On April 8th, we hosted a talk on Relationship Coffee.   It was fascinating, and I would like to share with you what we learned!  The talk was given by Nassim and Deborah Bohbot, owners of Alakef Coffee.  (For those of you who don’t know, Alakef is our wonderful local coffee roaster.)  The idea for the talk was born after Stephanie and I attended a seminar on Relationship Coffee at the Chicago Coffee Fest in February.  “Relationship Coffee” is a new term to hit the coffee realm.  It speaks on the importance of the relationship between all of the businesses involved in the steps of getting the coffee bean from the plant to your cup. 

  Let’s start at the beginning.  Here’s a few amazing facts about the involved process of growing coffee.  It takes an estimated 6 1/2  years to go from seed to cup.  A coffee plant takes 5 years to mature enough to produce.  Once the plant is ready, it yields only 1 1/2—2 lbs. of coffee per harvest!  When the ‘cherries’ (the cherry holds the bean) are ready to be harvested, it is a mad rush to get as much off of the plants as possible to ensure a successful season in the market.  It is at this time that the Coffee Pickers come onto the scene.  Coffee farmers usually need  to hire extra help to harvest, as they tend to harvest 24 hours a day!  A Coffee Picker can pick up to 200 lbs. of cherries a day!  (Which only equals approximately 35 lbs. of ground coffee).  The conditions of picking coffee can be challenging to say the least.  Coffee is grown in tropical and sub-tropical climates, so the plants (if grown sustainably) are in jungle-like conditions.  If grown in steep hilled areas, the Pickers actually tie themselves to the plant and lean back, digging their heels into the ground in order to pick!  After harvested, the cherries are cleaned and coffee beans are dried.  This can be done by machine, but is often done by the sun if the farm cannot afford the equipment needed.  In which case, it takes 2-3 weeks to dry.  After the coffee is processed, it is then bought by an Importer.  From there, the Roasters buy the green beans and, well, roast them.  It is then that it is sent to the grocery market or cafes, and finally to your cup.

I have painted this picture of the process so that you have a clear understanding of how the coffee gets to you, the consumer.  Now, take some time to think about all of the people involved in the process...and lets not forget the environment.   Are the farmers getting paid adequately?  Are the Pickers treated well by their employer?  Is the land being taken care of with out use of harmful chemicals?  As we all probably know, the labels “Fair Trade” & “Certified Organic” are ways to ensure you that they are.  Here’s the kicker, though...even though they are fair trade/organic, many coffee farmers cannot afford to be certified under these labels!  This is where Relationship Coffee comes in to play.  In Relationship Coffee, the Consumer trusts their Café, who trusts their Roaster to choose an Importer that has relationship with their Growers, and so forth.  Importers that are environmentally and socially conscious make sure that the Farmers are growing the coffee in an environmentally and socially conscious manner. The Importers involved with Relationship Coffee often have representatives visit/tour the farms as well as put money back into them.  A couple examples of how they donate to the farms are: providing funding for new water filtration systems, and helping with funding of farm cooperative schools.  So, this is a great alternative

to the above stated certifications to assure that everyone along the line is taken care of…

  Alakef buys from Royal Coffee (importer), based in San Francisco.  Royal Coffee is a company that is very committed to these sorts of practices.  (to read about the farms they import from, visit www.royalcoffee.com)  Deborah and Nessim are also passionate about these practices, and have even visited farms that their beans come from in Panama and Costa Rica.  Alakef donates regularly to “Coffee Kids,” an organization that helps coffee farming families to improve their lives by providing/creating education, health care, micro-credit, etc.  Alakef also is involved with “Trees for Global Cooling” which helps offset their carbon footprint by planting trees in tropical and sub-tropical regions.  For more information about Alakef and their commitment to sustainability, visit www.alakef.com.

  Wow.  Who knew what all goes in to a good cup o’ joe?!  I hope that I have helped to raise some awareness to an issue that is SO important and close to the hearts of management and staff at Amazing Grace.  Thanks for reading. 

~Ronnie Eastling, manager/buyer