Fresh Cup Magazine | February 2020 by Fresh Cup Magazine

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CONTENTS

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 0 | v o l . 2 9 . n o. 2 | F R E S H C U P M A G A Z I N E

ERIKA VONIE

STEEP LA

SAME FOCUS, NEW TITLE

Do You Know? By Fionn Pooler

Café Crossroads By Anna Mariani

Sustainable Matters By Robin Roenker

The Explosion of Coffee-Based Craft Beverage When beer- and spirits-makers partner with coffee roasters, good things start brewing. By Jodi Helmer

The Future is Sensory

Agroecology Exchange: Ideas in Practice

How coffee companies and professionals are improving the cupping experience. By Janae Easlon

Participants of the second half of the International Farmer Exchange in Nicaragua reflect on the experience. By Rachel Northrop

Editor’s letter, PAGE 7 | Contributors, PAGE 8 Counter Intelligence, PAGE 44 | Calendar, PAGE 46 | Ad index, PAGE 50 ON THE COVER: Umeshiso’s Rainbow Little Dipper cupping spoons. Photo by Morgan Eckroth

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Fresh Cup Magazine FRESH CUP PUBLISHING Publisher and President JAN WEIGEL jan@freshcup.com EDITORIAL Editor CAITLIN PETERKIN editor@freshcup.com Associate Editor JANAE EASLON janae@freshcup.com ART Art Director CYNTHIA MEADORS cynthia@freshcup.com ADVERTISING Sales Account Director CORINNE HINDES corinne@freshcup.com Ad Coordinator DIANE HOWARD adtraffic@freshcup.com ACCOUNTING Accounting Manager DIANE HOWARD diane@freshcup.com FRESH CUP FOUNDER WARD BARBEE 1938-2006

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD DAVID GRISWOLD Sustainable Harvest Coffee Importers

CHUCK JONES Jones Coffee Roasters

BRUCE MILLETTO Bellissimo Coffee Advisors

ANUPA MUELLER Eco-Prima

BRAD PRICE Phillips Syrups & Sauces

BRUCE RICHARDSON Elmwood Inn Fine Teas

MANISH SHAH Maya Tea Co.

LARRY WINKLER Torani

SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION Fresh Cup Magazine is distributed worldwide each month by post. Available by subscription: price—one year US $48, two years US $68, one year Canada $55, all other countries $85 per year. Single issues—$5-$10 each, plus shipping. (Checks must be drawn on a US-affiliated bank.) PLEASE ALLOW 6–8 WEEKS FOR DELIVERY OF FIRST ISSUE.

EDITOR’S Letter “The common thread among people is empathy.” Nicole Battefeld

lthough these words by champion barista Nicole Battefeld were framed within the context of the Australian coffee community’s response to Head to the devastating bushfires, when I read them, FreshCup .com to read the full article. I felt nothing could better encapsulate the current state of our industry. The stories that fill this month’s pages are ones of empathy, accessibility, and inclusion. Our February cover story (p. 28) is a meaningful look at the state of cupping, and how companies and coffee professionals have started to open up spaces for everyone at the table. What many newcomers (and even those not-so-new) find to be an intimidating experience is now becoming less about certain voices dominating others and more about letting everyone’s opinions be heard and validated. Whether using a tool that reminds you that you “have the right to be in the room,” or opening up your café for public cuppings, it’s important to remind yourself and others that everyone deserves the right to a specialty coffee education. That’s what coffee consultant and educator Erika Vonie is advocating. Her interview on p. 10 is filled with piercing observations and ideas for how we can better accommodate the average consumer in 2020. It’s time to open the gate of information and learning to all in order to improve our industry and make it sustainable. Along those lines, I’m thrilled to announce the rebranding of our eco-focused column. Formerly “The Last Plastic Straw,” writer Robin Roenker now pens her column under the banner “Sustainable Matters.” Turn to p. 48 to learn more about why we decided to change titles—and how you can implement some of last year’s top tips to move towards zero-waste in 2020. Finally, we come full circle with the Coffee Diversification Project’s farmer exchange, the first half of which we covered in last year’s February issue. Now, Rachel Northrop shares with us how the completion of the exchange affected the participants and how what they learned from each other will impact strategies moving forward (p. 36). I hope these stories inspire you to continue learning from and supporting each other for the betterment of our industry, our land, and our future.

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CAITLIN PETERKIN, EDITOR

editor@freshcup.com FRE SH CUP.COM

FRESH CUP MAGAZINE [ 7

Contributors Based in Miami, Florida, RACHEL NORTHROP is content manager for Ally Coffee and the author of When Coffee Speaks: Stories From and Of Latin American Coffeepeople. In this issue, she covers the second half JODI HELMER is a North

of the farmer exchange

Carolina-based freelance

portion of the Assessment

writer covering the inter-

of Diversification Strate-

section between food and

gies in Smallholder Coffee

business. This month, she

Farms in Mesoamerica proj-

based freelance writer

explores the cross-section

ect; turn to p. 36 to read the

ROBIN ROENKER has

of coffee with other craft

participants’ reflections on

extensive experience re-

beverages, on p. 22.

the experience.

porting on business trends,

Lexington, Kentucky-

from cybersecurity to real ANNA MARIANI is a tea

estate, personal finance,

blogger, content creator,

and green living. For Fresh

recipe developer, writer,

Cup, she covers sustainable

and photographer based in

and eco-friendly trends in

Los Angeles, home to the

cafés and the coffee and

newly opened Steep LA (see

tea industry in her regular

p. 16 for her profile on the

column, Sustainable

teahouse). She’s on a mis-

Matters, on p. 48.

sion to transform tea into an approachable and fun experience. She loves tea and food pairings, and she’s fascinated by the great potential tea has in bringing people together and bridging cultures. Follow her blog, The Tea Squirrel, at www.teasquirrel.com.

FIONN POOLER is a freelance writer and former coffee professional originally from Scotland and now based in Southeast Michigan. He writes about coffee, culture, and sustainability for a variety of publications and his own website, The Pourover. For this issue, Pooler spoke with coffee consultant and educator Erika Vonie (p.10).

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Do You Know?

ERIKA VONIE By Fionn Pooler

rika Vonie always knew she would succeed in coffee. “I’m a very stubborn and strong-willed person,” explains Vonie, who has harnessed that drive to propel her to, among other achievements, a Coffee Masters victory in 2017. After various roles in the industry, from café management to green buying, she moved into the tech world as Director of Coffee for the online coffee marketplace Trade. This experience, combined with nearly 15 years spent working across the coffee industry, has allowed her to gain unique insights into the consumer mindset. She has shared this knowledge during lectures at the Specialty Coffee Association’s Bloom tour and Expo, and will continue with the launch of her latest project: Vonie left Trade in 2019 to become a freelance consultant and educator. Her goal is to demystify the specialty coffee industry for the average consumer. “This is the hill that I’m dying on,” she says. “It’s why I started my consultancy.” As an example, she talks about language, and terms like “single origin” being an obstacle for many consumers. “The vocabulary that we use puts up this insanely prohibitive barrier for people,” she says. “I think that’s a big reason why people don’t buy any specialty, and why there’s this idea that specialty is pretentious. Because you have to learn a language in order to interact with us.” Vonie spoke to Fresh Cup about her career, winning Coffee Masters, her work with Trade, and forging her own path in the industry. This interview has been edited for length.

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FRESH CUP : Tell us a little about your background and how you got into specialty coffee.

ERIKA VONIE: I got my first coffee job to help pay my way through college, at a second-wave café, and I worked there for four years. I went to film school, and then when I graduated in 2009 in the middle of the recession there weren’t a whole lot of jobs. But luckily I had been working in coffee, so I kept getting coffee jobs. The first coffee job that I got after college was at a specialty

café called Lovers and Madmen in West Philly. It’s not there anymore, but it was a Counter Culture [Coffee] account. And I think I was pretty lucky that they were the company that provided the coffee, because they had all this education and training and I just threw myself into it. I did some stuff with my degree, but honestly the most fulfilling professional thing that I was working on was always coffee. I was fascinated by how much there is to learn and there’s a trillion different avenues you can go

PHOTO BY ZAC SANTANELLO

Do You Know? Erika Vonie down. Then I learned about the supply chain and there’s just an infinite amount of things to be excited about and that’s really what started it all off. FC: You won Coffee Masters in 2017. What was that experience like, and what did it do for your career?

EV: Winning Coffee Masters impacted my career in positive, network-expanding ways I could never have dreamed of. It’s allowed me to travel internationally, meet people who have become true friends, and be involved with some pretty amazing media opportunities. More importantly, it was the moment I finally believed in my abilities and skills as a barista. When I won, I had been sober for about four months and had left a toxic work environment a month prior, so everything was really in flux for me. Winning that incredibly in-depth and intense competition was a moment of clarity, that when I focus on myself and what’s best for me, regardless of anyone or anything else, my true power is known. It’s always been there inside of me, and it still is, and winning Coffee Masters taught me what I need to do to access it.

I had a fantastic experience there, and it was nice to step into a role where everyone took my expertise incredibly seriously. My word was bible essentially, because no one else on staff in senior level positions worked in coffee. I loved everything that I worked on, and I learned a lot. I mostly learned a lot about consumer data, because that was something that Trade had access to that I was really excited about. Anecdotally, working behind bars, you get a general sense of what customers like, but having hard data to back it up was really cool. In a more general sense, by and large I see people who don’t have coffee experience, whether it’s commodity or specialty experience, start to step into the scene with preconceived notions of what they can do for the industry, not necessarily understanding the fabric and the structure of what [the industry] really is. And I think a lot of it is because they don’t necessarily understand how razor-thin all the margins are in the coffee industry. I don’t think it’s going away anytime soon, I just don’t know how successful this tech-coffee crossover is going to ultimately be. FC: Why did you decide to go solo as a freelance consultant?

FC: Will you compete in the future? EV: The only competition I’ll ever compete in again would be if they did like a Hunger Games-style Quarter Quell in Coffee Masters, where they bring all the coffee masters back to compete against each other. I see competition as a way to open doors for you professionally, and I believe that I’ve opened all those doors for myself and that if I go back and compete, I’m closing those doors for other people. So I don’t want to close any doors. I want to keep them wide open. FC: What was it like to work for Trade within the coffee-tech overlap, and how do you see that overlap shaking out more generally?

EV: It’s really weird being a coffee department of one at a tech company.

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EV: It’s something that I’ve wanted to do for a while. I actually left to focus on my health—my health took an extreme downturn at the end of September, and so I spent October making plans, getting healthy, just taking care of myself, giving myself space. And then in November I started reaching out to companies. I’ve been talking with a few different companies—there’s marketing I can help with, QC, barista training. A bunch of different things. And in addition to my consultancy, I’m also spinning up an educational YouTube page, which is devoted to bridging the gap between the specialty and just normal American coffee drinkers. Instead of lowering the bar, it’s like, well, how do we make it better? How do I use my 15 years of experience in the industry to teach people who can’t

COMPETING AT COFFEE MASTERS NYC in 2017.

PHOTO BY GARY VAN HANDLEY

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Do You Know? Erika Vonie afford a Baratza Sette or a Moccamaster or a gooseneck kettle, or they don’t have time in the morning to make a pourover? How do I teach them how to use their stuff to make the best cup of coffee available? That’s something that I’ve really wanted to do for a very long time. FC: Can you tell us a little bit more about your views on consumer accessibility?

EV: Customers are willing to pay a little bit more for something that is exponentially better. Customers want that, and they want to feel special and they want something that’s personalized with a lot of variety. One of the biggest drivers for consumers was just the amount of roasters that [Trade] had on the site. Customers want variety first and foremost, and they want to be empowered to find the thing that they like. Another thing that was really surprising, but also sort of not surprising, is that Trade sold a lot of a category

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called “Roasty & Smoky,” which is coffee that has been pushed to second crack. There were customers that would be so pumped to pay $17–18 a bag, because they love that style of coffee. At that price point the green is very good, and the dark roast has nuanced flavors to it, and we as an industry don’t even look at that. It’s a huge cash cow for this industry; we could acquire all of these customers. Do you want the customer and do you want the customer to be happy, or do you want to force them into a taste profile or make them learn a language that they don’t understand? FC: What are your plans for the future, on a personal level?

EV: As far as the consultancy goes, I’m kind of just letting that be a baby that is growing organically. I don’t have a ton of hyper-focused plans for that, I’ve got a couple of clients under my belt right now and I’m really happy figuring that

out. For the YouTube education page, I’m very excited to start showcasing people that don’t necessarily get the limelight. I also have fun theories that I’m ramping up on ways to taste coffee if you’re not a Q grader or a professional. How to take a sensory course, essentially. FC: Where do you see the future of coffee going, in terms of the industry and the environmental side?

EV: I think we have every right to be terrified. The cost of coffee is out of our hands for the most part. There’s things that specialty can do. Figuring out tech that can help agriculture or, I’m not a blockchain expert, but it seems like that might be a way to funnel more capital into our supply chain. Things like that I would really like to see because climate change is going to wipe out a ton of it. Some of our favorite coffees are already on the way out and it’s just going to continue. I think the

COFFEE TALK: Vonie and food and wine expert Antoni Porowski at a coffee tasting and education event.

shift will be towards lower end coffees. Another reason why I want people to start getting used to dark roasts is we might not have 90-plus [coffees] in 10 years. FC: How do you stay motivated, in light of all that?

EV: I stay motivated by just doing what I can. I can’t solve every problem; I’m not a superhero. I know what I contribute, and I think I finally know what my value and my worth is in this industry. So as long as I stay true to myself and keep putting myself out there, I keep trying to make specialty a better place than I found it—that is the reason for me to get up every morning and to keep doing it. FC

PHOTO COURTESY OF SAECO

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Café Crossroads

Good Tea & Slow Living in Los Angeles Steep LA wants the community to experience the modern Chinese tea ceremony Story and photos by Anna Mariani

hen Samuel Wang and Lydia Lin opened their teahouse Steep LA in Los Angeles’ Chinatown last July, they were surprised to find out that it was exactly what local tea aficionados had been waiting for. Because of the widespread popularity of boba tea, a sweet tea-and-milk concoction with tapioca pearls invented in Taiwan, they thought initially that they were going to spend a lot of time convincing people to try a beverage with less sugar and without boba. As

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it turned out, that was not necessary: customers regularly tell Wang and Lin that a tea concept like Steep LA was long overdue.

SLOWING DOWN TO SHARE GOOD TEA The concept for Steep LA was born at the intersection between the idea of offering good tea and slow living, a lifestyle both Wang and Lin believe in. “Tea is one way to practice slow living,” explains Wang. “You naturally have to wait for the tea to steep,

SAMUEL WANG prepares tea using traditional Chinese methods in a modern setting.

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Café Crossroads

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naturally have to pour. It forces you to focus and pay a little more attention and still you’re able to have a conversation.” That’s where the Chinese tea ceremony, also known as kung fu or gongfu tea, comes into play. Originally, traditional Chinese tea ceremony was a social gathering where tea was shared. Wang admits that today even in China a lot of tea rooms treat tea like coffee—an individual experience rather than a shared one. To incorporate tea ceremony into their concept, Wang and Lin retained the traditional social element but packaged it into a more modern way, easily accessible to seasoned tea drinkers and first timers alike. This is immediately evident from Steep LA’s interior design. The space, which is reminiscent of a Scandinavian living room, exudes calm with its neutral color palette, while its décor, which includes two sofas, armchairs, and plenty of green plants, invites customers to slow down. Inspiring the overall design is the famous designer piece, the Y Chair by Hans Wegner.

In addition to the interior design, the tea menu encourages customers to enjoy tea together. “If people have a conversation while pouring hot water in a teapot and drinking tea, we’re happy,” says Wang. “It’s not supposed to be expensive or complicated, it just needs some love and friendship and a social aspect to it”. Steep’s Kung Fu Tea service, which comes with pastries and dried fruit, is ideal to be shared by up to four people. Customers get a sleek Fellow temperature-controlled kettle, a tea tray, and teaware, and can try their hand at tea ceremony with guidance about temperature and steeping time and a

To incorporate tea ceremony into their concept, Wang and Lin retained the traditional social element but packaged it into a more modern way, easily accessible to seasoned tea drinkers and first timers alike. “I wanted the space to have a Chinese influence but I didn’t want it to be Chinese,” says Wang. “Hans Wegner designed the chair based on a Ming dynasty chair. To me that’s the most Chinese-Scandinavian design that’s available. We built everything else around it. All the other chairs and tables are mid-century modern.”

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Café Crossroads handy timer. Having all variables as controlled as possible, customers can focus on enjoying their tea and engaging in conversation, if they wish to do so.

A STREAMLINED TEA PROGRAM Wang and Lin personally source the tea served at Steep LA. Wang mostly sources oolong and black teas from Taiwan, whereas Lin sources green tea and pu-erh from China. Beyond Kung Fu Tea, the tea menu also includes Shaken not Stirred (choice of tea with optional milk and sugar, shaken to order) and Cold Brewed. Every drink, with the exception of Kung Fu Tea, comes in a single size of 16 ounces. With a small team and little storage space, Wang and Lin had to make sure everything was streamlined and efficient. A single size ensures less formulas and ratios to remember and also less single-use cups overall.

TEA FIRST, BUT THERE’S FOOD TOO Serving food was not in the original plans for Steep LA until their landlord made it part of the lease agreement. However, the small selection of food items from their in-house kitchen—including small bites like radish cakes and tea-infused tomatoes, as well as filling and flavorful bowls—has garnered the attention of food-centric press, even though it is carefully designed not to overshadow the tea experience.

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“How do we make sure that the food doesn’t affect the way you taste tea?” says Wang. “Whether it’s food having tea as an ingredient or food not taking away from the flavor of tea, we’re a tea house first. That’s why we won’t have anything on the menu that is super spicy or super sweet.”

BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS The name “Steep LA” and the logo were born out of a bilingual thought process: “steep” is a word that is specifically associated with tea, unlike “brew,” which is used for coffee, beer, and other beverages. “In Chinese, there’s also a separate word to express a more refined way to brew tea and that Chinese word is our logo,” says Wang. “I wanted it to be equally Chinese and English.” At the same time though, Wang didn’t want people to feel a cultural or language barrier. “This is very much an American establishment selling Chinese tea,” he says. “I want to make sure that people understand that there’s no barrier here; English is spoken here, the menu is only in English. We want our customers to feel like they don’t need to take a language class or understand Chinese culture to be here.” Breaking down barriers and bringing the local community together are important goals to Wang and Lin, which is why Steep LA is also an event space hosting recurring dumpling making and tea tasting classes, a photography exhibition, and, in the future, tea and food pairing events and chef collaborations. Pioneering a lifestyle of slow living while bringing people together is possible—Steep LA is doing it by changing the way people see the traditional Chinese tea ceremony. FC

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THE UPTOWN FUNK cold brew cocktail at Either/Or in Portland, Oregon.

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PHOTO BY JORDAN HUGHES

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The Explosion of Coffee-Based Craft Beverages

lthough coffee and spirits are an age-old combination (hello, espresso martinis), the pairing is taking hold among mainstream brands: Pabst Blue Ribbon released canned hard coffee last summer, Jägermeister introduced a cold brew coffee liqueur, and La Colombe teamed up with MillerCoors to turn medium-roasted Brazilian and Colombian coffee beans into two hard coffee flavors. Around the world, craft producers have also been experimenting with and elevating the artisan beverage experience. “There is a coffee renaissance happening…and we wanted to take it into the bar,” says Tom Baker, cofounder of Mr Black, Australia-based makers of cold brew coffee liqueur. “As coffee has exploded so has its role in mixology… now, most bars see the importance of a modern coffee cocktail on their menu.” Instead of drinking coffee until 3 p.m., Baker believes that hard coffee appeals to those who want to drink their favorite beverage from 3 p.m. until 3 a.m. He calls it the “night shift” of coffee culture. At Either/Or in Portland, Oregon, customers can order a cold brew from the barista or ask the bartender to add bourbon, coffee liqueur, and a dash of chocolate and whipped cream to the cold brew to make the Uptown Funk cocktail, created by bartender Erica Ramirez. Ro Tam, owner of the hybrid café/ bar, believes that coffee brewed from fresh-roasted beans should not be limited to morning lattes and flat whites; the brews can also add bold flavor to craft cocktails, spirits, and beers. “Coffee is so versatile,” says Tam. “Play around with it as an ingredient and see how it complements other flavors.”

PARTNERSHIPS PROMOTE SUCCESS At a time when the market is saturated with cold brew, craft beer, and artisan spirits, makers are looking for options to bring new products to market: partnerships between roasters, distillers, and brewers create

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PHOTOS FROM TOP: FACEBOOK @ ELEVATIONBEERCO, COURTESY OF KARL STRAUSS BREWING COMPANY, BY JORDAN HUGHES

always a collaborative effort with the roaster [because] they are the experts in their world,” explains communications manager Brian Skarin. “Our brewers are able to provide them with tasting notes that can then be used to come up with the ideal varietal or blend to pair with it.”

“As coffee has exploded so opportunities for new products and cross-marketing. “The story of Hard Cold Brew Coffee is really the story of a friendship,” says Todd Carmichael, CEO and cofounder of La Colombe Coffee Roasters, in a press release. “When two makers and innovators come together something really special can come out of it.” Karl Strauss Brewing Company partnered with San Diego-based Bird Rock Coffee Roasters to select the beans for Wreck Alley Russian Imperial Stout, a dark beer made with cocoa nibs and Colombian coffee beans that became an instant favorite when it was released in 2012. “We work primarily with local roasters [and] the bean selection process is

has its role in mixology…now, most bars see the importance of a modern coffee cocktail on their menu.” At Elevation Beer Company in Colorado Springs, Christian Koch, cofounder and director of operations, has partnered with Buena Vista Roastery

PHOTOS FROM LEFT: COURTESY OF MR BLACK, LACOLOMBEHARDCOLDBREW.COM

to choose beans and roast profiles for their special release coffee-based craft beers, including Elevation Coffee Stout and Oil Man Coffee, a limited-edition release of its popular bourbon barrelaged stout brewed with coffee. “We wanted a big, bold flavor so we’ve gone with darker roasts…instead of the fruitier, more nuanced flavors in a lighter roast, which might get lost in a big, dark beer,” says Koch. “The different roasted malts can have coffee flavors in the background and the darker roasts can improve on that and bring it to the forefront.” When Mr Black started brewing its coffee liqueur, Sydney’s Campos Coffee roasted all of the beans that went into the artisan spirit. But as production grew, Baker and business partner/ distiller Philip Moore established an in-house roasting operation. The coffee used in the liqueur is ground, cold brewed, added to the alcohol, and left to distill so the flavors of the coffee can shine through—but that doesn’t mean the distiller has stopped depending on partnerships. For the release of their 2019 singleorigin coffee liqueur, Mr Black sourced beans from a Colombian coffee farmer. The limited release is made with honeyprocessed coffee that is both lighter

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When Craft Beverages Collide

and fruitier in flavor compared to its other coffee liqueurs, which have stronger caramel and chocolate notes.

FINDING THE RIGHT BALANCE Choosing the right coffee beans and roast profiles is just the first step; the brewers at Elevation Brewing also spent countless hours experimenting with different processes to add the coffee to the beer. Unlike brewers that add cold brew to their beers—which Koch

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The standards for craft beverages are high and customers expect their hard coffees to be made with artisan spirits, craft beers, and fresh-roasted beans.

tried—the beers at Elevation Brewing are made by steeping bags of freshly roasted beans in the batch of beer. “We can taste [the beer] every day to make sure that we’re not extracting too much coffee flavor and, as soon as we think it’s just right, we can just pull these beans out of the liquid,” he says. “It gives us more control over the flavor.” While Tam considers the flavor notes of various coffee beans when developing recipes for coffee cocktails, capitalizing on the floral and fruit notes in Ethiopian coffee to blend with bourbon and rum-based beverages and embracing the light tomato undertones in Kenyan coffee for a signature Bloody Mary, she believes the process is more important the beans. “Cold brew is consistent and that makes it easier to work with and, in cocktails, it has a strong punch that shines through the liquor,” she says. “I never use espresso [in cocktails] because the extraction process makes it harder to get a consistent flavor.” For hard coffee to be successful, Tam believes it has to be palate-driven. The standards for craft beverages are high and customers expect their hard coffees to be made with artisan spirits, craft beers, and fresh-roasted beans. “People are looking for a more elevated experience with these kinds of collaborations,” says Koch. “By having partnerships [with a roaster] where we know the origins of the coffee, we get a better product and it helps tell a better story about the beer.” Even for those who are new to coffee or coffee-based craft beverages, Skarin believes the collaborations could be a big draw. “There are the beer lovers who already know they want big, bold beers and love it when you throw something interesting at them, [and] there are coffee lovers who may not be huge beer drinkers, but are converted through that familiar [roasted] flavor,” he says. “The consumer’s level of education around coffee has grown significantly over the last 10 years, which definitely helps in building excitement around new releases.” FC

PHOTOS FROM TOP: FACEBOOK @ ELEVATIONBEERCO, COURTESY OF KARL STRAUSS BREWING COMPANY

CUP OF EXCELLENCE celebrated its 20-year anniversary last year at the 2019 Brazil Cup of Excellence competition and auction program.

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PHOTO BY TONY CHEN

n the specialty coffee industry, cupping is a tradition and a practice that allows for coffee from all over the world to be tasted side by side, bringing out the smallest details of each unique growing region. While it has its conventions, cupping is changing: equipment now caters to first-timers and veterans alike, sensory evaluation classes are more readily available, and public cuppings continue to pop up in cafés around the country, meaning a whole host of people are becoming exposed to the process.

As we warm up to a new decade of cupping, Fresh Cup takes

SOME ESSENTIALS: notNeutral’s MENO Cupping Vessels (above) and Umeshiso’s Rainbow Little Dipper cupping spoon (below).

a look at how the sensory evaluation practice is changing. Meanwhile, the equipment behind the process can make a serious difference when it comes to taste. Many companies are forging the way with forward-thinking products, from Loveramics cups that will tell you when the water temperature is just right, to kettles that produce precise temperatures down to the one degree from Brewista and Fellow. And then there are those who bring a design-forward approach to the experience, like notNeutral’s SCA-standard MENO Cupping Vessels, our proudly stand out, like Umeshiso’s rainbow cupping spoons. As we warm up to a new decade of cupping, Fresh Cup takes a look at how the sensory evaluation practice is changing.

TOP PHOTO: NOTNEUTRAL.COM, BOTTOM PHOTO BY MORGAN ECKROTH

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The Future is Sensory

JUST ADD TECH Cup of Excellence, based out of Portland, Oregon, is known as one of the most prestigious high-quality coffee auctions and competitions in the world. Historically, the group holds up to 12 different country competitions, but averages about 10 to 11 each year, with Ethiopia recently added to the list of countries it will host in 2020. The equipment they use matters because it can determine the outcomes of their countless cupping sessions. “Every country has a choice, within reason, to use equipment they can source because it can be difficult and expensive to buy products from other countries because of tax tariffs,” says Darrin Daniel, executive director of the Alliance for Coffee Excellence, which runs the competition. “We give general guidelines on what we like to see as a minimum, anything from grinding equipment

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HEAD JUDGE Eduardo Ambrocio participated in Cup of Excellence’s 20th anniversary cupping session in Brazil last year.

PHOTOS BY TONY CHEN

SLURPING at the 2019 Brazil Cup of Excellence.

to water specifications, which is the most important thing.” Daniel says there are tools that some may not see as traditional cupping equipment but make the process easier, including iPads with the Cup of Excellence cupping form on platforms like Cropster. “In the past, we had clipboards and pencils, and using the COE cupping form, you are coming up with descriptive analysis and describing flavors,” he says, bringing up the COE cupping paper form originally created by coffee veteran George Howell. “What I have found is that the cuppers busy with the iPads have the luxury of drop-down menus with the glossary and vocabulary built in. When you do a drop down, and you are looking at types of acidity, while someone may be looking for lemon, they also see other words like ‘lime’ and think, ‘Hey, it has this too.’ I feel like it frees up the behavior and the focus of the cupper. I think the tablet

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The Future is Sensory

FELLOW AND BARISTA HUSTLE TOOLS: The stackable cupping bowls are nearly unbreakable.

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF FELLOW

allows people to focus on the coffee and not the form.” Some countries have harnesses for their iPads, allowing the cupper to be able to pick up and set it aside easily while at the cupping table. “The big thing is accuracy with the score,” he says. “We find that cuppers after their third session, or their 40th cup, they make a mistake. They get tired, and maybe they put down 7.5 when they meant 8.5. We hire third-party auditors that come in and verify after adding up scores, and sometimes they see the marks do not add up, and go back in to change it. It is more likely with paper that you will make a mistake. The iPad allows it to see the score right away.”

these excellent bowls for cupping tables around the world.”

SET THE MOOD Loveramics, a Hong Kong-based family-owned company that focuses on contemporary porcelain, opened its flagship store almost 10 years ago. Since 2015, the company has supplied the official cups for the World Latte Art Championship, most recently held in Berlin, where they were also used in Brewers Cup and Cup Tasters Competition. “I think as a design lover, everything should be beautiful and thoughtful,”

for example, when it’s light gray, that means four minutes have lapsed for cupping to begin. Thinking about sensory evaluation’s future, equipment is an important part of making the practice work properly. “When you try to sell a premium coffee, and about the soil and altitude and precipitation affecting quality of the coffee, you should not let a cheap steel spoon affect the taste or a plastic or paper cup to change the perception of it,” says Lee. “[Cupping] is an ancient way of food trading, so I don’t think it’s going to disappear as a raw format. However,

RETAINING THE HEAT Barista Hustle Tools kicked off after founder Matt Perger thought up a line that would help others learn first and foremost. Perger recently teamed up with manufacturer Fellow, and many baristas are taking Barista Hustle Tools with them to major competitions. Barista Hustle Tools’ Cupping Bowls (currently sold out) come in a set of24 stackable bowls designed to be easily shippable without the worry of breakage. “Made from high-density polyethylene plastic, our 45-gram bowls only steal 5°C of water temperature when filled. Your average 200-gram ceramic bowl will instantly suck up 13°C. Whether you use boiling water or 93.58°C, your coffee will be extracted consistently closer to your set point. Unlike ceramic, these bowls are basically unbreakable,” says Hannah Miller, Fellow’s content manager. “You don’t have to think twice about tossing them in a suitcase or worry about knocking them off a cupping table.” Perger’s design also features six wings beneath the lip of each bowl to enable easy stacking for efficient storage. And when stacked upside down after washing, the bowls completely drain and dry themselves. “Now that Fellow is at the helm of Barista Hustle Tools,” adds Miller, “we’re excited to continue producing

PHOTO COURTESY OF LOVERAMICS

LOVERAMICS Classic Colour Changing Cupping Bowls.

says William Lee, one of the founders. “Cupping is a rather monotonous process compared to latte art or dripping a coffee, so it actually needs a better way to present, especially at the time when roaster/green bean merchants are presenting their products. It helps them to enhance their products, basically.” Loveramics, among their countless products, offers one that can change the mood of any cupping session: the Classic Colour Changing Cupping Bowl, which sold out last year due its popularity. “It’s fun to see people’s reaction in coffee shows [like] ‘Woooooow,’ and then take a time-lapse video of it,” he says. The color tells users when a cup is ready for different phases of cupping;

when something has been there too long, someone will reinvent it. Today, it’s often making it more beautiful, more lifestyle, more presentable.”

A SPACE FOR EVERYONE AT THE TABLE Umeko Motoyoshi is an awardwinning coffee writer, educator, and creator of coffee sustainability platform @wastingcoffee, as well as the founder of Umeshiso, an online coffee supply shop specializing in cupping spoons. Motoyoshi set out to start making their own products because they wanted to see products made for people “who don’t have products made for them.” Umeshiso features cupping spoons with standout colors—Rosé, Goth Black,

FRESH CUP MAGAZINE [ 33

The Future is Sensory

MOOD CUP: The Classic Colour Changing Cupping Bowl by Loveramics in its many phases.

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF LOVERAMICS

Rainbow, and Golden Hour—and that come in two styles, The Big Dipper or The Little Dipper. The Big Dipper is longer, with a lighter weight and wider, flatter bowl, highlighting its dual functionality for skimming and slurping, while The Little Dipper is shorter, heavier, and deeper, and is designed specifically for slurping. Motoyoshi recommends it for long-haul cupping tables and preventing spillage. Beyond the spoons, Umeshiso sells stickers with cupping advice, from “it’s just coffee” and “u don’t need a loud slurp” to “tasting notes are opinions.” Another reads, “Go at your own pace. This is just coffee. You are not alone. It’s ok to not know something. You don’t need a loud slurp. Your palate is trustworthy! Your tasting experience is valid. Everyone can taste. Everyone chokes! What you taste is worth sharing. You’re doing just fine.” Motoyoshi, a licensed Q grader with 14 years of experience, believes cupping is better when it is respectful and emotionally safe. “The emotional component of tasting is powerful and real,” they say when asked what makes their product an enhancement to the sensory experience. “If I’m super stressed, it’s way harder for me to taste. Everything on the table will just taste the same to me. But if I’m feeling safe and confident, tasting becomes very easy. “I want my products to remind people that they belong and they have a right to be in the room,” they continue. “Many people, especially folks who hold marginalized identities, have had extremely negative cupping experiences and it can make us feel like we don’t belong, like we’re imposters. It makes cupping way more stressful for us. I started selling rainbow cupping spoons because they disarm something honestly scary to me. They make me feel more grounded and they remind me that there are all these other people who experience the same anxieties, and they all have their rainbow spoons too. We’re not alone and we belong.” FC

PHOTOS BY MORGAN ECKROTH

UMESHISO cupping spoons in Goth Black and Rainbow come with encouraging cupping notes (below).

FRESH CUP MAGAZINE [ 35

36 ] FEBRUARY 2020 Â» freshcup.com

n November 2018, a delegation from Mexico traveled to Nicaragua to take part in the farmer exchange portion of the Assessment of Diversification Strategies in Smallholder Coffee Farms in Mesoamerica project. Less than a year later, in August 2019, five representatives from PRODECOOP in EstelĂ, Nicaragua, traveled to the CESMACH cooperative in Chiapas, Mexico, for the second half of the exchange. With both halves of the exchange complete, participants reflect on the experience and on how they are putting ideas gleaned from the exchange into practice.

FRESH CUP MAGAZINE [ 37

Agroecology Exchange: Ideas in Practice

IN ZAPATA, CHIAPAS, with CESMACH cooperative farmers and visitors from ECOSUR, the University of Vermont, Community Agroecology Network, industry partners from Equal Exchange, and cooperative leaders from PRODECOOP Nicaragua.

ESTABLISHING AN EXCHANGE FORMAT In addition to the two cooperatives, the project also included four universities—ECOSUR Mexico, Universidad Nacional Agraria Nicaragua, Santa Clara University in California, and University of Vermont—and one nonprofit, the Community Agroecology Network (CAN) for a total of seven participating organizations. The universities’ involvement speaks to the project’s multifaceted nature; the goal is as much to develop new strategies for agroecological diversification on coffee farms as it is to critique and improve the participatory action research methods that generate those strategies. Henry Duarte Canales, Agronomy faculty at UNA Nicaragua, describes the five aspects of the project as “diversification, food security,

38 ] FEBRUARY 2020 » freshcup.com

gender equality, resilience to climate change, and beekeeping.” “These five axes are linked,” he says, and are also the areas where both cooperatives wanted to learn from each other. Leticia Velasco López, CESMACH Board President, sees these dimensions come together when producers visit each other’s farms. “When I went to Nicaragua, I saw many things I shared with everyone here in Mexico,” she says. “I think the same was true of our colleagues from Nicaragua. They saw coffee fields planted with vegetables and for me it was motivating to see what CESMACH’s members were already doing.”

RECONSIDERING FOOD One of the most important outcomes of the exchange in Mexico was

the realization that plants that grow in both places are consumed as food in Mexico while being disregarded as weeds in Nicaragua. This not only showed the Nicaraguan participants a new food source to share with their cooperative back home, it served as a reorienting reminder to take stock of resources that are already available. “In Mexico, I saw that the same weeds we burn and chop down with herbicides and machete, they cook and eat. They could serve us too,” says Duarte. “We eradicate hierba santa [also called hoja santa] because we aren’t used to thinking of it as food. I’ve spoken with many students who live in the mountains and have gone back and shared this idea with their families.” Because Duarte works both with students pursing a degree in Agroecology and with PRODECOOP’s staff and

PHOTO BY CARMEN J. CORTÉZ

FRESH CUP MAGAZINE [ 39

Agroecology Exchange: Ideas in Practice

FOOD SOVEREIGNTY EXCHANGE

members, the ideas from the exchange have a wide reach. Part of the exchange’s design is to involve diverse voices and perspectives so that strategies can circulate in new ways. “I work in PRODECOOP’s finance department,” says Yusmari Arauz. “Maybe it’s not very common to be in the fields, but through the project I’ve been involved in this aspect too. It’s

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very important, as the one to verify everything that’s on our documents, to see it take place. “Most notable in Mexico,” she continues, “was the variety of plants that families use to complement the nutritional value of their meals. Seeing their use of hierba mora, hierba santa, and chipilin motivated me to try to implement something similar.”

One of PRODECOOP’s project coordinators, Rudis Antonio Espinoza Bejarano, had a similar reaction. “We saw the number of plants they make the most of,” he says. “Maybe we use them in Nicaragua as organic fertilizer or animal feed, but we learned they have high concentrations of protein and can be a substantial part of our diet.”

PHOTO BY MATEO MIER Y TERÁN GIMÉNEZ CACHO

The exchange encourages producers to think more broadly, beyond relying solely on coffee as a cash crop, and to rediscover the natural abundance possible from farms managed using diversified agroecology strategies.

FINE-TUNING COLLABORATIVE ROLES

The CESMACH hosts felt that the exchange fulfilled its goals as they watched their colleagues make these realizations. “Our companions from Nicaragua learned about plants that they recognized but didn’t consume as food,” says David Armando Anzueto Coutiño, a community facilitator with CESMACH and a honey and coffee producer.

“Coffee is one of the least diversified crops in Nicaragua,” explains Duarte. “The idea of the project is that by diversifying their farms a little more, farmers can have access to food during periods of crisis.” Duarte notes that UNA’s biannual faculty summit, where professors share their research with one another, is an opportunity to integrate the project’s findings into teaching approaches. “How can we bring this information back to students?” he says. “Most are from the countryside, and they take what they learn here back to their families.” Agronomy courses teach how to grow a crop, but what if growing that crop really well—by productivity and quality metrics—still leaves farmers hungry? Agroecology courses look beyond the agronomics of a crop to the potential of full farm and community ecosystems to provide for those who live on and from the land they farm. The exchange makes it possible for people to learn from others in the same roles in different places, namely professors, cooperative staff, and cooperative members also acting as community facilitators. Coutiño of CESMACH was “inspired by the cooperativism they have in Nicaragua. They support more than just their members through schools and other services.” Similar to Coutiño, Bernardo Roblero Perez is also a CESMACH honey and coffee producer serving as a community facilitator. “The most interesting part of the exchange was the visit to the farms [in three communities of the Sierra Madre: Zapata, Vista Alegre, and Laguna del Cofre],” he says. “As a facilitator, we don’t always have time to look closely

at what’s already growing. We could see the variety on one piece of land.” Having visitors provides an opportunity for the hosts to take stock of their own operations and note either what is working well or what could be revitalized. Both CESMACH and PRODECOOP present a remarkable willingness and openness to change. One of the strengths of the exchange program is that it frames the discovery of areas ripe for improvement as something to be excited about. Participants are motivated to find areas they can tweak and new practices to implement.

DIVERSIFIED AGROECOLOGY IN PRACTICE Developing better research methods is one of the exchange’s core tenets, and the cooperatives are eager to implement practices learned from researchers to better understand their members: what they are already doing, what their needs are, and how to address them. “Some producers lost 60 to 90% after the leaf rust epidemic and we’re trying to recuperate quality,” says PRODECOOP’s Bejarano. In Mexico, CESMACH used a producer survey model to “make observations of plants that were resistant after the leaf rust attack, essentially breeding their own local variety. They’ve propagated seeds and given them to producers.” Duarte also noted the difference between CESMACH’s centralized nursery and the Nicaraguan tradition of producers saving their own seeds: “If the plant is healthy when it goes into the producer’s field, you know it will give good production. Some producers here who make their own nurseries have problems with nematodes and bacteria.” According to Bejarano, “from what we’ve seen, there is no better solution than plants adapted to climate change in their own zones.” The next step is to create focus groups by zone “to identify resistant plants in that soil and at that elevation.” Surveys, record keeping, and documentation are crucial skills to implementing diversification strategies.

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Agroecology Exchange: Ideas in Practice

RESEARCHERS & PRODUCERS

DOÑA CATALINA prepares the harvest from her farm.

EXCHANGING SEEDS

“We’re creating a diagnostic of edible plants to see what people are using and what they aren’t,” says Bejarano. “We don’t have that data. We have very little information about what else we can grow because we’ve been focused on basic grains like corn and beans. It’s not just about eating; it’s about eating healthy.” Acknowledging the correlation between health problems affecting PRODECOOP members and imbalanced diets, he says, “We’re preparing a register of recipes to possibly promote in the future.” Beyond the recognition that plants considered weeds are in fact nutrient-

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from chipilin, pacaya, mucuy, and hierba santa.” While this iteration of a farmer-tofarmer exchange took place between Chiapas and Estelí, there are similar exchanges happening in other places, in cities as much as on rural farms. In Miami, for example, a group called Buenazas created a free urban foraging guide to Little Haiti and hosts walks to teach which wild plants are edible. Overtown Green Haven Project grows produce in an unused lot to provide free food to neighbors and teaches how to cook vegetables that might be unfamiliar. Though the Assessing Diversification Strategies project is specific to coffee agroecology, the idea of exchanging

rich and very much edible, the other biggest takeaway from the exchange was the exchange of recipes. It is one thing to know that a plant is full of protein and another thing to know how to prepare it. “We shared recipes,” reflects PRODECOOP’s Arauz, “including the name of each plant and how to cook it.” The delegations also shared new ways to prepare familiar foods. “We were excited to try their version of malanga, which in Mexico they eat with sugar and call ‘camote,’ while in Nicaragua we cook with salt and serve with cream,” says Arauz. “We also learned to make tamales

cross-cultural food cultivation practices and recipes can be applied anywhere; the age-old practice is finding new roots as we all face threats from rising food costs and changes in climate. In Mexico, CESMACH’s members are ready to get to work. “Based on what I learned from the exchange,” says Coutiño, “I want to plant a patio garden behind my house.” According to board president Lopez, “we accomplished even more than we planned to! I’ve already gotten chickens and I want to start growing mushrooms. I’m still harvesting chayote. We all fought for this exchange to turn out well.” FC

PHOTOS BY ALEJANDRA GUZMÁN LUNA (TOP AND RIGHT), MARTHA CASWELL (BOTTOM LEFT)

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So Hot Right Now Spruce Line KeepCup KeepCup.com Make Greta Thunberg proud while rocking the biggest design trend of 2020: Classic Blue, Pantone’s Color of the Year. Australian-based company KeepCup has released a special line of their reusable cups in “Spruce,” their take on the trendy blue hue. Available in Thermal, Brew (tempered glass), and Brew Cork models, these cups are a must in any 2020 eco-warrior’s arsenal. Order yours today at keepcup.com.

44 ] FEBRUARY 2020 » freshcup.com

FRESH BUSINESSES & PRODUCTS

A New Way to Enjoya Cuppa Herbal Teas Joya Joya.ca Canadian wellness brand Joya releases its new line of herbal teas, blended with premium, organic botanicals to create invigorating, aromatic, and adaptogenic infusions that can be enjoyed hot or iced. Try the stimulating Elevate, with rhodiola, maca, cacao, chicory, and chai spices, or Zing, with digestionsupporting ginger, licorice, and astragalus. Each loose-leaf blend comes in a reusable tin with enough for 40 servings, plus the option for a refill subscription. Visit joya.ca to learn more.

At the Intersection of Design & Coffee Café Culture: For Lovers of Coffee and Good Design By Robert Schneider ImagesPublishing.com From the author of Coffee Culture: hot coffee + cool spaces comes another celebration of cafés and architecture. Robert Schneider’s latest release, Café Culture: For Lovers of Coffee and Good Design, is a curated look at 37 modern architecturally designed coffee shops in 28 cities around the world. Highlighting the unique design and stories of each shop, the book is a love letter to all who make coffee possible.

Instant Cat-ification Black Cat Instant Almond Latte Intelligentsia IntelligentsiaCoffee.com Partnering with Goodmylk Co., Intelligentsia has released a special product featuring their famed Black Cat Classic espresso, a rich yet balanced blend of coffees from Brazil and Costa Rica. Adding Goodmylk’s instant latte creamer, made up of only sprouted almonds, maple sugar, and Himalayan salt, this simple yet delicious blend is ideal for baristas of all levels to create a perfectly creamy beverage at home, at the office, or on the go.

Want to be featured in Counter Intelligence? Get in touch with us at jan@freshcup.com or 503-236-2587 for more details!

FRESH CUP MAGAZINE [ 45

Trade Show & Events CALENDAR FEBRUARY 12-14

FEBRUARY 20-22

FEBRUARY 21-23

MARCH 5-7

AFRICAN FINE COFFEE CONFERENCE

CAFE ASIA & ICT EXPO

US COFFEE CHAMPIONSHIPS

NCA ANNUAL CONVENTION

Marina Bay, Singapore

Orange County, CA

Austin, TX

Momasa, Kenya

cafeasia.com.sg

uscoffee championships.org

ncausa.org

afca.coffee/ conference

MARCH 8-10

MARCH 12-14

MARCH 13-15

COFFEE FEST

COFFEE & TEA RUSSIAN EXPO

AMSTERDAM COFFEE FESTIVAL

New York City, NY

INTL. RESTAURANT & FOODSERVICE SHOW

Moscow, Russia

coffeefest.com

New York City, NY

coffeetea rusexpo.ru/en

Amsterdam, Netherlands

international restaurantny.com

amsterdam coffeefestival.com

MARCH 21-22

MARCH 28-29

APRIL 2-5

COFFEE & TEA FESTIVAL NYC

SOUTHWEST COFFEE & CHOCOLATE FESTIVAL

COFFEE & CHOCOLATE EXPO

LONDON COFFEE FESTIVAL

San Juan, Puerto Rico

coffeeandtea festival.com

Albuquerque, NM

coffeeand chocolateexpo.com

London, United Kingdom

APRIL 19-20

APRIL 21-23

APRIL 23-26

APRIL 24-26

NW FOOD SHOW

RE:CO SYMPOSIUM

SPECIALTY COFFEE EXPO

US COFFEE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Portland, OR

nwfoodshow.com

recosymposium.org

coffeeexpo.org

uscoffee championships.org

Brooklyn, NY

46 ] FEBRUARY 2020 Â» freshcup.com

chocolateand coffeefest.com

london coffeefestival.com

MAY 4-7

MAY 16-19

MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL COFFEE EXPO

WORLD BARISTA CHAMPIONSHIP

WORLD BREWERS CUP

NRA SHOW

Melbourne, Australia

Chicago, IL

Melbourne, Australia

worldcoffeeevents.org

show.restaurant.org

JUNE 8-11

JUNE 17

JUNE 18-20

JUNE 26-28

WORLD TEA EXPO

WORLD OF COFFEE

COFFEE FEST

Denver, CO

4C GLOBAL SUSTAINABILTY CONFERENCE

Warsaw, Poland

Chicago, IL

worldteaexpo.com

Warsaw, Poland

worldofcoffee.org

coffeefest.com

internationalcoffee expo.com.au

4c-services.org

AUGUST 9-11

AUGUST 13-15

SEPTEMBER 5-7

COFFEE FEST

HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL TEA FAIR

PARIS COFFEE SHOW

Anaheim, CA

WESTERN FOODSERVICE & HOSPITALITY EXPO

coffeefest.com

Anaheim, CA

Hong Kong

westernfoodexpo.com

event.hktdc.com/fair/ hkteafair-en

collectifcafe.fr/ le-paris-coffee-show

SEPTEMBER 22-23

SEPTEMBER 24-26

OCTOBER 22-24

OCTOBER 24-25

FLORIDA RESTAURANT & LODGING SHOW

EXPO CAFE MEXICO

TRIESTESPRESSO EXPO

COFFEE FEST

Mexico City, Mexico

Trieste, Italy

Tacoma, WA

Orlando, FL

tradex.mx/expocafe

triestespresso.it

coffeefest.com

Paris, France

flrestaurantand lodgingshow.com

FRESH CUP MAGAZINE [ 47

Sustainable Matters COMPOST NASHVILLE picks up Crema Coffee Roasters’ food waste and compostables from its café and turns it into compost, keeping it out of Nashville’s landfill system.

SAME FOCUS, NEW TITLE From “The Last Plastic Straw” to “Sustainable Matters,” Fresh Cup’s sustainability column gets rebranded for 2020 By Robin Roenker

ans on plastic straws have been gaining traction in communities across the country; they’re currently in effect in Washington, D.C., Seattle, and cities throughout California, just to name a few. Corporations have also joined in the effort, with Starbucks, American Airlines, Royal Caribbean, and others pledging to ditch plastic straws in favor of biodegradable or compostable alternatives. The bans aren’t without controversy. Disability rights advocates have voiced concern that the new laws limit straw

48 ] FEBRUARY 2020 » freshcup.com

access to customers who truly need them, while others are disheartened by the reduced durability of paper straws and skeptical that such bans have any real environmental impact—especially when compared against the tons of plastic waste from other products thrown away daily. Meanwhile, supporters of the bans say targeting plastic straws—a product many customers can manage without— is an important first step in reducing single-use plastic waste as a whole. Of course, café owners committed to broad-based sustainability will tell you that reducing waste means addressing

much more than what type of straws to stock. That’s why last year, in this column, we introduced readers to coffee and tea shops across the country—and the world—that have adopted innovative, proactive sustainability efforts that go beyond the straw. Here, we offer a recap of some of the most practical low-waste ideas from our 2019 “Last Plastic Straw” columns. But we’re going further: we pledge to keep reporting on an array of sustainability issues in the coming year, now under the banner of our new monthly column, “Sustainable Matters.”

PHOTO BY RYAN GREEN

shop, and envision ways to replace them with longer-lasting alternatives instead. At Kind Café in Vancouver, customers use cloth napkins that are washable and reusable, eliminating another source of paper waste. Colorful, easy-to-read counter signage lets customers know the reason for the switch. “It’s been amazing and very well received,” says owner Samantha Emerman.

• COMPOST

We hope you’ll be inspired to adopt one (or more!) of these ideas in 2020.

• CUP LENDING PROGRAM To reduce cup waste, many cafés, like Cat & Cow in Randwick, Australia, and Coffee Roboto in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, have adopted cup lending programs, allowing customers to both donate and borrow reusable mugs. The details can vary—some cafés offer a price reduction for using reusable ware or charge deposits to encourage mug return, for example—but the end result is the same: less single-use cups crowding the trash can at the end of the day.

• CLOTH NAPKINS Take an inventory of all the singleuse paper and plastic items in your

Rather than tossing all your food waste or coffee and tea grounds into the garbage, consider composting them. While municipal composting isn’t available everywhere, look to area nonprofits or private composting companies as potential partners. In San Diego, Achilles Coffee Roasters has found success partnering with Food2Soil, a program that provides plant-based compost to local community gardens and backyard growers.

• CHARGE FOR DISPOSABLE CUPS Upcharging for disposable cups can be an effective way to encourage customers to bring their own reusable cups and mugs or drink in rather than ordering to-go. Just ask Portland, Oregon’s Nossa Familia Coffee, where a 25-cent disposable cup upcharge at its Seven Corners location encouraged nearly 70 percent

of customers to either bring their own reusable ware or enjoy their drinks in house.

• DITCH THE TRASH CAN ALTOGETHER Nashville’s Crema Coffee Roasters and Holland, Michigan’s Lemonjello’s Coffee found the most effective step in their move toward zero-waste was to remove trash cans from their customer-facing service areas entirely. Staff sort items into compost and recycle bins as appropriate, behind the counter. “We have standard dish bins and ask customers to put everything there,” says Lemonjello’s owner Matthew Scott. “We find that’s easier than resorting later—and it takes away a potential obstacle for customers.” Using citywide composting and recycling services, Lemonjello’s serves 500–700 customers daily, but produces just one bag or less of trash each day. By partnering with Compost Nashville and recycling company Earth Savers, Crema has been able to divert 95 percent of its waste out of Nashville landfills, redirecting more than 26 tons of would-be trash per year. FC Are you a café or business owner who wants to share your story of sustainability? Email editor@ freshcup.com for the chance to be featured in Fresh Cup.

PHOTOS (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT): INSTAGRAM @COFFEEROBOTO, INSTAGRAM @NOSSAFAMILIACOFFEE, COURTESY OF KIND CAFÉ

FRESH CUP MAGAZINE [ 49

Advertiser Index

To view our advertiser list and visit the websites listed below, go to freshcup.com/resources/fresh-cup-advertisers

ADVERTISER

CONTACT ONLINE

Barista Pro Shop

866.776.5288

baristaproshop.com/fresh

Café Femenino Foundation

360.901.8322

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The Canadian Coffee & Tea Show

877.687.7321

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Cappuccine

800.511.3127 cappuccine.net

Coffee Fest

425.295.3300

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Coffee Kids

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The Cold Pro

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Custom Cup Sleeves

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Ditting

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Divinitea

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Enhanced Beverage Solutions

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Ghirardelli Chocolate

800.877.9338

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Gosh That’s Good! Brand

888.848.GOSH (4674)

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Grounds For Health

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Java Jacket

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Malabar Gold Espresso

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malabargoldespresso.com

Monin

800.966.5225

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Pacific Foods of Oregon

503.692.9666

pacificfoods.com/foodservice

Specialty Coffee Expo

562.624.4100

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SerendipiTea

888.TEA.LIFE (832.5433) serendipitea.com

Sustainable Harvest

503.235.1119

sustainableharvest.com

Tea Trade Show

973.551.9161

teatradeshow.com

Toddy

970.493.0788

coldbrewcupping.com

Your Brand Cafe

866.566.0390

yourbrandcafe.com

Zojirushi America

800.264.6270

zojirushi.com

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