“Survival kit: in case of emergency pull cork,” read the text of a reusable shopping bag on display, showcasing a bottle of wine.
I was finishing my holiday shopping when I noticed this bag. Actually, there were many items for sale that made light of or encouraged drinking as an acceptable way to escape or evade whatever it is we dread the most. Please understand, I know this is nothing new to our society, but at that moment, my thoughts were heavy.
As one year comes to a close and a new one begins, it calls for time to pause and reflect. Over the last few weeks, my reflections continued to lead me back to my relationship with alcohol.
So I leaned in and listened.
While much of my time is spent writing about people steeped in the world of tea, some of my life is spent in a bar where I’ve worked part-time for the last five years. Slowly, alcohol became the nucleus of every social event – even outside of my pub life.
I desperately needed some distance and perspective. Between September and October 2019, I spent about five weeks alcohol-free. During that time I realized I drank more than I wanted to admit.
It wasn’t an easy process by any means but I ended up taking kombucha with me to social events and substituting it at home when I would usually crave an alcoholic beverage. It’s truly a satisfying alternative with a similar mouth-feel to a beer or a glass of rosé – but please know this wonderfully fermented tea stands on its own and is much more than a “substitute” for anything.
When I saw that bag in the store, my first reaction was to smirk in agreement. Instead, I shook my head thinking about the five weeks I spent alcohol-free, knowing that there are healthier ways to deal with what life brings us and that there’s work to be done to shed more light on that.
Many people have a healthy relationship with alcohol and that’s my wish for you. But my point is, it’s okay not to drink or to figure out your relationship with alcohol. Maybe it’s not that complex for you. It is for me.
In honor of counteracting the promotion of alcoholic beverages this holiday season (like the bag I saw in the store), I wanted to share some kombucha mocktails with you.
Disclaimer: I’m no mixologist. Everything I used to create these beverages was inspired by the kombucha.
Three Fabulous Kombucha Mocktails:
Baba’s Brew – Local kombucha to the folks here in Chester County, PA but it can be found all over the tri-state area and prides itself on staying small.
12 oz Firebird Kombucha
Ice (to taste)
A few wedges of lime squeezed to taste
For the rim: Cayenne pepper (one part), cinnamon (one part), brown sugar (two parts)
Inspired Brews – They’re truly “pouring their hearts into Philadelphia” through their dedication to bring real, seasonal ‘booch to the city of brotherly love.
12 oz Orange Hibiscus Kombucha
Freshly squeezed orange (I used about a half of an orange)
Ice (to taste)
A splash of sparkling mineral water
Rosemary for garnish
Health-Ade – Brewed in small, 2.5-gallon glass batches from Southern California.
12 oz Holiday Cheers Kombucha
A few splashes of sparkling mineral water
A splash of cranberry juice
Cherries to taste- I bought them frozen and cut them into quarters
Thyme for garnish
P.S. You don’t owe anyone an explanation if you choose not to drink. If you choose to, please drink responsibly. And if you need help, you’re not alone.
I hope you step into this new year with intention.
Coffee plants undergo immense stress due to fluctuations in weather due to climate change. In a world of increasingly unpredictable weather patterns, coffee plants face a variety of stressors, from temperature variations to dry spells to intense rains.
Over the last few decades, climate change has altered how coffee producers run their farms. In response, women coffee farmers have moved to adopt weather-resilient practices such as increasing shade on farms, diversifying their crops, and moving to sustainable farming techniques.
We chatted with four women coffee growers across Central America and asked how they have adapted growing practices on their farms to combat the effects of climate change. Their work not only enhances their farms but also inspires others to adopt similar practices.
Faced with increasing climate fluctuations that endanger coffee crops, these producers implemented innovative strategies and sustainable practices to secure the future of their harvests. As a result, their efforts are driving a broader movement toward sustainability within the coffee industry in Central America.
Resilient Hybrids
Coffee plants require specific conditions to thrive: stable temperatures (ideally between 60-70°F), adequate rainfall (about 60 inches per year), and well-drained, fertile soil. However, climate change has severely changed weather conditions in coffee-producing countries, resulting in things like increased rainfall or drought.
Faced with these climate challenges, many producers are left to find innovative ways to help crops navigate harsh weather conditions.
One of the ways Tatiana Vargas, a Costa Rican coffee producer who manages her farm with her mother, has tried to adapt is by using hybrid varietals bred to withstand the impact of climate change. “Hybrids have stronger root systems and are robust and resilient against diseases,” says Vargas. “Also, climate change brings more pest infestations; by opting for hybrids resistant to these pests, you don’t have to rely on chemical pesticides that, in turn, harm the environment.”
Tatiana’s mother picking cherries at their farm in Costa Rica.
Ana Maria Schmidt, a coffee producer from El Salvador, has also invested in hybrids on her farm, Finca Montealegre. “Hybrids are important, but as agricultural specialists, we need to regularly monitor soil conditions, temperature, and moisture levels to ensure the coffee crop is growing properly,” she says.
However, Schmidt notes that she still needs to monitor plants closely and make changes based on the weather. “During climate changes, these varieties withstand rain and drought. But when there is a drought, there are also palliative measures that you can use, like an irrigation system.”
Coffee plants produce small, white flowers that are sweetly scented. These flowers bloom briefly and, once pollinated, give way to coffee cherries. Climate change can disrupt flowering, negatively impacting cherry development.
“With the rain issue, the plants suffer. The rain affects the plants, causing them to change their flowering cycle; some plantations even flower prematurely due to the humidity—inconsistent or excessive rain disrupts this natural phenomenon,” says Patricia Rios, a fourth-generation coffee producer from Guatemala. “When this happens, the flower dries up, and you lose the coffee cherry. This is why it is important to have stronger varieties where flowers withstand these conditions without compromising the quality of the cup.”
Leveraging Information and Technology
Data collection is vital in creating strategies to combat climate change: monitoring coffee plants enables farmers to track growing conditions, detect pests, and optimize irrigation schedules. By leveraging technology, farmers can make informed decisions to mitigate the impact of climate change and disease risks.
Patricia Rios at her farm in Guatemala.
Many Central American countries have associations that help farmers with the technical aspects of production. “ICAFE (the Coffee Institute of Costa Rica) helps by providing information: they offer free soil analysis and manage an early warning system. They publish alerts about coffee rust and provide guidance on when to implement preventive measures against diseases,” says Vargas.
“ANACAFE provides environmental consulting and guidelines for sustainable farming,” Rios says of the Guatemalan coffee governing body.
Rios says that education and understanding the intricacies of coffee agriculture are also critical to fighting climate change. “We must learn to manage agriculture with products that are not destructive to our environment. We use mechanical management for soil cleaning, mowers, motor pumps, and fieldwork. We manage organic matter in our soils, [thus] improving them.”
Carmen Cartagena, a fourth-generation coffee farmer from Honduras, is constantly tweaking her crop management strategies. “We are closely monitoring and tracking every step of our coffee production process, from how we manage the crops during their growth to how we handle the coffee after harvest,” she says.
“We also carefully manage the post-harvest process, which involves ensuring that the coffee cherries reach optimal maturity and are properly laid out to dry. This meticulous approach helps ensure the quality and consistency of the coffee.”
Carmen Cartagena monitoring coffee plants at her farm in Honduras.
“Agriculture changes almost daily, and scheduling is important because it depends greatly on climate change,” says Cartagena. “You have to be flexible to take care of the plant until the end of the harvest so as not to lose quality.”
But truly, says Schmidt, it’s all about the soil. “We take care of our soil; if you take care of the soil, the soil will take care of your plants.”
Diversifying Crops In Microclimates
Although many of the effects of climate change are universal, each country has different territorial conditions. Cartagena has seen the impact of climate change in Honduras over decades. “When I was little, our farm was in an area with cold weather, abundant rain, and a pleasant climate. Forty years later, the area … [shows] clear signs of climate change. What used to be dense mountain terrain is now increasingly vulnerable to hurricanes. These hurricanes have devastated our water sources, leading to chaotic conditions.”
In Costa Rica, Vargas says she’s seeing more farmers encouraged to plant trees to help create diverse ecosystems on their farms. “Our farm has shade trees, with different species providing various benefits: some add nutrients to the soil, others offer shelter for birds and mammals, and there are also fruit trees. These trees not only help maintain soil quality but also support the environment.”
Ana Maria Schmidt with coffee cherries at her farm, Finca Montealegre, in El Salvador.
Cartagena is also diversifying the crops on her farm: she has 12,000 mahogany trees that provide shade and cooler temperatures. She encourages people to take proactive measures to combat climate change. “Much of the climate change issue is crucial,” she says. “If we don’t take action, it will be terrible for us and future generations.”
There are still serious discussions to be had around climate change, and actors across the supply stream should engage in climate mitigation practices. However, for farmers living with the reality and implications of unpredictable weather patterns, innovation is critical. “People thrive more when faced with environmental challenges,” says Cartegena. “Stepping out of our comfort zones leads to adaptation and positive change.”
The specialty coffee chain’s European presence now encompasses six markets, with first stores in Malta and the Netherlands also in development
The interior of EL&N’s Aupark Shopping Centre store in Bratislava | Photo credit: EL&N
UK-based boutique café group EL&N continues to expand across Europe with its first store in Slovakia – its sixth European market and 13th globally.
Located on the ground floor of the Aupark Shopping Centre in Bratislava, the store features indoor and outdoor seating, a coffee truck and a bespoke pizza bar, which will host ‘make your own pizza’ classes.
Founded by Alexandra Miller in 2017, EL&N has been expanding its presence across Europe in recent years – debuting in France in late 2021 and Italy in June 2022, before launching in Germany and Poland last year.
The specialty coffee and lifestyle brand has also signed a franchise agreement with db Group to open several outlets in Malta and is exploring opportunities to expand to the Netherlands.
EL&N also has a strong presence across the Middle East, with outlets in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and opened its first stores in South Africa and Malaysia in 2023.
World Coffee Portal’s Project Café Europe 2024 report found the total Slovakian branded coffee shop market comprises approximately 140 outlets, led by value-focused McCafé and Germany’s Tchibo Kaffee Bar with 34 and 19 stores respectively.
EL&N’s debut comes ahead of boutique Viennese bakery-café chain Aïda’s planned entry in the Slovakian market with an outlet at Bratislava’s Nivy Mall set to open in September 2024.
In early May 2024, Producer & Roaster Forum announced it will host the first-ever PRF: Farm Summit on 17 & 18 October in Santander, Colombia. Unlike previous editions, the event will take place entirely on a coffee farm with a specific focus on regenerative agriculture and organic farming practices.
PRF will host two events per year. In addition to the two-day forums in major cities across Latin American producing countries which attract thousands of visitors, the all-new Farm Summit will bring together a maximum of 1,000 attendees in more rural regions.
The goal of the new event format is to improve producers’ success and profitability in the long term by adopting more holistic farming practices. In line with this, PRF has announced a speaker line up that will provide valuable and actionable insight for all attendees, while also creating a more hands-on approach to industry events.
Read on to learn more about who will speak at the inaugural PRF: Farm Summit and how you can attend.
The first Farm Summit will take place at Hacienda Cafetera La Pradera in Santander, Colombia – a Cup of Excellence award-winning coffee farm that also operates wet and dry mills.
La Pradera was handpicked to host the event given its strong focus on organic farming. In addition to growing shade-grown coffee, generating its own solar energy, and implementing crop diversification strategies, the coffee farm also produces its own biochar fertiliser.
Similar to the intimacy of the Sourcing Trip Experience at previous PRF events, Farm Summit will allow attendees to share practical hands-on knowledge. Roasters and traders from Germany, Japan, Ireland, the US, Poland, the UK, Hungary, Spain, Nigeria, the UAE, Croatia, Australia, and Indonesia will attend to engage with producers from over ten different origins.
Henry Wilson is the founder of PRF. He explains how the new event format will provide attendees with opportunities to build stronger relationships with prospective clients and industry peers.
“For producers, Farm Summit is a valuable platform to not only sell green coffee, but to establish alliances with farmers from different origin countries and leverage their experience,” he says. “Roasters, meanwhile, can see what other brands have achieved in the organic and regenerative agriculture markets, as well as sourcing coffee from like-minded producers and experiencing farming practices firsthand.”
Why regenerative agriculture and organic farming?
Each Farm Summit will have a focus based on feedback from previous editions. This year, it will be on regenerative agriculture and organic coffee production.
Achieving and retaining organic certification can be costly, particularly for smallholders, so PRF will welcome producers who are already certified, as well as those who are interested in these practices and want to know more.
The event will explore how holistic farming practices can help producers lower production costs, adapt to the climate crisis, maximise yields, improve profitability in the long term, and differentiate themselves in the market – rather than a simplistic idea that higher prices are the only answer.
“There’s a clear need to discuss alternative models to address some of the biggest challenges that farmers are facing,” Henry says. “But to provide actionable solutions, producers need ownership over their supply chains. Utilising regenerative and organic farming is one of the most valuable ways they can achieve this.
“The common discourse is that these practices are more expensive for producers, but Farm Summit aims to open up the conversation and ensure producers’ voices are front and centre,” he adds.
Simultaneously, the event will address how the growing trend of regenerative agriculture certifications has created vague, catch-all terms that are difficult to define – and, therefore, are at risk of greenwashing. Moreover, with growing concerns about how certifications largely benefit actors on the consuming end of the supply chain, the event will offer solutions for how producers can generate and retain more value.
Announcing the speakers
As part of its overall focus, the event will host a tailored PRF Voices programme.
Hosting the event on a coffee farm allows roasters to more easily engage with producers, and learn more about regenerative agriculture from farmers themselves – thereby placing them at the forefront of Farm Summit.
Attendees can take part in talks and will then get to see and interact with specific topics and areas covered – such as biochar production, crop diversification, and shade-grown coffee systems.
PRF Voices
The PRF Voices programme will feature a carefully curated line up of lectures and panels from both international and Latin American industry experts – including Brazil, Honduras, France, the UAE, the US, and more:
The Carbon-Nitrogen Ratio: Climate-Resilient Strategies in Organic Coffee Production (Oscar Zacarias, Technical Manager at Agrosana, Guatemala)
Coffee for Health: A New Category with Great Potential (Ildi Revi, Chief Learning Officer at Purity Coffee, US)
Innovative Fermentation: Creating Unique Flavour Profiles Through Experimental Processes (Manuel Diaz, founder of ONA consulting, Mexico)
Resilience Through Crop Diversification: The Sancocho Method (Nelson Galindo Collazos, founder of Nelson Galindo Consulting, Colombia)
Certifications: Impact vs Marketing (Martin Mayorga, CEO of Mayorga Coffee, US)
Building and Implementing High Capacity Biofertiliser Factories (Nery Gonzales Hernández, Coordinator of the Technical Assistance, Projects, and Environment Unit at COMSA, Honduras)
Chromatography & Soil Quality Assessment (Tulio Esteban Lozano Vesga, founder of Campo Para Todos, Colombia)
Resilient Systems: Nature as the Coffee Farmer’s Best Ally (Arnaud Causse, Director of Agroecological Transition at Belco, France)
Cascara: Unlocking the Value of Coffee By-products (Andres Bahamón, researcher at Cesurcafé, Colombia)
Optimising Costs with Biochar: Technical Applications and Data-Driven Insights (Aristides José Noriega Hernández, CEOof BioSoils Group, Colombia)
Philosophical Dimensions of Coffee: Beyond Taste to Emotional Experience (Abdulrahman Hayel Saeed, founder of Mokha Not Mocha, UAE)
Strategies for Adapting to Climate Change in Coffee Farming (Juan Luis Barrios, owner of Finca La Merced, Guatemala)
Carbon Footprint in Brazilian Coffee: Measurement and Reduction Strategies(Ana Claudia Silva, Head of Impact at Sancoffee, Brasil)
How Producers Can Capture Value by Roasting Their Own Coffee (Eduardo Choza, Director of Coffee at Mayorga Coffee, US)
You can read more about the speakers at Farm Summit here.
Panels and roundtables
In addition to speakers, the event will include a select number of panels:
Role & Importance of Biochar in Coffee
Oscar Daza, founder of Hacienda La Pradera, Colombia
Mildred Daza, founder of Santa Maria Project, Colombia
Amellia Connell, Agricultural Engineer at Purity Coffee, France
Francisco Tamayo, Coffee Adviser at Purity Coffee, Colombia
Certifications and Controversies: Reviewing Regenerative vs Organic Practices
Jeffrey Chean, co-founder of Groundwork Coffee, US
Angela Pelaez Martinez, RGC Coffee, Colombia
Melina Devoney, independent, US
Exploring Subproducts and Byproducts of Coffee and Cacao Production
Yolima Ramirez Gómez, CEO of Indio Ramirez Café, Colombia
Liliana Caballero Rojas, Manager at Cafe Hacienda Casablanca, Colombia
Erica Sanchez, CEO of Somos Cacao, Colombia
Enhancing Soil Through Beneficial Native Microbiology
Ángela Barrero, owner of La Bodega de la Finca, Colombia
Empowering Youth and Women Coffee Producers
María Cecilia Tobar Meneses, Coordinator of the Socio-Organisational Area at Federación Campesina del Cauca, Colombia
Tania Cecilia Landaverde, Organic Coffee Certification Technician at CESAL, Honduras
Irene Villavicencio, producer at MAV Coffee, El Salvador
Collaborating for EUDR Compliance: Producers, Traders & NGOs
Jaromir Hanzal, founder of International Center for the Advancement of Coffee, Czech Republic
Rodolfo Ruffatti, founder of International Center for the Advancement of Coffee, El Salvador
Alongside a specific focus on regenerative and organic agriculture, PRF: Farm Summit will directly address issues related to the European Union Deforestation Regulation.
With medium and larger-sized companies expected to comply with new legislation by 30 December 2024 (and smaller brands needing to prove due diligence by June 2025), it’s essential that producers, roasters, and traders are aware of how the strict regulations will impact their operations. If not, they risk losing access to a market that accounts for over a third of global coffee consumption.
Bringing the industry to a coffee farm
For attendees to obtain as much value as possible, the event will include collaborative workshops and focus groups, such as Introduction to Regenerative Organic Certification for Coffee Farms hosted by Mayacert and a Bird Friendly coffee certification workshop hosted by Smithsonian.
PRF will then collate findings from these activities to pen an open letter to the coffee industry.
Additionally, there will be a number of cupping sessions run by some of Latin America’s finest coffee producers and traders, showcasing the very best that the region has to offer. Hosts will include Café Linaje, Algrano, Osito Coffee, and more.
There will also be a select number of booths for brands interested in regenerative agriculture and organic farming, as well as producers and roasters who already grow and source these coffees.
Competitions
PRF: Farm Summit will also host three competitions:
The fifth Cold Brew Coffee Championship sponsored by Toddy – where competitors must prepare two cold brew-based beverages, including a designer drink
The Cacao Masters Cup for producers to learn more about alternative cash crops, sponsored by Somos Cacao
The first-ever Soil of Excellence competition to assess soil samples from some of the world’s best producers, which is sponsored by Belco
The inaugural PRF: Farm Summit will be held entirely on a coffee farm on 17 & 18 October 2024. Attendees will be able to learn firsthand about holistic farming approaches to understand how these practices can support long term success for producers.
The Sourcing Trip Experience tickets are now sold out, but international tickets can still be purchased here. The PRF team is happy to recommend producers and farms to visit before or after the event, as well as producers who will be in attendance at Farm Summit.
You can stay up to date with all announcements for PRF here or by subscribing to the newsletter here.
Representatives of a former Los Angeles company called Balmuccino are suing Starbucks for a third time, claiming that the coffee giant stole confidential product development details for coffee-themed lip balms.
Previous versions of the suit have been dismissed on procedural grounds, yet the Balmuccino lawyers continue to claim Starbucks poached private product details prior launching “The S’mores Frappuccino Sip Kit,” a line of Frappucino-themed lip balms, in 2019.
The Balmuccino lawsuit, filed last week in a U.S. District Court (New York Southern District), repeats past claims regarding a 2017 meeting between the Balmuccino heads and former Starbucks executive in charge of product development.
The suit says the meeting was arranged by longtime former Starbucks CEO and President Howard Schultz and television personality and former Pennsylvania senate candidate Mehmet Öz, a.k.a. “Dr. Oz.” One of Balmuccino’s managing members was Oz’s sister-in-law, according to the complaint.
Lip Balm. Stock photo.
The suit claims that the Starbucks representative “refused to enter into a Non-Disclosure Agreement, essentially promising that Starbucks could be trusted because Starbuck’s CEO had facilitated the meeting.”
The complaint notes that the Starbucks executive from the meeting left the company shortly thereafter.
“Then, in 2018, Balmuccino learned that Starbucks Research and Development personnel had contacted one of Balmuccino’s suppliers to create prototypes for Starbucks-branded lip balm-type products and lip balm cases, using specifications the potential manufacturer had received that matched those which Plaintiff had provided to Mr. Gelman during the Meeting,” the complaint states.
Starbucks has repeatedly stated that the claims in the previous Balmuccino lawsuits were without merit. “We look forward to presenting our case in court,” the company told DCN prior to the previous lawsuit being dismissed.
The following piece is the second of three installments that sheds light on the production of Yerba Mate and its cultural and economic impacts of Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay by Klas Lundstrom. You can catch up on part one here.
*This piece contains some strong language. In an effort not to censor the people interviewed, or offend the reader we have kept the words but altered some letters with a dash (-). *
Tareferos (leaf pickers) and ADT union activists get together for a Saturday barbeque, offering pastries and soda, while the rain pounds the tin roof. There are also reviros, a typical tarefero dish made of flour and fat. The dish’s origin is said to spring out of poverty; legend has it that a mother was grieving the fact that she didn’t have the means to provide for her children. As she wept over a pot of flour, her tears provided enough moisture to make a dough out of the flour.
Daniel Rodriguéz recalls the reviro plate he had on the morning October 2, 2000, in Colonia Aurora, along the Brazilian border. It was his last meal before everything went to hell. After the meal, Daniel filled his second sack with maté leaves for the day and set off for the awaiting truck at the end of the clearing.
Photo by Klas Lundstrom
“But there, waiting, was another truck,” he remembers. “Not the one we usually drove to the mill with. This one was a real piece of s—. But what could we do? We just loaded the f—– and hopped on top of it. It’s not the tarefero’s job to ask questions.”
Off they went, and down the roadside.
Daniel retells the ordeal with vivid details and a self-empathy learned after many years of recurring nightmares. His body was broken, and the accident was followed by five years of rehabilitation – and unemployment. He couldn’t walk for a long time, and his fear of riding trucks convinced him to seek assistance from the provincial authorities.
“I was treated as if I were a criminal,” he says. “The maté company wouldn’t help me, as far as they’re concerned, there were no papers linking me to them. And in the eyes of the authorities, during a national economic crisis, I was a todo negro, someone who’s not entitled to unemployment assistance, so there was no chance in hell for me to get counseling, compensation, nada. My family and I were hung out to dry.”
He can understand why his then-girlfriend broke up with him and took their child with her into another relationship. One where there were better possibilities for putting food on the table.
“She didn’t think I would be able to walk again or work,” he says. “I was left to recuperate alone. And once I was physically healed, to keep on working as a tarafero was the only option I had. I just pray for my child to stay at school.”
Broken bones may heal, but the scars after a broken life remain. As a child, he dreamt of a career as a soccer player.
Now, as a man in his mid-40s, Daniel has limited mobility due to his accident. As he looks back, he reflects that things couldn’t have happened in any other way; the life of a tarefero is bound to social and economic structures, rooted in the region’s historical DNA.
“I was 26 years old at the time of the accident,” he says, “Now, I fear every truck transport. I have no choice, if I don’t go, I won’t get paid – but it’s a fear that never leaves my body.”
Out there, in the woods and remnants of a once staggering wilderness, are whole families living in shelters of tarpaulins and cardboard – a parallel society whose inhabitants enjoy no access to healthcare, education, or proper housing.
“They live their lives as modern slaves,” says Roque Pereira.
Tarefero camps, where minors and small children live out in the wild under horrific conditions, reach the local press in the wake of dismantling raids. “But these people’s fates, and why they are forced to live out there in the first place, seldom reach the public’s eye. And these findings are only the tip of an iceberg. There are many people out there.”
There are no reliable numbers, but it’s estimated that tareferos and their families number 75,000 people in Misiones alone. Roque credits the lack of reliable numbers to political and economic interests that depend on the status quo.
“The whole industry is dependent on poor people to take on the most dangerous and least paid jobs,” he says.
One new settlement of maté workers has popped up in the outskirts of Oberá, in a valley next to a middle-class suburb. This working-class barrio, called Sapucay, is made up of shacks built with damaged wood and tin. There is limited access to running water, and the only electricity is produced by generators or stolen from nearby power lines. Dogs keep watch in sliding mud. Basic needs are ignored by authorities; fatal flooding has occurred, children are living without proper necessities, and many teenagers have already fallen into addiction.
Photo by Klas Lundstrom
The barrio is emptied during the day; most families are taking day jobs on maté plantations. A resident of the middle-class suburb next door, whose brick house sits behind a security fence, regards the inhabitants of Sapucay as “friendly ghosts,” like creations of a parallel reality.
“These people live completely beside the rest of society,” says Patricia Ocampo, co-founder of Un Sueño para Misiones (“A Dream for Misiones”), an organization that tackles child labor within the maté industry. “Misiones’s indigenous people are forced to take the least paid and most dangerous jobs.”
She points down the valley, but might as well refer to all of Misiones: “Now, they occupy land that used to be their ancestors’ home.”
* * *
On a road that cuts through the Núñez family’s outstretched, century-old maté plantation, a lonesome ant carries the remains of a leaf. Now and then the ant stops, as if catching its breath, before amending the burden and then continuing its trek to the other side of the road.
Ana María Núñez, the current farmer and steward of the Santa Inés plantation, knows this place by memory and love. She has wandered here her whole life, upon Misiones’s mineral-rich red soil, and she never gets tired of the land. She loves the interplay between nature and its inhabitants, and the untouched jungle pockets surrounding maté plantations.
“Jungle was all you found here until the first decades of the twentieth century,” Ana María explains. “Back then, in the early days, there were no roads or means of transportation, so all the harvest had to be dragged and carried through the jungle, and down to the river.”
The river, Paraná, is still there, separating Argentina and Paraguay. The plantation still holds a sense of ecological purity and social isolation, despite the proximity to the city of Posadas. At dawn, the world springs to life with the roars of brown howler monkeys, rather than traffic from Road 105.
“I’m glad that neither my grandfather nor the generation of my parents cut down this land,” she says. “All has been allowed to live on, thus making a walk here like a stroll back in time.”
The sense of timelessness is embodied not only in Santa Inés’s architecture, but in the sense that this is still a frontier; geographically isolated and far away from national capitals, and economically dependent on the earth.
Four centuries have passed since the first Jesuit missionaries set up camps, known as “Reductions,” to convert the semi-nomadic Guaraní tribes. For much of that time, the Atlantic Forest remained a hostile and impenetrable environment. But from the turn of the twentieth century, things have changed rapidly.
“People came here in search of maté trees,” says Ana María. “To them, maté was the path leading to a better life. It was their green gold.”
Photo by Klas Lundstrom
Organizing maté production in Misiones, however, turned out to be a difficult task. Maté trees grow wild and free all over Misiones, as well as in southern Brazil, Paraguay, and even in some parts of Uruguay. Still, farmers found it difficult to grow maté on fields, outside the jungle. Although missionaries learned the secrets of cultivating the plant in the countryside from their newly converted Guaraní brothers and sisters, it was a secret they never passed on. Then, in the early 1900s, a band of immigrant adventurers and entrepreneurs spent large sums of money and time to tame the herb that thousands, if not millions, of people – from Buenos Aires’s upper-class to the workers in Chilean copper mines – consumed daily.
“One of them was my grandfather,” says Ana María.
Pedro Núñez migrated from Spain to Buenos Aires in the 1870s before settling down in Posadas, then the gateway to Misiones’s maté bonanza. In 1901, Pedro Núñez became the first tourist entrepreneur to organize a river voyage to the mighty waterfalls of Iguazú, shortly prior his purchase of the piece of land that was named after his mother – Inés. Like many others, explains his granddaughter Ana María, he took a gamble and desperately tried to accustom the maté seeds to the red soil.
“But they couldn’t pull it off, and no one understood what they did wrong; they had the seeds, the climate, and the tools to make it happen – but the trees just wouldn’t grow.”
It wasn’t until the maté farmers let the seeds pass through the digestive system of birds that they started to grow, and when the trees began to pop up, the forest made way for plantations. The plantations then paved the way for an industry whose importance to the producing countries’ economy – and national identity – cannot be underestimated.
“To me, as a maté farmer, above all, it’s a way of life,” says Ana María.
She leads the way through hidden jungle pockets and fields. She halts, points at changes in the soil, or embraces trunks and whispers to them. In the background, the noise of tractors and chainsaws shred the silence. Days of harvesting are busy and noisy. For the Núñez family, the autumn harvest marks the end of a waiting game with Mother Nature.
“It takes time and patience to have maté trees grow without the use of chemicals and pesticides,” she says. “If you choose to cultivate maté in a sustainable way, one must look after the soil and let nature do her job. Now, we can enjoy the harvest and make way for the beginning of the next crop cycle.”
Photos were taken and kindly provided by the author, Klas Lundstrom.
About the author: Klas Lundstrom (b. 1982) is a self-taught writer and journalist based in Stockholm, Sweden. He started writing as an eleven-year-old trying to cope with the death of his father. Author of numerous nonfiction books on, e.g., the U.S. uranium industry and its social and environmental impacts, Latin America’s forgotten regions, and East Timor’s walk from Indonesian occupation to U.N. colony. As a reporter, he has contributed numerous media outlets throughout the years, e.g. The Guardian, The Jakarta Post, and TT, Sweden’s equivalent to Associated Press. He has lived in both Brazil and Uruguay and is a dedicated yerba maté consumer and hopes that his reporting on the maté industry can help other consumers understanding the business, and thus make more ethical and aware choices regarding products, companies, and origin.
Today, we’re doing a crossover post with Boss Barista. The newsletter, run by our editor, Ashley Rodriguez, Boss Barista tackles critical issues in the coffee world.
The beginning of fall used to be signaled by a new crispness in the air—by earlier nights, colorful leaves, and farmers markets full of apples and gourds. But for many of us, those seasonal signifiers have since been replaced by a specific corporate promotion. Now, the start of fall is marked by the arrival of the pumpkin spice latte.
Today, the PSL feels like an inescapable part of the season—but what happens when it shows up well before fall begins?
I found myself asking this question because this week, I got my first promotional email of the year about pumpkin spice lattes. Apparently, for 7-Eleven, PSL season has already started. On August 1, the global convenience store chain announced a new addition to its Slurpee menu: the Pumpkin Spice Slurpee (my fellow media colleague, Zac Cadwalader, bravely tried the drink and reviewed it for Sprudge).
The company seems willing to skip the weeks of summer that still remain and dive straight into fall, debuting not just the new Slurpee flavor but a line of pumpkin-inspired coffee drinks as well. Meanwhile, various outlets are reporting that Starbucks is bringing back the PSL this year “earlier than ever.”
All this hubbub begs the question: When is the right time to say goodbye to summer and welcome the pumpkin spice latte? We decided to ask the internet—and were surprised by the variety of answers:
Most respondents seemed to agree that right now—in August—is too soon for PSL season, but they had varying thoughts about when fall begins. (Those who follow the meteorological calendar say September 1, while those who follow the astronomical calendar go with the equinox.) Another group urged coffee businesses to think about the seasonality of pumpkins in their areas before considering slapping a PSL on the menu. But others wanted the party to rage all year, and called for the PSL’s seasonal confines to be removed. Let the people have pumpkin spice whenever they want!
Those who were irked about the PSL’s encroachment on summer do have a point—its arrival really is moving up sooner each year. Data from Google Trends shows that internet interest in pumpkin spice lattes is now peaking in August, and that the timeframe has shifted over the last few years.
Before 2019, interest generally peaked in September—but that year, the high-water mark was on August 25. In 2023, interest peaked on August 20. And in 2024, we’re already seeing search history data indicate that we’re in for an even earlier peak. (Search history trends don’t necessarily correlate with brands’ PSL releases, but they do indicate that the drink is creeping into people’s brains earlier and earlier each year.)
So, when is the right time to begin talking about PSLs and other fall drinks? Will the timeframe keep moving up every year, or will brands eventually face a backlash for this seasonal creep? Presumably, there is an outer limit to PSL season, but we’re clearly not there yet. In the meantime, the premature takeover of fall drinks, cozy sweaters, and autumnal colors has arrived, even if it is still 90 degrees outside.
Podlife Coffee is excited to announce the relaunch of its premium coffee pods in Australia, featuring improved flavour profiles and a continued commitment to sustainability
Each flavour profile is crafted through meticulous air roasting | Photo credit: Podlife
As a proudly Australian brand, Podlife Coffee has refined its offerings to deliver an exceptional coffee experience for Nespresso® Original machine users.
The new flavour profiles include the same favourite product offerings – Sydney, Venice and more! Each crafted through meticulous air roasting. This process ensures uniform roasting, resulting in a cleaner taste without the bitterness often found in conventional methods.
Podlife Coffee’s commitment to ethical sourcing and sustainability remains at the heart of its operations. All beans are ethically sourced, and the brand’s coffee pods are made from plant-based materials, fully biodegradable, and home compostable.
Podlife Coffee is proud to offer the first Nespresso® Compatible pods awarded the AS 4736-2006 certification, guaranteeing that every component is compostable to Australian standards.
The pods are 100% compatible with Nespresso® Original machines, ensuring a seamless experience with every brew. To celebrate the relaunch, Podlife Coffee invites customers to join its Coffee Club, offering exclusive discounts and rewards.
For more information, visit Podlife Coffee for more information.
Automatic pour over brewers and milk foamers have certainly become popular, however, the role of the barista is indispensable in specialty coffee. Acting as the “face” of the supply chain to the customer, they have to balance the art and science of making coffee, as well as educating guests about how coffee is grown and processed.
But what if coffee shops were to heighten customer service and place the entire experience in the hands of trusted baristas? Here is where omakase could help transform specialty coffee.
To learn more, I spoke to Eiichi Kunitomo, founder of Koffee Mameya Kakeru, and Mikael Jasin, 2024 World Barista Champion and founder of Omakafe.
Although the term may not be widely known around the world, “omakase” is a commonly used phrase in Japanese restaurants when ordering food, especially sushi. In English, omakase directly translates to “I leave it up to you” – meaning guests allow the chef to choose dishes for them.
The concept draws inspiration from three elements of Japanese cuisine and hospitality:
Omotenashi – a tenant of Japanese hospitality designed to surpass guests’ expectations
Kaiseki – a highly-ritualised and elevated multi course dining experience
Kodawari – the pursuit of perfection and attention to detail
Seasonality, quality ingredients, and simple preparation are essential parts of omakase. As part of the experience, chefs typically serve lighter and more traditional plates first. Customers often sit at the kitchen counter to interact face-to-face with the chef, who guides them through the dining experience and gauges their reaction to the food served.
Depending on responses from the guests, dishes may become more adventurous and interesting throughout – culminating in a truly unique dining experience. In recent years, omakase-style restaurants have been established in countries outside of Japan, with many of them serving sushi and traditional Japanese cuisine.
But what about coffee?
Japanese specialty coffee culture is incredibly sophisticated, so it’s no surprise that a small but growing number of the country’s cafés offer omakase-style experiences.
Blue Bottle Studio in Kyoto is one of the most notable examples, with other locations also in Hong Kong, Los Angeles, and Seoul. The eight-course tasting menu showcases the roaster’s selection of limited-edition and high-quality coffees, including Gesha and Wush Wush. Guests are also served drinks made from coffee leaves, flowers, and cherries, as well as two complementary desserts which pair with different flavour profiles.
Eiichi Kunitomo is the founder of Koffee Mameya Kakeru – a coffee shop in Kiyosumi-Shirakawa known as Tokyo’s “coffee neighbourhood”.
“’Kakeru’ means ‘multiplication’ in Japanese,” he says. “It means that we as baristas must create new value by combining different aspects of the coffee shop experience, and showcase our skills and knowledge through extraction. Just like enjoying a chef’s cooking at a fine dining restaurant, customers can take part in an extraordinary coffee experience while learning more about where it comes from.”
Eiichi tells me Koffee Mameya Kakeru offers seasonal, signature, and coffee cocktail omakase courses. Each one comes with a sweet or small savoury dish which complements the drinks, and a designated barista prepares and guides guests through the beverages served.
“Baristas have a responsibility to tell the story behind the coffee, but until now, there has been a limit as to how traditional coffee shops can do this,” he adds. “Omakase-style experience allows baristas to serve customers like they are judges at competitions.”
Elevating the customer experience
In an omakase-style dining service, the guest is always the focal point. Although the customer has to put their trust in the chef to serve excellent food, the chef also needs to pay close attention to how each guest reacts to certain dishes. Essentially, there is a symbiotic relationship between the two to offer a more intimate and refined experience.
“Japanese hospitality is heavily influenced by tea rituals and ceremonies, which have also impacted omakase dining experiences,” Eiichi says. “Similar to sushi restaurants, omakase also includes face-to-face interactions with the chef or barista so that customers can see everything that happens in the kitchen or behind the bar.
“This artisanal and craftsmanship-style of hospitality builds trust with guests, and aligns with the values and ethos of specialty coffee,” he adds.
Mikael Jasin is the founder of Omakafe in Indonesia – whose name is heavily inspired by the omakase concept. He emphasises that the decision to provide more personal and elevated service is to offer customers an experience that many have never had.
“We don’t want to add ‘noise’ to the specialty coffee scene,” he tells me. “We want to be a source of inspiration and do something different, which is why we chose this style of service.
“There are five options on the menu and it rotates every three months or so based on the different seasons,” he adds. “Customers can also tour our fermentation room and the prep kitchen.”
Café design is equally important
Ambience is an essential part of omakase, which means the design and atmosphere of the space has a huge impact on the overall experience. Many restaurants and coffee shops reserve only a small number of seats so that chefs and baristas can focus as much of their attention on guests as possible.
Eiichi believes that interior design also impacts how the guests perceive their coffee.
“Carefully-curated design enhances the quality of the coffee and the hard work of the baristas,” he tells me. “We also considered the differences between exterior and interior design so that stepping into the store opens up a completely different world.”
He explains that he worked closely with Koffee Mameya Kakeru’s art director Tomohiro Kato and architect Yosuke Hayashi to design a minimalist yet visually-striking U-shaped coffee bar where customers can sit to interact with the baristas.
But there are limitations to omakase in coffee shops
Given that omakase is a more intimate experience, it usually attracts a certain type of customer that is looking for a more formal and revered dining service.
“We usually serve coffee enthusiasts and foodies, many of whom don’t normally go to specialty coffee shops, but want to experience coffee in new ways,” Eiichi says. “Although you don’t need to have specific coffee knowledge to visit Koffee Mameya Kakeru, we ask that guests reserve seats in advance.”
Mikael, on the other hand, says Omakafe has brought in a more diverse range of customers.
“When we first opened we thought we would only serve nerdy coffee connoisseurs or baristas,” he says. “Most of our customers enjoy food and want to try different things, but they wouldn’t describe themselves as coffee or wine drinkers.”
At the same time, we need to acknowledge that choice is important for many consumers, and omakase is essentially a trust exercise that comes with a higher price tag. Guests need to feel comfortable and assured that baristas will choose high-quality coffee that suits their taste preferences, which requires years of expertise and skill.
Accounting for business and customer needs
To integrate omakase in their operations, coffee shops would have to invest in extensive training so that both staff and customers are comfortable with the more intimate and knowledgeable style of service. Naturally, this isn’t a realistic option for many.
Meanwhile, for some customers, the experience may be intimidating, or they may simply prefer to order exactly what they want. Ultimately, the decision to offer a personal dining experience is a careful one to consider.
Specialty coffee is always on the lookout for new ways to elevate the consumer experience, and omakase could raise the bar even higher. For some cafés, a fine dining coffee concept could offer a new way to engage with customers.
However, it’s clear that this model won’t work for every coffee business. Operators need to consider their own needs, as well as what their customers are looking for.
The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) is reprising its Educator Summit program for 2024, offering five full-day conferences geared towards coffee educators in cities across the globe.
The first two of the five conferences will be in the United States, including an Oct. 1 summit at the Lavazza Training Center in Philadelphia and an Oct. 12 summit at the Katz Coffee headquarters in Houston.
Three additional summits will take place in South Korea, Thailand and Taiwan in December. The group held the inaugural summits last year in South Korea and Italy.
The SCA, which is the world’s largest coffee trade organization, has not yet opened registration for the U.S. events, nor has it announced costs to participate. In an announcement yesterday, the group said there will be early-bird discounts and combination discounts once sales launch.
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The Educators Summit ties into the industry group’s two largest sources of revenue, in-person events and education programming.
“Educators are a vitally important part of the specialty coffee community imparting knowledge across the entire coffee value chain,” the SCA said yesterday. “If you are a coffee educator or aspiring to be one, you will not want to miss this opportunity to learn and connect.”
The SCA identified key focus areas for the 2024 series, including enhancing coffee education overall, improving teaching techniques and understanding the group’s new coffee value assessment (CVA). Specific education sessions at the U.S. event will include:
