$10 million for resilience investments, and provide financial management training to 50 agricultural enterprises, representing 40,000 farmers, reaching approximately 200,000 family members in farming communities in Latin America.

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COVER STORY GMCR

Green coffee stored at Green Mountain Coffee Roasters’ plant in Sumner, Washington in the United States.

Bolger says that this project will help to address other systemic problems that have faced farmers since before the recent rust outbreak, such as access to credit for maintenance and expansion, as well as support through times of low prices.

While GMCR funds these projects in the hope they will lead to a world where coffee farmers are able to produce their crops consistently and uninterrupted, the realities of today’s market means that, for a business of GMCR’s size, sourcing quality coffee all year round requires detailed strategic planning.

“More than 10 years ago, we adopted a strategy to ensure that most of our coffee requirements could be sourced from a growing number of regions that meet our quality specifications,” Bolger says.

In the past 13 years, GMCR has gone from sourcing its coffee from 13 countries to more than 25.

“Our supply chain has grown significantly over the past 10 years as a function of our growth,” Bolger says. “This strategy has helped us to ensure that our manufacturing and production isn’t disrupted by the diminished volumes that are coming out of the Central and South American countries that have been impacted.”

However, she adds, this does not mean GMCR has abandoned its traditional, rust-impacted origins in this period of need.

“We continue to contract for coffee from the affected regions – it is not our intention to buy less coffee from those regions,” she says.

While GMCR buys the majority of its coffee from importers, Bolger says the company has cultivated a high level of engagement with the players at all stages of the supply chain.

“We try to include as many stakeholders as possible so that we have full transparency and traceability of as much of our coffee as possible,” she says.

“Our supply chain ranges from farmers who think in terms of how many trees they own,

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Winston Rost from the GMCR coffee team speaks with Rene Ixtla, a coffee farmer in Huatusco, Mexico.

FEATURE Russian Coffee Chains

BATTLE FO COFFEE GLOBAL PLAYERS ARE WAKING UP TO THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT LIE IN A COUNTRY THIRSTY FOR MORE COFFEE SHOPS.

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ith coffee chains lining up to announce their plans for Russian expansion, it would seem that the former Soviet state is being set up as the next battle ground for branded coffee shops.

Italy’s Lavazza recently announced its expansion into Russia, through a franchise agreement with NTK Town Restaurants, Russia’s well-known restaurant group. NTK announced that over the next three years it will look to introduce up to 70 Lavazza Espression coffee houses in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) region, that includes most former Soviet states. This level of growth would increase the number of Espression coffee houses in the global market by nearly three times.

According to NTK Town Restaurants, the opening of each coffee house will cost between US$1.5 – 2.5 million. This would

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mean that the total volume of investments required to open the 70 outlets would reach US$175 million.

If NTK succeeds with its plans, this would make Lavazza Espression one of the top five coffee chains in Russia. The Italian brand would become one of the most successful foreign players in the Russian coffee chain market, which, so far, has been largely dominated by local companies.

American super players McDonald’s McCafé and Starbucks also have their eyes set on Russian expansion, having recently announced aggressive plans to increase their number of Russian locations.

Starbucks announced at the end of November its plans to expand its network, through the opening of several new branded coffee shops. Starbucks has already opened its first store in Rostov, one of the largest cities in the south of Russia. The new location is the third city that Starbucks has entered, following its operations in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Overall, Starbucks operates 67 shops in Russia, with 61 of those shops concentrated in Moscow.

At present, Starbucks operates in Russia through a joint venture with the Alshaya Group, the largest retail chain in the Middle East, which is known as Coffee Sirena. According to Helen Streltsova, a Representative of Starbucks Russia, in addition to Rostov, the company plans on opening new coffee chains in other cities in the south of Russia, and in particular Krasnodar and Sochi.

She notes the company is considering a number of new venues for its outlets, in particular high traffic areas such as shopping malls, while also continuing to open in high street areas.

There will be plenty of opportunities for variations, as the company plans to open an impressive 300 new outlets in Russia in the next five to seven years.

Starbucks will be competing neck and neck with McDonald’s in terms of volume, as the

R RUSSIAN GROUNDS number of the company’s McCafé branded coffee shops is also set to increase.

According to Vera Ivanovskaya, a Senior Development Manager of McCafé Russia, the company should have opened 60 new stores by the end of 2013.

McCafé has a history of success in Russia. Prior to 2007, McCafé led the Russian branded coffee shop market, losing that leadership to local rivals Coffee House and Chocoladniza in 2008.

Ivanovskaya says that McCafé’s business has grown significantly since 2010, with the company’s turnover in the country for the last three years increasing by 50 per cent. In 2012, its sales grew by more than 10 per cent, and the company expects to achieve the same figures this year.

Unlike its rival Starbucks, which has traditionally focused on Russia’s largest cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg, McCafé actively develops in the vast Russian countryside, and is present in most of Russia’s major provincial towns.

According to Andrew Petrakov, the Executive Director of Restcon, one of Russia’s leading analyst agencies in the field of agriculture and coffee markets, the level of competition between Starbucks and McCafé in Russia has heightened significantly in recent years.

“Both companies operate in the same format: fast service and take-away coffee,” says Petrakov.

“However, Starbucks has an opportunity to attract additional clients through a higher level of provided service, while one of the main advantages of McCafé is its connection with, and sometimes location within, McDonald’s.”

CoffeeShop Company, another well-known European operator from Austria, has created a strong position for itself in the Russian market. According to Anna Aranovskaya, Corporate Affairs Director of CoffeeShop Russia, the company opened 24 new outlets in the country in 2013, with a possibility that a similar number will be opened in 2014.

According to the Russian Association of Tea and Coffee Producers (RACTP), the counter service format that most of these companies is using might make it hard for them to continue to succeed. Reports have found that local consumers prefer table service.

Branded coffee shop growth in Russia is still relatively recent, having started in the mid-2000s.

Local players came onto the market at the same time of global chains.

“STARBUCKS HAS AN OPPORTUNITY TO ATTRACT ADDITIONAL CLIENTS BY THE HIGHER LEVEL OF PROVIDED SERVICE, WHILE ONE OF THE MAIN ADVANTAGES OF MCCAFÉ IS ITS CONNECTION AND SOMETIMES LOCATION WITHIN MCDONALD’S.” Andrew Petrakov

Executive Director, Restcon

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FEATURE Russian Coffee Chains

Since that period, coffee consumption has grown significantly in Russia. Coffee sales have doubled, despite the fact that retail coffee prices have increased by almost 60 per cent.

Vadim Prasov, Vice President of the Russian Federation of Restaurateurs and Hoteliers, ranks the current top five branded coffee shop players as Chocoladniza (about 400 stores), Coffee House (198), Coffeeshop Company (64), Starbucks and McCafe.

The growth of these coffee chains might be limited by a lack of suitable premises to rent, and high real estate costs in Moscow and St. Petersburg. In these two major cities, rent can exceed US$1000 per square metre per year.

According to one of Russia’s largest restaurant operators Rosinter, which operates the Costa Coffee chain in Russia, it currently costs around US$270,000 to open a new branded coffee shop store.

With this level of investment, profitability is low, at less than 15 per cent on investment.

Because of these limitations, most operators are concentrating on opening locations on high street areas, in office buildings, near subway stations and in major shopping centres.

“A complex procedure of approvals to

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open new coffee houses in Russia by the cities’ authorities remains another problem for leading global coffee chains operating in the local market,” says Aranovskaya. “This problem is especially important in St. Petersburg, the cultural capital of Russia, and its numerous historic districts and streets.”

So far, it would seem that the Russian branded coffee shop market has fully recovered from the effects of the global recession. Since 2010, annual growth is estimated at 90 per cent, according to RACTP. The association predicts growth will slow down to around 70 per cent.

These foreign players who are entering the Russian market are taking some lessons from local culture. One particular feature of the Russian market is the need for a wider selection of hot dishes and alcoholic drinks “Expanding into Russia, foreign players are also forced to introduce alcoholic drinks, soups and other hot dishes onto their menus,” says Ramaz Chanturia, Head of RATCP. There also seems to be a clear trend of the coffee and cake shop format. For example, Traveler’s Coffee, a leading coffee chain in Russia’s region of Siberia, has established its own confectionery production line. McDonald’s has launched in Moscow an experimental McKiosk street trade format, which specializes in the sales of confectionery and beverages.

According to the RATCP, the Russian branded coffee shop market will continue its growth during the next several years, however at slower rates than in the past. The biggest growth will likely be observed in the vast Russian countryside, however Moscow and St. Petersburg also have major potential for further development, with the level of saturation by coffee chains still relatively low.

The potential for the capacity of Moscow and St. Petersburg markets is estimated at 2000 coffee shops each, according to Aranovskaya, who says the Russian coffee market is very far from saturated. Experts say Moscow lacks at least 300 coffee shops, while in St. Petersburg this figure sits at around 200 coffee shops. These figures would put current market saturation at around 60 – 70 per cent. As foreign players continue to announce expansion plants, that figure is set to shrink dramatically in the years to come. G C R

FEATURE Cruel Coffee

CRUEL COFFEE? IT WAS ONCE CONSIDERED A RARE DELICACY, BUT INHUMANE FARMING PRACTICES HAVE TAINTED THE INTERNATIONAL IMAGE OF KOPI LUWAK. NOW THERE ARE CALLS TO CERTIFY THE GENUINE WILD PRODUCT.

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epending on who you speak to, Kopi Luwak is either a delicacy, a novelty or the result of a cruel and exploitative industry. But, whether it be through fame or infamy, the global recognition of this unique method of coffee production has grown exponentially in recent years.

Harvested from the faeces of the Asian palm civet, or the luwak as it is known in Indonesia, Kopi Luwak was discovered in the 18th Century by plantation workers who weren’t allowed to drink the coffee being sold by Dutch colonialists. They realised they could collect the beans from droppings instead. Today, this coffee is as well known for its price as its taste profile, with its famed beans attracting prices of more than US$500 per pound.

Proponents of the coffee say the civet is a naturally gifted coffee harvester, selecting only the finest cherries to feed on. This talent is combined with the civet’s unique ability to supposedly improve the taste of the beans while passing them through its digestive tract. It is said that the civet’s stomach contains a particular enzyme that reduces the acidity of the bean, which combines well with a fermentation process that is perfected thanks to the civet’s body temperature. The result is a rich, smooth taste.

These assertions are not accepted by all in the specialty coffee industry, however. United Statesbased coffee consultant, Jack Groot, is sceptical about whether the taste of Kopi Luwak actually warrants the high price tag.

“I personally think Kopi is all marketing and no show,” he says.

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This type of coffee is produced in a number of South East Asian nations, such as Vietnam, the Philippines and even East Timor, but it is the Indonesian variety that has become the most recognisable on the international market.

With this growth in popularity, however, has come a growth in shady practices around Kopi Luwak production, including the sale of regular coffee in place of, or blended in with, genuine Kopi Luwak, and the farming of the beans from caged civets.

It is the latter that has attracted the attention of international animal welfare bodies such as the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

The WSPA says farmed civets are often caught using snares and other inhumane methods, sustaining injuries that are frequently

“WE ARE HOPING TO SEE SOME DIFFERENCES IN THE METABOLIC PROFILES OF KOPI LUWAK PRODUCED USING DIFFERENT METHODS SO WE CAN THEN ESTABLISH A METHOD TO DISCRIMINATE WILD AND CAGED KOPI LUWAK.” Dr. Sastia Putri

Researcher, Osaka University

left untreated by their captors. The animals are then kept in small, bare cages where they are overfed with coffee cherries instead of their usual mixed diet. These practices, WSPA says, place massive stress on the civets and often lead to illness and early death. In response, the WSPA has launched a campaign to call upon civet coffee retailers around the world to pledge to only sell civet coffee from a guaranteed 100 per cent wild, cage-free source.

Dr Neil D’Cruze, Head of Wildlife for WSPA, says that the only way for this to be effective is through certification.

“WSPA urges retailers to lend their support by expressing their concerns about caged civet coffee and their desire for an accredited certification scheme to relevant certification bodies,” D’Cruze says. “WSPA also encourages retailers to proactively work with suppliers, distributors and producers to develop and ensure the enforcement of such a scheme.”

D’Cruze says the campaign has already had a number of successes, including the announcement from Harrods in the UK that it will no longer sell Kopi Luwak produced from caged methods. Numerous retailers in Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden have also removed all Kopi Luwak from their shelves

Indonesian coffee farmers sort through the civet droppings to find the coffee beans.

specifically as a response to WSPA’s campaign, as there is currently no way to differentiate between the caged and non-caged product.

This, however, could be solved by science before it is addressed by the certification bodies. Dr. Sastia Putri is a researcher at the Laboratory of Bioresource Engineering, Department of Advanced Science and Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Japan, working under Eiichiro Fukusaki. Fukusaki’s team has been working on behalf of the Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute to use metabolic profiling as a tool for the authentication of Kopi Luwak.

“We used metabolic profiling to compare the profile of authentic Kopi Luwak beans (digested by a civet), regular coffee beans (not digested by a civet), and a blend of regular coffee and Kopi Luwak,” Putri says. “As a result, we were able to identify several markers that can be used for Kopi Luwak discrimination. We are hoping that this will serve as a start for the development of a robust authentication procedure for Kopi Luwak.”

This project was initially launched to combat the problem of diluted or fake Kopi Luwak, but Putri says the next phase is to address the problem of caged civet farming. “We are hoping to see some differences in the metabolic profiles of Kopi Luwak produced using different methods so we can then establish a method to discriminate wild and caged Kopi Luwak,” she says.

Ade Makmursyah is one of the owners of Kopi Luwak Nusantara, an Indonesian brand that specialises in coffee from wild civets. Makmursyah says he is against the farming of civets for a number of reasons, not least that so long as the practice continues to attract negative attention, it is doing harm to the businesses

EXPERT PICKERS The Asian palm civet is said by proponents of Kopi Luwak to be a particularly discerning harvester of coffee cherries, picking only the finest fruits to feed on.

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FEATURE Cruel Coffee

The green beans are gathered in the wild and picked out of the civet’s faeces.

“THE REAL POWER TO CHANGE THIS SITUATION FOR THE BETTER LIES WITH THE PUBLIC; CONSUMERS AND RETAILERS WHO THE CIVET COFFEE INDUSTRY RELY UPON… ULTIMATELY IT IS THEIR PURCHASING PRACTICES WHICH CAN ENSURE THAT ONLY WILD SOURCED, ‘CAGE FREE’ CIVET COFFEE IS PRODUCED.” Dr Neil D’Cruze,

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While reports abound of people paying up to US$500 per kilogram for Kopi Luwak in the west, in Indonesia the price is usually half that.

of all Kopi Luwak producers, regardless of their methods.

Makmursyah also says coffee from farmed civets is of an inferior standard, as the animals are not given the opportunity to pick the best coffee cherries themselves, which is one of the key points of difference for the product from wild civets. He says also that if civets are not fed a balanced diet, the quality of the coffee passing through their systems is adversely affected.

On top of this, Makmursyah says the demand for Kopi Luwak is so small, that he is puzzled by the need to farm the creatures at all: “There are more wild civet beans droppings out there [than there is demand for the product] so why bother to put [civets] in cages?”

Makmursyah also says that, with most of the demand for Kopi Luwak coming from within Asia, the often astronomical prices that are paid in the West are not as commonplace as many people think. “The average offered price for roasted beans is about US$250 per kilogram,” he says.

Makmursyah says he is concerned that the campaigns to end civet farming will affect the industry as a whole. “However, as ethical Kopi Luwak producers, we are not giving up

due to this controversy and we will continue to grow the market by keeping this unique Indonesian heritage running,” he says.

The WSPA’s D’Cruze says that while the society is working with certification bodies to develop criteria for cage-free certification, the impetus for change will ultimately come from consumers demanding to know whether they are drinking coffee that has been harvested from genuine wild civets or their caged counterparts.

“The real power to change this situation for the better lies with the public; consumers and retailers who the civet coffee industry rely upon to buy their products.

U ltimately it is their purchasing practices which can ensure that only wild sourced, ‘cage free’ civet coffee is produced and that independent assurance for cruelty free product status can be guaranteed,” he says. G C R

FEATURE Dunkin’ Donuts

A SLAM DUNK E X PA N S I O N FOR GLOBAL

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THROUGH AGGRESSIVE EXPANSION PLANS, DUNKIN’ DONUTS IS SEEKING TO CAPTURE A GREATER SHARE OF THE AMERICAN AND INTERNATIONAL COFFEE MARKET.

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s the world’s largest coffee consuming country, more than 100 million Americans drink a total of more than 400 million cups of coffee a day.

Around 20 per cent of these Americans go out to buy their coffee, rather than brew it at home. The result has been a lucrative out-of-home market, a trend that has worked well for market leader Dunkin’ Donuts.

Although the typical American treat may be its namesake, Dunkin’ Donuts is a dominant player on the United States coffee scene.

According to IBISWorld research, Dunkin’ Donuts has cornered a whopping 16.1 per cent share of the US retail coffee market. This number trails behind only Starbucks, which claims 32.6 per cent.

Through aggressive expansion plans, Dunkin’ Donuts now has its eyes set on even bigger things. “[Dunkin’ Donuts is] seeking to capture a greater share of the pie,” says marketing expert Charles Gaudet of PredictableProfits.com.

A move Gaudet says could “potentially disrupt the competitive landscape”.

Dunkin’ Donuts has cornered a 16.1% share of the U.S. retail coffee market.

BY DEBORAH O’MALLEY

ACCORDING TO RESEARCH FIRM NPD GROUP, DUNKIN’ DONUTS HOLDS THE TITLE FOR SELLING THE MOST HOT AND ICED COFFEE IN THE US. MUCH OF THE CHAIN’S STRONG SALES STEM FROM ITS EXTREMELY LOYAL CUSTOMER BASE. FOR SEVEN YEARS IN A ROW, DUNKIN’ DONUTS HAS EARNED TOP RANKING FOR CUSTOMER LOYALTY.

These global expansion plans are a big step forward from the company’s humble beginnings.

Dunkin’ Donuts was founded in 1950 with a single restaurant in the US state of Massachusetts.

Today, the coffee chain has ballooned into the world’s second largest, behind only Starbucks. There are currently more than 10,800 Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants in 31 countries across the globe. The international coffee chain, which is owned by the parent company Dunkin’ Brands, also franchises the popular ice cream store Baskin-Robbins. In 2012, Dunkin’ Brands global franchisee sales topped US$8.8 billion.

Serving a variety of speciality coffees and baked goods, Dunkin’ Donuts has become a market leader in the hot, regular, decaf, flavoured, and iced coffee categories.

According to research firm NPD Group, Dunkin’ Donuts holds the title for selling the most hot and iced coffee in the US. Much of the chain’s strong sales stem from its extremely loyal customer base. For seven years in a row, Dunkin’ Donuts has earned top ranking for customer loyalty.

This loyalty has translated into strong domestic growth. In the third quarter of the 2013 financial year, the company added 81 new US-based Dunkin’ Donuts locations. This expansion brought the total number of American Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants to 7500.

According to Grant Benson, CFE, Vice President of Global Franchising and Business Development, Dunkin’ Brands, the coffee chain ultimately intends to have at least 15,000 Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants in the US, including approximately an additional 3000 east of the Mississippi and 5000 in the western part of the country. These restaurants would double the chain’s current presence in the US. “We see significant opportunity to expand the brand across the US as well as internationally in the years ahead,” says Benson.

With rampant growth across the US, it should come as no surprise that Dunkin’ Donuts’ financials are quickly rising. In the third-quarter of 2013, same-store-sales – an important metric of retail growth – increased 4.2 per cent from the 2012 quarter. Over this same time period, total revenue grew 8.6 per cent from the year prior.

Because Dunkin’ Donut stores are almost entirely operated by franchisees, further expansion should mean an influx of franchise fees and royalty income, along with minimal operating expenses.

This formula bodes well for the company’s future financial growth outlook.

With strong success on its home turf, the popular coffee chain is now aiming to replicate the

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COFFEENOMICS Industry Leaders

NEW YEAR,

N EW C HALLE N G E S GLOBAL COFFEE REVIEW PETITIONED INDUSTRY LEADERS ON WHAT MAJOR FACTORS ARE SET TO AFFECT COFFEE PRICES AND THE INDUSTRY AS A WHOLE IN 2014.

COLOMBIAN COFFEE GROWERS FEDERATION LUIS MUNOZ, CHIEF EXECUTIVE

THE WORLD´S COFFEE market is facing a significant transformation.

New consumers are entering the market in Latin America, Asia and Eastern Europe, supporting significant growth in the instant category. Traditional markets continue to grow, although at lower rates.

However, this growth sets new dynamics, especially for those involved in the production and distribution of high-quality mild Arabica beans.

While instant coffee is a very interesting market, the mild Arabica bean segment allows for more specialisation and single origin propositions. More competition in this segment brings about the need for differentiation.

The premium coffee segment, specialty coffee shops in particular, is also making significant inroads in Asia and Latin America. Juan Valdez, the Colombian Coffee Grower’s brand, recently opened shops in the Middle East and announced plans for expansion into Southeast Asia, while Starbucks wants to capitalise on Latin America’s increased purchasing power by entering the growing Colombian market in 2014.

More mature coffee-consuming nations also show changes in demand.

The premium category continues to show dynamism, in both the out-of-home and in-home categories (single-serve brewing systems especially). These trends favour differentiation and the use of more expensive mild Arabica coffees, as their cost can be absorbed more easily in these distribution channels.

From the supply side, there is confidence that mainstream Arabica and Robusta coffees won’t see major challenges. Mild Arabica coffees, however, are a different story. Few countries produce washed Arabica coffee at the high altitudes necessary to generate the flavour profile and acidity that is

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4C ASSOCIATION

MELANIE RUTTEN-SÜLZ, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

“TRENDS FAVOUR DIFFERENTIATION AND THE USE OF MORE EXPENSIVE MILD ARABICA COFFEES AS THEIR COST CAN BE ABSORBED MORE EASILY IN THESE DISTRIBUTION CHANNELS.” Luis Munoz, Chief Executive

Colombian Coffee Growers Federation

the backbone of the premium segment. Coffees grown at lower altitudes simply lack the nuances in flavour that sophisticated consumers demand.

These coffees are grown in the mountains near the equatorial line in places such as Central America, Colombia, Peru, Eastern Africa and South India and Indonesia. The origins of what is called the “other mild Arabica segment”, Central America and Peru, are currently experiencing harsh difficulties due to coffee leaf rust fungus. The financial efforts that need to be made to recover from this crisis during a low price cycle will be very difficult for thousands of coffee growers to meet.

Perhaps the most concerted effort to successfully combat rust comes from Colombia, the country that could become the major source of mild coffees in the future. During the past few years, we have renovated plantations with rust resistant varieties and improved productivity.

As a result, green coffee buyers from around the world have made Colombia a not-to-miss stop on their international sourcing trips.

Although there may be some variability in mild Arabica premiums, growers will largely face difficult times. Perhaps those who invested in high-quality coffee production over the past few years will be rewarded for their efforts.

IN OUR JOURNEY towards more sustainability we have achieved remarkable progress over the past years with more and more coffee farmers harvesting the fruits of their efforts to apply sustainable agriculture and production practices. And yet we are reminded over and over again of the volatile nature of the coffee market and how it is hampering these efforts.

We saw one of its key determining factors – international market prices – plummet once again in 2013.

This year, in our function as the global multi-stakeholder platform for coffee sustainability, the 4C Association appeals for intensified international cooperation among coffee stakeholders to ensure the vitality and sustainability of the sector.

The challenges remain as diverse as they are numerous; and cannot be addressed by any company or organisation on its own. For example, farmers in Central America, as well as in Eastern and Central Africa have battled the damaging effects of the coffee leaf rust disease and the black coffee twig borer respectively, expounded by a complex combination of old coffee trees, insufficient nutrition, inadequate treatment and adverse weather patterns.

The volatile nature of the coffee sector makes it difficult to ensure long-term planning and adequate investment by the most vulnerable in coffee supply chains. Moreover, while coffee exports are generally increasing, farmers have grappled with the continued rise of production costs over the past 10 years. This makes it imperative to increase joint efforts towards strengthening the capacity of those who make their living from coffee and reducing their vulnerability to price instability. As one of its defining characteristics, the 4C Association looks at factors beyond price such as farm productivity (crop output/yields), or the cost of inputs (such as fertilisers, chemicals and implements).

The association and its partners assist farmers in improving their agricultural and management practices, work towards the long-term sustainability of their businesses and thus become more resilient to changing market conditions.

Aside from concerns about production, the sector has also seen a new trend develop on the consumption end of the coffee story. We are seeing a rise in demand from emerging markets such as India and China, as well as a rapidly growing taste for coffee in traditional producing countries such as Brazil and Vietnam. This interest is also growing noticeably on the African continent.

Moreover, consumers are more informed and savvy than ever before. While I do not foresee a major revolution in sustainability activism, I think we can all agree that consumers will continue to expect basic things of the products they consume – namely, that they are not enjoying these products at the cost of someone else or of the environment. Continued multi-stakeholder engagement for baseline sustainability will therefore go a long way to improve coffee production and processing, ensure fairer market conditions for farmers and allow consumers to enjoy that worry-free cup of coffee that they deserve.

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COFFEENOMICS Industry Leaders

OLAM

VIVEK VERMA, MANAGING DIRECTOR ROBUSTA AN EMPTY TERMINAL market and thin pipeline will support Robusta prices through the first quarter of 2014, leading to firm cash differentials and a stable to rising futures market.

Going into the second quarter, the Robusta market is likely to start feeling the weight of a big Robusta crop from Brazil, a weak Arabica market, and a more comfortable pipeline.

The Robusta futures market will likely start falling, but cash differentials will likely stay at a slight premium to tenderable parity.

The full weight of the excess Robusta supply will be felt in the third quarter, as the Indonesian and Brazil crops are marketed along with the tail end of the crop from Vietnam.

The futures market and cash differentials will likely both be under pressure. A seasonal low in futures prices is expected towards the end of the third quarter or at the beginning of the fourth quarter with cash prices at, or near, tenderable parity.

The futures market will likely stabilise in the fourth quarter, with cash differentials staying near tenderable parity. We could see Robusta futures prices trading as high as US$1800 per metric tonne and as low as US$1300 per metric tonne.

ARABICA

“SUSTAINABLE AND SPECIALITY COFFEE WILL WITNESS A MUCH HIGHER GROWTH RATE THAN THE REST WITH 4C VERIFICATION PROGRAMS LEADING THE WAY IN SUSTAINABLE SEGMENTS.” Vivek Verma

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In general, mild Arabica differentials are likely to remain steady at or just above tenderable parity for all of 2014, as wide carry in the futures market make owning Arabicas attractive to the trade. Natural Arabica cash differentials are likely to firm up during the first half of 2014 due to the put option program in Brazil, which is expected to take a large portion of the good cupping natural Arabica in Brazil off the market. Differentials during the second half of 2014 will be highly contingent on the weather during the harvest in Brazil. Assuming that the Brazil harvest weather is normal/dry, natural Arabica differentials are expected to weaken during the third quarter of 2014 as the large on-cycle crop is marketed.

The narrow NY-London arbitrage and wide carries in NY will continue to support demand for under-grade natural Arabica coffee. This, along with declining availability will lead to a strengthening of under-grade natural Arabica premiums during the first half of 2014.

The NY futures market could stage a rally at the start of 2014 on fund short-covering and index fund buying. However the market will likely trade in a dull sideways pattern throughout a large portion of next year. Recovery is more likely to happen during the last quarter of 2014.

NY futures price range is expected to be between US$1.00 per pound and $1.20 per pound. A brief dip below US$1.00 cannot be ruled out.

SUSTAINABLE, ORGANIC AND FAIR-TRADE CERTIFIED AND SPECIALITY SEGMENT And finally, sustainable and speciality coffee will witness a much higher growth rate than the rest with 4C verification programs leading the way in sustainable segments and single serve gourmet category leading the way in the speciality market.

VOLCAFE

JAN KEES VAN DER WILD, DIVISIONAL MANAGING DIRECTOR WE’RE ECONOMIC TRADITIONALISTS. We think it’s all about supply and demand, and it’s clear there has been a little too much of the former over the past year or so.

With the Arabica market in particular starting to trade below the cost of production, even on some high-yielding Brazilian mechanised farms, the question of how both supply and demand will respond to low prices becomes an urgent one.

SUPPLY RESPONSE Brazilian 2014 production has already benefitted from last year’s fertiliser application.

Weather in the last three months has been almost perfect for flowering, fruit setting and crop development. However, in this low price environment, we may now see a drop-off in fertilisation, and more hard decisions to prune trees to avoid harvesting costs.

Another important factor is the number of trees planted or renovated throughout the coffee world during the high-price period, which are now coming into production. Many of Colombia’s renovated trees are having a strong first crop now or in the coming months. In addition, trees planted in new areas of Peru, Honduras, and even China will also bear fruit now, and in the 2014 crop.

The 86 million bags of Arabica supply expected for 2013-14 is similar to 2012-13 production.

In 2014-15 Colombia and Honduras could produce more coffee, while Brazilian 2014-15 production is still a large question mark.

The lack of inputs and pruning will have a negative effect on Arabica farms which did not replant. We may have to look to 2015-16 production before we see the real consequences of Arabica price trading below costs of production.

Robusta is not yet trading below the average cost of production. We see a record Robusta crop of 28.8 million bags being harvested in Vietnam in 2013-14, and we see no reason not to expect a record Robusta crop from Brazil in 2014-15. Brazil and Vietnam are on opposite biannual cycles, thus overall Robusta supply hovers around 69 million bags in 2013-14 and 2014-15 respectively.

DEMAND RESPONSE The response of overall coffee demand to price is famously rather inelastic in traditional markets. We see Western Europe with continuing stable demand, and the US showing demand growth derived from demographic change and new ways of drinking coffee.

Non-traditional markets are another story. Any change in price has a marked effect on consumption at this point on the income curve. These markets, particularly Asia, are Robusta markets. The Robusta price has not plunged on the same scale that Arabica has, nor do we expect it to do so. Demand in non-traditional coffee markets should receive a boost from slightly lower Robusta prices, but rates of growth are not excessive, and somewhat balanced by an economic deceleration in these markets.

All in all, we are in a second year of surplus in the Arabica market, while Robusta is balanced. Futures prices should start to price in 2014-15 balances very soon – the crop surveys currently ongoing in Brazil post-flowering are likely to be crucial to market sentiment. Brazil is still the key. G C R

“THE ROBUSTA PRICE HAS NOT PLUNGED ON THE SAME SCALE THAT ARABICA HAS, NOR DO WE EXPECT IT TO DO SO. DEMAND IN NON‑TRADITIONAL COFFEE MARKETS SHOULD RECEIVE A BOOST FROM SLIGHTLY LOWER ROBUSTA PRICES.” Jan Kees van der Wild

Volcafe Divisional Managing Director JA N UA R Y /FE B R UA R Y 2014 | GCR

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FEATURE Kicking Horse Coffee

DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAINS

IT BLAZED A TRAIL TO BECOME CANADA’S LARGEST ROASTER OF FAIRTRADE ORGANIC COFFEE. BUT, AS KICKING HORSE COFFEE’S TOM HOYNE TELLS GLOBAL COFFEE REVIEW, THEY’RE NOT DONE YET.

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hen Kicking Horse Coffee founders Leo Johnson and Elana Rosenfeld made the decision to only sell coffee that was certified as being both Fairtrade and Organic, they were met with skepticism on both sides of their business.

“There was a lot of scepticism from importers and from the customer-base at that time,” says Tom Hoyne, who is the company’s Vice President of Coffee Quality Assurance.

That cynicism was fuelled by doubt, on the one side that a growing coffee roaster would be unable to find a consistent supply of coffee with both certifications, while on the other side there remained doubt as to whether

consumers would be willing to pay the inevitable premium that such coffee would demand.

But having started out roasting coffee in their garage in the small Rocky Mountain town of Invermere more than a decade before, neither Johnson nor Rosenfeld were afraid of challenging conventional wisdom.

That was 16 years ago and Kicking Horse Coffee is now Canada’s top Fairtrade Organic coffee label. Now in supermarkets all across Canada, and with a small but growing presence in the US, Hoyne says there are big plans afoot.

“We’re looking at some pretty aggressive growth strategies to get Fairtrade coffee out there more,” Hoyne says.

Kicking Horse Coffee runs two Diedrich roasters and produces 17 varieties of coffee, which are predominantly sold through grocery stores. This year alone, they have roasted more than 1.3 million kilograms of coffee.

Alongside their roasters sits a Munson rotary batch mixer. Hoyne says that Kicking Horse Coffee used to use a wire type mixer, but could no longer tolerate the amount of loss and breakage of the beans that went along with it.

Since buying in the Munson, Hoyne says that mixing has become a much more simple stage of the production process. “We are super happy with it. It’s stainless steel, it’s easy to clean and it’s quick,” he says.

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RESEARCH Yemen Arabica

GENETIC

SURVIVAL WORLD COFFEE RESEARCH IS TURNING ITS ATTENTION TO A PARTICULAR STRAND OF YEMENI ARABICA, WHICH HAS PROVEN A REMARKABLE ABILITY TO THRIVE IN A HOT AND DRY CLIMATE, WHILE MAINTAINING AN IMPRESSIVE TASTE PROFILE.

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hile it is widely known as the launching pad for coffee’s global journey some 1400 years ago, scientists now believe the coffee grown in Yemen could help safeguard the plant’s future in the face of climate change.

World Coffee Research (WCR) is working with Sana’a University in Yemen to study Yemeni coffee landraces with the support of the American Embassy and the Fulbright Scholarship program.

As part of the project, Yemeni coffee professor and breeder Dr Amin Abbo al Hakimi is spending one year at Texas A&M University. He will work with scientists in breeding and genomics to conduct a genetic diversity analysis on the Yemeni coffees that have long attracted the attention of specialty coffee roasters for their unique taste attributes.

Behind these unique flavours lies a source of genetic diversity that has gone unexplored.

Approximately 1000 years ago Ethiopian and Yemeni traders brought Arabica coffee from Ethiopia to Yemen where hundreds of years of environmental, genetic and human selection pressures have likely produced different Arabica varieties unique to Yemen.

What makes these strains of the Arabica species particularly appealing to WCR is their resilience in the extreme hot and dry climate of Yemen and the possibility that this climate resiliency can be used to help sustain coffee in the face of climate change.

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RESEARCH Yemen Arabica

The Yemeni Arabica species is particularly appealing to WCR because of its resilience in the extreme hot and dry climate.

Dr Christophe Montagnon, who works with WCR, says Yemen has served as the “screening place between wild Ethiopian and cultivated varieties.”

“The Arabica from Yemen is of particular importance as it represents the very place where Arabica was first domesticated out of Ethiopia,” Montagnon says. “The first historical varieties, Bourbon and Typica, did not come directly from Ethiopia, but from Yemen to the Reunion Island and to Asia and then America.”

However, it is this particular coffee’s resilience that has attracted the specific interest of WCR. “In Yemen, coffee is cultivated in a semi-arid climate, so it is very interesting to study the physiological and related genetic features that were selected in this very environment. This is, of course, of interest regarding the current concerns about climate change,” he says.

Thompson Owen is the owner of specialty coffee house, Sweet Maria’s, in the US. Owen has visited Yemen and says, in addition to its rich history, the country maintains a strong and valuable position in the world coffee scene. Despite the upheaval of a popular revolution as a part of the Arab Spring in 2011, the country still has a thriving trade.

“I believe it is a good sign, as our trading partners are part of a Yemeni society that seeks economic cooperation, as they also are importers of appliances into Yemen,” Owen says. “Promoting Yemeni products in the world can only aid in a better understanding of common ground, and respectful difference.”

Dr al Hakimi says the understanding and preservation of Yemeni Arabica is essential for the future of the entire coffee industry.

“The conservation in-situ of Yemeni landraces of coffee, and documentation of experiences and local knowledge is a necessity,” he says.

“Yemen cannot do it alone and requires extensive scientific cooperation to preserve this world heritage of protected cultivation, and for the development of coffee in Yemen and around the world.” GCR

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“PROMOTING YEMENI PRODUCTS IN THE WORLD CAN ONLY AID IN A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF COMMON GROUND, AND RESPECTFUL DIFFERENCE.” Thompson Owen

Owner, Sweet Maria’s Despite the upheaval of a popular revolution as a part of the Arab Spring in 2011, the country still has a thriving trade.

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CONSISTENT ROASTING

LEADERS IN THE PRODUCTION OF ROASTING EQUIPMENT EXPLAIN HOW TECHNOLOGY CAN HELP CONTROL EXTERNAL VARIABLES.

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orking in an industry that deals with a natural commodity comes with its drawbacks.

From hoping for good weather for an abundant crop, or that a particular farm will be spared rust disease or berry borer, the humble coffee bean is very much at the mercy of mother nature.

Once the bean has successfully been grown, harvested, processed, and transported to a roasting operation, it’s of little surprise that true consistency within a single lot is virtually impossible.

The consumer, however, is harder to convince on the challenge of consistency, as he or she is simply interested in the resulting quality in the cup.

This is the main crux of the problem that roasting operations have faced since the coffee bean first touched heat. Add in additional factors like the outside temperature where the beans are being stored, the temperature of the roaster depending on the time of the day, and even atmospheric conditions – the list of challenges to achieving consistency in roasting operations just keeps growing.

This is where technology can come in and save the day. In this edition of Global Coffee Review, we speak with four industry leaders in the production of roasting equipment. While every company representative acknowledged the importance of the roastmaster in achieving a desirable flavour profile, they also offered impressive technological advancements to confront the challenges imposed by these external factors.

Thomas Koziorowski Director of Product Technology and R&D at Probat (see page 46), explains that in large scale operations working with pre-blended beans, consistency must be delivered on different layers. The first being the standard parametres considered in roasting profiles, that is colour, time, and roast temperatures.

The second layer is the need to limit the “demixing effect” that can occur when roasting a blend. To limit this demixing process, he explains how Probat equipment allows operators the possibility to adjust the mixing movement and roast air flow separately.

Andreas Juerss, Marketing Manager at Neuhaus Neotec, emphasises why versatility is key in achieving consistency in roasting operations (see page 44). He says that the machine must be able to finely adjust the variables as needed. This is where Neuhaus Neotec’s position as leaders in hot air roasting technology, he says, largely comes into play. With hot air

roasting, the machines have a higher heat capacity in the system itself, leaving more flexibility to adjust parameters like temperature and air flow to ensure the optimum profile.

Mark Loring Ludwig, Founder of the Loring Smart Roast (see page 42) says that the link between top roastmasters and Loring is the equipment’s ability to cater to the list of roaster-oriented factors that affect consistency of the colour and flavour profile of the coffee products produced on it. On top of this, Loring equipment operates with a 100 per cent premix burner. Air and gas are always mixed in exactly the right amounts, so there is nothing of either left over. This means that the external room temperature, atmosphere, weather and time of year will not affect the roast.

At Buhler (see page 40) part of the answer comes in the form of what Stefan Schenker, Head of Market Segment Coffee, calls “real profile roasting”. Technically called IRC Process Control, this is a highly reactive system that modulates the energy input into the system depending on the actual temperature of the bean. The result means that no matter the external factors, the same roast profile can be achieved right from the first batch. G C R

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REAL PROFILE

ROASTING

BUHLER HAS REVOLUTIONISED THE ROASTING PROCESS, USING THE BEAN’S ACTUAL TEMPERATURE TO DEFINE AND CONTROL THE ROASTING PROFILE.

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“WHEN THE ROASTER IS COLD, GETTING THAT HEAT TRANSFER RIGHT CAN BE VERY CHALLENGING, IN LARGE-SCALE OPERATIONS, THE CHALLENGE ALSO COMES WHEN YOU CHANGE RECIPES. WITHOUT SPECIAL CARE THE FIRST BATCH WON’T TYPICALLY MEET QUALITY STANDARDS.” Stefan Schenker

Buhler Head of Market Segment Coffee 40

G C R | J A N UA R Y / F E B R UA RY 2014

hen it comes to achieving consistency in roasting, Stefan Schenker, Head of Market Segment Coffee for Buhler, says that the nature of coffee means the cards are typically stacked against a roaster before the process has even begun.

Fluctuations in green coffee quality and moisture, the time of year (summer or winter), and the temperature of the machine can all affect the roasting process. With the degree of roast affecting extraction yields and grinding requirements, the smallest variance can have a major impact on quality. In large-scale operations, and especially capsule manufacturing, these elements become even more critical in ensuring a quality product.

“For the industrial operator, the coffee they are producing must be consistent,” says Schenker.

“The degree of roast is highly relevant in the flavour of the coffee as it can effect the physical properties of the bean.”

The greatest challenge at this level of operation is that all the elements that must be controlled in the roasting process, despite these uncontrollable factors. The degree of roast, the roasting time, and the shape of the time/temperature curve must be accurate to develop and reproduce a specific roasted coffee product. This time/temperature curve, also known as the roast profile, is especially important in sophisticated roasting operations.

“You can get to the same degree in temperature in the same time, but along a different path,” says Schenker. “It’s this path that determines the chemical reaction, and the final product.”

When starting a machine cold, to get an exact roasting profile, he says that more often than not it takes a few batches to get that path lined up just right.

“When the roaster is cold, getting that heat transfer right can be very challenging,” he says. “In large scale operations, the challenge also comes when you change recipes. Without special care, the first batch won’t typically meet quality standards.”

To compensate for all of these challenges, Buhler has introduced a breakthrough in roasting chamber design and machine operations that can surpass these challenges, and ensure a consistent product outcome, right from the first batch.

The breakthrough is a process designed by Buhler called IRC Process Control, or as Schenker calls it, “real” profile roasting.

The IRC process is a highly reactive system that modulates the energy input into the system depending on the actual temperature of the bean. The result means that no matter the external factors, the same roast profile can be achieved right from the first batch.

The move is a big improvement on what Schenker calls “classical” multi-step profile roasting.

Used on most hot air roasters, this traditional system modulates heat according to a preset number of programmed, timed steps.

PROMOTIONAL FEATURE//////////

“The problem with this system is that you will still have fluctuations in product temperature, batch by batch,” says Schenker. “If your exterior climate is different, if the machine is warm or cold, if the green bean moisture varies, this can all affect the roasting process. As a result, you can never get a consistent quality product.”

Schenker explains that controlling the hot air temperature in the chamber alone is not enough to control the roast profile, because of the complex roasting process. The chemical reaction that occurs in the process becomes autocatalytic in the last process stages, that is producing heat unto itself, which can then affect the product outcome.

Additionally, the water quenching process preferred by large‑scale roasters to stop the roasting process must be introduced very carefully. “At the end of the process, the temperatures are rising very fast, and you need to stop precisely at the right moment, not only according to time or the final temperature of the bean,” says Schenker. “You need a highly sophisticated process controlling the entire product temperature path.”

The IRC system has taken this advanced approach to the controlling process. Instead of defining the energy input into the chamber, the operator defines the roasting profile by the actual temperature of the bean.

“You can define what product temperature path you would like to achieve, and the roaster will control that temperature by modulating the energy,” says Schenker.

While simple enough in concept, producing equipment that

can achieve this “real” profile roasting has required a remarkable degree of engineering, Schenker explains. The roasting chamber must be highly reactive, with the ability to easily put more or less energy into the system. The process control software is also some of the most advanced available on the market.

The advantages in the resulting product are two-fold. The first advantage is the highly desirable consistent product. The technology also offers an added bonus of being able to do non-traditional roasting profiles.

“With these profiles, the time and temperature control is highly relevant,” says Schenker. “You can introduce more heat at the beginning or the end to affect the chemical reaction in a novel fashion. The result is a new profile that roasters can introduce that have never before been seen on the market.”

Schenker says this level of control is available to large-scale operators, that typically work on this level of automation.

“I don’t think it’s true that large-scale operators have more difficulty achieving consistency,” he says. “In fact, the contrary can be true because large-scale roasters tend to have very sophisticated tools.” GCR

REAL PROFILE ROASTING Buhler’s Stefan Schenker explains that by controlling the process by the actual temperature of the bean, the roasted product is more consistent. www.buhlergroup.com

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ARTISANAL CONTROL

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LORING SMART ROAST’S CLOSED LOOP EQUIPMENT HAS HELPED IMPROVE CONSISTENCY BY LIMITING ATMOSPHERIC FACTORS AND PUTTING THE ROASTMASTER IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT.

hen it comes to the art of roasting, Mark Loring Ludwig, Founder of Loring Smart Roast, admits that all the technology in the world cannot make up for the skills of a roaster.

“There is nothing more important than the roastmaster’s palate and his or her ability to judge the effects of the small changes [in the green coffee] he or she must make an attempt to maintain the status quo,” he says. “If consistency is truly important to you, and to a given product, then you must cup religiously, and with great attention, on a regular basis.”

Ludwig is familiar with the practices of the world’s top artisan roasters. Although he’s worked with some customers who are more concerned with efficiency and maintenance than consistency and quality, he says Loring’s equipment tends to win greater favour among the more “fanatical” customers, those with a passion for coffee quality. He says that it’s not a coincidence that Loring customers are winning a disproportionally greater number of awards for their coffee.

The link, he says, between top roastmasters and Loring is the equipment’s ability to cater to the list of roaster-oriented factors that affect consistency of the colour and flavour profile of the coffee products produced on it.

The first such item is the need to weigh the batch accurately. Ludwig notes that the Loring roaster does this for the operator, with a scale built into the green bean cart.

The second factor he points to is the need to drop the coffee into the roaster at the exact same temperature every time, for each specific product and batch size. While the operator has the option to either warm up the roaster for half an hour, or drop the first batch of the day at a higher temperature, he says Loring equipment can take the guess work out of the process by dropping the roast automatically at an exact chosen drop temperature.

The third factor is the need to control the roast temperature as accurately as an operator can, to a specific profile.

“Once you have worked out the profile for a given coffee product, the goal will be to reproduce it now, and in the future, as faithfully as possible,” says Ludwig.

Loring equipment offers two options in this regard. The first is a fully automatic roast mode for roasters who are confident they have dialled in their exact profile. “Kind of like you write the novel and we print it,” says Ludwig.

It’s in this “writing” phase – determining the roast profile through the manual roasting phase – that Ludwig points to some of the greatest benefits of Loring equipment in giving

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“ONCE YOU HAVE WORKED OUT THE PROFILE FOR A GIVEN COFFEE PRODUCT, THE GOAL WILL BE TO REPRODUCE IT NOW, AND IN THE FUTURE, AS FAITHFULLY AS POSSIBLE. KIND OF LIKE YOU WRITE THE NOVEL AND WE PRINT IT.” Mark Loring Ludwig

Founder, Loring Smart Roast

roasters the tools to accomplish their goal.

One such feature is a digital burner control with 1 per cent output burner adjustments steps. Although the operator can make burner adjustments in 5, 10, or even 20 per cent jumps,

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Ludwig says that in watching roastmasters work, he’s noticed they are often grateful for the opportunity to make 1 or 2 per cent adjustments.

Another major feature of Loring equipment is that it allows the controller the ability to know where they are in the roast at any given moment. A Loring machine features a plot screen that allows the roaster to follow the process.

“You can see the whole roast from drop to finish on the screen at one time, and magically your current roast is plotting over that baseline,” says Ludwig. “You don’t have to calculate where you should be at a given time, you can see how far your current roast is above or below your baseline.”

Ludwig adds the equipment can even calculate the difference between the baseline and roast value for the operator, for instance +3 in red means 3 degrees over, while -1 in blue means 1 degree under.

As the roast comes to its endpoint, Ludwig says he understands the importance of providing roasters the tools to judge this moment accurately.

“A roastmaster really comes alive towards the end of the roast, when he is listening, watching, and sniffing for the exact end of the roast,” he says. While Loring equipment shows the operator the endpoint on the screen, it also enables the operator

to judge the roast by sight via a calibrated true white LED lamp. If a roaster is comfortable that their coffee is dialled into the roaster, then the Loring can also work via a fixed endpoint temperature.

One factor that is out of even the most experienced operator’s control is the need to roast in a consistent atmosphere, with the same high ratio of water vapour and little or no oxygen to degrade coffee at high temperatures. In this regard, Ludwig says that Loring equipment is unique in offering this capability.

“We make the only roasters that I know of that recirculate 100 per cent for the entire roast, adding nothing else into the roast environment except the flame,” he says. “By doing this we completely control the roaster atmosphere.

Ludwig explains that this is the product of a 100 per cent premix burner. Air and gas is always mixed in exactly the right amounts, so there is nothing of either left over. This means that the external room temperature, atmosphere, weather and time of year will not affect the roast.

Mark Loring Ludwig Mel Gurney is a Roastmaster at Loring, and explains how Loring confirms that the company’s equipment allows equipment recirculates 100 the operator better control of the roasting per cent of the air during process, while limiting the effects of these a roast, so that nothing is external factors. added to the environment “Factors such as barometric pressure, except the flame. humidity, and temperature of the roastery, www.loring.com have been impossible to account for in any way to attempt to produce consistency,” says Gurney. “The beauty of the Loring is that all of these problems have been solved elegantly.” G C R

LOOP IT UP

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VERSATILITY

&C O N S I S T E N CY NEUHAUS NEOTEC’S ANDREAS JUERSS EXPLAINS HOW AN INTELLIGENT AND FLEXIBLE PLANT IS KEY TO ENSURING A QUALITY PRODUCT.

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“THERE WAS A TIME WHEN A ROASTMASTER, WORKING ON A CLASSICAL [DRUM] ROASTER, WOULD NEED TO ALWAYS BE WORKING ON THE MACHINE, LOOKING AT THE COFFEE AND CONSTANTLY CHECKING FOR CONSISTENCY. I DON’T THINK THIS IS THE CASE ANYMORE AT BIG OPERATIONS.” Andreas Juerss

Neuhaus Neotec Marketing Manager 44

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euhaus Neotec is no stranger to the importance, and challenges, of consistent roasting.

“Consistency is essentially the main point when it comes to quality in roasting,” says Marketing Manager Andreas Juerss. “The most significant element to producing quality coffee on the large scale is achieving consistency.”

As a specialist in large-scale roasting operations, Juerss explains how the company has pioneered many major developments that allow plants to replicate perfect roasts one batch after another. The result, he says, is a change in the role of the modern machine operator.

“There was a time when a roastmaster, working on a classical [drum] roaster, would need to always be working on the machine, looking at the coffee and constantly checking for consistency,” he says. “I don’t think this is the case anymore at big operations.”

Rather, Juerss says the modern roastmaster is mainly involved in the initial development of a recipe: determining the blend of beans and roast profile. Modern technology, much of it introduced

by Neuhaus Neotec, ensures that the recipe can be replicated to the exact quality standards of the customers.

Replicating a recipe, however, isn’t as simple as ensuring the machine delivers a programmed time and temperature requirement. The challenge sits among all of the parametres that are outside of the roasters’ control.

“The problem is that every coffee has different qualities. From moisture content to storage times, each coffee is unique,” he says. “The roasting equipment is very important to achieving that maximum quality. If a machine can’t reproduce quality, then there is a problem.”

Juerss explains that the entire infrastructure of a roasting machine and the plant’s operations is important to achieve this goal.

Firstly, the machine needs to be able to assist the roastmaster to find the perfect profile for every coffee product. The next step is largely where technology can be of most assistance, is its ability to reproduce that profile accurately.

On the machinery side of the operation, Juerss emphasises that versatility is key. The machine must be able to finely adjust the variables as needed.

This is where Neuhaus Neotec’s position as leaders in hot air roasting technology largely comes into play. Juerss says the company was the first roasting machine manufacturer to develop reliable and quality hot air roasting equipment that met the high quality standards of world-leading brand manufacturers. With hot air roasting, the machines have a lower heat capacity in the system itself, leaving more flexibility to adjust parameters like temperature and air flow to ensure the optimum

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Neuhaus Neotec operates a pilot plant to assist in the development of its technology.

profile. This guarantees a more efficient heat transfer to the beans and enables the machine to change the roasting conditions very fast All of these parametres are controlled under Neuhaus Neotec’s Intelligent Control System (ICS). The ICS is fed by a number of sensors that measure, for example, product and air temperature. In return, the ICS can control an impressive 21 different temperature values and air quantities during one roasting cycle.

“This is a big advantage of Neuhaus Neotec,” says Juerss. “Our roasters are very versatile and are able to reproduce the profile of any coffee used.”

This versatility is coupled with the intelligence of the ICS. The system uses software that identifies what is needed to achieve the maximum flavour profile, initially determined Neuhaus Neotec’s by the roastmaster. It can then automatically Intelligent Control System adjust according to what is read by the sensors. is fed by sensors that It’s this ICS that is the key behind Neuhaus measure product and air Neotec’s other main advancement: copy temperature. The intelligent roasting. This technology can replicate the system can automatically qualities of any individual roast, time and again. adjust parametres to The software controls the roasting process and replicate a desired roast can correct any deviations in the green coffee profile. being used. neuhaus-neotec.de “Once the roastmaster has developed the recipe, he or she can be confident that the recipe will always come out the same, whether it’s two batches or 200,” he says. G C R

COPY CAT

Neuhaus Neotec are market leaders in air roasting technology.

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WALKING A FINE LINE

PROBAT’S THOMAS KOZIOROWSKI EXPLAINS THE IMPORTANCE OF ACHIEVING CONSISTENCY THROUGH FLEXIBLE AND INTELLIGENT ROASTING PLANT SET-UP.

“QUALITY INDICATORS LIKE COLOUR, MOISTURE CONTENT AND ROASTING TIME HAVE TO BE KEPT CONSISTENT, INDEPENDENT FROM EXTERNAL FACTORS, WHICH ARE A FUNCTION OF SURROUNDING CONDITIONS SUCH AS AMBIENT TEMPERATURE, AIR HUMIDITY AND BAROMETRIC PRESSURE, WAREHOUSING CONDITIONS, AND SO ON.” Thomas Koziorowski

Director of Product Technology and R&D Probat

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hile consistency may be a key word for coffee roasters, Thomas Koziorowski Director of Product Technology and R&D at Probat, says that at the end of the day, the most important result must be a quality cup.

“Consumers expect consistency in taste without any loss of quality either,” he says. “In the end, taste is what matters.”

The importance of a consistent product, however, has become even more relevant in modern consumer trends, with single portion systems, such as coffee capsules or pods, tightening the demands applied to plant technology and machinery. With as little as six to seven grams of coffee per serving, there is little room for error in delivering a consistent, quality product.

For instance, plants that choose to blend Arabica and Robusta beans prior to roasting, must ensure that those beans continue to be well blended throughout the process. “If only Robusta beans end up in a capsule, you can imagine how different that product will taste,” says Koziorowski.

With this in mind, he explains how consistency must be delivered on different layers. The first being the standard parametres considered in roasting profiles, that is, colour, time and roast temperatures.

“But an additional layer is that you need to ensure you’re not getting a ‘demixing’ effect when roasting a blend,” he says. “If you’re roasting both big and small beans together, you need to get the same result in your final product.”

The solution lies in the strict separation of heat and movement. Koziorowski explains that air plays a key role in coffee roasting. “For Probat, it has just the single task of convection, nothing more,” he says. “We rely purely on mechanical means to move the roasting product. We consider this principle as one of the cornerstones for consistency and reproducible results. Because it is only the strict separation of movement and energy transmission that allows these to be precisely controlled and thus ensures a homogenous end product.”

On that first layer of the standard parametres of a consistent roast, Koziorowski explains how Probat equipment is well set up to deal with the challenges of roasting.

“Coffee is a natural product. Its characteristics such as the residual moisture content can vary leading to different reactions during the roasting process,” he says. “Quality indicators like colour, moisture content and roasting time have to be kept consistent, independent from external factors, which are a function of surrounding conditions such as ambient temperature, air humidity and barometric pressure, warehousing conditions, and so on.”

Koziorowski also points to seasonal influence on the coffee, such as whether it is a first harvest or a late harvest, that must be taken into consideration when trying to achieve consistency.

On all these points, Koziorowski says technology has to compensate for these parametres.

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He points out that even the most experienced roaster needs support to achieve a truly consistent product.

“Technology supports the roastmaster in achieving consistency, rather than replicating it,” he says.

He points to Probat’s on-line control systems that provide the roastmaster with tools to monitor and control the roast.

One such tool is the on-line moisture measurement system.

After a roasting process, the system measures the entire batch and averages out the moisture content. That measurement is fed back into the control system to monitor if it’s on track with the roaster’s requirements.

The density of the coffee can be measured via a small sample from each batch. With density an important characteristic in the production of single serve portions, the roaster can better control that density with this constant feedback.

With colour a popular measurement of roast quality, Probat provides colour measurement tools such as the Colorette to assist the roastmaster.

In addition to these tools to support the operator, Probat equipment has extra features that minimise external factors which might affect consistency. While green coffee preheating is a popular feature that helps save energy, Koziorowski explains how preheating can also help achieve a more consistent product.

“When companies keep their beans in large silos outside, they are bringing those beans into the roaster at different temperatures depending on the time of the year,” he says. “However, say you program your preheater to always bring in your beans at 100 degrees Celsius, then your end product will be much more consistent.”

Probat equipment also features specially adjusted flaps that help keep the intake pressure inside the roaster at a constant level, by controlling exhaust air quality.

While Koziorowski says that the scale of roasting operations

should not affect consistency, he does note the challenges many operators face in moving a roast recipe from a smaller to a larger size roaster, or vice versa. To this end, he says Probat equipment is designed to compensate for this move, thanks to its process control system.

In addition to changing between equipment, Koziorowski points to the challenge many plant operators face when they need to change between products. For instance, if they need to produce two batches of espresso coffee, then one batch of filter, and then another three batches of coffee for capsules.

“When you’re roasting the same product for eight hours, then it’s easier to achieve consistency. However many plants need the flexibility to produce all these products in the same day,” he says. “To switch between these products requires equipment that offers the flexibility to adjust the roasting systems within each batch.”

Probat has introduced the Reflection Control Module as a major development in roasting operations. The module allows automatic reproduction of product temperature curves Probat’s Thomas after they have been initially defined.

Koziorowski explains how “Actual and target temperatures are technology can make up permanently compared,” explains Koziorowski. for the elements outside of “Any deviations are dealt with by a control the roastmaster’s control. system that automatically adjusts the roasting www.probat.com air supply and temperature. This minimises the possible effects of external factors such as batch size, green coffee moisture levels or ambient temperature to a great extent.” G C R

FACTOR CONTROL

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ORIGIN War & Coffee

A F R I C A’S P EAC ET I M E C O F F E E

COM E BACK THE PREVIOUSLY WAR-TORN CONTINENT IS DOING WELL ON THE COFFEE FRONT, AS A MAJORITY OF THE COUNTRIES TODAY ARE AT PEACE, AND LANDS THAT WERE ABANDONED FOR DECADES ARE STARTING TO COME BACK INTO PRODUCTION.

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t the height of Africa’s coffee production glory, the West African nation of Angola produced more than 5 million 60-kilogram bags a year. The country was a source of some of the world’s unique high-quality Robusta beans, and a pillar of stability in the global market. Up until the mid 1960s, Angola was one of the biggest growers in Africa, an example to follow for regional nations.

That situation changed dramatically in 1961, when civil strife broke out. For the next 40 years, the nation would see one conflict replaced by another. In April 2002, Angola’s fighting parties finally put an end to the conflict, which is believed to have killed up to 1.5 million people. The country was left in a state of complete devastation, and the formerly rich coffee farms were infested with land mines.

“Angola is one example of the fate that so many African coffee producing countries have

gone through,” says Fred Kawuma, a Ugandan national who in January 2013 took over as the new Secretary General of The Inter-African Coffee Organisation (IACO). The IACO groups 25 African coffee nations, and is based out of the Ivorian capital of Abidjan.

“Not just coffee production, but agriculture in general has more or the less collapsed in Africa during the past few decades of war and conflict, so this has to be addressed in a very holistic matter on the international agenda,” Kawuma tells Global Coffee Review.

He says the reconstruction of coffee economies in Africa is at the heart of IACO’s mission, and the target is to see Africa as a region regain a share in world production of between 15 and 20 per cent.

“In countries where production has gone significantly down, IACO wants to help try to find a way to re-build that coffee industry. Right now we are starting to see a rebound in production which is having a very positive effect on the continent as a whole,” says Kawuma.

At the end of the Angolan civil war, national production was registered at around 10,000 bags.

However, Angolan coffee lands have slowly started re-entering production. While bad weather in the last 2012-13 crop cut production short to just 29,000 bags, the new 2013-14 harvest is expected to come close to 40,000 bags, according to Angola’s National Coffee Institute (INC).

Local industry sources, however, say the real production figure has already reached between 60,000 and 70,000 bags, but half of this is sold internally in the local market and not registered in official figures. The US Department of Agriculture, meanwhile, pegs Angola’s output at about 30,000 bags. Regardless of the official production figure, the more important message is that Angola is starting to come back.

“The official government goal is for Angola’s coffee industry to see production recover to about 1 million bags within the next decade. Our initial target is to reach between 250,000 and

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ORIGIN War & Coffee

“AFRICA HAS LOST A LOT OF PRODUCTION BECAUSE OF CIVIL STRIFE. PRODUCTION HAS BEEN LOST IN ANGOLA, PRODUCTION HAS GONE DOWN IN BURUNDI AND RWANDA, AND ZIMBABWE AND IVORY COAST HAVE EXPERIENCED SIGNIFICANT DECLINES.” Robert Waggwa Nsibirwa

President, Coffee Academy

The Kumbira forest in Angola’s Gabela coffee region is one of the key producing regions now going through renovation after the land was finally cleared of landmines from the 40-year long conflict.

583,000 bags by 2015,” INC’s General Manager Joao Ferreira da Costa Neto tells Global Coffee Review.

An agreement signed earlier this year with long-term political allies Vietnam and Brazil is further bound to speed up development in Angola. The Angolan government for the Vietnamese state-coffee company Thai Hoa Vietnam Group, in a joint-venture with Brazil’s JN Brazil Angola consultancy, made a deal to start growing coffee on a 6000-hectare estate under the management of Angola’s N’Gola M’zamba coffee estate company. The agreement calls for an initial investment of US$15 million and plans to gradually expand the investment to a total of $225 million in order to plant coffee over 100,000 hectares by 2022.

“Africa has lost a lot of production because of civil strife. Production has been lost in Angola, production has gone down in Burundi and Rwanda, and Zimbabwe and the Ivory Coast have experienced significant declines in coffee production in the last 11 years because of civil strife,” says Robert Waggwa Nsibirwa, President of the Coffee Academy and a member of the board of the Africa Fine Coffee Association.

“Government policies are still a challenge in most of the countries and the biggest challenge in coffee is without doubt productivity. But we are seeing production starting to come back and I do believe Africa is the new frontier in coffee because of the low productivity which leaves an untapped potential of being able to double production with very little effort,” Nsibirwa tells Global Coffee Review.

Prior to the 2001 – 2003 coffee crisis, when global oversupply resulted in prices crashing to historic lows, the Ivory Coast had firmly consolidated its position as Africa’s biggest coffee producer

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with annual output between 4 and 5 million 60-kilogram bags. But as many growers switched to cocoa, which was fetching higher prices, and civil war went on to intensify in 2006, and coffee production fell to an all-time low of 999,000 bags in the 2010-11 cycle.

In the past three years, coffee cultivation has recovered significantly. In part, this has been thanks to the higher prices in 2011 that encouraged growers to tend to their farms, but more importantly much of this recovery can be attributed to growing political stability.

Production in the new 2013-14 harvest is forecast to reach between 2.2 and 2.3 million bags, according to officials in Abidjan.

Tiny growers Sierra Leone and Liberia are also starting to make progress in bringing coffee production back on track. Better known for being at the centre of the “blood diamond” conflicts in West Africa, coffee production dates back over 100 years, with Robusta seedlings introduced in the late 1880s. Before the two diamond-rich countries plunged into brutal civil war in 1991, local farmers produced between 100,000 and 200,000 bags in Sierra Leone, while output in Liberia had reached between

A small-holder producer in the Indonesian coffee region of Takengon in Aceh, on her way home to see the coffee lands for the first time since she fled the war-torn region almost 30 years earlier.

Perfectly picked ripe coffee from newly renovated coffee farms in Burundi is being processed and getting ready for the export market.

50,000 – 100,000 bags. Today, both countries are seeing production rise again. Sierra Leone’s total annual production is now back to between 80,000 – 90,000 bags.

Liberia is making just enough to earn a mention in international figures. After years of production being officially registered at less than 1000 bags, in March 2007 a little piece of encouraging news took place in the port of Monrovia when the first container of coffee was loaded for export in a decade. While tiny lots of Liberian coffee were unofficially exported through neighbouring countries during the conflict, the container load leaving the port of Monrovia that day marked the official return of Liberia as a coffee exporting nation. Today, output is approaching 10,000 bags.

Other African countries that are making a notable recovery are Burundi and Rwanda. The two tiny East African countries both suffered from varying degrees of genocide in the mid-1990s, and in both cases disputes were largely over lands mostly cultivated with coffee.

Prior to the conflicts, production was between 500,000 and 600,000 bags. The road back to these figures has been coming along slowly. As the new 2013-14 harvest season is coming to an end, the two countries are eying production of about 300,000 bags. Although still far from a full recovery, a new level of political stability and new marketing models should help these two countries back to their former levels of glory.

“Rwanda has, since the genocide, improved its production volumes a lot and there has been tremendous progress on quality as well,” says Kawuma. “Burundi has always been very enthusiastic about coffee and they have strived hard to come back since the conflict. So we really want to see them supported in their effort,” he adds.

Many industry officials say the fact that African countries still produce the lowest average yields in the world of coffee also holds the biggest promise for the years ahead.

Simply by doubling yields, the AFCA’s Nsibirwa says African production should, without too much effort, be able to retake a 20 per cent share of the market. Many smallholder farmers yield only between two or three bags of coffee per hectare and the average for the continent is about five bags per hectare, according to official coffee statistics from key African countries.

“I sincerely believe that Africa is the continent that holds the greatest potential for increasing production in the years ahead, because our yields are so low that it’s practically impossible not to be able to increase from this level,” he says.

Among other countries that have witnessed important recovery efforts in Africa are Congo and Uganda. For years, much of the coffee land in northern Uganda was under the control of the radical guerilla movement the Lord’s Resistance Army. Much of that land has now started to re-enter the production cycle.

But it’s not only African countries that are embracing newfound political stability in order to advance coffee renovation. There have been a number of similarly important developments in the Latin American and South-East Asian continents.

In 1992 and 1996, respectively, civil wars ended in Nicaragua and Guatemala. These were the last in Central America, after more than two decades of bloody civil war. While coffee production had continued throughout the years of conflict, it was not until the end of the civil wars and, in the case of Nicaragua,

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ORIGIN War & Coffee

“RWANDA HAS, SINCE THE GENOCIDE, IMPROVED ITS PRODUCTION VOLUMES A LOT AND THERE HAS BEEN TREMENDOUS PROGRESS ON QUALITY AS WELL, BURUNDI HAS ALWAYS BEEN VERY ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT COFFEE.” Fred Kawuma,

Secretary General, Inter-African Coffee Organisation

the restoration to the original owners of most of the land seized by the revolutionary government, that renovation efforts and replanting started in earnest. As a result, Nicaragua today has one of the world’s youngest coffee parks with the majority of the land under production completely replanted between 1996 and 2004 and with an average tree age of 10 to 14 years.

Elsewhere in the world, following the 2004 Asian Tsunami, the armed conflict in

Indonesia’s northernmost province of Aceh on the northern tip of Sumatra came to an end after more than 30 years of bloodshed.

Lands that were abandoned as growers fled the conflict started to return to production as growers returned, first to evaluate the conditions and then to prune and re-activate production.

The results are notable in international figures for Arabica production out of Indonesia, which in the last 10 years have gone from about 1.2 million bags to 1.6 million bags. This is likely to be the continuing trend in countries that have left conflict behind in favour of using coffee as a “transformation commodity” that can be applied to the socio-economic improvements of the countries where it is grown, say industry officials.

“If appropriate development strategies and investments are made, extension services are effectively provided and best practices are employed, there is no reason why African coffee cannot play a better role than it plays today in significantly promoting the economic transformation of this continent. We have started to see this happening in some countries and we have all reasons to believe this is a trend that will continue in the years that come,” says Kawuma. G C R

A widower and small producer at Rwanda’s Maraba cooperative, where survivors of the 1995 genocide today work side by side with growers convicted for taking part in the genocide.

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DIARY Dashboard COFFEE AROUND THE GLOBE

WORLD COFFEE EVENTS

SIGEP RIMINI, ITALY

18–22 JANUARY 2014 At its 35th edition, the Sigep expo is acknowledged as a top show in the artisan gelato sector, a primary European showcase for artisan Italian confectionery and is also strengthening its position in the artisan bakery field. www.sigep.it

STUTTGART COFFEE SUMMIT

STUTTGART, GERMANY The Stuttgart Coffee Summit will take place from 1 – 5 February within the framework of Intergastra 2014. The event will feature a blind tasting of 180 different types of coffee in the Alfred Kärcher Hall (Hall 9) at the Stuttgart trade fair grounds. Six daily cupping sessions will take place on all five trade fair days, and put 180 different types of coffee in the limelight. www.intergastra.de

CAFÉ ASIA / ICT EXPO

5 MARCH 2014

6–8 MARCH

SINGAPORE SINGAPORE

KEEP A LOOK-OUT

Global Coffee Review brings its pre-eminent professional development opportunity and networking event to Singapore, where industry leaders will explore the booming opportunities in the Asian market. The event features vivid presentations and panel discussions. ww.globalcoffeereview.com

CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION

BURUNDI 1–5 FEBRUARY BUJUMBURA, 13–15 FEBRUARY

GLOBAL COFFEE REVIEW LEADERS SYMPOSIUM – ASIA

AFRICAN FINE COFFEES

The second edition of Café Asia and International Coffee & Tea (ICT) Industry Expo will be held at Singapore’s iconic attraction, the Marina Bay Sands. Café Asia 2014 caters to the needs of the café industry, while the ICT Industry Expo focuses on the upstream sector of coffee and tea. www.cafeasia.com.sg

The African Fine Coffee Conference & Exhibition is Africa’s largest coffee trade platform, that brings over 900 regional and international coffee roasters, traders, producers, professionals and connoisseurs per day under one roof. The event will be held from 13 – 15 February 2014 in the beautiful capital of Bujumbura. www.eafca.org

EXPO COFFEE & TEA SHANGHAI, CHINA 31 MARCH–3 APRIL Hotelex Shanghai contains 10 different themed sectors including Catering Equipment and Supply; Bakery and Ice Cream; Tableware; Textile; Appliance and Amenities; IT and Security; Fitness and Leisure; Food and Beverage; Coffee and Tea and Wine and Spirits. www.hotelex.cn

London Coffee Festival 3 – 6 April London, United Kingdom www.londoncoffeefestival.com

SCAA Event 24 – 27 April Washington, United States www.scaaevent.org

World of Coffee and Tea 2014 21 – 25 May Bangkok, Thailand www.world-of-coffeeandtea.com

SCAA Event Symposium 23 – 24 April Washington, United States www.scaasymposium.org

Melbourne International Coffee Expo 15 – 18 May Melbourne, Australia www.internationalcoffeeexpo.com

COTECA 24 – 26 September Hamburg, Germany Coteca-hamburg.com

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PRODUCTS Marketplace

DECORATIVE COFFEE MAPS

BY BLUE CROW MEDIA

WEGA VELA VINTAGE

Blue Crow Media, the London-based publisher of the best­ -selling London’s Best Coffee and New York’s Best Coffee apps, has published a set of large decorative coffee maps covering Paris, New York and London. The new limited edition maps, featuring speciality coffee shops, were produced in collaboration with leading coffee writers and professionals in each city. Each map measures 50 centimetres x 70 centimetres and is printed on 140 gsm paper. The maps have been printed in limited editions (500 New York, 500 Paris and 1000 London maps). More cities are planned for 2014.

For more information see www.bluecrowmedia.com

The well-known Vela Vintage model was created by Wega as an answer to the retro look of coffee machines from the past. The popular machine is now available in a fully manual version. The newly developed manual lever version allows for the preparation of espresso coffee without any electronics, and embraces the high expectations of coffee purists from around the world. The machine features retro-style knobs and polished stainless steel wands.

Wega is a leading company in the production of quality professional espresso coffee machines.

For more information see www.wega.it

DUST CONTAINMENT ENCLOSURE FOR FLEXICON BULK BAG DISCHARGERS The new Dust Containment Enclosure for Flexicon Bulk Bag Dischargers contains spillage and dust that can escape through seams in the bag and folds in the spout. The six-sided enclosure seats against the rim of a hopper or flange of downstream equipment, and is equipped with an exhaust port for dust collection and a hinged door with inspection window. The top of the enclosure contains a circular opening that allows passage of the bag spout to the equipment connection point. The flat bottom of the enclosure supports a telescoping tube that pneumatically raises a Spout-Lock clamp ring, which connects the clean side of the spout to the clean side of the equipment. Allowing the telescoping tube to descend under its own weight maintains constant downward tension on the spout as the bag empties and elongates, as Flow-Flexer bag activators raise and lower opposite bottom edges of the bag at timed intervals to loosen compacted materials, promoting material flow and complete discharge from the bag. The enclosure contains incidental leakage of fine powders from seams in the bag, and material released from bag spout folds during connection and disconnection activities. For information see www.flexicon.com.au

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MPE’S TRIFECTA OF QUALITY – GRINDING, DENSITY CONTROL AND GENTLE CONVEYING FOR CAPSULES, PODS & PADS Modern Process Equipment Corporation (MPE) is a world-leading manufacturer of coffee grinding and conveying equipment for capsule applications. MPE’s grinding technology produces the optimal particle size distribution essential for ideal capsule brewing. The MPE Vortex Normalizer (patent pending) produces uniform density to maintain accurate fill weights with revolutionary high bulk density capabilities for increased coffee capsule weight. MPE’s Chain-Vey conveyor gently and efficiently transports coffee in an air-tight environment, with no product declassification or degradation. For more information contact Modern Process Equipment Corporation at 3125 South Kolin Avenue, Chicago, IL 60623, call +1 773-254-3929 or visit www.mpechicago.com.

COFFEE, THE WONDER OF CHIAPAS MEXICO The extraordinary images of Fulvio Eccardi have been collected in the book Coffee, The Wonder of Chiapas, Mexico.

The book features the discoveries experienced first-hand by the photographer in the coffee‑producing state of Chiapas. The route taken passes through the regions of Altos, Selva, Fronteriza, Frailesca, Sierra and Soconusco, each of which embraces a specific biodiversity both in the history of its peoples – for the most part Indigenous – and the territory, its nature and its agriculture. From these lands come washed Arabicas of exceptional aromatic merit, many of which have been granted biological, Fairtrade, or geographical traceability certificates.

The book is being promoted by Sandalj Trading Company, for details see www.sandalj.com

VICTORIA ARDUINO THERESIA Nuova Simonelli worked with Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas of Fuksas Design, one of the most prestigious architect firms in the world, on the eye-catching Victoria Arduino Theresia. The body of the machine is made of stainless steel that has been processed entirely by hand. After the craftsmen lasercut the material, the stainless steel is then folded 112 times to get the desired effect. The steel is used in the machine frame, nozzles and boilers, which are thermally insulated. This one-group machine incorporates T3 technology which allows total control of the outlet temperature of each group through three different parametres: water, group and steam. The Theresia incorporates Nuova Simonelli’s Soft Infusion System extraction method that increases extraction efficiency and consistency when combined with stable brew water temperature. See www.victoriaarduino.com

JA N UA R Y /FE B R UA R Y 2014 | GCR

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LAST WORD Leaders Symposium

GCR LEADERS SYMPOSIUM

FOCUSES ON ASIA WITH A POPULATION SITTING COMFORTABLY AT MORE than 4 billion people, Asia covers an impressive 30 per cent of the world’s surface, and is home to more than half of the people living on the planet.

The economies in many of these countries – including the most populous of India and China, which count 2.5 billion people between them – are seeing a rising middle class, albeit at different levels. Rising incomes means more dollars to spend and, fortunately for this industry, coffee has developed an aspirational status in many of these markets.

Following on from the success of the 2013 Global Coffee Review Leaders Symposium which made its debut in Melbourne, we’ll be bringing the event to Singapore this March. Pairing up with the Café Asia/ICT Expo event, we’ll be offering regional business leaders the chance to learn about and discuss the nuances of a select number of these markets, and explore what opportunities lie ahead for growth.

With a few exceptions, most Asian markets can be considered as “emerging coffee markets”, that is countries that are predominantly tea-drinkers. In this regard, instant coffee is often the first introduction to coffee drinking, thanks to its low price point and limited need for equipment. Few could argue this hasn’t rung true in Asia, with the growth in instant coffee consumption in emerging coffee markets credited for the strength that Robusta prices have seen in recent times.

In addition to looking at trends and opportunities in instant coffee, the Global Coffee Review Leaders Symposium Singapore will also explore the recent trends of coffee chains opening in Asia. Since Starbucks opened its first store in Taiwan in March 1998, and mainland China in 1999, the US-origin coffee chain currently has more than 1000 stores in 60 cities. Since opening its first store in India in October of 2012, Starbucks already has 31 stores across that country. With the opening of two Starbucks locations in Vietnam, it would seem the American coffee chain, which has helped develop coffee cultures the globe over, has its sights firmly set on this booming market. The Global Coffee Review Leaders Symposium will welcome representatives of coffee chains who are similarly eyeing expansion in Asia.

While coffee chains are taking their share of the market, the specialty coffee industry – characterised by independent coffee shops – is quietly making its mark in these emerging coffee countries. In an exclusive to the Global Coffee Review Leaders Symposium, this session will look at the role of specialty coffee in acting as a driver for greater coffee consumption as a whole. The session will welcome leaders in the specialty coffee segment that will draw links between what has typically been considered two separate segments – mass coffee consumption and the pointy end of specialty.

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The 2013 Global Coffee Review Leaders Symposium made its debut in Melbourne last May.

The 2014 event will focus on opportunities in emerging coffee nations in Asia, set in the regional business hub of Singapore.

With coffee prices reaching new lows, the session on coffee prices will revisit the coffee price crises at the turn of the millennium, to look at lessons learned, and what is relevant in today’s market. The session will also draw the link between sustainably certified coffee, and the role that certification schemes play in the current volatile price environment.

The day will conclude with an informative session on taking the information of the day and applying it to the day-to-day business of serving quality coffee. The session, entitled Coffee Service, will enforce the importance of a quality product in a business’s service.

Although there has never been a better time to take advantage of business opportunities, an uncertain global economic environment makes the importance of informed business practices increasingly relevant. The Global Coffee Review Leaders Symposium Singapore is the ideal professional development opportunity to provide this context. G C R For tickets contact Steve Roberts Steve.Roberts@primecreative.com.au