Organic Coffee and the Earth Friendly Foundation

Maya Ixil, Guatemala

2009-11-29T14:37:00.002-09:00

Diane is on a mission again. The goal is to secure a roaster for the cooperativa in Maya Ixil. They have the space and the motivation. What is lacking is the roaster and the training for these people to work in the supply chain with the same commitment to quality, consistency and promptness that characterized the US market. USAID may help some and others too --- so good luck!

In the meantime, the best coffee yet at EFCC is the Ixtil coffee. Paid way more than Fair Trade, it is all certified: organic, shade grown, SHB and FT. -- best taste yet.

We are still looking for experienced sales people. Unemployed, stuck at home, give a call. 866 807-6089.

Volunteers needed for social justice and the preservation of the rainforests. We are promoting "Fair Trade" and better prices to the small family farmers of Guatemala and other locations where the highest quality coffee thrives on the high volcanic mountainsides beneth the shade of the rainforest canopy. Save the trees, the birds, and the indigenous families. Visit the mountains of Guatemala. Meet the people and the mission in some of the most beautiful country you will ever see. Come home and promote the distribution of this excellent Arabica coffee at a fair price to the consumer. Be a part of the mission. Make a difference. diane@earthfriendlycoffee.com

EPA declares greenhouse gases a health threat | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Headline | National News

2009-04-17T12:32:00.000-08:00

EPA declares greenhouse gases a health threat News for Dallas, Texas Dallas Morning News Headline National News

Many are unaware of the role CO2 plays in human and, in fact, all animal physiology. We all recognise CO2 as a metabolic by product, but CO2 plays a far more critical role as the primary regulator of acid base balance. This critical acid-base balance is our most closely guarded homeostatic mechanism. We regulate the acid-base balance by our breathing. If we breath a little faster or deeper we reduce the CO2 concentration in our blood and thus move the balance to the -base side of the equation. CO2 diffuses as carbolic acid in the blood, and by breathing off CO2 from our lungs we reduce the acid content of our body. Not good, if we thus increase the pH -- that is lowering the H+ ion concentration -- we change the K+ ion, the Ca++ ion and others that are critical to life. The reverse is true from holding our breath or otherwise retain more CO2.

Environmental changes in CO2 has the same effect. Up to a point we can compensate for increased environmental CO2 by breathing faster, additionally to a limited extent our kidneys can compensate as well. I am unaware of there being many studies of long term exposuree to moderately increased CO2. The consequences may not have been adequately considered. Hibernation may involve changes in pH that would be similar to increased environmental CO2. Obesity may already be a reflection of our present higher levels.

The consequences of higher levels of CO2 will surely be sever. I read in a recent article that atmospheric CO2 at 570 parts per million will acidify the oceans to the point of completely dissolving of the coral reefs. The ocean, from a mineral standpoint, is completely analogous to our own mineral makeup.

The EPA seems right on target by declaring these changes a critical challenge to our health. I think, however, that we will need to put Rush Limbaugh in a phone booth with a canister of CO2 to get the point across.

Challenge

2009-04-17T10:49:00.000-08:00

I have not posted here for a long time. We are struggling to grow from a small niche market of churches and sports teams to a national distribution. I can't say we are winning, but indeed, the Eco-coffee market is growing. The buyer's recognition of and access to good coffee, however, is still not what it ought to be. There is not an industry wide grading system. Without an industry wide certification of quality, there is no way for the customer to identify good taste or good quality. The importer of the quality stuff too finds him or herself at a cost disadvantage and is motivated to cut corners.Environmental and social justice coffee is not necessarily good coffee; it should be because the good stuff comes from the most remote, inaccessible, high mountain rain forests, and that is where fair trade coffee usually - but not always - comes from. The high mountain coffee matures more slowly, more disease free to a more mellow taste. The best, when properly screened, is graded SHB, for strictly hard bean, the highest quality grade. The big labels, big names, usually blend small amounts of the good stuff with the much less expensive commodity coffee to achieve what the roaster thinks is a good taste. It does not take the second cup to tell the difference.Then, there is the issue of stale coffee. The bigger the coffee company the greater the inventory and thus the probable age of the coffee. Let me tell you from a logistics standpoint - and that's what I do - the greatest challenge is achieving sufficient turnover to insure freshness and -- financial sustainability for the company.It is hard to be all things to all people: quality, organic, chemical free, shade grown, carbon-offset, rain-forest and fair trade, never mind good taste. --- How do you know when advertising has little to do with reality?

Indigenous People Guatemala

2009-02-04T13:12:00.010-09:00

Challenging

2009-01-11T11:37:00.006-09:00

I have not posted here for a long time. We are struggling to grow from a small niche market of churches and sports teams to a national distribution. Indeed, the Eco-coffee market is growing. The buyer's recognition of and access to good coffee, however, is still not what it ought to be. There is not an industry wide grading system. Without an industry wide certification of quality, there is no way for the customer to identify good taste or good quality. The importer of the quality stuff too finds him or herself at a cost disadvantage and is motivated to cut corners.

Environmental and social justice coffee is not necessarily good coffee; it should be because the good stuff comes from the most remote, inaccessible, high mountain rain forests, and that is where fair trade coffee usually - but not always - comes from. The high mountain coffee matures more slowly, more disease free to a more mellow taste. The best, when properly screened, is graded SHB, for strictly hard bean, the highest quality grade. The big labels, big names, usually blend small amounts of the good stuff with the much less expensive commodity coffee to achieve what the roaster thinks is a good taste. It does not take the second cup to tell the difference.

Then, there is the issue of stale coffee. The bigger the coffee company the greater the inventory and thus the probable age of the coffee. Let me tell you from a logistics standpoint - and that's what I do - the greatest challenge is achieving sufficient turnover to insure freshness and -- financial sustainability for the company.

It is hard to be all things to all people: quality, organic, chemical free, shade grown, carbon-offset, rain-forest and fair trade, never mind good taste. --- How do you know when advertising has little to do with reality?

In an R&D marketing project, scoping out a broader specialty market, we bought a Keurig coffee brewer. We heard that this machine was the rage in the East. It is certainly a step up from the home espresso machines of the last generation -- at least the coffee comes out hot. The small coffee pods are cleaver things with their own built-in filter. The initial inventory of pods that come with the machine demonstrate a wide variety, including tea and coco. The machine itself is an engineering marvel, but big. It makes the coffee: fast, one cup at a time, and most of all clean!

It's the coffee pods, however that interest us. Is this a market for our "world of good" coffee? Well maybe but the coffee that came with the machine was all stale. I believe that Green Mountain bought out Keurig and, indeed, most of the samples were Green Mountain, some with Paul Newman labels. No matter, if you don't have good quality going in and freshness coming out you just don't have good coffee; you have a gimmick. I just brewed myself a cup of the Paul Newman strong blend, which should have been equivalent to our dark roast; although, all of our coffee is single source and SHB. I drank a fifth of the cup, set it aside and pored myself the remainder of this early morning's brew, our own coffee, which still tasted far better. Please note, we take the poorly ground or out dated coffee - the seconds - for home use.

Now I'm not saying the Keurig machine is not good; I think that it is. I am not saying that Green Mountain is not good coffee; it is usually good. But providing freshness in a small sealed pod - with a very special manufacturing and distribution challenge - did not result in an acceptable product as we researched it. Do we want to distribute our coffee through these small pods for use in the popular Keurig brewer? I think not; we would expose our product - outside of our control - to the same degradation of freshness that destroyed the samples we received. Coffee is perishable. Time, temperature and exposure to other smells can all destroy a roast in the off gassing, shipping, warehousing and delivery stages. So in fairness to the vendor, we will move the Keurig to the basement next to the old Braun espresso machine, and we will continue to brew our coffee with a teapot and filter into a very old Thermos.

Our little company is successful on a small niche market scale; we distribute nationally, but we need to morph or merge ourselves into a vertically integrated distribution enterprise that features the quality and taste that is our hallmark. I am willing to conclude that our one pound bags remain our best vehicle for delivery. Business school, nature food chain, green distributors where are you? We are open to suggestions.

We also need commissioned sales people with experience and motivation. Un-employed? Stuck at home? Willing to work hard? Call EFCC info@earthfriendlycoffee.com or
rick @earthfriendlycoffee.com .

Current Project Guatemala

2008-06-06T16:51:00.005-08:00

Added Value for Indigenous Mountain Coffee Farmers in Guatemala

The Diocese of Colorado Springs with the help of Earth Friendly Coffee and the Earth Friendly Foundation promoted a grant proposal through CRS Guatemala for building a processing infrastructure for the Cooperativas of Acoderol, Olopa and the families they represent. CRS is a very large US charity organization and a trading partner in promoting this sort of project. As with any large grant through the bureaucracy of a big organization there are administrative considerations. This grant may or may not come to pass. If it does not, we will continue with our more modest direct channeling of funds and help Olopa develop their drying patio which was our original intent.Earth Friendly Foundation,

EFF does not handle funds for this or any other project. Rather we direct resources to the indigenous people and their own cooperative efforts toward their own economic and agricultural development. EFF operates without administrative overhead through the use of a trust/escrow account. We believe that the farmers know best what works and what is in their own best interest. Direct funding avoids entanglements and disappointments.

The only restrictions to the farmers’ use of EFF directed funding asks that:
1) Purchases at premium prices, (greater than "Fair Trade") must be competitive for the highest quality beans,
2) Must be Chemical Free NGM agricultural practices,
3) Must follow environmentally responsible cultivation and processing with special concern for waste water and erosion.
4) Must insure that indigenous farmers are actually the beneficiaries of the funds involved.
5) We encourage local indigenous roasting and vertical integration of the processing in order that the supply side be efficiently integrated rather than exploited. The mission as stated poses a challenge for a small import company, but it makes the coffee taste so much better.

Strengthening of Coffee Processing Techniques and Infrastructure in Olopa (proposed date August 2007 – March 2008) Background Information & Project Summary

The Coordinating Association for Rural Development in Olopa (ACODEROL, for its initials in Spanish) was founded in the department (province) of Chiquimula in 1998 with the main purpose of supporting rural development initiatives in the communities that comprise the municipality of Olopa. It is currently made up of 367 indigenous Maya Chortí members, of which 55 are small-scale coffee farmers.

Each of the small scale coffee farmers cultivates his precious hectares (10,000 sq m) of coffee trees in an area ranging in size between 7,000- 14,000 square meters, at an altitude of 1,400 meters (4,500') above sea level. They produce strictly Hard-Bean, SHB Arabica, an aromatic coffee, rich in body and flavor. This is a green, compact, even, medium bodied coffee bean, with a closed fissure. The roasting turns the beans dark brown, with corrugated texture, a closed irregular fissure and very compact. ACODERROL produces approximately 46,040 kgs. of coffee beans per year.

Currently, the coffee producers mill the ripe cherry with the help of their families and do the processing in their own homes. Solar drying of the beans has become difficult because of the cloudy weather, which slows the drying process and in turn can lead to moldiness. As a consequence, there is an inconsistency in the quality of the bean, which in turn has a negative effect on the sale price.

The coffee producers from ACODEROL have expressed their strong interest in building their own coffee processing infrastructure. Their goal is to increase the income of the 55 coffee producers from ACODEROL by strengthening their technical and organizational capacity for coffee processing, and ultimately increasing the sales volume of their coffee.

Additionally, a Guatemala based agricultural education program would allow participating coffee farmers to receive training, better organize themselves, and have access to infrastructure and equipment necessary to carry out coffee processing activities collectively in order to improve their coffee processing techniques and to meet quality standards of international markets.

Goals:
1) Organize farmers for collecting and selling their coffee.
2) Establish a communal concrete patio (1,225 mts2) to dry producers’ coffee.
3) Build a warehouse for coffee storage.
4) Design and implement a training program for 55 small-scale coffee producers --- in coffee processing and management for commercial purposes
5) Coordinate with the National Coffee Association.
6) Build a wet coffee processing infrastructure “beneficio húmedo” (for depulping, washing and fermentation) The wet-mill will be used by, not only the ACODEROL members, but also other farmers that need to use it.

EFF has a special interest in this project because we have a close relationship with the farmers in this region. We want to see the farmers prosper by their own initiative, and this plan is theirs, although expanded in some ways. Some very fine people in Guatemala have been responsive and dedicated in developing this proposal, and we pray they succeed. Also, some very dedicated and caring people in the Diocese of Colorado Springs initiated this proposal, and they have a great interest in connecting directly with the names and places and with the coffee farmers of the Acoderol cooperativa in whatever way they can. We hope this project evolves.

CRS US asks not to post the financial and or details of the grant request and not to make contributions to the project pending the application review process. (The above link is password protected)

Current Project Guatemala

2008-06-06T16:51:00.000-08:00

Added Value for Indigenous Mountain Coffee Farmers in Guatemala
The Diocese of Colorado Springs with the help of Earth Friendly Coffee and the Earth Friendly Foundation promoted a grant proposal through CRS Guatemala for building a processing infrastructure for the Cooperativas of Acoderol, Olopa and the families they represent. CRS is a very large US charity organization and a trading partner in promoting this sort of project. As with any large grant, through the bureaucracy of a big organization, there are administrative considerations. This grant may or may not come to pass. If it does not, we will continue with our more modest direct channeling of funds and help Olopa develop their drying patio which was our original intent.

Earth Friendly Foundation, EFF does not handle funds for this or any other project. Rather we direct resources to the indigenous people and their own cooperative efforts toward their own economic and agricultural development. EFF operates without administrative overhead through the use of a trust/escrow account. We believe that the farmers know best what works and what is in their own best interest. Direct funding avoids entanglements and disappointments.

The only restrictions to the farmers’ use of EFF directed funding asks that:
1) Purchases at premium prices, (greater than "Fair Trade") must be competitive for the highest quality beans,
2) Must be Chemical Free NGM agricultural practices,
3) Must follow environmentally responsible cultivation and processing with special concern for waste water and erosion.
4) Must insure that indigenous farmers are actually the beneficiaries of the funds involved.
5) We encourage local indigenous roasting and vertical integration of the processing in order that the supply side be efficiently integrated rather than exploited.
The mission as stated poses a challenge for a small import company, but it makes the coffee taste so much better.

Strengthening of Coffee Processing Techniques and Infrastructure in Olopa (proposed date August 2007 – March 2008) Background Information & Project Summary The Coordinating Association for Rural Development in Olopa (ACODEROL, for its initials in Spanish) was founded in the department (province) of Chiquimula in 1998 with the main purpose of supporting rural development initiatives in the communities that comprise the municipality of Olopa. It is currently made up of 367 indigenous Maya Chortí members, of which 55 are small-scale coffee farmers.

Each of the small scale coffee farmers has an average coffee plantation ranging from 7,000- 14.000 square meters in size at an altitude of 1,400 meters above sea level. They produce strictly Hard-Bean, SHB Arabica, an aromatic coffee, rich in body and flavor. This is a green, compact, even, medium bodied coffee bean, with a closed fissure. The roasting turns the beans dark brown, with corrugated texture, a closed irregular fissure and very compact. ACODERROL produces approximately 46,040 kgs. Of coffee beans per year.

Currently, the coffee producers mill the ripe cherry with the help of their families and do the processing in their own homes. Solar drying of the beans has become difficult because of the cloudy weather, which slows the drying process and in turn can lead to moldiness. As a consequence, there is an inconsistency in the quality of the bean, which in turn has a negative effect on the sale price.

The coffee producers from ACODEROL have expressed their strong interest in building their own coffee processing infrastructure. Their goal is to increase the income of the 55 coffee producers from ACODEROL by strengthening their technical and organizational capacity for coffee processing, and ultimately increasing the sales volume of their coffee. Additionally, a Guatemala based agricultural education program would allow participating coffee farmers to receive training, better organize themselves, and have access to infrastructure and equipment necessary to carry out coffee processing activities collectively in order to improve their coffee processing techniques and to meet quality standards of international markets.

Goals:
1) Organize farmers for collecting and selling their coffee.
2) Establish a communal concrete patio (1,225 mts2) to dry producers’ coffee.
3) Build a warehouse for coffee storage.
4) Design and implement a training program for 55 small-scale coffee producers --- in coffee processing and management for commercial purposes
5) Coordinate with the National Coffee Association.
6) Build a wet coffee processing infrastructure “beneficio húmedo” (for depulping, washing and fermentation) The wet-mill will be used by not only for ACODEROL members, but also for other farmers that need to use it.

EFF has a special interest in this project because we have a close relationship with the farmers in this region. We want to see the farmers prosper by their own initiative, and this plan is theirs, although expanded in some ways. Some very fine people in Guatemala have been responsive and dedicated in developing this proposal, and we pray they succeed. Also, some very dedicated and caring people in the Diocese of Colorado Springs initiated this proposal, and they have a great interest in connecting directly with the names and places and with the coffee farmers of the Acoderol cooperatives in whatever way they can. We hope this project evolves.

CRS asks not to post the financial and or details of the grant request and not to make contributions to the project pending the application review process. (The above link is password protected.)

Specialty Coffee Quality

2007-10-17T13:00:00.002-08:00

Coffee Quality:
The parameters of quality coffee unfortunately remain ill-defined. To answer the more obvious questions about quality, you may want to consider the following:

The really good coffee is becoming harder and harder to find and to purchase. The good stuff comes from remote, high altitude volcanic rainforests. Access is difficult. Lower down in the valley, clear fields, mechanized farming, insecticides and fertilizers even genetic modification yield far greater production and thus profit. The more the indigenous farmers of these remote high mountain family hectors are marginalized the less attentive they are to their coffee production. The historic name recognition associated with the increasingly scarce high quality beans leads to a blending of the good stuff with more abundant coffee thus retaining name recognition while adulterating the quality in the blend. Business is business; the ground coffee may hide defects as well.

Let’s talk about our Guatemala High Mountain Coffee as an example. On a practical level there are 4 elements to its high quality.

1st the beans are graded SHB. That is strictly hard bean Arabica. This is the highest grading in Guatemala.
2nd we score the various samples from the high mountain cooperativas by Guatemala's number one tester, (taste tester and cupper as they call it.) Ours all score 89 or higher on the cupper scale, and they know how to do this in Guatemala better than we do here.
3rd is the roast. The common quality problem with one very popular Roaster for example is unequal size of the beans in their blend, resulting in the small ones burning while the larger ones are just right. This burned taste has even become a sought after feature for its strong rugged taste, but with care dark roast can be achieved without burning; in so doing, it leaves the third cup far more palatable. We use what is called a European prep that screens the beans for size and fragments. Ours is a "single malt" coffee, not a blend. When blending there is the problem of one bean roasting faster than the others. In Guatemala they roast the different beans of the blend individually, whilst in the US, most if not all roasters do them together. Spill some sample beans out on a white counter top and note the faults that I described; from a blend, note the color differences.
4th the chemical free nature of the product adds substantially to the quality. Certification is actually no guarantee because there are allowable exceptions, while some of the best beans come from farms that cannot afford certification. Run of the mill beans may be contaminated by most anything from organo-phosphates, fumigation, diesel fumes or another product shipped in the same container. Additionly there is consideration of the storage climate and age of the product. There is obviously a health issue here too.

The SCAA, Specialty Coffee Association, is struggling with a system of grading the specialty coffees. As yet there is no clear quality certification unless you know the terms as above and have access to the data. We think that the American perception of quality coffee needs to include the concept of Fair Trade, documented quality (not advertizing), the healthfulness of the product, the environment and perhaps a bit more discerning palate. There are very few US coffee vendors who give heed to all of the above considerations.

Rugby World Cup, England vs. France

2007-10-13T07:26:00.000-08:00

"PARIS, 12 October - England and France arrive at their semi-final match brimming with confidence after defeating their more favoured southern hemisphere rivals.
After a difficult start to the world cup, Brian Ashton and Bernard Laporte's sides (England and France) turned the tournament on its head when they defeated Australia and New Zealand respectively last weekend."

"Rugby is played on grass with speed! --- reads the bumper sticker" This is the right venue for coffee, whether player or old-boy on tour at the World Cup.

As it turns out, "Youth Rugby" is alive and well in the US. Veterans of the early days of pioneer rugby in the US give something back by coaching youth teams, high school and younger, Many of the young clubs/teams finance their activities and travel expenses by selling Fair Trade Coffee. Earth Friendly Coffee Company supplies wholesale quantities of extremely high quality coffee to many clubs for resale and fund raisers. You can support these youth rugby clubs by buying their gourmet quality coffee online. http://groupformingnetworks.com/

Rugby, unknown by most Americans, plays with far more complexity and elegance than American football and with a level of sportsmanship largely lost to our game (Joe Perterno's teams not withstanding.) Furthermore, the sport fosters an international spirit of camaraderie among rugby players and former players. This fraternity displays itself nowhere or more so than at these World Cup events. The series plays out over weeks and in many cities, in this case across England and Europe with the finals in Paris. The pageantry, singing and parties in these far-flung cities matches or surpasses the spectacle afield --- or "on the pitch."

http://www.rugbyworldcup.com/index.html

Alaska Journal of Commerce

2007-09-10T22:43:00.000-08:00

'An energetic Homer woman who honed her marketing skills at a top national advertising firm is now hawking coffee beans from the highland rain forests of Guatemala. She's aiming for a profit and for peace.

“I believe we will never have peace in the world until we treat the Third World fairly,” said Diane Hughes, who buys coffee beans from the mountainous Chiquimula region of Guatemala, and sells packets over the Internet to customers across the United States.' Margaret Bauman

Guatemala Politics

2007-09-09T21:00:00.000-08:00

"Guatemalans have cast their ballots in presidential and parliamentary elections, after one of the bloodiest campaigns in the country's history. More than 50 candidates, activists and their relatives were murdered in the run-up to the polls. The top presidential contenders Alvaro Colom, a centre-left businessman, and a former general, Otto Perez Molina, have vowed to tackle crime and poverty." BBC

Mr Rogers

2007-08-25T16:32:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a41lJIhW7fA Talk about a fund raiser; watch Mr Rogers secure 20 million dollars in 6 minutes!

Sustainability

2007-08-16T11:21:00.002-08:00

Indigenous mountain farmers worry at least as much about sustainability as about fair trade prices. Yes the family may cover the price of harvest this year but what about next year. Will the harvest dry properly? Will the rain ruin the drying process? How do I get my product to market? How do I know what the beans are worth? The Mayan farmers speak neither English nor Spanish. They and their cooperativas are vulnerable to exploitation. The actions of NGOs and nonprofits, while always well intended, may not be sustainable. There are many examples: wet-mills without water, padlocked latrines, schools-without-teachers, even resentment, indolence and backlash.

Sustainability is a prime requisite of successful entrepreneurial activity, whether in the most primitive agrarian society, or in the advanced technological era. Sustainability is the reason for the new business school emphasis on "for-profit companies with a social mission." The for-profit company fosters just such critical sustainability. EFC's Our sustainability depends entirely on the sustainability, profitability, quality and reliability of our indigenous source. Working with the farmers and their cooperativas, gives them the means to invest in their own critical harvesting and processing needs as they learn to see them.

EFC's business model, with its well developed logistics, finance, and business principles, provides the indigenous cooperativa a lasting framework of knowledge and of market connection. The first priority of enterprise is survival, and that survival requires a high quality and dependable source of material. That supply is dependent upon land, labor, capital and entrepreneurial ability. When the Fair Trade importer embraces the supply chain, as a for-profit enterprise, the involvement leads to a cultivation of the farmer-supplier as part of the supply chain. The farmer has the high mountain hectares, and we bring access to the American consumer. In so doing the farmer -supplier develops the metrics of quality, a connection with the transportation, processing and export of the product and a much more sustainable and competitive position in the market place.

There are winners and losers. The high profit margin in the coffee-commodity-supply-chain traditionally rests with the roaster. The pergamino, is milled in the city, so the farmer is paid only a fraction of what the green beans are worth. The miller therefore takes a bigger cut than the farmer's profit. The exporter comes next with his share of the profit, then the product becomes a part of the whole World coffee commodity market. Several middle men are eliminated when the farmer-supplier forms a functioning Cooperativa and gets involved with the milling, the roasting and the shipping. Negotiating directly with the for-profit-Fair-Trade-importer, leads to a more efficient market, a serious competitive advantage for the farmer and likely a superior product. More important the farmer now has a sustainable relationship with the World coffee market, one that will give his family a greater share of the revenue, and a better chance to survive the natural ups and downs of the harvest and the coffee business.

New Indigenous Coffee Roaster, Guatemala

2007-08-08T17:41:00.003-08:00

Considering coffee from the local roaster or a national chain such as Starbucks versus coffee roasted in Guatemala by the indigenous people, there are three distinct issues: 1)The roaster represents the largest profit potential in the delivery of coffee. Shifting this revenue to the growers and their cooperativas benefits the indigenous financially. 2)The growers become more involved in processing a value added, finished product, rather than a raw commodity. 3) The transport of roasted coffee by air delivers an exceptional product and a high element of social justice.

The roaster makes the major money in the coffee market. By contracting the roasting in Guatemala and involving the indigenous people in the roasting, it is possible to pay the growers a more than "fair trade price" for their coffee and still offer a competitive price to the consumer. By paying a more than fair trade price for the coffee, we bargain for the highest quality beans from the more remote, higher mountain coffee regions, thus giving the villagers of these remote volcanic regions a greater understanding of their worth and a sense of competing on the basis of quality in a depressed world coffee market. Approximately 3% of our revenue goes towards research, development and facilitating the capacity of the cooperativas from whom we buy.

With a grant from the Guatemala Ministry of Agriculture, and partially facilitated by Earth Friendly Coffee's business model, roasting history and promoted by our Guatemala roaster, a consortium of 17 indigenous cooperativas purchased a roaster and established a roasting facility in Huehuetenango. It turns out that the Roasting Facility is an indigenous women's venture as well. Many of the women from the villages will learn to do the work of milling, roasting and packaging coffee and with time engage the collection, processing, shipping and export of their product. This represents a giant leap forward in involving indigenous people in the supply chain for their coffee. Our Guatemala partner and his people will initially do the roasting and supervise the processing to insure the quality of the work. Traditionally, it is the women of the remote villages that do much of the processing. This roaster gives them the opportunity to earn a substantially greater portion of the specialty coffee dollar. The roaster also helps their people gain a sense of the market, the quality requirements and greater access to the buyers of coffee.

Earth Friendly Coffee trades for the carbon offset to mitigate the carbon burden of shipping by air. We contribute to wind generation of electricity through Native Energy. The roasted beans that are flown by air weigh 1/3 less than if they were shipped before roasting. Flying the fresh roasted coffee standby, in effect further reduces carbon impact. Furthermore, the roasted coffee arrives fresh at the distribution point within a day or two, matching or exceeding the freshness of locally roasted coffee.

More to come

Social Entrepreneuer

2007-05-29T09:01:00.000-08:00

Stanford Social Innovation review

Personal Relationships

2007-04-23T12:10:00.001-08:00

It is the personal relationship with the growers that makes the difference. They are proud of their small hectars of mountain coffee. They are also so appreciative of a relationship that pays them a fair price for their beans. These photographs hardly do justice to the tears of appreciation and the friendships formed without language but with love.

Fund Raiser for non-profit

2007-04-15T15:43:00.000-08:00

Nothing but the best! Earth Friendly imports wholesale, at greater than "Fair Trade" prices, the best beans. Roasted in Guatemala, some by the indigenous people themselves, the fresh-roasted coffee is flown next day to Denver, Anchorage and to volume buyers for resale. A non-profit organization can sell as a fund raiser -- supporting its own worthy goals.

This is gourmet coffee at a reasonable price, but more important it is a social mission, supporting the impoverished mountain farmers with their wonderful crop. This social entrepreneurship gives added value every inch of the way along the supply chain -- to the consumer.

Additionaly, 2% of all Catholic sales go CRS in support of the poor, and EFC, behind the scenes, promotes and supports the local women of the villages learning the intermediate processing, cupping and roasting of their own coffee.

Pictures below depict this year's exploration and buying journey to the mountains of Guatemala.

Rain Forest

2007-04-15T15:04:00.001-08:00

I don't know if it is still that way, but in Mexico, flying over the mountainous rain forests near the coast one could see smoking fire after smoking hillside from "slash and burn" strategies to secure farm-able land. The fire put carbon into the soil, often a depleted sandy thin topsoil. The farmer would benefit from a few years of vigorous crop growth; following which, the erosion of the hillside and the depletion of the ground would render the area useless.
The farmer then goes to yet another area to repeat the process.

Here the environment remains undisturbed. Coffee trees have adapted to the rain-forest and grow with vigor under the protection and in harmony with the natural ecology of the mountain.

Pergamino

2007-04-15T14:35:00.001-08:00

The first stage of processing completed, the carefully selected beans surrounded by their dried silk-like exterior are waiting to be bagged in large white (150 pound) sacks for transport to town. In town at the mill they will loose a third of their weight in the milling process with screening and re-packaging as green beans (Oro) in 132pound (1.32 qt) traditional, woven, brown sacks.

Locally the separation of the silk from the bean is done in a colorful display of women with their brightly colored skirts poring the pergamino from over their heads. Piles of naked beans then collect in piles at their feet. The dry silky threads blow away in the wind.

A Cupping Class

2007-04-15T14:29:00.000-08:00

Roast each sample with consistant care.

Cupping

2007-04-15T14:22:00.000-08:00

Francisco, Guatemala's prominent cupper, examines a tray of beans. A cupping number of 85 or above from him is, indeed, a coveted distinction.

Fermentation

2007-04-13T19:09:00.000-08:00

Another stage in the processing of mountain coffee.

Social Entrepreneurship

2007-04-13T18:56:00.000-08:00

These mountain people are poor but industrious. Descendants of the Mayan, coffee has been their traditional way of life. The modern era, however, does more to exploit them than reward their enterprise. It is a sub-optimal unpleasant equilibrium from which they have taken only the smallest cut, often breaking even or worse. They do not usually speak Spanish, so they are yet further disadvantaged in their efforts.

The Sustainable Coffee movement, The Fair Trade Federation, CRS and companies like Earth Friendly form a social entrepreneurship that is changing that equilibrium for the better.

Pergomino

2007-04-13T18:51:00.000-08:00

After the farmer crudely mills away the husk, the coffee bean is still covered with a wet pulp. Here the farmer dries the product in an initial stage of processing.

2007-04-13T18:47:00.000-08:00

Diane founder of Earth Friendly Coffee brings some small measure of good cheer. She makes sure the family farmer actually gets paid the better than "Fair Trade" price.