63 items found for ""
- From Costa Rica to Sheffield: A special visit from our coffee producer partners Roberto and Doris Mata
Time seems to fly here at Cafeology and Roastology and we can't believe it's been a week since we waved farewell to our Costa Rican producer partners Roberto and Doris Mata. We have had a relationship with Roberto since Bryan visited his farm in that Tarrazú region of Costa Rica 2008. During the last 16 years, members of our team have visited Roberto's farm on numerous occasions and we have had the pleasure to host him here too. This has led to us being able to commit to purchasing one fifth of Roberto's annual crop, which we are now in a position to import directly. This gives security and stability to Roberto's operations and means we can give our customers transparency, traceability and consistency on this special coffee. Once we knew Roberto and Doris's trip to visit us was booked we set about planning a packed itinerary for them - they were probably glad of a rest on their flight home! DAY 1: FRIDAY 25TH OCTOBER We (Bryan and Toni) were up bright and early to head over the Peaks to Manchester to visit the University of Manchester campus. We met with Alison Shedlock, the University's director of campus services and went straight to Hulme Hall for breakfast, which was kindly arranged by Emma Stansfield, the head of residences' catering and bars. This gave the opportunity for our producers to mix with students – some of whom were still in their pyjamas! It was great to be able to chat with some of them and introduce them to Roberto and Doris. We then took a steady stroll up to the Whitworth Art Gallery. Joined by Jonathan Minshull, head of hospitality on campus, and Laura Blandy, head of hospitality and events marketing, we toured many of the fabulous sites around the campus including Christie’s Bistro and the amazing Whitworth Hall. We then joined Jonathan’s colleague Adam Woof at the Manchester Museum. Next stop was the Royal Northern College of Music, where we met Jose Martinez, their food and beverage manager - finally, someone Doris could have a good natter with outside of our attempts at speaking Spanish! It was a special visit for us all as we got to see the large hall set for an orchestral performance, as well as touring the recital rooms. Next, we hopped in the car and drove to Yorkshire Sculpture Park, where we met with Lisa Haskins, the catering and hospitality manager and Matt Wagstaff. It was sadly a day of thick, unending fog, but this gave an atmospheric, misty murkiness to our trip. We made the best of things with a tour of the underground gallery, viewing an exhibition by Bharti Kher called Alchemies, which celebrates diversity, discovery and personal identity, before being treated to a delicious afternoon tea – after all, it can’t all be coffee. Knowing the Matas would be ready for some rest and relaxation, we finished the day with traditional British fish and chips at Sheffield's Norfolk Arms pub, where we introduced Roberto and Doris to owner Mike. Biggest surprise of the day? Roberto fell in love with tartare sauce! So much so that we bought him a jar to take home to Costa Rica. Last stop of the night was Halifax Hall, where we left our guests to check in and get a good night's sleep ready for round two! DAY 2: SATURDAY 26TH OCTOBER There was collective excitement for farmer Roberto and green-fingered Toni on Saturday as our first stop was Chatsworth House hosted by Jack Boughey, their catering operations manager, who introduced us to head gardener Mick Brown. Roberto and Mick chatted about soil, nutrients, growing methods and more and we got to see inside the estate's private greenhouses, where they grow 450 bunches of Muscat grapes every year. Did you also know that almost every banana consumed in the Western world is descended from a plant grown at Chatsworth over 180 years ago? Fascinating! We then walked right up along the back of the gardens to see the ornamental garden with a view down into the Chatsworth estate, before heading for lunch in the stunning Carriages restaurant. The tour of Chatsworth House in afternoon was awe-inspiring for all and we could have lingered longer - had it not been for our desire to visit Chatsworth Farm Shop to stock up on fresh veggies and treats for Sunday dinner later in the weekend (as well as the aforementioned jar of tartare sauce). Our final stop for day two was The George at Hathersage, where Roberto and Doris settled into their room, tucked into pizza and put their feet up. DAY 3: SUNDAY 27TH OCTOBER Sunday was a more relaxed affair, beginning with coffee at Coleman's Deli in Hathersage and a slice of Bakewell Tart - a great way to start the day! We then went up to Firs Farm Shop on Ringinglow Road here in Sheffield to see Jim and Angela Battye to buy some of their fantastic beef and introduce two very different kinds of farmers to each other, before meeting some family, friends and colleagues at The Dore Bar & Grill for some sociable drinks and nibbles. After heading home we popped the beef on BBQ and Toni set about enlisting Doris to create some British classic accompaniments - think cheese sauce and Yorkshire puddings! We spent the end of this heartwarming day watching Simon Reeve's TV show about Vietnamese coffee farmers - a surreal experience for us all - before heading to bed. DAY 4: MONDAY 28TH OCTOBER Monday dawned but Wednesday beckoned - Sheffield Wednesday, that is. We had a very insightful tour of Hillsborough stadium with Rob Cox, the executive head chef, before chatting to head groundsman Tim about... agriculture! He explained to Roberto about how they cope with the lack of sunlight, that they use part artificial and part natural grass, how they use lamps for grass cultivation and the nutrients present in the soil. It was then back to the Roastology roastery for Roberto and Doris to meet our fantastic team. Roberto gave a wonderful, personal speech about how much he values the working relationship that we share. It was very moving for the whole team to hear first-hand how the work we do here impacts Roberto, his family and the people who work on their farm back in Costa Rica. We then held a cupping session of Roberto's coffee, followed by a tasting, then let him hop onto our roaster to roast a batch of his beans. It was fantastic to see the person who grows our coffee complete the full circle of this coffee's journey. Continuing with the busy itinerary, it was then time to take Roberto and Doris down to Nottingham to meet, Amanda Pettingill, the deputy director of estates and facilities at the University of Nottingham, who gave us a very insightful tour of the campus. Congratulations also to Amanda, who has recently become the new TUCO Chair. Next we headed to the University's council chambers - where the four of us ended up giving an impromptu presentation! This was followed by an interesting Q&A session with university students and staff, kindly arranged by Chris Jarram, the associate director of catering services, and his fabulous team before heading to the campus's Orchard Hotel for a meal and overnight stay. We have so much in common with Roberto and Doris, despite cultural differences and living so far apart - our morals and principles are identical. We get on with them so brilliantly and have been corresponding since on Whatsapp (thank you, Google Translate!). Doris showed us round her garden on a video call and we saw her granddaughter eating the honey produced from the hives at our roastery. It was really emotional to bid them farewell as they headed off to spend some time in the company of our co-founder, Andy. DAY 5: TUESDAY 29TH OCTOBER After greeting our guests in Nottingham, Andy took them down to meet Rob Bean, the director of operations at the University of Leicester - another one of our education sector customers - along with a number of colleagues including Gavin Brown, the chief executive officer at Leicester Services Partnership. Rob carried out a campus tour, visiting the new Queens Building and showing an array of retail areas, ending up in the busy library café where Roberto had the opportunity to provide an update on his farm and the forthcoming harvest, before answering some questions from interested parties. Next Andy, Roberto and Doris headed to Imperial College London where they were met by Ella Shepherd, assistant catering and events operations manager, along with senior supervisor - and amazing barista - Kitti Szabados. They were joined by Alejandro Rodriguez who, like Jose earlier in the trip, spoke his native Spanish, helping Doris to gain a greater understanding of the tour. The East Wing Bar gave Roberto the opportunity to host a talk over lunch, before heading to the College Café and the Library Café, two very busy sites where Roberto could sample some of his own coffee. This was followed by a visit to the Royal College of Music before finishing off with a trip to the stunning Royal Albert Hall. This whole trip really strengthened our already close relationship. Roberto was extremely complimentary of the movement our business has seen in the 10 years since he last visited and was blown away by the clients we work with. It was heartwarming to see that he feels that we do justice to the coffee he works so hard to produce. Most of Roberto’s customers have coffee shop chains, so it was great to be able to show a true example of a company supplying business to business and how important ethics and sustainability are to all of Cafeology’s clients - not to mention the care and attention they take in representing the coffee so proudly. For me (Toni), every day is a school day - I was so excited seeing, listening and being involved, in this visit - my brain was on fire!
- Celebrating Sustainability Across South Yorkshire
First of all, we'd like to say a huge congratulations to All Seasons Group who won the award for SME of the Year. We are incredibly proud of being shortlisted as a finalist and will continue our journey to becoming Carbon Neutral by 2025. Lizzie, Toni, Liam and Tom proudly attended the inaugural South Yorkshire Sustainability Awards at Magna, Sheffield on Thursday evening. It was a great opportunity for the members of Teamology to put their glad rags on and let their hair down. The event organisers encouraged guests to use public transport or car pool to the event, so the team hopped into one of our electric cars there and back. The evening was filled with tasty food, fizz and warm conversation. It was great to meet new friends and catch up with old ones at what was a thoroughly enjoyable night celebrating and conversing with others. We look forward to seeing everyone’s sustainable pathway’s and how they’ve developed at next years event.
- Steve's Indonesian Adventure
Having worked in the hospitality trade for over 15 years I felt that I needed a change of direction. I got to know Cafeology as they supplied the pub where I was working at the time. They were on the lookout for a new delivery driver. I applied for the role and as luck would have it I got the Job. It didn’t start to well as I managed to scratch the van in the first week (I think they have forgiven me by now) but things improved very quickly. At this time I was enjoying the odd latte with two sugars, I wouldn’t dream of trying an espresso let alone think of where I am now. Some years passed and my passion and interest in coffee continued to grow and develop, first the sugar went, then I moved from Latte to Americano to filter coffee and even Espresso. Now you will be hard to find me without a nice black filter coffee (or the odd craft beer). Cafeology wanted to start Roasting some of their coffee for the local Yorkshire market, We had some long discussions and I was given the opportunity to head up our new project ‘Roastology’. I jumped at this chance and we started setting up our very own Roastery based in Sheffield. My education into coffee really started to kick in, I passed my SCAE foundation & Intermediate ‘Coffee Roasting’ qualifications at the UK HQ of Diedrich Roasters, I then passed my (now) SCA Green coffee & sensory skills qualifications. I started to visit all the coffee festivals around Europe and even got the chance to demo some of my espresso on the Rancilio stand at this years London coffee festival. The more I learned, the more I wanted to know. I am lucky to know a couple of Q graders that have really helped me develop over the last year. I am now then Head of Coffee at Roastology and love my job, I get to try new origins, roast coffee, create new products, work with customers and basically, I get paid to talk about coffee all day, lucky guy. At Roastology we have created some fantastic products and I am really hoping this trip will allow me to learn so much more as well as give me the chance to source some brand new fantastic green bean.I hope you will enjoy reading my blog and stay tuned for more updates as my trip develops….That’s it for now… Steve out.
- The University of Sheffield visits Cauca, Colombia, with Cafeology
In the summer of 2017, Cafeology was successful in winning the coffee contract for the University of Sheffield. The tender was to supply all of the retail operation and hospitality sites with coffee. This is a combined volume in excess of 15 Tonnes of Green Coffee. We managed to source an exclusive arrangement direct from Cencoic, a producer based in the south of Colombia in the post conflict region of Cauca. The producer group is made up 2635 indigenous farmers throughout 7 municipal regions, producing 1.8m bags of coffee per year. At the end of May 2018, our Director Bryan Unkles hosted members from the University of Sheffield on a fact finding trip to the producers cooperative close to the town of Popayan. The visitors from the University included members of Commercial Services, Student Services and the Head of International Partnerships at the Faculty of Social Sciences. The trip would allow members from the University to gain a greater insight into the world of coffee farming and give the team a greater understanding of the challenges faced in this region whilst also looking at ways the University may be able to assist over and above that of purchasing coffee at a fair and sustainable price. The trip included meeting our long term producer, Francisco Herrera from Asoapia at the trading office in Bogota, a visit and tour of Universidad de Los Andes and of course a visit to the producer group. During the visit, we were hosted by Hernan Vicente Castellanos and Elisabeth Menses Sandoval of Cencoic and given access to the Parchment Mill and Cupping/QC lab in Popayan as well as a visit to the farms close to the small town of Caldono. The trip proved a huge success giving ideas of technical assistance whilst also providing a valuable insight into the world of Coffee production. For more information on the trip, please visit Bryan’s blog on out Tumblr page; https://cafeology.tumblr.com https://cafeology.tumblr.com
- Time to reflect on my first coffee adventure to Indonesia
It’s been nearly three years since visited Indonesia on my very first Coffee Origin trip. It’s hard to believe it was that long ago, sometimes it feels like only yesterday. A lot has changed in those three years, both professionally and personally. I will never forget the feeling of walking out into the coffee fields for the very first time and actually seeing the coffee cherry in real life. Still to this day it gives me goose bumps looking back. I’m still in contact with a lot of the guys that went on the origin trip and we occasionally share tips and advice and its always great to catch up with them at the coffee festivals around the world. It’s also been a journey personally since the trip, the most noteworthy would be the birth of my son Seth. It’s amazing being a dad and has given me a different focus and passion for both work and at home. It’s also given me even more desire to make the very best ground coffee and the best coffee beans. Professionally, it’s been a tremendous journey since my trip - helping develop and grow the Roastology brand has been amazing. We have moved into new premises, bought another, bigger Diedrich coffee roaster, taken on new staff and for me, the most exciting thing is our product development. The range of green coffee beans we are now working with means we can create some of the best coffee in the UK. My knowledge and skillset in the world of coffee is still developing, but I have grown so much since the trip and I think that reflects in the coffee quality we produce. I don’t do as much of the day-to-day roasting as I once did, as we now have three amazing coffee guys who have come in and filled that role. We’ve got Alastair, Liam and James who all do an amazing job with professionalism and passion. Worry not though folks, it’s all done under close supervision as I like to pass my knowledge on to the team. Seeing the guys flourish as they get more involved in the roasting process gives me a huge amount of satisfaction, reinforcing many of the reasons I’m involved in the greatest industry on earth. I’m super excited to be re-introducing a Sumatran coffee into our range. I love the flavour profile of Sumatrans, the Tano Bantak is caramel and chocolatey, good acidity with a hint of green apple. Indonesia and Sumatra will always have a special place in my heart and I will never forget that very first origin trip experience. Our Sumatran treat will be available in course ground coffee, fresh ground coffee and coffee beans. We will also be further developing it with our new blend as we continue to develop our espresso ground coffee by using the best coffee beans available. It's currently very challenging times across the globe with the Covid-19 outbreak and I wonder where the world will be in another three years, but I’m sure, wherever there is great green coffee available, you will find me and Roastology : -) Until the next journey, you will probably find me with a coffee and walnut cake at one of the nearby coffee shops. Steve Hampshire Head of Coffee
- Colombia Origin Trip: Sourcing Speciality Coffee - Day 1
Welcome to Steve's personal blog from his origin trip to Colombia, where he spent 10 days travelling the country sourcing speciality coffee. His blog covers his thought and feelings throughout and introduces you to some of the most amazing people/organisations that make up the coffee industry. Day 1 – Sunday 8th May – Travel day After a pretty hectic morning of trying to organise my stuff for the trip, I finally made it to Sheffield train station, first stop Doncaster, quick change and down to Kings Cross, onto the underground and over to Heathrow T2. Everything ran very smoothly and was at the airport with plenty of time to spare. I met Jacob and in departures we go… At this time I started to really think about the trip, how was it going to be different to Indonesia, how would I feel about not seeing my little boy for the longest time since he was born, I had a couple of nervous feelings towards safety, I’ve never been to Colombia and some stories are not great, however my main feeling was pure excitement, another opportunity to go to origin, a change to make some new great connections and also maintain our existing relationship with Cencoic, it really was going to be a trip of a lifetime. The flight was great, nice and easy and the 10 hours 40 flew by, we landed in Bogota, collected our bags and started the wait for the rest of the group. A couple of hours in the airport, a couple of coffees later the rest of the group arrived. This tour is being hosted by Hernan from Racafe alongside Priscilla and David from DR Wakefield . We also have Roy and Milena from Java Republic and James from Wogan coffee. After quick introductions we were back on a plane and a quick flight up to Medellin. One thing was clear from the quick intro’s, we are all coffee people with a passion for coffee at origin. We were met at Medellin and off we headed to El Penol. First impressions were incredible, everywhere was so green, so lush, I could tell I would like Colombia. After a quick drive we stopped for breakfast, A local dish of ham and scrambled eggs. The drive over to El Penol was about an hour, a beautiful trip up and up the mountains, around 1900 meters above sea level. El Penol itself was bigger and more affluent than I thought, It surrounds the wonderful Guatape lake, surprisingly, (to me at least) there was luxury looking properties on the edge of the water, I just wasn’t expecting that. We stopped at El Penol buying station and met Sonia, she buys wet and dry parchment coffee from around 150 small farms across the area. She then blends this to create the El Penol coffee. We actually tried a single origin Typica that Sonia had roasted on a frying pan, smooth, easy drinking, best coffee of the trip so far. After a brief insight into operations we headed to a small local farm and met head farmer, Jesus. We had an incredible tour and insight into a small farm operation. All coffee was picked and processed on site and then taken to Sonia for sale, normally on a Sunday. It was an amazing feeling being back amongst the coffee trees, this is the heart and soul of coffee, this is where it happens, it’s sometimes easy to forget this. We spent a good hour with Jesus, a typical hard working but friendly Colombian, interestingly, two of the biggest obstacles he faces are cost of fertilizer and getting staff to pick coffee during harvest. Alongside the many coffee trees, there was also some of the biggest Avocados I have ever seen, incredible. Moving on from Jesus, we went to visit another farm within El Penol, this one was sitting at 1982 masl. A small farm on the banks of the Guatape, family operated and farmed by 88 years young Julio Garcia. Julio maintains the farm and completes the harvest with just one extra person helping, incredible. Julio was born and raised in a house a stones throw away from the current farm and has never left, I can certainly see why. This was a beautiful small farm and they were actually going to start the first pick on Monday 16th, Lots of ripe cherries ready to go. Again, similar to Jesus, they would pick and process the cherry to wet or dry parchment, then take to Sonia for sale. From here we started to head back towards Medellin and towards are overnight accommodation in Bolivar. It was a long drive but felt longer, it is safe to say but I was feeling the effects of all the travel. A quick stop for something to eat in Bolivar and to the hotel, head down and lights out. Day one complete and what a first day it was, I can’t wait to see what the rest of the trip holds… Steve Hampshire Head of Coffee
- Colombia Origin Trip: Sourcing Speciality Coffee - Day 2
Welcome to Steve's personal blog from his origin trip to Colombia, where he spent 10 days travelling the country sourcing speciality coffee. His blog covers his thought and feelings throughout and introduces you to some of the most amazing people/organisations that make up the coffee industry. Day 2 – Tuesday 10th May After a solid night's sleep, I awoke earlier and thought I would have a little look around, wowzers!! As we arrived in the dark, (and let me tell you, there is very little light pollution in rural Colombia so when its dark, its really dark) I couldn’t see the surroundings or the place itself. The hotel Fina El Roble was beautiful, nestled in the mountain region of Bolivar, still a cloud covering the mountains as the sun fought to break though, how lucky I am to watch this, nature at it’s finest. Marie, the hotel hostess prepared us a beautiful breakfast, local watermelon and mango, fried corn tortillas, scrambled eggs & rice and beans. Alongside a nice filter coffee, what a way to start a day. After a wonderful breakfast we headed up and further into the mountains. Like a scene from Jurassic park, such lush greenery, rolling hills as far as the eye can see, I kept expecting to see Jeff Goldblum getting chased by a T-Rex. The photos do not do this area justice. We headed up to the Yarumal farm, ran by second generation coffee farmer, Jose Restrepo Perez his father Pedro Jose Restrepo Perez started growing coffee at Yarumal in 1968. Even with the language barrier, I could tell Pedro was passionate about his farm. At 1900masl, I could feel the air thinning but that didn’t stop me enjoying Pedro’s presentation. It was incredibly interesting to listen in (expertly translated by Hernan). It was fascinating to learn that Pedro, his mum and dad were all kidnapped for ransom in the early 1990s by the Colombian guerrillas, his father held captive for 11 months. It really bought home the struggles of the Colombian people during this time, scary stuff. Sometimes we don’t realise quite how fortunate we are. We then had a full tour of the farm & process plant. What a setup, some incredible innovations to assist with the picking, in essence drainpipes were installed from the mountains into the mill so the cherries pickers didn’t have to carry the loads back down. Just flush the cherries with a little water and let gravity do the rest. The trees were beautifully maintained, and so healthy looking. The ripe cherries were sweet, juicy, with a crisp red pepper flavour, I am in love with his place. Pedro is looking at using mechanical pickers to assist with harvest, if done correctly this can increase production but it can really help with the pickers physical health, its not easy being a coffee picker. I really could wax lyrical about the farm for days, the nursery was stunning, all the seedlings were in cased in a biodegradable bag rather than traditional plastic, and these little seedlings and new trees were stunning. The mill was a fantastic set up, well thought through, lots of investment in technology. Here, they use a mechanical system to get a washed process coffee (using water to remove the coffee mucilage), this way they are using 0.7 litres of water per kg of coffee washed compared to the usual 40 litres for a traditional washed coffee. Amazing stuff, this also helps with the environmental premium they need to pay to the Colombian Government. It’s safe to say I loved Yarumal, I will hopefully return on day. No rest for the wicked though, from here we headed on a short drive to San Fernando Coffee farm, we were greeted by Davide, a third generation farmer. The farm was owned by his grandad, Umberto Gonzalez. The Gonzalez family were now proud to have around 135 hectares of farm. After a quick chat we headed to the first 4×4 experience of the trip. I love it when the Jeeps come out to play. Crammed in, we headed up. Its so much fun in the back of a 4×4 on a coffee farm, seeing the amazing terrine and feeling the path get worse and worse, such an experience. You are driving very close to the edge and it is not for the faint hearted. The views, the experience were breath-taking. We stopped at various points to talk about the coffee farm. Davide was very forward thinking and had actually stripped a piece of the farm bare in preparation of planting a new varietal of coffee, one that would be more robust against coffee rust. I have to say it was hard to take in what Davide was saying as each stopping point offered another view of the country side, it really is incredible and I know I’ve said it before, but the pictures do not do it justice. Another fantastic couple of hours on a farm. From here we headed for lunch, Carlos and wife Silvia had put on a fantastic spread. Pork belly, plantain, rice and a bean and pork knuckle soup, so tasty, this also came with a raw milk and corn beverage, this was less so tasty. After lunch Carlos showed off his coffee roaster and I tried some of his locally farmed, locally processed and locally roasted coffee, what a rubbish day at work I’m having. after this the Racafe team did a short presentation on their business model and sustainability programme. It’s fascinating listening to them talk about coffee, Surprisingly to me, a lot of what they do is low grade commercial coffee, this is sold to the local market as most of the quality speciality graded coffee is exported outside of South America. After a quick stop to look at a small purchasing station ran by Racafe in Bolivar, we headed back to Medellin for hotel and dinner. The hotel was great, Seven Inn. We wandered out to grab a bite to eat and the vibe of the city was amazing , vibrant, colourful, loud and felt very local, in a positive way. I would have loved to have stayed out and experienced a little more night life but after such a long but unbelievable day, it was time for bed. What a trip, what an experience, and its only day two… Let’s see what tomorrow has in store. Steve Hampshire Head of Coffee
- Colombia Origin Trip: Sourcing Speciality Coffee - Day 4
Welcome to Steve's personal blog from his origin trip to Colombia, where he spent 10 days travelling the country sourcing speciality coffee. His blog covers his thought and feelings throughout and introduces you to some of the most amazing people/organisations that make up the coffee industry. Day 4 – Thursday 12th May Once again my Colombian brain did not want to sleep past 4:30, so a nice early start again. This did work in my favour today as I got to Facetime home and speak to the better half and my little boy. This is now the longest I’ve gone without seeing Seth, so it was lovely to see him and his wonderful mummy. The first outing this morning was to see a small Cooperative group called Acedga, based in the “near” by town of Gaitania. I think my definition of near and Hernans is slightly different. After another dicey 90 mins in the car up the steepest, bumpy, road/no road, out of nowhere popped up Gaitania. A decent sized town but I find it incredible how they have developed this place with the access routes they have, its crazy. The pictures and my words do not do this justice, honestly, it is insane. We were greeted by Virginia Suarez, legal and head of sales for the Acedga group, she took us to a small place for breakfast, it is actually a woman’s house who uses it as a restaurant, incredible. After breakie we had a tour of their provisional buying station and QC lab. They are currently renovating their own warehouse using monies received from the Fair Trade premiums. Here we met Acedga founder, Uriel Huerfia and local QC expert Madri Sanchez. After a small tour we were met by Cup of Excellence winner Astrid Medina, Astrid won the CoE in 2015 and is well revered as a farmer in Colombia. I had a great conversation (vis Hernan) with Astrid about World Champion barista Diego Campos. I was intrigued if the farmer was interested in the final barista level of coffee, it turns out they are, and even more incredible, Diego & Astrid are friends and do some work together. It was such a lovely feeling to be involved in this conversation as you could see the joy in Astrid’s face when talking about coffee (even via a translator). I better mention know at this point we had some S&D within the group, luckily both Jacob and myself were unaffected but for some, last night was rough. Anyway, as a smaller group we ventured out and back in a 4×4 and headed towards farm Café Leona and La Esperanza. We had a walk around Café Leona’s processing plant, amazing seeing the different styles farmers use. Here, they actually pulp the cherries on a Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, these are then all mixed and left for a further two days before being washed and then either mechanically or air dried. Both Jacob and myself had a go at raking the drying parchment coffee, harder than it looks : ) We were then treated to some fried halloumi, hot Chocolate and sweet bread, the hosting levels of these farmers in incredible. From Café Leona we were back in 4×4 and off to La Esperanza, owned and farmed by Carlos Enrique Osorio, after a short drive we hopped out and had the most incredible 20 minute walk through the rainforest to get to the farm. What an experience, I honestly felt like an explorer on an expedition. Truly breath-taking. To make this even more exciting, the heavens opened and the rain came in. Thick heavy rain, it really didn’t matter though, nothing could dampen my mood. Crossing the river on a wet wooden log bridge was great fun if not a little dangerous. If this wasn’t enough, the farm was incredible, the base was at 1600 masl but went up to around 1950 masl. They had many different varietals on the farm, Typica, Pink bourbon, yellow Cattura, Geisha plus more. It was such an experience to taste the difference in cherries so close to one another, a coffee geek's dream come true. On La Esperanza they also grew lemon/mandarin hybrids and bananas. The fruit was incredible, so different to anything we have in the UK, so sweet, so fresh, beautiful. After a brew at 1600 masl, and a little tour of the farm we headed back towards Gaitania. On the walk back to the 4×4, the sun came out and again the experience was amazing. Back at Gaitania, we were treated to a rice and chicken dinner, lovely fresh flavours, exceptional. From Gaitania we said our goodbyes to Acedga and headed out to meet Camille from Asopep at Asopep HQ. A tour of the mill and interestingly a tour of their own fertilizer facility. They create organic fertilizers from waste products from the coffee process and then use them across the 304 farms on their estates. After a look at the process we headed up to the auditorium where the local kids put on a small musical performance for our benefit. Part of the Asopep social commitment is to try and engage with the local children and give them things to do after school, at Asopep they offer music, sports, dance and cooking classes for the children. This helps engage the world of coffee with the children and helps to keeps away from gang recruitment. The children performed four traditional Tolima songs, it was great to watch and to listen to. A lot of effort had gone into these and it was very much appreciated. During the concert we were treated to some lovely coffees from different brew methods by the kids in the barista school. After the concert, Camillia gave a small presentation on the coop and what they do in the area. They have safe places for children and woman to learn, they have educational classes for all, they really do seem to give back to the community. In 2017 Diego Campos had been up to run some barista classes for the kids. As well as the societal side, Asopep seem to be experts in reaching out for donations to help fund things like the building of the QC lab, warehouse, 4G football pitch, barista equipment, auditorium, demo kitchen, soil analysis station, and much more. They have been gifted donations from small companies all the way up to the European Space Agency, Fair Trade foundation and even the Vatican City. Keep doing what you are doing Asopep, I was blown away… From here we headed back to the hotel, with a lot of the group flagging, a brave bunch of 4 headed into Planadas for dinner, a couple of cerveza and a local pizza type dish topped off the most remarkable day. Bravo Tolima, Bravo Steve Hampshire Head of Coffee
- Colombia Origin Trip: Sourcing Speciality Coffee - Day 3
Welcome to Steve's personal blog from his origin trip to Colombia, where he spent 10 days travelling the country sourcing speciality coffee. His blog covers his thought and feelings throughout and introduces you to some of the most amazing people/organisations that make up the coffee industry. Day 3 – Wednesday 11th May Another early start for breakfast but even earlier for me as my brain has decided not to sleep past 4:30am during my time in Colombia. A lovely breakfast at Seven Inns overlooking the amazing city of Medellin. A quick facetime with the team back in Sheffield and away we headed. This morning's agenda was a visit to Racafe’s dry mill in Medellin and some cupping. After a short drive we arrived at the mill. After being cleared by security, we were in. First impressions, wow, a huge facility with mountains of coffee. I’d never seen a dry mill and was fascinated on how they process the parchment coffee into the green beans I know and love. The set up was incredible and well thought out each stage was mechanically automated but still incredible. The parchment goes into silos and then through a machine which removes the bean from the parchment, then it gets sorted by density, screen size and even colour to make sure he beans are consistent and uniformed. Once the beans were ready they were then weighed out into 70kg’s sacks and sewed up ready to head to port. It was great to see this whole process as it was the last thing in the coffee journey I’d not really witnessed. After the mill tour the Racafe team put on a coffee cupping, at last, my first proper cupping in Colombia. Unfortunately, due to covid we used takeaway cups rather then straight off the spoon a la traditional cuppings but this didn’t stop it being a great experience. We cupped coffees from the local area and all were delicious, another tough morning in the office. From the mill we headed to the airport to take our internal flight down to Neiva. We got to the airport in good time and breezed through check in and security, domestic airports are fantastic. After a short wait wwe were called to board and then I saw our plane. It wasn’t tiny but it was a twin propeller, I’ve never flown in anything quite this small so I was rather excited. The flight was a little bumpy but the views out the window were once again magical, so much lush, thick greenery. The flight was only just over an hour so once we were up, it was time to come back down. From the airport we picked up two hire cars and headed on a short (when I say short I really mean seven hours) drive to Tolima. With Hernan and Ivan from Racafe behind the wheels, water and snacks in hand we set off. After a lovely two hour stint on straight smooth quick highways we stopped at a roadside restaurant for lunch. Rice, beans and a tasty bit of flank steak, at least I think it was steak, could have been anything really but it tasted great. We set off again and continued our journey. We exited the highway and went towards the mountains, these roads were not quite as well maintained as the highway. For the next 5 hours, I honestly don’t know if we got above 30 kph. Pot holes, rubble tracks, sand tracks, parts of road missing, subsidence, boulders in the way and not to mention driving round the side of a mountain with 1000 meter falls if you mess up, this drive was intense. It's tough going in the back as you are jolted about constantly but with all that being said, the scenery, the views are just incredible. What a beautiful country. I have to give a massive shout out to both Hernan and Ivan, the way they handled the cars in such difficult driving conditions, bravo gents, bravo. After the seven-and-a-bit-hour drive, we arrived in Tolima and met the Head of the Asopep cooperative Camille for dinner. Fried plantain and chicken salad followed by slowly smoked then seared belly pork. Salty, juicy, full of flavour, beautiful. I loved the way the meat looked hanging over the wood fired bbq, but I think if you were a more delicate soul, you may not have fancied it. Camille then introduced us Santiago, a young 17 year old who was learning to become a barista. We brewed us up a blend of Cold brew and drip filter coffee, this is not something I’ve tried before but I was delighted with the result. Locally grown, locally roasted, locally brewed specialty coffee, mega! After this we left Camille and headed a short drive into Planadas and to our hotel for the next two nights. I have to say, Hotel Coffee, Planadas, I was very pleased to see you. Off to bed as its another early start tomorrow… Steve Hampshire Head of Coffee
- Colombia Origin Trip: Sourcing Speciality Coffee - Day 5
Welcome to Steve's personal blog from his origin trip to Colombia, where he spent 10 days travelling the country sourcing speciality coffee. His blog covers his thought and feelings throughout and introduces you to some of the most amazing people/organisations that make up the coffee industry. Day 5 – Friday 13th May Good news bad news start to the day today, good news, I managed to sleep until 5am, a new Colombia record, bad news, the farm visit we had planned had to be cancelled due the road being damaged due to the rains. Silver lining from this is we had a slightly more leisurely start before heading back to Asopep HQ for a coffee cupping. The team had planned an 18 cup session, 11 washed from the area and 7 naturals. This was a happy moment for me, on the washed section, we had; Pink Bourbon, Tabi, Cattura, Castillo and three Geisha’s. All wonderful cups, clean, balanced, fruity, just amazing to taste and what a place to do it. I was fascinated listening to the groups tastings notes of the coffees, what an industry to work in. To be surrounded by likeminded people on the other side of the world, terrific. All the coffees on the table were from the farms associated with Asopep and each one had a unique flavour and all were very good indeed. On the Naturals, there was three that had unusual processing methods; One had used the fermentation water from a batch of geisha and the used this to help ferment typica varietal. The other two had fermented oranges and then added the liquid extract from this into their fermentation process. Amazing to hear and taste these innovated techniques and what results they give us. This has been a brilliant morning, I love Colombian coffee and I also love trying new coffees, I got to do them with farmers in Colombia, brilliant. After such an amazing morning we headed back to the cars and on the long drive back to Neiva, This journey felt a little quicker than on the way here but still bumpy windy roads. After a good 5 hours or so in the car, we arrived back at our hotel. We didn’t see anything of Neiva as the group is tired but we went to the next door restaurant, had dinner and a few local pints of Cerzeza Artesanals Blanca, really good Colombian craft beer. Back to the hotel and bed now. Heading to Inza and Popayan tomorrow… Steve Hampshire Head of Coffee
- Colombia Origin Trip: Sourcing Speciality Coffee - Day 6
Welcome to Steve's personal blog from his origin trip to Colombia, where he spent 10 days travelling the country sourcing speciality coffee. His blog covers his thought and feelings throughout and introduces you to some of the most amazing people/organisations that make up the coffee industry. Day 6 – Saturday 14th May Another early start and another delicious broth for breakfast, the GHL hotel in Neiva was fantastic, very new and very comfy. A big drive ahead of us and its off towards Cauca, first stop Inza. After a good three and a half hours in the car we arrived and the bustling town of Inza. Saturday is market day and wozers, what a place. The hustle and bustle, the noise, the people, amazing to be part of this. The local community would all come into town and but what they needed, sell what they could and from what I could gather, have a niece cerveza or two after. We were greeted in Inza by Jesus, the local coffee buyer. We watched some of the farmers bring the parchment coffee, get it weighed and checked before being paid. It was really awesome watching this happen in real time. Jesus would but dry, wet and Pasilia (very low grade for the domestic market) coffee, each price was cleary marked and seems an incredibly fair and transparent way of buying coffee. After 20 minutes or so, with Jesus in tow we headed up to the first farm of the day, owned and farmed by Freddie Pacue. Once again (and unsurprisingly) the views on this farm were incredible, with a river running through the bottom, the mountains in the backdrop, just jaw droppingly beautiful. It really is impossible to put into words the beauty of this country and these coffee farms, I just hope I’m doing them justice. Freddie had only bought this land five years ago and has done an incredible job transforming the land into a thriving coffee plantation. With many different varietals on display, a truly lovely farm. Freddie seemed delighted to be showing us around, he took genuine pleasure in showing off his farm and rightly so. He particularly enjoyed it when most of the group (including Jacob and myself) took a tumble of the plantation, there was some serious chuckles going on. As well as coffee, Freddie also kept cattle and the occasional orange tree. As we walk past a healthy looking tree, like a cat Freddie was up the tree and it was raining oranges. I managed to get my hands on a really juicy looking bad boy. First thing that took me by surprise was how hard and thick the peel was, however, once I got into it, the juiciest, sweetest, most orangey orange I have ever had. The quality of the produce on this trip was been just wonderful. We had a look at Freddie’s processing methods, a really clean and modern processing area. From here, we hopped back into the cars and did a short drive to Feddie’s home. The family had put on lunch for us. I was now becoming quite the connoisseur of broth’s and this one won “broth of the trip”, a really flavoursome veg broth with potatoes, plantain and yuca. The vegetables all had a really great texture and full of flavour. Alongside this we had; salad, rice, the biggest avocado I’ve ever seen and some chicken. Unfortunately, due to the groups earlier tummy issues, we were all a little more cautious about what we ate, so a lot of the chicken was left. We felt terrible as the farmers' hospitality was incredible but most of the group didn’t want to take the chance. I however gave it a real good go. I still can’t quite get over how kind and welcoming all the farmers have been, such warmth and generosity from people. Eating lunch and having coffee at 1650 masl, on a coffee farm, in Colombia will NEVER get old, I’m running out of adjectives to describe this place. After lunch, Freddie showed us the famous Coca plant. I was blown away, the lives lost, the money spent and the danger the off product from this plant brings is scary. It looked like any normal shrub, but really was not. It’s such a shame that this naturally occurring plant has bought so much devastation to a wonderful country. Enough said for now about this, such a shame as it’s a very pretty plant. From lunch it was back into the cars and headed back into Inza to drop Jesus off and then the drive to Popayan. The drive took about two and a half hours and was a wonderful drive over the mountains, at the highest point we reached 3300 masl, the air was thin and dare I say it, it was cold! The views from this point were again incredible, but the landscape started to change, it was still lush thick green but the types of shrubbery and tress are different. As we first entered the area of Cauca a, we were ‘greeted’ at the border by the indigenous group CRIC. The CRIC make up members from all the indigenous groups of Cauca and monitor and ‘police’ the area. There is an agreement with local law enforcement that the CRIC have powers to stop and detain. I was grateful to be in the car with Ivan, as it was not like a traditional border and if travelling solo would have been somewhat strange and a little terrifying. The CRIC are very cautious on who they let into Cauca. There is still a lot of trouble within the area on drug cartels, gangs and still some rebel FARC guerrillas within the area. This trip actually had to change itinerary due to the safety issues in the North and West of Cauca, terrifying stuff. A lot of sign posts still had FARC gratify on them. We passed through with no issues but enough talking points for days and headed into Popayan. We were staying at an old 1600s Spanish monastery in the centre, Dann Monasterio. A beautiful place for our last few nights. It was here that we said our goodbyes to Hernan and Ivan from Racafe. What a shift these chaps had put in, incredible hosts, such warmth and knowledge, some long hours behind the wheel but were never to busy to stop for a question or help out where ever they could. Thanks you gents. After sorrow came great joy as when the Racafe guys left Elisabeth and Hernan from CENCOIC came to join us. We headed out for a bite to eat. It was great to see Elisabeth again and even more so, was really touching that she remembered me from her visit to Sheffield, such a lovely friendly person. After a couple of cerveza and a lovely meal it was time for bed… A big day of CENCOIC farms tomorrow! Steve Hampshire Head of Coffee
- Colombia Origin Trip: Sourcing Speciality Coffee - Day 8
Welcome to Steve's personal blog from his origin trip to Colombia, where he spent 10 days travelling the country sourcing speciality coffee. His blog covers his thought and feelings throughout and introduces you to some of the most amazing people/organisations that make up the coffee industry. Day 8 – Monday 16th May A late start today, we were meeting at 8am! However, those bells were chiming at 5am again, it’s a good job I’m a morning person. After a another negative covid test, I headed down to breakfast at the hotel. The last morning, the last breakfast, I had my heart set on my last breakfast broth, this didn’t arrive, I had to make do with a selection of super fresh fruit and a made-to-order omelette. After breakfast, we all checked out and headed to CENCOIC HQ to see their warehouse and QC labs. The two Covid cases had remained in isolation in the hotel as to not spread anything. At CENCOIC HQ we were greeted by Hernan and Coop manager Juan Carlos Guampe. It was great to see Juan Carlos again, and it was lovely that he recognised me from their visit to Sheffield in September 2019. After a quick look around we were treated to a brilliant coffee cupping. 14 coffees from across the CENCOIC estate, all very different but all delicious in their own ways. We cupped coffees from the farms we visited yesterday, It’s such an amazing feeling to be trying the coffee from a farm I visited the previous day, I love this job. After the cupping and analysis, the CENCOIC team had made lunch, my first tamales of the trip. A dish made up of meat, veg, egg and corn mixed and then cooked inside a banana leaf, it was really tasty. Nicer than they look once you remove the banana leaf. After the quick lunch we had a sit down and Elisabeth joined us. Via interpreter Priscilla, the CENCOIC team thanked us for the visit and explained why it meant so much we go out and see them, the importance of ongoing relations and the value we add to them as coffee producers. It was really touching hearing the guys talk and how sincere they were and what it meant, brilliant that the coffee we buys does make a difference to people at origin, its how it should be. We use coffee from CENCOIC in our Cooling Towers blend which is made up of Costa Rican and Colombian coffee. If you’d like to buy a bag of Cooling Towers, click here . Likewise, you can find more about CENCOIC and the great work they do, here . After saying our goodbyes we headed to Popayan airport, now Popayan airport is rather small, we were greeted by security before entering the terminal who had a print out of all passengers flying that day, if you ain’t on the list, you ain’t coming in! We boarded and duly landed in Bogota, there was time to kill as our UK flight was not for another 7 hours but weary from the previous 10 days we merely mulled about the airport until it was time to come home. It was a shame I didn’t get to see Bogota but didn’t feel I had the time to do it remotely properly so decided against it, I will hopefully return one day though. We then boarded the plane at headed back to the UK. Steve Hampshire Head of Coffee