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Bridging the gap between grower and roaster
As demand for transparently traded green coffee increases, algrano have developed a producer-led initiative that empowers growers to reach specialty coffee roasters more effectively through its award-winning platform. The new ‘Spot Europe’ feature means that producers can now ship their coffee to Bremen before selling to specialty coffee markets. It guarantees significantly lower waiting times for coffee samples, nano lots, micro lots and larger orders to be delivered directly to the roastery door. Co-founder of algrano, Gilles Brunner, explains that the new initiative was developed in response to producer-need: “Growers told us that they want to be closer to the roaster by having their coffee warehoused in Europe”, he comments.…
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Cultivating the next generation of coffee roasters
The story of Costa Rica’s grano de oro – or golden bean – began in the late 18th century when arabica was first introduced to its rich volcanic soils and favourable climatic conditions in the central Meseta region. Coffee production has since flourished and is now a vitally important cash crop for the national economy. Although the country produces a small percentage of the world’s overall coffee production, it is highly regarded for the diversity of its varietals and award-winning cup profiles which has led some Costa Rican producers to enjoy their fair share of Cup of Excellence accolades in recent years. While other Central American coffee producing countries…
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Competing in specialty coffee without compromise
When it comes to serving specialty, compromise is strictly off the menu for the caffeine heads at Coffee Proficiency. It is this motto that sets the scene for the collective vision at the roastery and coffee bar based in Kraków, Poland. Above all, their desire to compete at a national and international level has helped to consistently offer a high quality product for their customers. Head of Quality at Coffee Proficiency, Lukasz Jura, explains how his first steps towards competing at the highest level took him on a path that led him quit his international studies and pursue a full time career in coffee: “During my studies, I was looking…
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On the road from commercial coffee to specialty
For more than a decade, Ancis Romanovskis was a successful entrepreneur before he turned his hand to roasting. The 38 year-old had sharpened his business acumen in the cosmetics, pharmacy, and beer industries before he went on to build one of Latvia’s leading coffee equipment with his partners, service and supply companies from the ground up. The switch from commodity coffee to specialty began when King Coffee became the official distributor for La Marzocco across the Baltics. While the partnership helped to fuel the company’s growth, the route into specialty coffee roasting still seemed an arm’s length away from supplying and maintaining coffee equipment. Although business was quickly expanding, Ancis took a…
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Miro drives forward one batch at a time
While studying for a masters degree in business down under, Daniel Sanchez got a taste for antipodean coffee culture. And when a local coffee shop opened in his Melbourne neighborhood, his enjoyment of specialty coffee soon developed from a daily ritual into a career. “The Monday after the opening, I picked up a cappuccino on the way to collect my laundry. Later that day I went back and talked to Ben, the owner of the café The Final Step. I started to hang out in this coffee shop so much that he told me I could be useful and clean the dishes,” says Daniel before adding that he went…
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Technology-driven transparency at the mill
Nicaragua is a highly-regarded coffee producing country that enjoys huge farming potential and has recently undergone a step change in the mechanization of its agricultural sector. Already, the results of this public and private investment has helped to increase quality, while at the same time reducing the cost of production of its highly sought-after specialty coffee. Aided by the advance of technology, one area that has seen a revolution in its production potential is the dry milling process. At this critical juncture in the value chain is the final stage of the preparation of parchment green coffee before it is sorted, graded, bagged to preserve freshness and exported. One such…
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Opening a window into coffee
Standing between the producer and the consumer in a complex supply chain can be a fine balancing act for any roaster. Quality, price and availability consistently come top as major factors when it comes to making a buying decision. But the underlying motivations that underpin these decisions can vary widely depending on a coffee roastery’s ethical or sourcing policy and needs of their end-customers. And as the landscape of specialty roasteries continues to develop at a pace across Europe and further afield, the opportunities for sourcing high-end traceable and transparently-traded coffee has never been so great. From green bean importers to innovative tech platforms aimed at empowering producers to…
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The sommelier’s roaster
Daniela Capuano’s coffee story began as early as she can remember growing up on the family-owned coffee farm in Tres Pontas, the Minas Gerais region of Brazil. “It is a reality that I am used to,” she reminisces. “It’s very holistic, I have more idea about what happens to the beans before they get here – and I know Brazilian coffees very well.” Following her studies in art and graphic design, the 33 year-old was always drawn back to the bean during her work and travels in Brazil, Ireland and France. She got her big break in specialty coffee when she stumbled across an opportunity to hone her barista and…
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Spring roasters grow new shoots in Basel
The quest to serve high quality coffee is an all year-round endeavor at the ever-popular Café Frühling – meaning Spring Café. After four years’ catering for Basel’s growing thirst for specialty coffee, the Hohlmann brothers have expanded their Swiss-based coffee enterprise with a 12kg Diedrich. Felix, who heads up the roasting operation is excited about the new addition to the family: “The Diedrich is totally different to the roasters I have used before. It has a different drum where the inflow of air is pre-heated. It stays between the drum and the bowl so if you give more airflow, you also give more energy”. Demonstrating a tireless passion for his…
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A passion for coffee past and present
Stefan Bracht’s coffee obsession took root as his expanding collection of coffee-making paraphernalia grew. His assembly of antiquated hand roasters, brewing equipment and grinders soon became a focal point for the growing community of coffee lovers in Berlin. Frequently, they would meet in the basement of his architectural practice to talk, brew and taste coffee. His first coffee shop, Kiez Coffee Bar, was already one of the early pioneers in the city’s burgeoning specialty coffee scene. But Stefan still needed a home for his historic array of coffee equipment that he had amassed over time. In a joint-venture with Karlheinz Rieser, of Coffee Star, the duo decided to combine both of…