Three new Q certification marks

Non-profit organisation, The Coffee Quality Institute (CQI), has expanded its work to improve the quality of coffee worldwide by introducing three new Q certification marks.

This release includes a new mark for Q Certified Arabica along with the launch of two completely new marks, Q Certified Robusta and Q Certified Blend.

The CQI’s Q Certification Marks are consumer facing and indicate an independent, third-party quality certification. They also provide an assurance of quality that buyers can trust.

In order for a Q Certification Mark to appear on a promotional item, the coffee has to be vetted through CQI’s Q Coffee System, where it is blindly evaluated by three Q Graders and given an average score on a 100-point scale. It must also pass the green coffee standards for Arabica as defined by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) and those of Robusta as defined by CQI.

Peru’s Government Struggles To Calm Angry Coffee Growers

LIMA, Peru–Peru’s government is struggling to calm angry coffee growers who are demanding more aid to combat the roya disease, a plant-eating fungus that has affected crops in various Latin American nations.

Government officials have forecast that the roya disease will lead to a decline of at least 25% in Peru’s coffee output this year.

On Wednesday thousands of coffee growers protested on the main central highway leading into the Andes mountains from Lima, blocking traffic until police launched tear gas and took other measures to open the highway.

President Ollanta Humala called on the coffee growers to abstain from acts of violence, and reiterated that the government is offering aid.

“Even if they are privately-owned crops, the state is helping. Acts of violence aren’t going to resolve the problem, as the roya will continue to advance whether there are acts of violence or not,” Mr. Humala told reporters.

The government has been blaming climate change for the spread of the roya.

On Thursday Agriculture Minister Milton Von Hesse said that there had been a problem of communications and that the government was channeling aid.

The President of the National Federation of Coffee Growers, Isaac Porras, told RPP radio Thursday that the government’s aid package of 100 million soles ($36 million) fell well short of what was needed, and came too late.

“The plants are already dead. This 100 million soles is a failure,” he said.

Peru’s National Coffee Chamber, representing some producers, said earlier this week that the roya has ruined some 55,000 hectares of coffee plants, representing an estimated loss totalling $330 million.

The government has declared a state of emergency in a number of coffee-growing regions, including Cusco, Junin and San Martin.

Earlier this year, the National Coffee Chamber said it expects Peru will produce 6.0 million quintals, or 46-kilo bags, of coffee this year. It originally projected output of 7.5 million quintals.

Peru is one of the world’s top 10 producers of coffee.

Guanacaste Coffee Growers Could Suffer 30% Loss in Next Harvest

Guanacaste coffee producers could suffer losses of at least 30% of their crops, according to the Costa Rican Coffee Institute (ICAFE) and, although there are no effects yet on the price of coffee, it could increase at the beginning of 2014.

The worst impact would happen in the next harvest (2013-2014), since, according to Wilberth Roman, Manager of Coopepilangosta, Hojancha, a plague of blight is obligating producers to replant, resulting in a drop in short- and medium-term production.

The blight is a fungus that attacks a variety of crops, causing diseases to the plants and economic losses to producers.

The future harvest losses have not yet influenced international product prices, Roman indicated, but these effects could be perceived at the beginning of next year, in the 2013-2014 harvest, when production would decrease due to replanting.

At the moment, local consumers have not been affected either. Rodolfo Campos Cardenas, who owns a restaurant, indicated that prices remain the same but a possible variation in the future cannot be ruled out.

“We buy from producers in Naranjo, and despite the blight, prices have not risen. We’ll have to see what happens when price adjustments come,” said Campos Cardenas.

Help for Farmers

On June 25, the legislators approved the “law for the creation of a Trust to support coffee producers affected by the blight” in the second debate with 43 votes in favor, and on July 17 the president of the republic, Laura Chinchilla, signed the law. However, it is up to the executive branch to regulate the execution of this law, and it is estimated that it will be regulated in two months.

Guanacaste coffee growers will benefit from the trust of 20 billion colones ($40 million), approved by the Legislative Assembly.

Roman explained that Guanacaste has an advantage: “In our area fortunately we have a variety that is quite tolerant to the blight… It is called Costa Rica 95… It is a variety produced in Costa Rica, but it is an Arabic species of good quality, high productivity and very rich in yield… It was introduced in the area about ten years ago,” he mentioned.

In Guanacaste, the coffee producing areas are basically Cerro Azul in Los Angeles of Nandayure, Hojancha and the communities in high elevations in the cantons of Santa Cruz and Nicoya, which mostly deliver what they produce to the Coopepilangosta cooperative.

– See more at: http://news.co.cr/guanacaste-coffee-growers-could-suffer-30-loss-in-next-harvest/24827/#sthash.McNnWa5d.dpuf

Peru’s Government Sees Coffee Output Down at Least 25% in 2013

12 Aug 2013 16:26 EDT DJ
By Ryan Dube

LIMA, Peru–Peru’s coffee output likely will fall at least 25% this year because of an outbreak of the roya disease, Agriculture Minister Milton Von Hesse said Monday.

The outbreak of roya, a plant-eating fungus that has affected crops in other Latin American countries, has caused concern among coffee growers that have asked the government for assistance. Coffee growers have been critical of the government, saying its reaction has been disorganized.

The government has declared a state of emergency in 11 coffee-growing regions, including Cusco, Junin and San Martin. The government has said it “will carry out the immediate and necessary actions to control the spread of [the roya disease].”

On Monday, Mr. Von Hesse said in a meeting with Peru’s foreign press association that the government is working with farmers to replace their crops, but that output will fall 25% to 30%. This is slightly higher than previous estimates, Mr. Von Hesse said.

He said the government has sent experts into the fields to determine how much can be saved and how to make the crops more resistant without losing their quality.

“This is an opportunity to promote changes in the plantations,” he said.

Earlier this year, the National Coffee Chamber said it expects Peru will produce 6.0 million quintals, or 46-kilo bags, of coffee this year. It originally projected output of 7.5 million quintals.

The roya disease has spread to Peru and other countries as a result of climate changes and the poor use of fertilizer.

Peru is one of the world’s top 10 producers of coffee.

Mr. Von Hesse also said it is too early to know the impact of the La Nina weather system on Peru’s crops. Peru’s meteorological service confirmed last week the presence of La Nina, the cooling of surface waters off the coast of Peru, which can cause heavy rains and flooding.

Fermented Coffee – Its not what you think!

The Best of Both Buzzes: Fermented Coffee Drink

Scientists have created a new alcohol derived from used coffee grinds, giving drinkers yet another reason to get behind the recycling movement

Cuban Coffee
Amy Eckert / The Image Bank / Getty Images

If you morning coffee isn’t giving you enough of a buzz, perhaps this new coffee-based alcohol will do the trick. Scientists at the University of Minho in Portugal have stumbled upon a way to add some pizzazz to your caffeine routine by fermenting alcohol from used coffee grinds. The full findings were published online in LWT – Food Science and Technology journal this summer.

To be clear, this isn’t quite the same as conjuring up another coffee liqueur like Kahlua. According to Science magazine, the brewing process wasn’t terribly different from most production methods:

The scientists first collected [used coffee grounds] from a Portuguese coffee roasting company and dried it. Then they heated the powder in water at 163°C for 45 minutes, separated out the liquid, and added sugar. Next, the team mixed in yeast cells, let the concoction ferment, and concentrated the sample to get a higher alcohol content. (A similar process is used to produce other distilled beverages such as whiskey and rum from wheat and molasses.) And voilà! Used coffee grounds produced a new alcoholic beverage with 40% ethanol.

But how did it taste? The researchers then went a step further and brought in eight trained taste testers to judge the alcohol-coffee mixture. According to reports, the drink smelled just like coffee and left a “bitter and pungent” taste.

Though it was drinkable, the testers recommended possibly aging the mixture to alter its flavors.

Unfortunately, once the alcohol is produced, most of the caffeine is actually lost in the process. So until that’s fixed, you just may still have to keep doing it the old-fashioned way by adding a little something something to your morning brew.

Coffee Leaf Rust Archives – Some History

A paper published in 1984 about the then recent outbreaks of Leaf Rust in Latin America –

http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNAAR751.pdf

Brazil’s coffee roasters get a taste for arabica

By Emiko Terazono
For Brazilian coffee drinkers, their morning cafezinho may be tasting a bit smoother these days.
With the fall in the price of the high quality bean arabica relative to its lower quality counterpart robusta, the South American country’s coffee roasters are increasing the amount of arabica in their blends for the first time in a decade, say industry executives.  The percentage of robusta in the average Brazilian blend has been rising steadily, from about 20 per cent a decade ago to the current 50 per cent.
But this year’s bumper arabica crop in Brazil “has stopped a 10-year trend”, says Carlos Brando, director of P&A International, the marketing and consulting arm of Brazilian coffee machinery maker Pinhalense in São Paulo.
The country is the leading producer of coffee, and one of the world’s biggest drinkers. Consumer research group Mintel says the growth in coffee drinking in Brazil means that the Latin American country will soon be the leading consumer of coffee, surpassing the US in the next few years. And the fall in arabica prices is likely to lead to more arabica in coffee blends.
Brazil’s rising number of coffee shops are driving demand for “gourmet” or higher-priced coffee, says Mintel.
“Brazilians are definitely much more demanding about their coffee, which is going to influence the coffee blends.” As a result, the country’s “higher quality beans will increasingly be used to service the Brazilian market”, says Mintel’s Renata Pompa.
The demand for better tasting coffee comes as the rest of the world has been turning to robusta, the lower quality bean. In Europe and the US, a big premium for arabica over robusta two years ago led to roasters adjusting their blends to reduce the more expensive arabica and add more robusta beans. That meant a fall in demand for arabica and greater consumption of the bitter tasting robusta.
Since then added support for robusta prices has come from rising demand for coffee in emerging markets – mainly in the form of instant coffee. Countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia, where the main preference for coffee is instant, have seen double-digit demand growth over the past few years, says Volcafe, a leading European coffee trading group based in Switzerland.

Even as the rest of the world has shifted towards robusta, Brazilian farmers keen to cash in on the high premiums for arabica were producing more of the blend.
The resulting oversupply has sent the wholesale price of arabica beans in New York down more than 40 per cent in the past year to $1.25 a pound. Indeed, Arabica hit a four-year low of $1.17 a pound, a far cry from the 34-year high of $3.089 in 2011 amid fears of a shortage.
With the price difference between the two beans, down from as much as $1.90 a pound in 2011 to as low 34 cents this month, some coffee traders are asking whether the premium is now low enough to entice roasters to increase the ratio of arabica beans again.
There is evidence that lower grades of arabica have become competitive in the US and Europe, say coffee traders. “We are seeing some switching into arabica in small amounts,” says one Geneva-based trader.
A decline in the supply of robusta from Vietnam, the top grower of the lower quality bean, has also encouraged buying back into arabica among some smaller roasters.
But this may just be a seasonal move. European analysts say changes in blends take time to materialise. Larger roasters will be reluctant to switch back to arabica if consumers are happy with the blends on offer.
James Hearn, co-head of agriculture at commodities brokers Marex Spectron in London, says: “We have seen some shifting, particularly in producing countries that are also consumers. However, the shift elsewhere is modest at this stage.”

Peru Extends State of Emergency to Help Coffee Growers

LIMA, Peru–Peru’s government on Tuesday extended a state of emergency aimed at helping coffee growers deal with a plant-eating fungus that has affected about a quarter of the nation’s production.

The state of emergency was extended for 60 days in 11 coffee-growing regions, including Cusco, Junin and San Martin. A supreme decree published on Tuesday said that government agencies “will carry out the immediate and necessary actions to control the spread of [the roya disease].”

Coffee growers in Peru have said the roya disease, which has also affected crops in other Latin American countries, has been due to climate changes and the inadequate use of fertilizers.

Peru’s National Coffee Chamber said late last month that about 2 million quintals–or 46,000 bags–of coffee have been lost due to the outbreak. It said that more than 1,000 coffee producers have lost their entire harvest for this year, while thousands more have been affected.

Prior to the roya outbreak, the group had projected that Peru would produce 7.5 million quintals of coffee this year.

The coffee chamber said the government’s initial reaction to the outbreak has been “disorganized” and called on authorities to provide more funds to replace coffee crops.

Peru is one of the world’s top 10 coffee producers.

Integrating women into sustainable coffee production: Indonesia

Coffee price tumble to have long-term consequences

By Agrimoney.com – Published 09/07/2013

The International Coffee Organization warned of a long-term hangover on coffee markets from the tumble in prices as it urged government to support growers facing extreme hardship as values fall below costs of production.

The ICO, an intergovernmental group, said that the fall in coffee futures, which for arabica beans are down 60% from a 2011 high, would prompt “increased price volatility” as markets cope with the drop in output likely to follow.

“Given current price trends, there is a diminishing incentive for farmers to invest in their crops, and the use of inputs such as fertilisers and labour will likely be reduced,” the ICO said.

“This could potentially have a negative impact on production volumes,” bringing market swings as buyers compete for tighter supplies.

‘Devastating consequences’

Output could be effected by the potentially “devastating consequences” of the market fall to growers, which represent an important part of the rural economy for major producing countries such as Colombia.

Indeed, the ICO urged government in coffee producing countries “to help the millions of small‐scale coffee farmers affected as prices fall below the cost of production.

“Of immediate concern is the issue of food security, as poor farmers find themselves without enough cash available to secure adequate nourishment for their families in the last few months before they harvest their next crop.”

However, longer-term solutions were also required, the organisation said, flagging “the need to train these same farmers into small entrepreneurs, possessing basic skills not just in agronomy, but also in broader farm management”.

Production upgrade

The decline in prices of both arabica and robusta prices to multi-year lows reflects in part ample supplies of beans.

The ICO nudged higher by 300,000 bags to 144.6m bags its estimate of world coffee output in 2012-13, despite the damage caused by the outbreak of coffee rust in Central America, for which it kept at 2.7m bags its estimate for losses.

However, prices had also been hurt by “weaker‐than‐expected economic data from China at the beginning of the month suggested a slowdown in demand growth for commodities.

“In addition, signs of an end to the quantitative easing programme in the US resulted in a widespread decline in commodity markets.

“These two factors exacerbated the weakness in the coffee market.”

© Agrimoney 2010