Crop to Cup Coffee

Specialty Washed Arabica, Decaffeinated using the natural Mexican Water Process In the West of Mexico Mt. Colima, or the Volcán de Fuego, shoots out above the Sierra Madre Occidental Range. The volcano is still active, and within its eruption zone live 856 coffee farmers whose small associations or ejidos work together to export coffee under a single cooperative Intragadora. This Intragadora is made up of member organizations from communities around Colima. However, if names such as Yerbabuena, Naranjal, Remudadero, and Arrayenol don't ring a bell, it's because they have yet to be seen in the U.S.; to-date all coffee in Colima has been sold to roasters in Mexico. Two communities contributed coffee to a lot sent for decaffeination using the all-natural Mexican Water Process. Between the two of them, Arrayenol and Remudadero have a total of 14 farmers who produced specialty-grade washed Arabicas for this specialty decaf. We love being able to purchase the Whole Crop from these communities, and to be able to keep the entire value-chain through decaffeination in-country.

The town of Remudadero has about 80 people. The farmers group has 8 members whose farms are within two kilometers of their washing station and drying patios. They also individual pages on Facebook, and learned about Crop to Cup by being friends with AMECAFE; so in a way this coffee was sourced in part because of Facebook. We love how engaged and serious these farmers are about investing in quality, and look forward to tasting the fruits of their labor. In the West of Mexico Mt. Colima, or the Volcán de Fuego, shoots out above the Sierra Madre Occidental Range. The volcano is still active, and within its eruption zone live 856 coffee farmers whose small associations or ejidos work together to export coffee under a single cooperative Intragadora. This Intragadora is made up of member organizations from communities around Colima. However, if names such as Yerbabuena, Naranjal, Remudadero, and Arrayenol don't ring a bell, it's because they have yet to be seen in the U.S.; to-date all coffee in Colima has been sold to roasters in Mexico.

As our coffees were at the mill in Colima we got a note - "the community of Canoas would like to send you a sample." We accepted the sample, loved it, and were able to get a few bags at the last minute. In the West of Mexico Mt. Colima, or the Volcán de Fuego, shoots out above the Sierra Madre Occidental Range. The volcano is still active, and within its eruption zone live 856 coffee farmers whose small associations or ejidos work together to export coffee under a single cooperative Intragadora. This Intragadora is made up of member organizations from communities around Colima. However, if names such as Yerbabuena, Naranjal, Remudadero, and Arrayenol don't ring a bell, it's because they have yet to be seen in the U.S.; to-date all coffee in Colima has been sold to roasters in Mexico.

The main crop from the proud members of Mbeya's Lubanda Cooperative This story starts in the Southwest corner of the country, near the borders with Zambia and Malawi, in a district called Mbeya. Here the slopes are so steep that water run-off from the Lubanda Washing Station drops fifty feet before hitting the treatment pool. The Ndali who live here enjoy lush green landscapes, intercropped with coffee and a sweet red banana that's good for eating and making into a local beer. Every visitor will take notice of the glittering, shimmering soil, which makes the landscape glow in the right light. They will be told that this is Ulanga (Mica) , and which the Ndali believe contributes to the quality of their coffees. Traversing 1700m up these steep, shimmering slopes a winding road passes through village of Ikandana in the smaller district of Ileje. Here gathers the Lubanda Agricultural Marketing Coopertive Society - a mid-sized cooperative with 167 members. They have had a hard-time with the national auction. First, they were told that the only way to get specialty designation was to get certified organic. In a story that is theirs to tell, this failed. Then, in 2013, higher altitude harvests came in a little bit too late to be bought by the national auction, so the group was left without a buyer at all. The farmers who contribute to the Lubanda washing station want to meet you. Like the Mica in the soil, the camaraderie of this community shines bright, and provides a ray of hope for those rooting for coffees from the South of Tanzania.

A Peaberry from the country that is known for its Peaberries - this lot is a blend from three farmers groups across two regions. It's a Southern Highlands blend, coming from the northern banks of Lake Malawi (Mbozi) and the other on the Eastern edge (Mbinga) . Contributing to this lot are the following communities: Idomosya Coffee Farmers Assn, Mbozi Mwamsimbe Coffee Farmers Assn, Mbinga Jitahdi Coffee Farmers Assn, Mbinga

A Peaberry from the peak of Mt. Elgon and the heart of Ugandan Coffee Bulaago is a village in Buzabiti District, a part of the larger Bugisu region -where Uganda's most sought-after washed Arabica coffees hail from. Those who know Bugisu coffee well know that Bulaago farmers produce some of the best quality on the mountain. For this reason, farmers are never short of a reliable market. However, they lack the recognition and reward that would allow them to truly benefit from their coffee. The Bulaago Project builds a system through which farmers receive higher compensation and support (from Crop to Cup and local agricultural partners) in exchange for taking the extra steps to produce top-lot, high scoring specialty grade coffee.

The farmers who make up the Buginyanya premium parchment farmers group were the first farmers to begin working with Crop to Cup in 2005. For years there has little demand for specialty coffee in the area, however each year Bugisu coffee is stepping up to contend with Kenyan coffees, grown on the other side of the same mountain. The muzeh (elders) in this community are in the process of passing the art of specialty coffee on to younger generations. Crop To Cup is excited to see fresh faces continue to elevate Ugandan Coffees.These farmers are on the rise- keep on checking in to taste what's going on.

DRied UGandan ARabica ------- DRUGAR It is a term that usually refers to coffee from Uganda's northern and western Arabica producing areas, which have traditionally produced natural over washed. This lot is from Western Uganda (Kasese and Bundibugyo areas in particular) , at the foothills of the ice-capped Rwenzoris (yup, glaciers at the equator) . Known as the Mountains of the Moon, the Rwenzori Mountain Range separates Uganda from The Democratic Republic of Congo, and is home to Arabicas of increasing quality. Historically, the challenge with Drugars is consistency. This is always a challenge when dealing with natural-processed coffees, especially when the harvest coincides with the rainy season as it does in Uganda. An additional challenge is that for Arabica from Rwenzori to get to the mill, it has to go through the main Robusta route. Plus, the closest mills are in Kampala - and these are pimarily Robusta mills. This year an exporter was finally willing to process this Drugar as a specialty coffee for Crop to Cup. Six small cooperatives totalling 560 farmers participated in this small trial lot. We are hopeful for the coming years of specialty naturals from Uganda - and we are already out scouting more sources.

This lot carries a classic fully washed Sidamo profile - complexity and spice with good sweetness and a hint of berry. Sourced for its cup profile and price point, this is traceable to the Sidama region as per ECX standards. However, there is not any additional traceability down to specific Sidama micro-regions or communities.

Steamrolling its way into the hearts of American specialty coffee in 2005, this coffee hardly needs an introduction. From the town of Idido, in the Gedeo Zone (sharing the southern border of Sidama) Adbullah Bagersh was born into a family of coffee traders. Taking over the struggling business in the 90s and reinvigorating the exporter, Bagersh looked to restore family tradition of high-quality sun-dried coffee. Bringing strict attention to detail and moving against the tide of fully-washed coffees, Abdullah rotates his coffees day and night for the first 48 hours of drying to prevent rot and preserve as intense and complex a cup as you're likely to find anywhere.

While washing coffee some beans float to the top. As part of the Whole Crop purchasing initiative, these floaters were graded, processed and sorted just like other specialty coffees. The largest grade is called TT. This is a coffee that is best used for practice or for the conditioning of roasters Crop to Cup has been sourcing from the Buhorwa Washing Station - the 2nd highest altitude station in Burundi - since 2010, working closely with the Burundi coffee promotion board and local nonprofit partners to improve quality, protect the local environment and increase incomes. Through a double premium system - a relationship premium paid before export plus a quality premium paid post import - cup scores have improved and wages have increased for nearly 600 family farmers.

The prime harvest from this year's fly crop; one incredible Mandheling. Silimakuta is a small community in the Lake Toba region whose coffees have traditionally been sold as Mandehling. The KUD Cooperative - a once powerful organization (est. 1976) spanning thousands of members and a wide variety of crops - is only now rebuilding after a decade of mismanagement that led to its collapse in 2006. Their first crop back in action is coffee, and they are slowly building back membership, with the first 226 members just signed up (as of June 2014) . The cooperative operates 10 member-owned buying centers (usually just at a farmer member's home) which buy parchment at 40% moisture and handpick before delivering to a central drying and milling center in Saribou Dolok. Silimakuta is one of KUD's four micro-regions, and is currently its largest volume and highest quality producer. The strong performance of Silimakuta farmers and collectors currently acts as a model for neighboring micro-regions (Purba, Pamatang Silimahuta and Dolog Silou) . Just as you see Silimakuta on our offering sheet now, expect to see products from Silimakuta's neighbors in the coming years.

A named bean from the island of Bali "Subak" refers to an organization of farmers working together. Subaks in the Kitamani region follow a traditional Balinese philosophy called 'Tri ita Karana', which commands harmony between Humans, Humans and God, and Humans and the Environment - all three apply to their farming. In the north-eastern Kitamani Highliands each farmer has .8 - 1.8 (hcts) of land, and they are organized into ~100 member Subaks. Each Subak encourages farmers to intercrop, to pick only red ripe cherries, and to ferment for 24+ hours. In fact, members are required to follow these quality procedures in order to use the Kintamani Georgahpoc Indicator. Farmers from this area are proud of their coffee, and want to develop a name for their region.

Farmers who live close enough to their community washing station deliver ripe red berries daily; this is that coffee. The Buhowra washing station is in the Kayanza province, a decent drive north from the capital of Bujumbura. Wide dirt roads stretch over the rolling hills that are heavily grazed. As elevation increases so does tree cover, with banana and coffee trees peaking out from under pockets of forest. Pulling up to the Buhowra washing station it is clear that this is the only place that the washing station could be. It is the only large tract of nominally flat land around, located near a clear swift river, and on the only truck-ready road in sight. As nearly all of the farming families turn out for an event for them to cup their own coffees, it is also clear that coffee is what centers this community. Crop to Cup began working with the farmers of the Buhowra Washing Station in 2009. This was the first origin outside of Uganda where Crop to Cup would apply its approach to sourcing, and these were the first farmers to teach us the value of purchasing a community's entire crop.

Crop to Cup's 2014 lot is the very first export from the young AAK Cooperative. Because the operation is so new and thus high quality washing station volumes so low, we decided to bulk two stations together (Banz in the Western Highlands and Kabiufa Cooperative Society in the Eastern Highlands) . This allows for the AAK name to enter the market and gain strength before starting the friendly "quality wars" between the various washing stations and base camps. Lot separation in coming years will allow Crop to Cup and US roasters to dive more deeply into the diversity that AAK has to offer, but for this year enjoy the body and complexity from the Western Highlands loamy soils blended with the floral/tea/herbal notes from the Eastern Highlands volcanic soils.