Patel says that lately there has been a lot of negative press about the living conditions of Assam workers and their children. Determined to make a difference, Patel decided to host the first annual Jalinga Charity Tea Run, to both showcase what Jalinga Tea has been doing while also raising proceeds to do more.

For Jalinga Tea, based in West Bengal, India, their business model is centred around sustainability. The journey began when Patel identified that the poor infrastructure, including frequent power outages, was resulting in a poor, quality exports. By adopting sustainability as a business model, Jalinga Tea has become one of the largest organic tea producers in the region, producing over 900 tonnes a year. Over the years, Jalinga has integrated several critical practices including pioneering the composting technology, Novocom with Inhana Biosciences, solar powered lighting for 1500 workers home and low carbon emission cooking stoves for their workers. These initiatives have helped establish the estate as the only carbon neutral Organic Tea Farm.

Located on the breathtaking 650-acre tea estate, the run will be the first to take place on a carbon neutral tea estate. Runners will be delighted by the amazing views, clean air, and winding trails. However, the run is only a part of the journey. Jalinga Tea Estate will be providing accommodation, meals and a series of events to fully immerse the 150 plus attendees in Assam culture and the beauty of Jalinga tea. Over 40 tea buyers from around the world, including Australia, Italy, United Kingdom, United States, and Germany, will be attending this event getting a true insider look at the lives of Jalinga Tea workers and their families.

Throughout the weekend attendees will enjoy several pop-up exhibitions and events including a tea tour, an exhibition rugby match, yoga, artisan crafts, tea tasting sessions and a charity auction. Music has become an integral part of this experience, with performances by Usha Uthup, DJ Vicky Metharamani and jazz performer Syncopation. The workers and their children are an integral part of this event and Jalinga Tea Estate has incorporated several moments where employees can be actively involved in the experience. This includes ten home stay options, providing a true insider’s look for a few individuals. The music festival will also be broadcasted live to all the workers in the three divisions of Jalinga, including at the recreational hall where it will be shown on a large screen TV.

The Jalinga Charity Tea Event is much more than a fundraiser. It is an opportunity to share the incredible story of the workers and their children with the world. For more information or to register to participate, visit: www.jalingatearun.com.

By Anne-Marie Hardie

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September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and Caribou Coffee Cares is giving back with its hometown partners. Ten percent of proceeds from Vikings Blend, Row the Boat Gopher Blend, and the new exclusive Love Your Melon beanies will go to University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital.

Caribou Coffee and Love Your Melon teamed up to create two exclusive beanies that will be available for purchase at Caribou Coffee locations only. The beanies are now available in all Caribou locations and 10% of proceeds will go back to University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital. “It is a natural fit for Love Your Melon to partner with Caribou Coffee as we have similar corporate philosophies and share a home in Minnesota. We are proud to provide customers with our high-quality products in Caribou stores this fall and team up to make a difference for children and families battling cancer,” says Zachary Quinn, president and co-founder of Love Your Melon.

The limited-edition Vikings Blend medium roast blend is available in 10-ounce ground bags at all Minnesota Caribou locations and on CaribouCoffee.com. Ten percent of proceeds from the Vikings Blend sold at Caribou locations and online will go to University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital. Vikings Blend is also available in most Minnesota grocery stores. K-cups will be available in early September.

Row The Boat Gopher Blend is back for a second football season, this limited-edition medium roast, both bold and spirited, is designed to fuel the passion of Gopher fans. Ten percent of proceeds from Row the Boat Gopher Blend sold in all Minnesota Caribou locations and on CaribouCoffee.com will go to University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital.

“Working together we can give even more,” says Kayleen Tecker, partnership marketing manager at Caribou Coffee. “Our guests have been loving Row the Boat Gopher Blend and our brand new, Vikings Blend already this fall. We couldn’t be more excited to partner with Love Your Melon, who also calls Minnesota home. All three partners already work closely with University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital. We are proud to join this team to support kids and families battling cancer in our hometown.”

Founded in 1992, Caribou Coffee is the second largest company-operated premium coffeehouse in the United States with more than 263 company-owned stores and over 50 Coffee & Bagels stores in partnership with Einstein Bros. Bagels, over 140 domestic license locations in 19 states and 268 international franchise stores in 12 countries. Known for a commitment to sustainability, Caribou Coffee was the first major US coffeehouse to serve 100% Rainforest Alliance Certified coffees and espresso.

University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital brings hope and healing to children and families by caring for one child at a time, while advancing education, research, and innovation on behalf of all children. By working as one health care team centered on its youngest patients, University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital and pediatric clinics create exceptional care experiences for children and their families in Minnesota and around the world.

For more information, visit: www.cariboucoffee.com.

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As well as meeting an array of international tea and coffee professionals, I attended a fascinating Tea Workshop, hosted by sinas GmbH, entitled Flavour, Fruit and Herbal Creations. The charming and charismatic Tobias, ably assisted by the two Sarahs, described the 11 ingredients that would go into the final blend that we would create during the workshop. These were: rosehip; safflower; lemon peel; blue butterfly flower; orange peel; lemongrass; lime peel; stevia leaves; sweet apple pieces; lemon myrtle and white apple pieces.

Tobias explained the importance of which ‘element’ of the ingredient is used to determine the quality of the final product. Using an apple, he demonstrated that if you only use the flesh of the apple, and not the skin or the pips, you will have a different ingredient, and a more expensive one, than if you just chop up a whole apple, pips and all.

The ingredients were sourced globally, including Spain for the lemon peel, Egyptian lemongrass, lemon myrtle from Malaysia and Turkish apple pieces. The blue butterfly flowers, which produce a brilliant blue colour when brewed, hailed from China. Well known in Asia, these flowers are rapidly becoming popular in European products. Stevia, the wondrous calorie-free sweetener from the leaves of the Stevia rebaudiana plant, has been used as a sweetener in its native Brazil and Paraguay for many thousands of years.

The ingredients’ provenance and profiles were described in detail and brewed in 11 individual teapots, which we then tasted. Needless to say, the brightnss of the hue did not always reflect the strength of the flavour. Stevia, almost colourless, was incredibly sweet. Rosehip, a rich golden colour, had very little flavour. My personal favourite was the lemon myrtle, a crisp, invigorating taste with subtle scented hints of lemon.

Individual tastes

After the tasting session, all 11 ingredients were emptied, bag by bag, onto a cloth-covered table. A volunteer was called to gently ‘blend’ by hand, the 11 ingredients. The resulting blend was then brewed by Tobias for five minutes. The result was, surprisingly, a luminous apple green colour. The taste was a refreshing combination of scented, citrus and apple fruit flavours, though no one flavour dominated.

For me, the stevia gave too much sweetness to the blend, but as the other participants gave their opinion, for some the sweetness was perfect, while for others it was not sweet enough. As Tobias explained, younger people can recognise bitter flavours much more than older people – we lose our ‘bitter’ taste as we age. Like children in a candy store, we busily filled our bags with the dried blend to take home, having thoroughly enjoyed participating in such a hands-on workshop. – Sarah McRitchie, Editorial Director, Tea & Coffee Trade Journal

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“Caribou is proud to be the Official Coffee of the Minnesota Vikings, and we couldn’t be more excited to launch Vikings Blend” says Jenifer Hagness, vp of marketing and product innovation. “With a combination of cinnamon, nutty and cherry notes, the blend is designed to fuel Vikings fans all season.”

The new SKOL Vikings Blend will also be available in most Minnesota grocery stores. K-Cup 10-count packages will be available in September as well. Both the 10-oz bag of ground coffee and the K-Cup package have a MSRP of USD $9.99.

Caribou Coffee, which is based in Minneapolis, also announced that 10% of proceeds from Vikings Blend sold in Caribou locations will go to University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital. “University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital is grateful for this new partnership with Caribou, a brand synonymous with Minnesota,” says Joseph Neglia, MD, MPH, the physician-in-chief of Masonic Children’s Hospital. “We have had a long-standing relationship with the Minnesota Vikings and are thrilled to team up on Vikings Blend to make a lasting impact for patients and their families at our hospital.”

Founded in 1992, Caribou Coffee is the second largest company-operated premium coffeehouse in the United States with more than 263 company-owned stores and 50 Coffee & Bagels stores in partnership with Einstein Bros. Bagels, 142 domestic license locations in 19 states and 268 international franchise stores in 12 countries. Known for a commitment to sustainability, the Caribou was one of the first major US coffeehouses to serve 100% Rainforest Alliance Certified coffees and espresso.

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Specifically, the PM details explanations that support companies, development organizations, and other supply chain partners as they design, plan, launch, and monitor a project at a household, community, and producer-organization level. The new tool was developed with financial support from the SAFE Platform of the InterAmerican Development Bank, and incorporated input from several industry and development professionals to ensure its applicability in a variety of settings. The methodology was validated within the PGE Field Level Project in Nicaragua, which was funded by the UTZ Sector Partnership Program, and includes a project-based indicator set to measure impact.

“With the launch of the Project Methodology tool, companies can more readily engage with work in their own supply chains to accelerate gender equity at the field level, and track our shared impact on the issue,” says PGE’s strategic director, Kimberly Easson.

S&D Coffee & Tea, a SAFE Platform member, recognizes the importance of gender sensitive methodologies in their diverse supply chain investments, encouraging the use of PGE’s methodology to enhance farmer performance metrics.

“The more we, as an industry stakeholder, engage in understanding how gender equity impacts our supply chain, the better we will structure and integrate our project within a holistic perspective,” explains Olga L Cuellar Gomez, of S&D Coffee and Tea. “Integrating some of the PGE methodology in our business has added value for us and our suppliers. PGE methodology reminds us, that when we engage with a farm, we need to consider all aspects of a coffee household, and to evaluate how this impacts our trading expectations.” She adds, “Gender equity is one aspect that we need to be more intentional, because the more we learn about the issue, the better we can approach it and integrate it into our supply chain.”

The Project Methodology links the first two tools, the Common Measurement Framework (CMF) and the Engagement Guide, both of which were funded with the support from the Global Coffee Platform (GCP) and launched in late 2017. The CMF allows coffee industry actors to learn about gender differences in their origin and supply chain programs by integrating indicators that measure the conditions that inhibit full participation of both men and women, while maximizing effective performance of the coffee value chain. The Engagement Guide for Gender Equity in the Coffee Sector provides a roadmap and resources for industry actors to engage in conversations about gender equity, and to aid in identifying actions that will support gender equity in their own organizations and with supply chain partners.

Over the next five years, PGE will work with partners to launch eight to 12 collaborative field level projects in key coffee-producing regions. Each project targets an estimated 2,500 coffee-farming families (reaching 25,000 households and over 100,000 beneficiaries in total, including men, women and children). PGE will track the impact and compare results, with the intention to demonstrate the impact of integrating gender equity approaches to sustainability in the coffee value chain.

PGE is dedicated to growing its network of allies, seeking partners and financial resources to help increase impact, and to ensure a supply chain works for all involved.

For more information on developing a project with PGE, or to collaborate in a growing number of upcoming origin projects including Ethiopia, Central and South America, contact PGE at connect@genderincoffee.org.

The Partnership for Gender Equity (PGE), an initiative of the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI), was created in 2014 as a collaborative research and development initiative to better understand the link between gender equity and supply chain resilience and determine the best way to respond. PGE brings together a diverse array of industry and development partners to actively support gender equity in order to improve the quality of producers’ lives and the sustainable supply of quality coffee. To support PGE’s goals and help make a difference, companies can make a direct investment in PGE, and/or support our work through Research, Projects, and Education/Advocacy. For more information, visit: www.genderinequity.org.

The Sustainable Agriculture, Food and Environment (SAFE) Platform is a multi-stakeholder alliance initiated by the MIF, coordinated by Hivos and co-founded by private sector participants, donors and non-governmental organizations that share a common vision: improve the livelihood of farmers through the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices, transforming coffee and cocoa landscapes. The Platform leverages existing knowledge, expertise, and resources from all its members in order to implement a series of projects that pilot or scale up innovative value chain approaches. For more information contact: info@safeplatform.org.

S&D Coffee & Tea, a subsidiary of Cott Corporation, is the largest coffee and tea manufacturer and supplier to restaurants and convenience stores in America. S&D is also a leading producer of liquid extracts. In continuous operation since 1927, the company serves over 110,000 customers through national distribution and direct store delivery. For more information about S&D Coffee & Tea, go to www.sdcoffeetea.com.

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Knutsen was born on 31 August 1921 in a small Norwegian village above the Arctic Circle. Her father Edwin emigrated from Norway to New York alone, working in the shipyards and saving his money for two years until he could bring his wife and daughters Clara, Erna and Anne to join him in 1927. Four more children would follow in the Depression years, all born in New York. Her first job was as a secretary for a Wall Street firm, one of the few office positions open to women at that time. After being told she would never make it as a trader in the coffee world, Knutsen proved the naysayers wrong. In the late 1970s, she began her career as the only woman green coffee broker in the United States founding Knutsen Coffees, Ltd.

Knutsen became a worldwide name in the business, winning many awards. One of her most valued honours was the Golden Coffee Bean awarded her by Norway when she was in her 80s. Knutsen helped establish the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), and in 1991, she received the SCAA’s first Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2014, the year she announced her retirement at age 93, Knutsen was honoured at the SCAA opening ceremonies.

In the 1980s, Knutsen met and later married John Rapinchuk. Rapinchuk was born on 20 December 1951. Together, they spent the next thirty years discovering new restaurants, traveling the world and ultimately working together at Knutsen Coffees. Rapinchuk passed away on 12 August 2016.

If you would like to donate in Erna Knutsen’s name, please contact Café Femenino at https://www.cafefemenino.com.

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As the demand for cold brews, lattes and bubble teas increases, it is safe to say that the world is in the midst of something of a tea revolution. “Tea is not just tea anymore,” said Louise Cheadle, tea taster and co-founder of Teapigs. “The average tea drinker now wants more than a ‘milk with two sugars’ kind of experience – they know more about tea, they expect better quality and are happy to pay a bit more for it.” And that’s where Teapigs steps in.

The Tata Global Beverages-owned tea brand was founded in 2006 by former Tetley employees Cheadle and Nick Kilby. As a tea taster for over 15 years, Cheadle had travelled the world sourcing tea. And while she discovered “all sorts of wonderful teas” in different parts of the world, she returned home only to realise how unvarying and static the UK market was. “Tea was predominantly black tea in a dusty paper bag. To experience quality tea, you’d have to go to a fancy London food hall or hotel for afternoon tea.” She added that herbal infusions were in limited availability in the mainstream market, not that great tasting and consequently not that popular.

“We were a nation of tea drinkers who had gotten stuck in a very average tea rut,” Cheadle lamented. “Nick and I wanted to change all that. So, we started Teapigs with a mission to make real, quality tea accessible to everyone.” The company now operates from two offices, one in Brentford, England and the other in Brooklyn, New York.

Simplicity is Key

The unique brand name was concocted to leave an imprint in consumers’ minds whilst reflecting the founders’ greed for great tea as self-proclaimed ‘tea pigs.’ However, the company’s propensity to think outside the box didn’t stop there. The decision to adopt the term ‘tea temples’ in place of the traditional terms of ‘pyramid tea bags’ or ‘tea sachets’ also reflects Teapigs’ eccentricity as a brand. Cheadle noted, “There was a phrase we’d heard around the time we started Teapigs that ‘a tea worthy of worship goes in a tea temple’ and from there our tea temple was born. The other option was a pouch…but that just sounds odd!”

Simplicity is key for Teapigs. With a current portfolio of less than 50 different tea varieties, the aim is to avoid overwhelming the consumer with too many choices, Cheadle said. “With our tea knowledge we have carefully selected what we believe is a cross-section of the finest teas to make the tea drinker’s selection that much easier.” Furthermore, the brand currently operates in 35 countries with its biggest markets currently listed as the United States and China.

Consumers’ Shifting Preferences

The company owes much of its success to the recent shift in mainstream consumption habits. “There is a global trend towards drinking better-quality tea, but different countries are at various stages on that journey,” Cheadle affirmed. There has a been a particular change in consumers’ beverage preferences in the company’s country of origin, the United Kingdom. British consumer preferences now match the Teapigs original ethos more closely than they did ten years ago, with tea drinkers now demanding better-quality teas.

There is also a growing interest in brews that offer health benefits. “Demand for healthy green and herbal teas is growing [in the UK]. All our teas are healthy, but we’ve noticed that more and more people are asking specifically about the benefits,” Cheadle revealed. As a result, the company launched a range of feel-good teas in February 2017 featuring ingredients such as ginger, beetroot, apple and coconut. “These are not ‘healthy teas’ that are consumed whilst holding your nose — we use real, top-quality ingredients. These teas both taste and do good.”

However, in terms of other leading markets such as China, for example, loose-leaf green teas still dominate consumers’ preferences. The functional teas, which offer specific health benefits, and are favoured by the Brits, are much more of a slow burner amongst Chinese tea drinkers.

Plastic-Free Certification

At the start of this year, the UK Tea and Infusions Association announced that the UK consumes 60.2 billion cups of tea every year, 96 percent of which are brewed using a tea bag. It was also revealed that most popular British tea-bag brands use a sealing plastic called polypropylene to fasten the tea bags and retain their shape. However, Teapigs has been recognised as one of the few tea brands that manufactures plastic-free biodegradable tea bags.

Teapigs was also the first tea brand to be awarded with the Plastic Free Trust Mark by A Plastic Planet in May. Cheadle said, “Our tea temples and the string attached are made from corn starch, a natural carbohydrate extracted from corn. The label on the end of the string is made from simple, old-fashioned paper. Even the ink on the label is vegetable-based, and everything is sealed with heat – so no glue! As a result, our tea temples are fully plastic-free.” Designed to be featured on the front of the packs, the company hopes that the Trust Mark will encourage consumers to make well-informed plastic-free choices.

Teapigs’ packaging is also made from FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified paper board. This assures consumers that the forests from which the wood is originally sourced are sustainably managed. According to Cheadle, the cartons are also reusable, recyclable and biodegradable. And the ink used on the cartons is vegetable-based. “We use clear inner bags inside our cartons to keep the tea temples fresh and have recently invested in switching over to a material called Natureflex. These bags are fully compostable and are made from renewable wood pulp which is great. As for the other products in the range, our metal tins of tea are made from tin plate and aluminium. They are reusable and can be recycled in your home recycling bin.”

And while the subject of plastic-free packaging for food and beverages may not be a pressing priority on a global scale as of right now, Cheadle noted that the strong British interest in the subject matter can be attributed largely to Sir David Attenborough. “We’ve really got to thank the great Sir David Attenborough and the recent Blue Planet programme for bringing this topic even further into the public eye. He’s a real national treasure!”

Ethical Sourcing

As further evidence of its worldwide presence, Teapigs sources its teas and herbal infusions from a variety of countries including Rwanda, Taiwan, China, and India. The brand maintains its commitment towards ethical sourcing and as such, Teapigs has been a member of The Ethical Tea Partnership since July 2017. The not-for-profit organisation works to improve tea sustainability, the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and tea workers, as well as the environment in which the tea is produced.

Moreover, Teapigs’ everyday brew blend holds a Rainforest Alliance certification. “We’re working with the Rainforest Alliance to get our black tea estates certified so you can see the little green frog on loads more of our packs,” Cheadle shared. “We’re also members of the Sustainable Restaurant Association and we’re proud to be an accredited Living Wage Employer.”

Teapigs also donates a percentage of its everyday brew sales to The Point Foundation, a charity that operates in the communities where the brand sources its tea. “The Point Foundation runs a disability programme in collaboration with the Gallagher Trust where they manage houses that provide specialist care and accommodation for disabled children and young adults. Teapigs fully funds one of the houses – Teapigs House – home to seven people with disabilities. Our donations also go towards the upkeep of other houses,” Cheadle said.

It would appear that the brand has plenty of innovations up its sleeve, including new flavours, new formats and new collaborations. Although Cheadle was tight lipped regarding specific details, she was sure to mention that consumers should keep an eye on Teapigs’ packaging formats in the near future.

As the trends of green teas and healthy beverages continue to gain momentum across the globe, Teapigs will definitely benefit from the current ‘tea revolution.’ And the company’s dream of becoming the “number one gourmet tea company, not just in the UK, but the world over,” may just become a reality, sooner rather than later.

Sharanjit Aujla is the digital editor at Bell Publishing. She may be reached at: sharan@bellpublishing.com.

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Whether you call them Generation Z, the iGeneration, or post millennials, this demographic has been raised in a period of political and global upheaval creating a generation of realists. They are not easily persuaded by marketing and advertising, in fact, the majority will opt out of watching traditional ads. Instead they are looking for products that are authentic, respond to their needs, and reflect their values.

For millennials, it was all about the messaging and the identity of the brand, for Generation Z, they are the brand. “It is not about how the brand is evolving, but how this generation is interacting and applying the brand in their lifestyle,” shared Locke Hildebrand, chief insights officer, Culture Waves, a market research firm based in Springfield, Missouri. “Their sense of brand loyalty is completely different than anything we’ve ever seen before. They are continually questioning what can the brand do for me?”

Today, “Gen Z” – born between 1997 and 2011 – comprises 27 percent of the population, and these digital natives are adopting high expectations both for the products themselves, and the brands that they choose to interact with. Social media is not just an influence, it is a part of their every day existence. “This is the generation that can Facetime their friends, text their moms, and order pizza all at the same time,” said David Portalatin, vice president, food industry advisor, The NPD Group, based in Port Washington, New York. “They are the true digital natives, technology is a deeply inherent thing.”

Gen Zers can stream their own television programs and music, design their own clothing, and customize their own beverages. Menus are approached as simply suggestions, not prescriptions. This demographic has developed a refined palate for food and beverages, including being exposed to dairy-free products, super foods, specialty coffee and loose-leaf tea. This is a cohort that is not intimidated by flavours, but instead, wants to experiment with it and share their experimentation online. “Sixty-four percent of 13-17-year old’s who had a brewed or ready-to-drink coffee yesterday said it was pre-flavoured,” said Cheryl Hung, market research consultant for Toronto, Ontario-based market intelligence firm, Dig Insights.

They are actively seeking unique flavour profiles, providing an opportunity for tea and coffee companies to engage and connect to this group through product innovation and sampling. “Food is pop culture, it is entertainment,” said Hildebrand. “At the same time, Generation Z is focused on health and wellness, providing great opportunity for green and black tea, and ingredients such as turmeric, ginger, and floral, which not only add flavour but provide the health benefits that interest this group.”

Non-dairy has exploded, with Generation Z approaching milk-free as simply another ingredient that they can use to customize their own beverages. This is a generation that wants something to talk about. Craft, customizable beverages is a natural solution. “Our Generation Z attendees seem to lean towards the unique (creative) signature drinks. These are either drinks that the participating shops have on their seasonal menu or are testing a new concoction,” said Jason Burton, founder, Caffeine Crawl, based in Kansas City, Missouri. “These customized drinks often take the preparation time and amount of ingredients that you would find in a craft cocktail.”

The Parental Influence

Largely still at home, Generation Z viewpoints of life are shaped by either a millennial or Generation X parent, providing an interesting dynamic on the collective group. “The highest rated consumption of organic products is amongst young children,” said Portalatin. “It’s the parents who are really influencing this subset of Generation Z.” Tea companies that offer herbal and rooibos products would benefit by creating both children-centric product lines and messages that appeal to these discerning parents.

With a little bit of money in their pocket, the 13-20 subset is participating in away-from-home food and beverage consumption. They are looking for the relative value of products and are willing to spend the money on items that they believe they will get value for in return. “Take the example of footwear — this subgroup will spend crazy amounts of money if they feel that it will fit with their own brand,” said Portalatin. “They are not looking at the price point of items, but the way that they can build their own personal expression and, in turn, engage with brands.” Social media platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat, are providing a platform for this digital generation to share their story and develop their unique brand.

For the older Generation Zs, they are delving into creating their own beverages like tea-based cocktails, part for the beverage itself, but also because it’s beautiful, creative and is going to get the user likes. Product launches, such as Starbucks Unicorn Frappuccino, appealed to the consumer behaviour of taking a photo and sharing it online. While events, like caffeine crawls (adapted from the concept of a traditional pub crawl where “crawlers” engage in a presentation by the coffee shop or a hands-on activity and enjoy a free drink or chocolate – redeemable by attendees only) and sober raves, create a social sober scene that encourages entertainment, product sampling, and sharing the story of a beverage.

“Our younger audience has been our most engaged with the presentations,” said Burton. “They are the first generation to grow up with specialty coffee, but they still take in the information and really seem to enjoy the drinks.” The Generation Z audience for the caffeine crawls tends to consist of small groups of college students, or middle/high school students attending with a parent, evolving the crawl into a family outing.

Brand loyalty has become an interesting kind of dance, shared Hildebrand. On the one side, they understand what a legacy brand is from their parents – Star Wars, Avengers, Wonder Woman, but on the other side, the new wave of Generation Z YouTube celebrities are influencing which brands to gravitate towards, and which to stay away from. “For them, Generation Z is the brand, collecting pieces and parts to tell the story of who they are,” said Hildebrand. “One of the great examples is the resurgence of the enamel pin [collectible small pins with various images that brands produce] which brands are creating and encouraging Generation Z to engage and share their story.”

Generation Z are interested in the story behind the products and looking for companies that will share not only about the product, but where it came from, and who created it. “They are looking for authenticity, it has to be real,” explained Portalatin. “This group has immediate access to a plethora of information sources and can quickly discern what is true and what is just marketing.”

Tata Tea, a division of Tata Global Beverages, has used the digital medium to initiate conversations and activism among youth. “While traditional mediums of marketing will continue to be employed, digital is a particularly powerful route,” said Sushant Dash, regional president, India, Tata Global Beverages. “Our strategy is to have a long-term conversation with them and not rely on merely push communication.”

Their campaign, Jaago Re (wake up), focused on two prevailing issues that were impacting India: women’s safety and sports. Their hope was to urge individuals to act now to prevent future crisis. In the end, Tata Tea collected 1.8 million signatures across the nation, which advocated to include gender sensitization and sports in the school curriculum.

New Wave of Coffee Drinkers

Unflavoured bottled water remains the most popular beverage for this segment group. In the 2017 National Coffee Drinking Trends report, commissioned by the New York-based National Coffee Association (NCA) and conducted by Dig Insights, a total of 1,060 individuals, aged 13-18 were sampled, providing one of the first in-depth analyses of coffee and tea consumption practices for this cohort.

Although coffee was not the most popular beverage sampled in the previous day, 70 percent of the coffee that was consumed was gourmet. Tea consumption, noted Hung, was higher than past day level for coffee. This number has been consistent for the past few years, hovering slightly under the 40 percent mark.

The follow-up study, conducted in 2018 (with a substantially smaller sample group), found that the gourmet category continued to track upwards. “The gourmet category continues to be very youth driven,” said Hung, “with the majority skewing towards espresso-based beverages. While the ready-to-drink segment and innovative beverages like bubble tea, continue to be largely driven by this younger demographic.”

The most popular beverages among this group are frozen blended coffee (19 percent), lattes (18 percent), and cappuccinos (16 percent). Espresso-based beverages are also strong among the 19-24-year old’s (which encompasses both Generation Z and young millennials), with lattes (27 percent) being the most consumed beverage in the past week.

One of the interesting findings from these studies, Hung revealed, was that there were marked gender differences on their attitudes towards coffee. Males in this group tended to focus on the health (they pay a lot of attention to medical news) and sustainable (coffee grown in an environmentally sustainable way) attributes about coffee, while females were more likely to agree with the productivity-driven statements (coffee helps me get things done). And, even though Gen Zers were extremely low (six percent) in agreeing that coffee was good for their health, 26 percent stated that coffee was a trendy thing to drink.

For the discerning and youthful Generation Z, not any brand will do. These consumers are seeking products that will help to share the story of their own brand. Tea and coffee companies can respond to these consumers by offering products that can be customized, personalized, and easily shared. At the same time, they can engage this community of influencers by sharing their own story and appealing to this sector’s interest in activism, equality and change.

Anne-Marie Hardie is a freelance writer, professor and speaker based in Barrie, Ontario. She may be reached at: annemariehardie1@gmail.com.

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The reporter proceeds to set a scene of having to push past “anxious teenagers” in a coffeehouse on a school day, and then muses on how not long ago American kids would rather “down a strawberry milkshake” than a flat white…now a “morning, midday and afternoon coffee is almost guaranteed.” I have been in many a coffeehouse around the world and I honestly do not recall ever hearing a teenager order a flat white, and I’ve certainly never heard a parent order one for their elementary-school aged child in the story image. In fact, flat whites are still relatively new to the US market — most adults are not familiar with them, let alone teenagers and children. Furthermore, although coffee is consumed by elementary-school aged children in many countries around the world, American parents still tend to be a bit cautious when it comes to coffee beverages. Hence, the plethora of non-caffeine “fun” beverages offered in coffeehouses to appeal to those younger consumers. (See “Move Over Millennials! It’s Time to Pay Attention to Gen Z” in our upcoming May issue.)

So, given the headline, the image, the dek and the first couple of paragraphs, the reader will likely infer that coffee, because it has caffeine, is bad, and they should worry about their child’s consumption. But that would be an incorrect assumption as the next paragraph states: “However, it’s not just coffee that’s the culprit. Caffeine can be found in energy drinks, tea, chocolate, and some soft drinks. So, it’s not surprising that a recent US study reported that 73% of children consumed caffeine at some point —mainly from cola beverages and chocolate.” And there it is — the problem isn’t coffee at all. I guess “Kids and chocolate” or “Kids and cola” and “The true price of caffeine” would not have attracted enough eyeballs, which is odd considering cola/soda is the beverage equivalent of persona non-grata for adults and children given its highly unhealthy nature.

The article goes on to discuss the side effects of too much caffeine in children (mood swings, increase in blood pressure, slow heart rates, and of course, sleep disruption. It also discusses the “deadly affects of caffeine…” (that’s not a typo, the reporter did seem to confuse “effect” and “affect” — a sloppy grammar error that should have been caught, but I digress…) and references the tragic incident in 2017 of a 16-year-old boy from South Carolina who died of a caffeine-induced heart attack after consuming a latte, a large soft drink and an energy drink within a two-hour period (together the drinks have in excess of 500 milligrams of caffeine). The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no more than 100 milligrams for teenagers over a 24-hour period.

The reporter never lists the amount of caffeine in the flat white referenced in the first paragraph, nor in an espresso-blended beverage (complete with lots of milk, syrup and whipped cream, which so many younger consumers like) or even in an 8-oz cup of coffee. The caffeine in a can of soda (34 mg) and a chocolate bar (20-60mg) are listed. The article concludes by recommending that parents “watch the caffeine intake of their children and teenagers, taking special notice of highly caffeinated coffees and expensive energy drinks.” (I guess inexpensive energy drinks are okay…)

It’s this type of attention-grabbing headline and bad reporting that irritate me. I’ve been covering the coffee industry (and tea) for six years and during this period there have been ample research and studies showing the health benefits of coffee, evidencing that it is not the taboo beverage it was once thought to be. And yet coffee continues to be stigmatized and misunderstood. If the judge in California who recently ruled that coffee is not exempt from the Prop 65 law (see my blog “Prop 65 Ruling Causes Confusion and Fear” posted on our website the week of 9 April) has been misled or swayed by articles such as the one I referenced or those on news crawls reporting “coffee causes cancer…” then his ruling is not surprising. Unfortunate and uninformed, but not surprising. Hopefully with time, as more consumers become aware of the healthy attributes of coffee, errant reporting will have less of an impact on consumer mindsets.

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The devastating consequences of the current coffee prices on producers drew special attention. “How can we expect the next generation, our children, to stay in coffee production if they see that their parents cannot even satisfy their basic needs after decades of work,” says René León, executive director of Promecafé.

Pursuant to the challenges the global coffee industry faces, one of the major topics discussed was to start the process to formalise the structure of the WCPF as a not-for-profit organisation that will address and raise awareness of the challenges of the coffee value chain, especially those related to the economic and social situation of the coffee growers and will look for mechanisms that will improve their social and economic situation. The 1st World Coffee Producers Forum met in Medellín, Colombia, in July 2017, with close to 1,500 attendees from 41 countries.

Challenges include trying to improve producers’ income, through joint work with the rest of the supply chain on initiatives that will translate into actions to – among others – expand consumption, increase coffee prices, address the consequences of climate change and enhance productivity in coffee producing countries.

According to William Murray, CEO of the National Coffee Association (USA), “with some estimates saying that the world will have to double coffee production by 2050, the coffee value chain needs to secure that coffee production is sustainable to meet the future global demand.”

As agreed during its last meeting in Colombia in July 2017, the WCPF commissioned a study to professor Jeffrey Sachs (Special Advisor to the United Nations General Secretary on the Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) and director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University), to conduct research in Economic and Policy Analysis for Improving Smallholder Coffee Producers’ Incomes. Professor Sachs presented the initial structure of the study to the delegates of the ICO gathered in México, and partial results and findings will be presented in September 2018 and March 2019. The final report will be presented at the 2nd World Coffee Producers Forum that will take place in July 2019.

The representatives of the WCPF will ask the ICO to play a key role to implement some of the initiatives, such as promotion of consumption in producing countries and emerging markets and facilitate the dialogue among all the actors in the coffee chain.

“We need to ensure that coffee production is sustainable and profitable while making sure that that there will be a strong global demand for our product. Coordinated actions among producers, producers’ associations, the coffee industry and the ICO to increase consumption in emerging markets and producing countries are crucial,” says Silas Brasileiro, president of the Conselho Nacional de Café of Brazil.

Ishak Lukenge, board member of the African Fine Coffees Association (AFCA) says that “at the current price levels, coffee is just not economically sustainable for millions of coffee farmers in Africa and all over the world. We are all co-responsible to make the coffee value-chain sustainable, but also each one of the links that make it.”

Ric Rhinehardt, president of the Specialty Coffee Association SCA, underscores that “today’s consumers are discerning and demand excellent quality, but also the assurance that their coffee is being produced in a sustainable manner.”

“It is impossible to have a sustainable coffee value chain with an extremely weak first link, the farmers, that does not have an income that makes their activity profitable,” says Roberto Vélez, CEO of the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia.

For more information, contact: wcpf2017@gmail.com.

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Iliana Martinez, general manager of the Esquipulas Coffee Co-Operative in Guatemala, comments, “Latin America is considered the cradle of machismo. When I first started working in the industry, the majority of managers in Guatemala were men. It was rare to see women working in the field, receive payment or recognition for their work.”

Today, women in the cooperative are recognised and receive payment. Under Martinez’s leadership, the co-operative has grown and today it exports coffee from more than 200 members, of which 25% are female, to the UK, Japan and Italy.

And Martinez is not the only one. Around the world, there is a rising trend for women driving coffee production forward.

Speciality coffee roaster Union Hand-Roasted Coffee, has noticed this trend and is working to help facilitate this change. Ensuring women’s access to equal ownership and employment conditions, the London, UK-based company is working hard to empower women at all levels of the supply chain, all the way from seed to cup.

Pascale Schuit, Union’s coffee sourcing and sustainable relationship manager, says, “International Women’s Day gives us the opportunity to reflect on the many women who make Union Hand-Roasted Coffee a reality, and on the true impact Union has had at origin.”

Union links sustainable best practice with the quality of the coffee through its Union Direct Trade model. The cooperatives it works with in Rwanda, Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras and Ethiopia all have women in senior leadership positions, from managers to female cuppers (coffee tasters). Working closely with suppliers, Union visits origin countries several times a year to build strong, open relationships and ensure its strict standards are being met.

In Rwanda, Union supports the Maraba and COCAGI cooperatives, where more than 30% of members are women. Accessing formal training can be hard, however, as a result of this support, income for coffee farmers has tripled. To celebrate International Women’s Day (8 March), Union has developed a new microlot coffee, Cocagi Kivu, produced exclusively by 42 women in the region. By providing equal opportunities, Union has enabled women in the region to use the money to start a small business, send their children to school and pay their children’s health insurance.

In Guatemala, one of Union’s initiatives, the Guatemala bee project, encourages single mothers to start their own microbusinesses and improve self-sufficiency through introducing bee farming on the coffee farms (bees play a significant role in coffee pollination). This not only empowers women, but it also allows for additional income, improved autonomy and financial stability.

In the UK, gender equity is also firmly embedded across all levels of the business. Nearly 40% of Union’s employees are women.

Martinez concludes, “It is important to generate programmes that recognise the work of women in coffee and we have prepared a gender strategy to do just that. But there is still a long way to go and changing traditional perspectives is definitely the first step.”

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While ours was the standard afternoon tea (well, accompanied by a cranberry tea cocktail), Le Salon was hosting a special Mardi Gras that upcoming weekend. Aside from the Mardi Gras tea, Le Salon has several themed afternoon teas throughout the year such as Superhero, Princess, Mad Hatter, Halloween and Prohibition, where any accompanying cocktails are served in true Prohibition style — in tea cups.

Themed afternoon teas seem to be gaining popularity, particularly in London. The Rosebery Lounge at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in London is offering a “wickedly good” afternoon tea for fans of the musical Wicked. The tea features classic teas and sandwiches but has desserts such as Glinda’s sparkly shoe on a matcha and hazelnut finger or Bad Witch’s vanilla broom biscuit. To celebrate the opening of the hit musical Hamilton at the nearby Victoria Palace Theatre, The Lanesborough has created a special Alexander Hamilton Afternoon Tea with a range of treats inspired by the Broadway phenomenon.

Kona at Taj 51 Buckingham Gate has taken a different approach, introducing a Sherlock Holmes Afternoon Tea, which offers a selection of savoury and sweet treats honouring the famous detective such as a Baker street pie and Mrs Hudson’s pudding. There is also a River Thames Afternoon Tea Cruise, that allows riders to experience a classic tea while viewing riverside landmarks, as well as an Afternoon Tea Bus Tour, where riders can enjoy tea, treats and sandwiches while riding in a London red bus visiting historical and modern sights around the city.

New York City is one of the best places for afternoon tea, with offerings ranging from refined and elegant to cozy and kitschy, and even children-oriented. Tea & Sympathy, for example, has a classic British style, while Lady Mendl’s Tea Salon, which is housed in a brownstone, has a true Victorian theme, and the Russian Tea Room is quite opulent. If you’re looking for something more zen, the Cha An Teahouse, offers a Japanese-style tea. And for the children, there’s the Alice in Wonderland-themed Alice’s Tea Cup (with a large selection of caffeine-free fruit teas) and Eloise Afternoon Tea at the Plaza, where children can choose tea or tea/soda beverages such as chamomile ginger ale (there’s also an adult tea in the famed Palm Court).

With tea consumption still lagging production, it’s necessary to increase tea consumption occasions. Themed afternoon teas are not going to send consumption numbers soaring, but they are fun ways to entice consumers who may not be traditional “afternoon tea goers” to try the sophisticated, yet relaxing experience that is afternoon tea, while offering long-time fans, something new and different. And now, there seems to be a themed tea for everyone.

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Following an introduction at the Packaging Innovations show in London, Qualvis was tasked with creating a brand and packaging style for South London, England-based Tom’s Teas that not only told their story, but also conveyed their core values of quality ingredients, healthy living, well-being, child-focused and fun.

Qualvis is able to deliver a single source for graphics, design, production, in-house printing and finishing facilities. Its co-located design studio offering, Qualvis Innovations, produced the vibrant and playful artwork. Cartons, transit outers and online postal packs were then printed by the firm’s digital offering — a dual digital packaging line investment featuring a Xerox iGen 4 sheet-fed digital printer, side-by-side with an iGen5 automated line.

“Our fruit teas use quality blends and flavours that are fun, child-centred, healthy and different to anything that is on the UK market. It was vital that the design and packaging matched the quality of the product and we have achieved that,” says Tom’s Tea founder, Anna Stopps. “I am absolutely delighted with every element of the finished digital packs. They are beautiful artworks and a real testimony to everyone that has worked on them.”

Richard Pacey of Leicester, England-based Qualvis, says, “Qualvis Innovations was formed to strategically deliver innovative packaging concepts from initial sketches through to the brands print ready state, then further manage the projects through production in Qualvis’ in-house print and conversion facility — our work for Tom’s Teas is a great example of this full service in practice.”

An initial run of 1600 cartons of Tom’s Teas was produced, with four blends recently launched at retail in independent stores in London and online via the Tom’s Teas at www.tomsteas.com.

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Additionally, in each market where a Dunkin’ Donuts restaurant is “Brewing Joy” with free coffee, area franchisees will donate USD $1,000 to a local organisation aligned with the Joy in Childhood Foundation’s mission to bring joy to children whose lives are affected by health issues or hunger. In total, Dunkin’ Donuts franchisees will donate more than $25,000 to local organisations through the “Brewing Joy” program.

The “Brewing Joy” programme kicks off today, 1 December, at a Dunkin’ Donuts restaurant in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania. The full schedule of participating Dunkin’ Donuts locations hosting “Brewing Joy” events can be found on the brand’s blog.

“We put the word ‘Joy’ on our holiday cups each year to represent the gratitude, giving and cheer that marks the season,” say Tony Weisma n, chief marketing officer, Dunkin’ Donuts US, Canton, Massachusetts. “In that same spirit, we are celebrating our guests by serving free coffees in select stores across the country and giving back to our local communities through our second annual ‘Brewing Joy’ programme.”

Additionally, now through the end of the year, Dunkin’ Donuts’ signature Hot Chocolate is available for only USD $1.99 for a medium or larger sized cup (excluding vanilla chai). Dunkin’ Donuts’ packaged coffee is also available at participating Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants nationwide for the special price of three pounds for $19.99 (plus taxes).

For coffee lovers, Dunkin’ Donuts’ returning holiday flavours include Peppermint Mocha and Brown Sugar Cinnamon. Both coffee flavours are available for a limited time hot or iced, including lattes, macchiatos and Frozen Dunkin’ Coffee. This holiday season, Dunkin’ cups once again feature a festive design and the simple word, “Joy” to convey the happiness and spirit of the season.

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“As a company that has worked for many decades with Jamaica’s coffee growing communities, we are honoured to have the opportunity to work our local business partner Caribbean Coffee Baristas to open our first store in the beautiful island nation of Jamaica,” says Ricardo Rico, Starbucks general manager and vice president for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Starbucks stores in Jamaica are operated by Caribbean Coffee Baristas Ltd, a joint venture between Ian Dear, CEO of leading restaurant management and franchise operator Margaritaville Caribbean Group and Adam Stewart, who is also deputy chairman and CEO of Sandals Resorts International. Together, they plan to open nearly 15 Starbucks locations in Jamaica over the next five years. Following Montego Bay, the company expects to open in Kingston in 2018.

“As a leading Caribbean hospitality group…This is another occasion for us to create fantastic opportunities for everyone involved, and to create another global platform for our locally-grown Blue Mountain Coffee,” says Dear.

“We aim to create a truly unique coffeehouse experience here in Jamaica,” says Stewart. “In addition, I believe that Starbucks, with its long-standing love of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, represents one of the greatest opportunities for the incremental growth in the export of our locally-grown coffee.”

Customers can also enjoy Starbucks Reserve Jamaica Blue Mountain whole bean coffee – a rare coffee grown by Amber, Clifton Mount and Wallenford Estate farms in the Blue Mountain region. The company also plans to source Jamaican coffee for single origin coffees and blends for its stores in other markets across Latin America, and connect agronomists and technical experts from the Starbucks Global Agronomy Center to coffee producers in Jamaica.

“This coffee is an opportunity for us to recognise and thank Jamaica’s coffee-growing community for their continued partnership on this special single origin coffee, while introducing our first customers in Jamaica to an amazing coffee that is roasted in our Starbucks Reserve Roastery back home in Seattle,” says Rico.

The new Starbucks café’ celebrates the Jamaican people and their rich culture and heritage. The 1,200-sq-ft space sits within the protected Montego Bay Marine Park at Doctor’s Cave Beach, one of the most treasured and renowned beaches in Jamaica. The store features distinctly local design elements such as pickled-wood vaulted ceilings and louvered windows, preserved from their original state and enriched to create an authentic beachside café experience.

Custom artwork from locally based artist Fiona Godfrey is featured throughout the space. Godfrey, an Irish artist who has called Jamaica home for more than 25 years, created a custom mural for the new Starbucks store featuring a lion, as well as the Doctor Bird, a national symbol for Jamaica. Godfrey also incorporated Jamaica’s famous misty blue mountains in the background of her mural – a bow to world-renowned Jamaican coffee.

Keeping with its history of investing in the communities it serves worldwide by creating opportunities for young people, particularly those in underserved communities, Starbucks plans to similarly partner with Caribbean Coffee Baristas Ltd in Jamaica to support initiatives aimed at connecting young men and women in the community with the resources and support they need to succeed. Starbucks partners recently volunteered at the Garland Hall Memorial Children’s Home, painting and refurbishing the orphanage. The company is also looking at ways to support food donation and book and clothing drives.

Starbucks plans to work with the MultiCare Youth Foundation to develop a Life and Work Skills training programme for local youth from disadvantaged backgrounds, with a focus on 16- to 29-year-olds who are not in school or employed. With funding from The Starbucks Foundation, the programme is intended to support youth in both Montego Bay and Kingston and will include customer service skills training to ensure youth are ready to access employment in the retail, service, or hospitality industries.

Starbucks has operated stores in the Caribbean since 2002. It now operates in six Caribbean markets, including the Bahamas, Aruba, Curacao, Trinidad and Tobago, and now Jamaica. The opening in Jamaica marks Starbucks 17th market in Latin America and the Caribbean region and 76th global market.

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With a Cuba-inspired setting, the Gaviña family has created a unique and authentic experience in downtown Los Angeles. “It has been a dream our family has shared for generations and is our way of honouring our father, Don Francisco and his legacy, during our company’s 50^th anniversary of roasting coffee in Los Angeles. The café celebrates our rich heritage and the importance of sharing a great cup of coffee with family and friends,” says Leonor Gaviña-Valls, owner and third-generation family member of the 140-year old company.

Don Francisco’s Coffee, Casa Cubana’s interior is reminiscent of a traditional Cuban living room, that transports guests to the warm tropical breezes of Cuba. Traditional Cuban style coffee drinks that include Café Cubano, Cortadito, and Café Con Leche can be ordered at the coffee bar. For a more personal experience, guests can visit the onsite roasting and cupping area. Guests are encouraged to sit and relax in the lounge area or on the patio. The café will sell Don Francisco’s coffees as well as unique blends roasted onsite specifically for Casa Cubana.

Although Don Francisco’s coffee is the focus of the new café, Casa Cubana also features an authentic Cuban menu which includes breakfast items, sweet and savory pastries, sandwiches and desserts. The menu is prepared daily using local suppliers whenever possible and features classic items such as the Cuban Frita Burger, Pork & Plantain Hash, Tortilla Española, Empanada de Chorizo and of course, the sandwich Cubano.

The history of Don Francisco’s Coffee is a story about family. Brothers José María and Ramón Gaviña began the quest in 1870 when they left their native Basque region of Spain in search of a better life. They settled in the fertile mountains of southern Cuba.

Don Francisco Gaviña was born on the family coffee estate, Hacienda Buenos Aires. His children worked these same fields before the family moved to the United States in 1963. From their coffee growing roots to the coffee roasting business in Los Angeles, founded in 1967, there have always been Gaviñas running the coffee business.

Don Francisco’s sons, Paco, Pedro and José, and daughter Leonor, along with their children still personally select beans, cup samples as they arrive and oversee the specialty coffee roasting and production every day to ensure a quality product from bean to cup.

Based in Vernon, California, F. Gaviña & Sons is one of the largest family-owned coffee companies in America and the nation’s largest privately held minority roaster. To learn more about Don Francisco’s Coffee or Casa Cubana, visit: www.donfranciscos.com or www.dfcasacubana.com.

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I admit that before I attended, I thought the Forum would offer an open an exchange of ideas between all the stakeholders in the global coffee supply chain, as well as researchers and industry experts. That did not exactly happen. There were enlightening educational panels discussing economic sustainability, rural development and socioeconomic indicators, and climate change, which I won’t discuss again (see Editor’s Blog, “Producers Have a ‘Forum’ to Speak”) and the producers had numerous opportunities to address participants in each session. However, I would have liked to have seen more of a dialogue between all involved in the event. Because, while I now have a deeper understanding of producers’ situations after listening to speeches and speaking with individual producers (and truly empathising with the situation—if producers can’t afford to grow the coffee, there will be no coffee), I’m not sure if many producers are aware of all the costs involved in producing a cup of coffee once it leaves the origin country.

The consensus–from producers and presenters–was to increase the cost of the “end cup of coffee,” which was estimated to cost $3.50 in the United States (New York City was the base market for this price). Jeffrey Sachs, economics professor, senior adviser to the United Nations (UN) and director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, during his keynote presentation said, “We need to revisit mechanisms that make consumers pay a little more and producers receive a little more (…). While acknowledging that there are implicit costs in the cup’s final price, Sachs noted that if consumers pay (USD) 5-cents more per cup of coffee, “producers will receive twice what they receive today.” He stated that in high-purchasing power markets, such as the US or Europe, this slight increase would not be detrimental for consumers, especially if it is on a voluntary basis. Furthermore, Sachs said that if consumption increased one cup per day, there would be a substantial increase in demand that would stimulate production and raise the international price. Is a (USD) 5-cent increase per cup of coffee feasible?

Fernando Morales de la Cruz, founder of Café for Change, who contacted me following my previous blog, believes 5 cents is not enough. He proposes charging (USD) 10-cent extra per cup of coffee. In an article for the BBC, he writes, “With $0.10, all children in all rural communities in all communities that produce coffee will be guaranteed that there will not only be schools, but also teachers, drinking water, basic infrastructure, and that their parents are going to have a living cost salary.” Is a 10-cent increase per cup doable?

One producer I spoke with at the Forum, who runs a large-scale coffee farm in Nicaragua with his brothers, and who worked for a roaster in the US for several years, has a different idea to increase producers’ profitability. Rather than the (USD) 2-cent tax on each pound of coffee exported producers must pay to their governments, he proposes a 2-cent tax be placed on each pound of coffee imported. Those taxes would be paid to the producing countries and then distributed to the producers (I’m drastically simplifying his well-researched concept). Intriguing notion. Is this practical?

So, readers, what do you think of the three aforementioned ideas? Would any of them work? Which would work best or not at all? Or, do you have any suggestions as to how to help increase coffee producers’ profitability in order to make coffee growing more viable? I welcome your thoughts. Please leave a comment in the reply section below or email me directly at: vanessa@bellpublishing.com. I look forward to your comments!

The post Is There an Equitable Solution? appeared first on Tea & Coffee Trade Journal.

The teen consumed three caffeine-laced drinks–a large Diet Mountain Dew, an energy drink and a café latte–in a two-hour period before collapsing. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that adolescents, age 12 to 18, should not consume more than 100 milligrams of caffeine per day. This is the around the average amount of caffeine in an 8-oz cup of coffee.

Per the 2014 study, Trends in Caffeine Intake Among US Children and Adolescents, an estimated 73% of children consume some kind of caffeine each day. While there is no designated standard for children, according to the US Food and Drug Administration, adults can consume 400 milligrams of caffeine per day–equivalent to four or five cups of coffee–without experiencing side effects.

Since the student’s death, the focus has been on energy drinks and the dangers they pose for children (the AAP recommends that adolescents do not consume energy drinks, yet between 30–50% reported consuming them). However, when the word “caffeine” is bandied about, inevitably, “coffee” seems to be linked to it. It’s unfortunate that too many people hear a sound bite, see a tweet or catch a snippet of a news crawl on their TV, but do not investigate the full story so incorrect stories often run rampant in social media. So, while the negative press is surrounding the caffeine in energy drinks specifically, coffee marketers should not feel completely relieved. Rather, they should take charge of the situation by assuring consumers that coffee is “not bad for them.”

As noted by the National Coffee Association, coffee has a naturally complex botanical profile, with at least 1,000 natural compounds in the bean (including caffeine) and another 300 created in the roasting process. Scientists have linked several of them, including antioxidants, with a host of physiological benefits. Research has shown that moderate coffee consumption (or 3-5 cups daily) may be associated with many positive effects, including:

• Liver disease prevention
• Improved cognitive function in older adults
• Sharper memory
• Increased athletic endurance
• Reduced risk of type 2 diabetes
• Longevity

Due to the increasing scientific evidence, coffee has earned a new – and improved – reputation. The latest U.S. Dietary Guidelines recently made an unprecedented recommendation for coffee as part of a healthy lifestyle.

Furthermore, in 2016, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an official body of both the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations positively reclassified coffee. The experts concluded coffee could no longer be classified as a possible carcinogen and the WHO body said there is evidence that coffee drinking actually lowers the risk of developing specific cancers. The finding is the first time a food or beverage item has ever been positively reclassified by top scientists from all over the world.

So, although coffee has not received the bad publicity energy drinks have from this tragedy, the industry should not be reactive. Coffee marketers should try to prevent any potential negative press by heavily touting coffee’s healthy attributes—now.

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It is the responsibility of all parties involved in the supply web to be transparent as to whether a coffee is simply sourced from traceable roots or is the product of a direct trade transaction by collaborating parties in regular communication.

Direct trade, to truly add value, must be transparent about where there is traceability and where there is not. The value of direct trade is in the nature of the information it provides – for guaranteeing quality, consistency, uniqueness and social/environmental values – not just that it provides detailed information. Inventing or inflating available narratives then, defeats the purpose of a transparent model that is as open about what is traceable as what is not.

Transparency for Producer Advocacy

The most common example of transparency in direct trade is the ability to trace a coffee, using the much-touted phrase, “all the way from farm to cup.” Chalo Fernandez is a Colombian coffee farmer; he is also a Canadian importer. For Fernandez, transparently promoting coffee from his family property allows him to present a product roasters and customers can connect with on a personal level.

“Every time I sell one bag of coffee,” said Fernandez, “it makes me so proud to help my community because I know how much it costs to grow the coffee.” Born and raised in the mountains of Huila, Colombia, Fernandez taught himself English while working in Australia and now lives with his wife and children in Ajax, Ontario, where he manages the importing side of his company, Chalo’s Coffee. For him, transparency adds the value of negotiating directly with buyers a price that covers costs of production.

And, because buyers know Fernandez personally, they value his coffee for the connection it affords in addition to the product itself. “Direct trade takes care of the farmer and the roaster. If I take care of the coffee, the roaster will be successful. And if the roaster pays for the coffee I will be successful,” concluded Fernandez.

Transparency in this kind of direct trade transaction offers producers the valuable opportunity to advocate for themselves and provides roasters and customers the value of partners with whom they personally collaborate. While singling out one farm and family benefits an individual farm, other applications of transparent direct trade benefit larger communities.

Systemic Transparency for Regional Recognition

Beyond relying on the stories roaster and farmers voluntarily share with each other, national coffee organizations and intermediaries build transparency into the systems for buying and selling coffee.

In Costa Rica, Panamerican Coffee Trading (San Jose) works with Coopetarrazu (San Marcos) to introduce producers to buyers, transparently offering direct trade that is traceable back to a community and initiates with in-country experts. “In the 20 years I’ve been in this business, things have changed a lot,” Chino Lizano, trader with Panamerican Coffee, told T&CTJ. “Roasters are now asking for traceability, but in Costa Rica, coffee has always been traceable back to a community.” In instances where traceability is required by law, transparency means sharing the traceability that is already available.

The Community Coffee program at Coopetarrazu goes beyond the requirement of registering each contact sold by the communal mill and separates the coffee by the different neighbourhoods where it grows. “We’re impacting whole communities, not just one produce,” said Lizano. While savvy, bilingual farmers can use transparency as a tool to advocate for themselves, exporters use it as a tool to advocate for a larger region.

“In Costa Rica, we can demand traceability from the system. But in Nicaragua, where there are not the same laws, exporters step in and offer this added value.” Where a national or government system is not in place to trace exports, “we keep these transactions traceable. This transparency is what differentiates smaller exporters from multinationals,” said Lizano.

Transparency of coffees traceable to the regional level is valuable because, once buyers know the characteristics of a region, it allows them to develop an expectation for repeat sourcing.

Jonathan Withers is the green coffee buyer for Toby’s Estate Coffee, a resale and wholesale roaster in Brooklyn. Toby’s uses transparency as a way to differentiate between their direct trade coffees traceable to a single producer and those traceable back to a region. Toby’s is selective in the information they communicate to customers via packaging. Transparency does not necessarily mean that all known information is shared; it means that all shared information is meaningful.

Recently returned from a sourcing trip to Colombia, Withers expressed his focus on differentiating Antioquia as a region. “It’s important for me to illustrate that we’re working with different companies in the area,” said Withers. “El Ramo is a blender of independently great profiles to make a static product. It’s the best example of how we bridge that space between having a lot of factual information about producers, and then simplifying it for packaging.” The blended coffee is still traceable back to individual producers, but in this case, that level of transparency is not meaningful to consumers in the context of building regional recognition among customers.

While the full, complex transparency of coffee might not make it to a consumer-facing informational card or coffee packaging, transparency is also a tool for internal training, staff edification, and essential to the core ethical values guiding many businesses.

Transition from Internal to Branded Transparency

Transparent supply chains offer added ethical value before yielding financial returns. A company’s direct and traceable sourcing practices, adhered to based on their core beliefs, has additional value when presented to the consumer.

Mocha Joe’s is a wholesale roaster in Brattleboro, Vermont. For ten years they have been sourcing directly from farmers in Cameroon’s Oku Valley, Bolivia, Sumatra and Guatemala, based on relationships owner Pierre Capy has with producers, all generated organically through mutual friends and colleagues. But, even as direct trade and traceability emerged as categories for adding value to the customer, Mocha Joe’s chose not to transparently promote its sourcing practices.

“The value, for us, has never been about money or sales,” said Erik Johnson, roaster at Mocha Joe’s. “The added value of our direct trade partnerships has always been in being able to build a scalable model that benefits everyone. We want to develop another way of working with people in a system that has so many abuses,” said Johnson, referring to historic underpayment of smallholders.

Instead of reducing the complicated narrative of their direct sourcing down to a sound bite that could fit on a coffee bag or in the few minutes of a wholesale pitch, for a decade Mocha Joe’s chose not to share it at all, beyond a brief paragraph deep on their website. But, as direct trade gained popularity among consumers and became more common in the industry, Johnson saw something troubling happening: the over-emphasis and glamorization of sourcing practices to make money or push an image.

He knew the company had to be transparent about its investment in partnerships at origin, including efforts like certifying Cameroon’s first organic coffee. “We needed a place to share our identity, so we created the separate Roots retail line to transparently tell the story our direct trade coffees by serving them as single origins, rather than just using them as part of our blends, which we also still do,” said Johnson.

To avoid any risk of fetishizing one producer, Mocha Joe’s and Toby’s use transparency as a tool to differentiate the levels of traceability between blended or single origin different direct trade coffees. If all coffees are presented as farm to cup coffees like those exported by Fernandez in Huila, then the instances when this full traceability is in fact true becomes diluted and is less meaningful.

The final part of T&CTJs series on adding value to the supply chain will look at the value of transparency in involving more parties in the supply chain and making the sourcing process more collaborative, starting at origin.

The Terms of Transaction

Direct trade, traceability and transparency are terms continuously redefined by different users. This article understands them to mean the following:

• Direct trade is a coffee sale in which the original producer(s) (individual or group) and final roaster/retailer are able to identify and communicate with each other. The transaction can be initiated by a roaster seeking a supplier, a producer seeking a buyer, or intermediaries referring suppliers and buyers to each other based on common criteria.
• Traceability is the capacity to trace a coffee as it moves downstream in the supply chain from farm to retail. During this process, a specific lot of coffee – ranging in size from less than a bag to several containers – retains an identifier indicating its original provenance. This usually takes the form of the name of a farm, producer or mill and carries a unique code.
• Transparency is the willingness of different parties to disclose traceability information. It is understood that direct trade coffees are both traceable and transparent, their transparency adding value associated with quality, consistency, ethics, and sustainability. However, just because a coffee is traceable – indicating a verifiable log of its provenance – and transparent about that traceability does not mean that all parties have met and personally negotiated the terms of the sale to qualify it as direct trade.

Rachel Northrop has been covering coffee from the ground up for Tea & Coffee Trade Journal and other industry publications since 2012, while she lived in Latin America’s coffeelands writing When Coffee Speaks. She is based in Brooklyn, NY. She may be reached at rachel.northrop@gmail.com.

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The luncheon’s keynote speaker was Meg Jones, chief of economic empowerment for UN Women, who noted that 70% of the world’s poorest are women. Her speech focused on the gender disparities within global procurement processes, the necessity for gender specific policies and the need to stimulate demand for goods and services produced by women-owned businesses, especially within the coffee industry. “Through coffee alone, 500 million lives could be affected,” she said. Jones pointed out that when women acquire the tools to grow better coffee, negotiate prices, or even build their own coffee mill, they typically reinvest 90% of their income in their families (children’s health and education) and community.

Procurement refers to the process of purchasing goods and services from outside suppliers by institutions (public, government and corporations). UN Women finds that gender responsive procurement can have a transformative impact on domestic and international markets and contribute to women’s economic empowerment. And yet, per WeConnect 2015, women win only an estimated 1% of procurement contracts. Women entrepreneurs have difficulty obtaining procurement contracts because they face myriad structural disadvantages.

Women are involved at all levels of the coffee industry. In the coffee-producing regions many of the disadvantages women face include limited access to coffee-farming information and training, markets and resources. Another challenge is acquiring land titles. “The absence of a land title is an impediment to women’s coffee businesses because they can’t get bank loans,” said Jones.

Women face the greatest challenges in countries where there is conflict and unrest, but there are also significant opportunities in these areas. “After the bullets and bombings stop, there is a time of rebuilding and reconstruction, and jobs have to start again. Women need to be at the table when the post-conflict peace and economic development conversations are taking place,” stressed Jones.

She said the IWCA can have a stronger role in empowering women and helping them to access procurement prospects. “More women need to source more procurement opportunities.”

According to Jones, the IWCA chapters around the world – which now stand at 20 – can provide advice, guidance on budget allocation, policy, and where impediments are, among others. She also suggested that the IWCA have a representative on the NCA (National Coffee Association) board of directors. UN Women will also work with the IWCA to help further advance the empowerment of women in coffee-growing regions.

The IWCA is holding its bi-annual convention, August 3-5^th in Puebla City, Mexico (www.iwcaconvention.com). Prior to the conference there will be a two-day leadership program for women from coffee-growing areas.

Helping women achieve economic empowerment is simply smart business. A 2016 McKinsey & Company report, The Power of Parity, revealed that gender inequality is a global issue, and, in economic terms, will result in an estimated loss of up to USD $12.1 trillion in economic activity by 2025.

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