Fresh Cup Magazine | November 2019

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CONTENTS

N OV E M B E R 2 0 1 9 | VO L . 2 8 . N O. 1 1 | F R E S H C U P M AG A Z I N E

Departments

10

16

20

52

56

CAMILA CODDOU,

A DOSHIC PATH TO TEA

KINTSUGI

BARISTA BEHIND THE BAR

GOLDEN BEAN NORTH AMERICA

NEW LIFE FOR LEFTOVERS

Do You Know?

Café Crossroads

The Whole Leaf

By Jessica Natale Woollard

Show Shots

The Last Plastic Straw

By Fresh Cup Staff

By Robin Roenker

By Caitlin Peterkin

By Lindsey Danis

Features

24

30

Baristas around the world share how the industry impacts their health and wellness—and what we can do to fix it.

Treats for professional tasters

Working on the Frontline, Part One

By Anastasia Prikhodko

Fresh Cup’s Holiday Gift Guide

By Rachel Northrop

34

40

Re-inventing holiday traditions

Challenges to Kenya’s tea export market.

By S. Michal Bennett

By Daniel Sitole

Beyond PSL & Peppermint

Turning Over New Leaves

44

Surprising Changes in Japanese Tea Culture & Business

By Greg Goodmacher

EDITOR’S LETTER, PAGE 7 | CONTRIBUTORS, PAGE 8 COUNTER INTELLIGENCE, PAGE 48 | CALENDAR, PAGE 50 | AD INDEX, PAGE 58 On the Cover: Anne Chemutai picking tea leaves manually on a tea plantation in Kericho County, Kenya. Photo by Daniel Sitole 6 ] NOVEMBER 2019 » freshcup.com

Fresh Cup Magazine FRESH CUP PUBLISHING Publisher and President JAN WEIGEL jan@freshcup.com

EDITOR’S LETTER

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

PHILLIP DI BELLA Di Bella Group

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

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Copyright ©2019 by Fresh Cup Publishing Company Inc. Contents may not be reproduced without written permission from the publisher. ISSN: 1094-8228 SUBSCRIPTION QUESTIONS? EMAIL: freshcup@pfsmag.com CALL: 888-881-5861 PO Box 92735, Long Beach, CA 90809-9639

A

café supporting mindfulness and community in a city wrought with tension. A tea blender crafting healing brews with an artful eye and surpassing intention. A champion taster raising mental health awareness after struggling with her own for so long.

A barista traveling the country to connect with other coffee professionals in the hopes of building a more equitable and supportive industry.

It’s been just over a year since I’ve taken up editorship of Fresh Cup, and I’m honored to continue to bring you stories from all corners of our industry that provoke thought, inspire conversation, and incite change. This month, it is my privilege to shine a light on the people and businesses putting purpose to their work, adapting to the ever-changing landscape of coffee and tea, and strengthening our community in ways both big and small. These are the stories that exemplify the best of our industry—that no matter the challenges, the setbacks, the tolls placed upon us, it’s one that is built upon finding solutions to problems, advocating for ourselves and for others, and fostering collaboration and community with those around us.

As we enter the holiday season, it is important to recognize the burdens that may come from the demanding customers, hours, and social obligations. I encourage you to know your limitations, practice self-care, and give back in a way that’s meaningful to you, whether it’s gifting something tangible (p. 30), making a thoughtful new recipe (p. 34), or even implementing a new program that helps our planet (p. 56).

In a time centered around gratitude, family, and celebration, I’d like to extend a warm welcome to two new faces at Fresh Cup: Corinne Hindes, our new sales rep, and Janae Easlon, our new associate editor. They join our small but mighty team, and I know they’ll work hard to ensure each issue continues to reflect the best of our industry.

FRESH CUP OFFICES P.O. Box 14827, Portland, OR 97293 PHONE: 503/236-2587 | FAX: 503/236-3165 FRESH CUP PROUDLY SPONSORS NONPROFITS

CAITLIN PETERKIN, EDITOR

editor@freshcup.com F RES HCU P.COM

PHOTO BY NATHAN DUMLAO

FRESH CUP MAGAZINE [ 7

Contributors

S. Michal Bennett co-owns Coffee Roboto, a mobile coffee cart that traverses the streets of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Besides slinging shots, she’s been actively putting pen to paper since she was 15, writing about food, health, and most things literary. In this issue, Bennett shares ideas for how to bring new life to classic holiday recipes, on p. 34.

Lindsey Danis is a Hudson Valley-based freelance writer who covers food, culture, LGBTQ, and travel. In this issue, she dives into the relationship between Ayurveda and Western tea-making at a teahouse in Portland, Maine (p. 16).

8 ] NOVEMBER 2019 » freshcup.com

Greg Goodmacher has called Asia home for decades and now lives in Japan, where he thrives on green tea, coffee, and hot springs.

For his Fresh Cup debut, he looks at how Japanese tea farmers and businesses are adapting to the country’s changing tea culture (p.44).

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.

Read her suggestions for what to gift terroir aficionados this holiday season, on p. 30.

Anastasia Prikhodko is a freelance journalist based in Sydney, Australia. Previously, she spent two years abroad living in Amsterdam and enjoying the coffee scene across Europe, Russia, and Korea. She writes mainly about coffee, the travel trade sector, social issues, gender, and, at times, dabbles in a bit of sports writing. For this issue, she talks with baristas around the world about mental health and what the industry can do to help, on p. 24.

Daniel Sitole is a Kenyan journalist and photographer whose stories have appeared in newspapers and magazines around the world, including in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. His writing interests include business and finance, economic development, agriculture, globalization, environmental, climate change, and human interest stories. In this issue, he discusses the challenges to Kenya’s tea export market, on p. 40.

Lexington, Kentucky-based freelance writer Robin Roenker has extensive experience reporting on business trends, from cybersecurity to real estate, personal finance, and green living. For Fresh Cup, she covers sustainable and ecofriendly trends in cafés and the coffee industry in her regular column, The Last Plastic Straw, on p. 56.

Jessica Natale Woollard writes stories about people, places, and things deserving of a wider audience. Based in Victoria, British Columbia, she specializes in writing about business, which she undertakes while sipping her favorite brew, mango and bergamot green tea by Whittard of Chelsea. On p. 20, she highlights Kintsugi, a new café in Washington, D.C.

FRESH CUP MAGAZINE [ 9

Do You Know?

Camila Coddou Barista Behind the Bar

BY CAITLIN PETERKIN

B

ack in June, longtime coffee professional Camila Coddou set out from Portland, Oregon, to travel the country and talk to baristas in order to answer the question: “How do we make the coffee industry a more equitable and supportive work environment, welcoming to all who share our passion?”

Since embarking on this project, Barista Behind the Bar, Coddou has spoken with baristas from Seattle, the Bay Area, Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit, and other cities about topics ranging from hospitality and self-care to inclusivity and empowerment.

She also regularly hosts discussions on Instagram, asking questions via Barista Behind the Bar stories, sharing responses from her followers, and adding her own insights. And in September, she launched a survey for coffee professionals to anonymously answer questions to better inform her work, the findings of which will be released in the coming months.

Coddou recently took the time to speak with Fresh Cup about her journey with Barista Behind the Bar.

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Fresh Cup: Tell us a bit about the inspiration behind Barista Behind the Bar. What was the impetus behind this journey? What were your goals setting out?

CAMILA CODDOU: The idea for Barista Behind the Bar came to me while I was taking a shower—it’s where I get all my best thinking done.

I have worked in coffee for over ten years, and in those ten years I’ve had so many wild experiences. Some have been awesome, and some have left me feeling pretty down. Most of my work over that decade was in management.

Somewhere in there I realized that my best work came from creating supportive environments in which baristas could thrive. This became my goal, and I did my best (messing up at times but always trying to do better) throughout my time in coffee to foster these spaces.

Barista Behind the Bar is an extension of this passion. It’s not only creating space for baristas to share their stories and feel heard, it’s also highlighting the fact that our employees, most of whom

make minimum wage, have so many amazing business ideas which hardly ever get heard. The goal of this project is to get conversations started, make sure baristas are feeling heard and having their ideas valued, and travel around the country meeting baristas and interviewing them. I just completed five weeks on the road interviewing baristas in the Midwest, Northeast, a bit in the South, and on the West Coast, and plan on heading out again in the next few months.

What was your preparation for your travels like? Did you reach out to baristas and cafés before hitting the road?

Did you plan a detailed itinerary, or just see where each day would take you?

Travel prep revolved a lot around considerations for the van I was driving. It was important for me to have a space where I could sleep and cook, thereby keeping my travel costs down, and that I be able to navigate city streets and tight parking spots.

PHOTO BY KALE CHESNEY

Do You Know?

I bought a 1983 Ford conversion van for this, and although it might not have been the absolute best pick, it ticked a lot of the boxes. My partner, Lola, and I spent a lot of time ripping out carpet, installing fans, and insulating. It was a crash course in van conversions!

As for how I scheduled and planned, at the time of setting out, I had a pretty great amount of followership on Instagram. Most baristas who were interested in speaking reached out to me there and through the website submission form and I had been in communication with so many awesome baristas during the months of preparation. I decided that I wanted to cover certain areas/states, knowing that for this leg of the trip I wouldn’t get everywhere I wanted to go. So it was a mixture of both—I had a loose itinerary/idea of a region I would cover, and baristas in each area that had already been in touch, and would plan a few days in advance where I would go next within a certain region. I would post dates and locations a day or two in advance, and then baristas would get in touch to schedule a meeting. This allowed me to keep sessions with long-standing relationships, and invite in new followers who might be interested on the fly.

What are your favorite road trip snacks? Podcasts? Songs/ artists to listen to?

I joked to Lola the other day that I want to make bumper stickers that say, “Ira Glass is my co-pilot.” So yeah, I listened to a ton of This American Life.

I also listen to a lot of storytelling podcasts like The Moth and Risk. The van doesn’t have AC, so unfortunately, I had to have the windows down all day, which did make listening to podcasts a bit challenging, so this meant that Ira Glass was cranked all the way up. I also really love music, but sometimes making playlists can be a bit of a drag, so I relied heavily on the playlists Spotify creates for me. On heavy rotation when not listening to playlists: Blood Orange, Little Dragon, Broadcast.

But you know what I found really interesting? Driving for so many hours in a day (sometimes I would be in the van non-stop for basically 12 hours getting from one place to the next) eventually made me tired of hearing stuff. Many times I found myself actually turning everything off and just sitting with my thoughts in (relative) silence for hours at a time.

Snacks: tons of jerky, miso soup cups that just need hot water, lentil soup boxes, dried mango, popcorn, and lots of coconut water.

How do you practice self-care on the road?

My father passed away in January of this year, so for me, self-care has been extra important as of late and also taking on new and different iterations.

Number one for me was to do my best to ease up on any sort of “agenda” or preconceived idea of what would make this trip/project “successful.” I didn’t always succeed at quieting those voices of doubt in my head, but I think reminding myself to be gentle and release control was a constant and daily practice.

That helped keep me grounded and helped me bring my best to each interview.

‘Cause that’s the other thing—holding space can be very emotionally draining. It’s hard for the barista being interviewed to share challenges they’ve faced at work, and it’s also emotionally vulnerable to receive that information.

Self-care was imperative.

Other things I do for self-care: weight lift and CrossFit. Physical activity helps me drop into my body, and CrossFit is a modality that really works for that. I went to gyms around the country and that was a fun way to explore cities. Reading a good book with a hot cup a tea is also something I did basically every single night in my van. It was a nice relaxing ritual.

FRESH CUP MAGAZINE [ 13

Do You Know?

How has the reception been from baristas? From café owners/managers? Do you notice a difference in how people perceive the project based on their position in the industry?

Even though there have been large stretches of this trip during which I didn’t see anyone I knew, everywhere I went and got to interview baristas felt like I was making a new friend, a new important connection. The opportunity I had to connect with so many passionate coffee professionals was so inspiring, and the reception has been so lovely—in both directions! This was true for management and ownership I met along the way as well.

I think most people perceive the idea behind the project as basically supportive, and most people, no matter what position they hold, do see the value in people feeling heard. I haven’t noticed much discrepancy there.

the things coffee professionals are passionate about, and they’re as multifaceted as the coffee industry itself. Some people I spoke with were excited to talk about how important accessible education was to them. Some people touched on how to make cafés more supportive for employees, for customers, how to bring more support towards the challenges that farmers face, ways in which they engage in self-care. People are in this industry because they love coffee, or because they are looking for a specific kind of benefit, or because they were friends with a barista and were welcomed into the community.

After leaving my last employer, I took a long break from coffee and felt pretty done with the whole business. But what I have re-learned during this experience and through speaking with baristas, is that there is a reason I was in the industry for so long: because of the community we’ve been able to build.

Now we just need to put in the work to protect that community.

How have you had to adjust your plans or expectations of this project?

CODDOU with Cydni, a barista in North Carolina.

What have been some of the biggest lessons you’ve learned talking to baristas?

The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that literally everyone is so smart, caring, and has a specific thing they are passionate about and want to see improve. Initially I figured, okay, most people who want to speak with me will have similar ideas, concerns, and interests. But of course that is so not the case! I’ve learned so much about all

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One of the first things I adjusted was my perception on how long things would take. To begin with, it takes me hours to transcribe a single one-hour interview. I had no idea transcribing took so long!

The second thing I had to adjust was how many interviews I could do in a day. I can tend to overwork myself, and initially I was scheduling four to five interviews a day, with only about 30 minutes in between each one. That was NOT enough time to process, recharge, and get ready for the next interview.

Sitting with people in such vulnerable space was wonderful and cathartic, and could also be exhausting, so I set my limit at three interviews a day.

The fun thing is though, since I am doing this whole thing on my own, I can allow this project to evolve and change as naturally and as often as is needed. For instance, I initially thought I would do guest spots at cafés to try to entrench myself in the café culture of a

specific place. But then I thought that might make it hard for baristas to talk to me if they had something negative to say about their work environments. I was the only person I had to check with when deciding to scratch that!

And lastly, I have had to readjust how long the actual travel portion takes. I feel like if there is one thing I really learned on this project is that I am no longer in my twenties and that driving 460 miles alone in one day is my personal limit!

That didn’t used to feel so hard. But in any case, this just meant that I couldn’t cover as much ground as I had initially planned. But that’s okay, ‘cause the project is not over yet and I am in the planning stages of the next leg.

What was the idea behind the survey? How was the response?

The survey was actually an idea that my best friend, Tina, suggested. She works in public health and is a total data wizard. I told her that I was planning a presentation for The Barista Guild’s Access event, and she was like, wouldn’t it be cool to have some data points for that?! She helped me put it together, write it all out, and make it look professional. We put it up at midnight one week before my Access presentation, and by the following day we have over 200 responses. We couldn’t believe it!

We are up to 700+ now, and this data has helped illustrate what sorts of support has been received and has been lacking for various groups of people across various ages, gender and race identities, and experience levels.

We will be analyzing the data soon, and I can’t wait to share the findings.

Your Instagram stories always include thought-provoking questions and provide wonderful, insightful dialogue from you and your followers.

Why is it important to carry the conversation over into Instagram?

Instagram is a flawed platform, to be sure, but it’s free and widely available,

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CAMILA CODDOU

and keeping things accessible is one of the main objectives of Barista Behind the Bar. I used my Instagram stories to share the entire contents of my Access presentation since entry to the event was over $400, a price I know most baristas couldn’t afford. That was a huge bonus of the platform, and one of the reasons I rely so heavily on it. I can share things quickly, for free, engage community members in a way that is instant and genuine, and it’s easy to save things, track engagement, and connect through DMs. It’s also completely impossible for me to interview everyone who wants to participate in Barista Behind the Bar. Therefore, I use Instagram as a way to feature people I don’t get to meet in real life, and also give them the platform of the Barista Behind the Bar account.

The thing about Instagram that doesn’t work for me is that it limits visibility of content to those with access to a smart phone, and that is a huge barrier. One of my ultimate goals for BBB is to engage service industry professionals from all industries in conversations around labor rights and supportive work environments— not just coffee professionals. As the BBB community grows, the method of sharing information will also need to evolve and can’t keep people out along lines of access to technology.

but not limited to Ashley [Rodriguez] of Boss Barista, Umeko [Motoyoshi], and the team at Coffee at Large. FC Visit BaristaBehindtheBar.com to learn more and listen to interviews, and follow along on Instagram @BaristaBehindtheBar.

What’s next for Barista Behind the Bar?

The biggest and coolest Barista Behind the Bar project I am working on now? An all-day coffee industry event that features workshops led

by PoC, queers and femmes, and is free for baristas to attend, giving preference to those who are new to the industry. Stay tuned for details on that!

Anything else you’d like our readers to know?

Thanks to everyone following along. This work means so much to me, feels so important for our industry right now, and is so much fun. I also want to thank all the other amazing people in coffee right now making things happen, including

FRESH CUP MAGAZINE [ 15

The Whole Leaf A Doshic Path to Tea STORY AND PHOTOS BY LINDSEY DANIS

THIS ADAPTOGENIC BLEND is intended to be grounding and restorative, helping to alleviate the autoimmune responses often related to stress.

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SARAH RICHARDS

S

arah Richards, owner of Homegrown Herb & Tea in Portland, Maine, began making herbal tea as a college student after receiving a book on herbs. She started with medicinal herbs for health conditions, then added other herbs for flavor. Richards was training to become a Spanish teacher and moved to Granada, Spain, to improve her language skills. Her herbal knowledge wasn’t anything she considered as a career—teas were for herself, friends, and family—yet Richards found herself deeply unhappy despite pursuing her career goals in sunny Spain.

practice on a more professional and intense level in my tea making.”

Healing With Herbs

Intuitively Balanced

In Granada, Richards would visit a Moroccan teahouse that served fresh mint tea with local honey. Whenever she drank the sweet mint tea, her unhappiness washed away in a flood of tears. A server joked that they would no longer serve her mint tea because it made her cry.

After returning to Maine, where she worked as a freelance reporter and later a substitute Spanish teacher, Richards pivoted from teaching to tea.

“I’d been making my own tea for friends and family, for a number of years, a long time before I thought it might be a place I’d like to create for myself,” she explains. By the time she opened Homegrown Herb & Tea, in 2006, Richards had been making tea from a Western herbalist perspective for 15 years.

Previous work experience as a server and bartender gave Richards knowledge of the beverage industry, but it was discovering Ayurveda—the traditional Indian health system, which looks at the mind and body through the lens of doshas, or energetic constitutions­— that gave her the confidence to open her tea shop.

“I was introduced to Ayurveda by a friend and it was the missing piece of my art,” she says, “something I felt like I needed to share for people and

“In Western herbalism, you isolate the individual compounds of a plant and learn their medicinal values and action on the body,” says Richards. “[Western herbalism] doesn’t explore in its practice the energy of the plant so that’s an enormous healing piece of herbal medicine [found in Ayurveda].”

The Ayurvedic approach looks at the energies of the plant, which might be cool, like mint, or heating, like rosemary, as well as the energies of the individual. In Ayurveda, there are three doshas: Kapha, Pitta, and Vata.

Individuals have a dosha (or combination) they’re born with, which is called prakriti, but daily life can cause the doshic energies to become unbalanced.

Working too hard for too long, for instance, leads to an imbalance of Pitta energy. Soothing Pitta with cooling herbs reduces the symptoms of stress and burnout to restore the prakriti.

While plant energies tend to be constant (though some herbs, like ginger, might be warming upon consumption only to cool the body after it’s digested), individual doshic constitutions mean that conditions require multiple remedies. Richards explains that two people might come in with the same cold, but their reason for catching the cold will be different based on the doshas.

“A Vata cold is dry and under-consumptive…versus a heavy, damp Kapha cold,” she says. “Each of those individual decongestant herbs has its own energy, either warming or cooling to the body, drying or emollient.” By understanding the Ayurvedic energies at play, Richards can concoct the right remedy to help treat the health concern.

Ayurveda proved something Richards had been acting on intuitively while creating medicinal teas.

“I wasn’t practicing it well or consistently, but I was sensing the energy and the need to balance that energy,” she says. “Finding physical balance is the essence of helping [people] get better.”

To Richards, integrating Ayurvedic principles with her knowledge of Western herbalism was similar to learning Spanish. Once she knew the vocabulary—in her case, Western herbalism—then she could have a conversation. Through integrating Ayurveda, Richards transformed the toolkit of herbalism into a craft that allowed her to “create a learning environment around my own art.”

Inviting Conversation Homegrown Herb & Tea is intentionally Old World in style.

“I source bulk herbs and bulk tea, make herbal remedies to order as people come in and request them,” says Richards.

The shop, located on Munjoy Hill, is cozy: windows are filled with herbs

FRESH CUP MAGAZINE [ 17

The Whole Leaf

while a back room offers reading nooks, games, and guitars. The inviting atmosphere is intentional, and perhaps borrowed from her Moroccan teahouse experience. Richards wanted to create a place where people could relax and open up—the opposite of an uptight, clinical setting. Chalkboards list seasonal specials, such as an early summer Lavender Sunrise (organic silver tips white tea with lavender, cornflower, bee balm, and fenugreek).

But while the lengthy tea menu features seasonal tonics and traditional favorites, the best tea is always what’s needed to balance the individual customer’s mind and body.

Ayurveda requires reflection, notes Richards, and in a Western culture, people are not as practiced at observation, noticing the way things feel without reacting to the feeling. But, she explains, Ayurveda “draws you in and awakens you. The first step makes you feel better, then you see the world that way, through energy.” It’s a peaceful,

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HOMEGROWN HERB & TEA

organic way to balance physical and emotional wellbeing. Richards insists that people are drawn to energy, even though they may not realize why they savor red wine in the winter or mint in the summer. That’s why sales of a popular summertime tea, The Lemon Squeezer (lemon balm, lemon verbena, lemongrass, thyme, and dried lemon peel), dry up come fall.

In a conventional medical setting, there’s little to no discussion of the underlying factors that might lead to symptoms. For Richards, a conversation

with patrons is the first step in the healing process.

“People have a specific thing they want me to make tea for, and then the conversation becomes about their life, their work, their children,” she says.

“Everything [factors] into why you’re unhealthy, so it’s a natural place for people to open up and talk about their life.”

Through conversation, Richards looks for the place where someone’s wellness fell out of balance.

“There’s a beginning to that—that place in your life where what you were

doing, feeling, seeing, or eating put you out of balance,” she says. “Does one conversation or cup of tea cure anything? There’s no way to measure that, but I feel that people come here and feel better from the experience because they get to be heard, reflect on their life, and when you get to do that, it’s therapy.”

Consuming the volatile essence of an herb by drinking tea is very different than taking the same herb in a pill form, explains Richards, because the pill lacks the energy, volatile oils, and a surprising “ingredient”—thoughtfulness. As she crafts tea for a customer, she says, “We both enter into the process with intention. They know what they’re drinking it for and what herbs are part of [the remedy].” Tea engages the senses with flavor and smell for a more pleasant experience than swallowing a pill.

Since blends are prepared to order and may be simmered, chai-style, in milk, each cup takes time to prepare.

This adds to the intentional timeout of a visit to Homegrown Herb & Tea.

“Then the person enjoys it, it’s delicious, and they think of this medicine as this nourishing piece of their day,” says Richards, who encourages customers to bring the same intentionality to tea they steep at home.

Connecting to a New World Richards sources the teas used in her blends from Eco-Prima, an organic and fair trade wholesaler. She grows about 30 herbs herself, both at home—“My whole back and front yard is permacultured with crops I use for the shop,” she notes—and on the Maine farm where she grew up, which is now run by her brother. After the family land sat unused for 30 years, her brother restored five to 10 acres for organic farmland. Richards grows herbs on a quarter acre and helps out around the family farm when she’s not busy at the shop.

Richards estimates that she grows 20 pounds of lemongrass, lemon balm,

lemon verbena, lemon thyme, chamomile, lavender, holy basil, motherwort, mullein, hops, dandelion, horehound, marshmallow, and bee balm—fresh stock that lasts her from the summer through December, generally. She’s been able to source young ginger and turmeric from local farmers, and orders other herbs from a supplier.

The “other Portland” is enjoying a renaissance, thanks in part to its deserved reputation as a foodie haven (Bon Appetit named the northern New England city its 2018 Restaurant City of the Year). In the years since Richards opened Homegrown Herb & Tea, Munjoy Hill has transformed.

“A lot of old places that have been here forever are closing so I feel like a relic, and I am trying to look at that differently,” notes Richards. “I’m definitely feeling like I need to connect to a new world [so this is] a transitional time for me.”

One change she’s excited about? A subscription element to her tea shop, which is still in the conceptual stages. FC

FRESH CUP MAGAZINE [ 19

Café Crossroads Kintsugi More Than the Sum of Its Beautiful Parts STORY AND PHOTOS BY JESSICA NATALE WOOLLARD

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T

hree blocks north of the White House is K Street, known as a center for the capital’s lobbyists. The street is lined with beige, gray, and glass buildings, a muted palette with the occasional red brick building adding color.

Heading east on K toward 11th, in the neighborhood of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, one nine-floor building stands out: its bricks are painted matte black. At ground level, large garage doors with glass panels are divided by black grilles, and black awnings cover the windows and entrances.

On the east corner is Kintsugi, a café whose warmly lit interior glows against the building’s dark façade. Light sconces strategically placed around the perimeter add elegance and catch the eye of passersby. The café’s garage door is often open, drawing people in from the street.

The café name, kintsugi, comes from Japanese, the name given to the art of repairing broken pottery with gold. “[It’s] taking something that was previously broken and making something that’s more beautiful than it was before, something that’s more than the sum of its broken pieces,” explains Alexandra Bookless, assistant food and beverage director with Plan Do See, the company that manages food and

beverage in the space. She says the café name’s metaphor comes to life because Kintsugi takes the best elements of coffee shops and community gathering places and offers something beautiful and new.

Kintsugi is located in the Eaton DC hotel, which opened in August 2018, the flagship of the up-and-coming Eaton Workshop chain, founded by Katherine Lo. Lo’s Hong Kong family is behind the luxury Langham brand, but Eaton has a different ethos. With locations in D.C. and Hong Kong, and one in the works for San Francisco, Eaton focuses on caring for today’s world: Hotel staff sport sage green Che Guevaratype jackets; a library off the lobby features books about activism; guests can enjoy a wellness center for yoga and tai chi; and an on-site streaming radio station amplifies the arts, entrepreneurship, and community spirit.

“Everything in the hotel that Katherine wanted to develop, she wanted to have the same ethics behind it: supporting local when possible, being sustainable when possible, supporting a local economy with fair wages,” explains Bookless.

Sustainability is also a key component of the Kintsugi brand, which fits nicely with the meaning of kintsugi— making something new again. The café uses biodegradable plastic-alternative

straws and items that are either compostable or recyclable.

“We’re trying to support local and sustainable practices as much as possible,” emphasizes Bookless.

Café beverages, including the crowd favorite turmeric latté, are served in handmade mugs crafted nearby at Studio North Ceramics in Springfield, Virginia. Pastries from James Beardnominated pastry chef David Collier include vegan chocolate croissants and gluten-free cinnamon swirl bread and are made in-house, as are fresh juices— a cucumber and kale blend and one with turmeric, apple, and pineapple.

Assam and sencha teas come from The Tea Spot in Louisville, Colorado, selected in part because the company donates 10 percent of its sales in-kind to cancer survivors and community wellness programs. And Floyd, Virginia-based Red Rooster Coffee oversees the coffee service and created a custom blend for Kintsugi, a variation on the company’s production roast, which won a silver medal at the 2019 Golden Bean North America coffee roasters competition.

“We shaped the blend to suit Kintsugi,” says Haden Polseno-Hensley, who coowns Red Rooster with his wife. “We reduced a bit of the fruity component.

They wanted a little more straightforward chocolatey nature to the coffee.”

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Café Crossroads

Polseno-Hensley’s team set up Kintsugi with a Slayer 3 Group espresso machine and a Wilbur Curtis G4 coffee brewer to prepare the café’s singleorigin Colombian and single-origin natural Ethiopia on drip.

“Both those coffees taste really good on that G4,” says Polseno-Hensley, adding that the team didn’t feel there was need for a pour-over brewing “on a

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street-level coffee shop on a very busy street in a very busy place in D.C. We just wanted them to be able to turn over delicious coffee as quickly as possible.”

In June, Kintsugi joined Red Rooster’s flash-chilled coffee program, served through a Kegerator.

“We’re brewing [coffee] hot and then chilling it below 40 degrees within 15 minutes and putting it in kegs and dis-

tributing to a limited number of highvolume and high-exposure clients,” says Polseno-Hensley.

“I think that we probably have just reached the beginning of what we think is the potential [at Kintsugi],” he adds.

“It’s one of the most beautiful cafés I’ve ever seen.”

James Beard award-winning Parts and Labor Design crafted the interior of the café, brought in once the hotel’s other spaces were nearly completed.

“With Kintsugi, we wanted to make sure it [had] its own identity to some extent but that it also played off some moments that you’d experience in other areas of the hotel,” explains Jeremy Levitt, a co-owner of the design firm, located in the Flatiron District of New York City.

One of the primary aesthetics of the design was based loosely around a Japanese whisky shop, but a focus on community was at the forefront, says Levitt.

“That was how we laid out the space, that

was our motivation beyond the aesthetic concept—it was the social concept.”

Parts and Labor’s team of five created different focal points in the café, or “visual destinations,” as Levitt calls them, that “give people an opportunity to explore….We hope people will take the time to look at what’s on the shelves or at the lights or furniture.”

One visual destination is a console near the center of the café, which displays books, curiosities, and other knickknacks. A minimalist light fixture over the piece creates warmth.

Lighting, sometimes surrounded by crown molding painted black, is used throughout the café to delineate seating areas. There are seats at tables, lounge chairs, booths, and a bar table overlooking K Street.

The café’s mid-century feel and gentle, golden tones create a sense of nostalgia.

“It enables people to walk in and look around and once they get settled, gives

the eye a rest,” says Levitt. “It allows people to sit comfortably and feel that they can have a pleasant cup of coffee or tea.”

Adjacent to the south-facing double garage doors is one of the café’s most memorable features: a wall of locally sourced succulents lit by two spherical lights over mirrors. Passersby on K Street can glimpse this focal point in the café, especially when the garage doors are open. Underneath the wall are two booth-seating areas with crimson and gold-patterned fabric on the chairs. It’s an inviting place to settle that gives people the chance to “start the day by sitting around that life that the plants and the greenery give off. It hones in on the wellness side of things and creates this kind of positive energy in most areas of the space within the hotel,” says Levitt. “The minute that you’ve got two people sitting there, having a cup of coffee in the morning,

the café is already doing its job from the social perspective.”

Bookless says both hotel guests and locals make Kintsugi part of their dayto-day affairs in D.C. “I hope they experience a sense of community, a sense of care taken in the preparation of their drinks,” she says. “I hope [guests] can accomplish whatever they are there for—whether it’s just for the caffeine, or to get some work done, or to enjoy the space with friends.” FC

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I

n the hospitality sector, the work is both emotionally and physically demanding. The hours are long, the wages are low, and, in many cases, there’s no paid sick or holiday leave. Yet every single day, with a big smile on their face, the employee is expected to meet customer needs. And despite the role of the barista becoming more professionalized, the wages and employee support remain stagnant.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one in four people in the world will be affected by mental or neurological disorders at some point in their lives. Additionally, around 450 million people currently suffer from such conditions, placing mental disorders among the leading causes of ill health and disability worldwide.

Yet despite treatment readily available, nearly two-thirds of people with a known mental disorder never seek help from a health professional as a result of “stigma, discrimination, and neglect,” states the WHO. While some cafés have implemented ways of ensuring their staff have the support they require, many are still in the thought of running their employees dry.

Which brings up the question: What impact can that have on the worker’s well-being, in particular on those living with mental health problems—and how can we help?

Facing the Problem “Putting on a face for customers can lead to severe emotional burnout as well as exacerbate preexisting mental health issues, especially when there are additional stressors going on in a barista’s personal life,” says RJ Joseph, lab technician and content strategist at Red Fox Coffee Merchants. She is also the cofounder of Queer Coffee Events (QC), an organization that supports and organizes events for the queer coffee community.

“Mental and physical health are inextricably linked, and getting through the day with a lot of standing and lifting in addition to emotional work gets harder and harder the more mental

PHOTO COURTESY OF RJ JOSEPH

MINI GOLF SKILLZ: RJ Joseph focuses on putting techniques.

health factors you add into the mix,” says Joseph.

“Reciprocally, physical health takes a toll on mental health, and if your body aches or you keep getting sick, it compounds mental health factors, making it difficult to impossible to get through the day.”

Along with the strenuous nature of the job, people in coffee tend to “place too much of their perception of their value around their productivity, hustle, and ability to do it all with a smile on their face,” explains Joseph. “Aside from the specific mental illnesses that many of us struggle with, often in the public eye and in very challenging positions, we also experience general pressure to be a brand rather than a person, to hustle beyond what we get paid for or have the capacity for.”

Joseph adds that all coffee professionals need to know they’re inherently valuable outside of what they produce and what they do for a living.

The 2019 State of Mental Health in America report states that more than 44 million American adults have a mental health condition, with the rate of youth experiencing a mental health condition continuing to rise. It also highlights that “one in five, or nine million adults experiencing a mental health condition report having an unmet need,” and that the mental health workforce shortage remains.

In a sector that comprises a majority of U.S. jobs, it is essential for employers to understand the impact of good working conditions on employee’s mental health and also provide appropriate resources, education, and health insurance (or help employees find coverage).

“If you can’t access care because your job doesn’t or can’t provide you with health insurance, these issues compound,” says Joseph.

Other factors such as being new to the industry, anxiety, and marginalization also contribute to the state of

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Working on the Frontline, Part One

an employee’s mental health. In a customer service context, it’s a well-documented fact that marginalized baristas experience more harassment, microaggression, and complaints from customers than their non-marginalized counterparts. Additionally, they are less likely to get recognized for their work, promoted, or receive equal pay.

“They are statistically more likely to experience mental illness and stress of all kinds outside of work,” says Joseph. “It’s basically a perfect storm.”

Progress The coffee and service industry is one that “takes,” while the “give” part remains fickle. Even though the discussion surrounding mental health in the workplace is continuing to gain momentum, many cafés still have no systems or strategy around acknowledging and supporting employee mental health. But organizations around the world are seeking to remedy that.

The Kore Directive, a U.K.-based non-profit organization directed at helping women in coffee, held an event earlier this year where the sole focus was on mental health in the industry. The Feelin’ Yourself event welcomed a range of coffee professionals as well as mental health coaches to share, discuss, and listen to each other’s journey.

“Organizations [like Kore] are the tip of the iceberg because although they are great, we still need to cooperate with more professional help and professional organizations to support people with conditions,” says Freda Yuan, who was one of the panelists at the event.

Yuan is the head of coffee at London’s Origin Coffee and the 2017 and 2018 U.K. Cup Tasters Champion.

Yet, her dream to live and breathe coffee did not come easy, since she has struggled with her own set of mental illness hardships.

Yuan came to London six years ago from Taiwan, with the ambition of working in a café and then eventually opening one in Taiwan. She managed to get a job where she learned how to make, dial in, and taste coffee. But suffering from bulimia, she didn’t realize that this illness was not only hurting her, but also her passion.

“I still had bulimia syndrome during that time, so I felt anxious, and I would eat a lot and then puke.

Then one day while dialing in the coffee, I realized that I couldn’t taste much of the coffee,” she says. “This was when I slowly grew my awareness and began my recovery route.”

Yuan explains that when you’re vomiting, the acid from your stomach burns the palate, which can take up to two weeks to recover.

“I couldn’t really taste for that week, and I couldn’t do my job properly,” she says, adding, “This was a tool for me to tell myself, ‘You cannot hurt yourself more.’”

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Her will to change came from coffee.

“Coffee literally saved my life. If I never tasted coffee and if I never came across coffee I would probably still be miserable,” she says. “It’s a weird and wonderful product.”

Yuan recovered by connecting with her spiritual roots, talking to her inner child, and realizing that whatever emotions she was feeling didn’t define her.

FREDA YUAN

“When I’m upset [now], I know that it’s going to pass, I know it’s not forever, and also when I’m happy I know it’s not forever, it’s just that moment. So I try and live in that moment and try to embrace all of my emotions,” says Yuan. “We shouldn’t fight so hard against them. We should dance with them.”

“Although I am here to talk about [mental health],” she adds, “I can only give people my experiences and examples. I can only listen, and when I try suggesting advice, it doesn’t necessarily mean that’s the best advice for them….I think through events [like Feelin’ Yourself] we can raise awareness, but I hope people will seek help, because then, hopefully, this industry will get healthier.”

PHOTO BY GARY HANDLEY

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Working on the Frontline, Part One

Changing Practices Another Feelin’ Yourself panelist was Talor Browne, founder of Talormade, a doughnut and specialty coffee shop in Norway.

Browne, who discussed her career highs and lows at the event, says that although it is great these conversations are taking place, the focus needs to shift towards offering actual solutions—starting with fair pay.

“I think we are an industry that is struggling with mental health because [despite] its increased professionalism, nothing else has changed,” she says. “The pay is the same, and the commissions are the same.”

TALOR BROWNE

“I want to be the type of employer who if you’re off sick, you get paid. I feel like that’s concrete. Here in Norway, that’s what we have. We have paid sick leave and have paid holidays as well,” says Browne. “The one place where we can start is at the workplace, don’t encourage this culture of, ‘Oh, I work so much, I work so hard.’”

Simply put, employers should be paying employees fairly and giving them sick leave.

“That should be the foundation. Even if in your country the laws don’t cover those standards, you have an imperative as a responsible adult human being to give that to your employees,” she says.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF TALOR BROWNE

Having opened two businesses so far, Browne has learned several things along the way. The first business, Talor & Jørgen, was a learning curve, she says, and is an example of doing all the right things but still not succeeding in terms of employee fulfillment.

At Talor & Jørgen, the hiring callout mainly focused on neurodiverse people, some with hospitality experience and some without.

“We wanted to create a team of people that had not had the same opportunities that I had. So we ended up with several employees with serious anxiety problems,” she says. “Everyone was really open about their mental health, which for me was my dream.”

But despite the goodwill, that also proved to be a challenge because more than 50% of employees were dealing with serious mental health issues.

“As an employer, it was tough for me to manage because these individuals were also working in a high-pressure environment,” says Browne. “I had good intentions, but it didn’t work out.”

In her second venture, Talormade, she says that again, despite having the prerogative of giving employees a healthy meal, a 30-minute break, working no more than eight hours, and giving two days off in a row, it is still not enough.

People in the service industry are on the frontline every day. Not only do they meet anywhere between 100 to 300 people every day, but they also have to cater individually to everyone’s needs.

“You can’t do that five days a week, it’s unsustainable,” says Browne. “Especially while you’re trying to do a very specialized craft. You have to concentrate on something that requires a lot of skill as well. It’s just too much.”

Browne’s coffee career has taken her from Australia to Paris and now Oslo, and through it all, therapy has remained a big part of her life.

“The mental health scope is constantly changing, and when I moved to Norway… their approach to illness is so different to Australia,” she says. “In Australia, it’s basically like, this is something that you’re going to have forever, let’s medicate you. This is just management rather than cure, whereas, in Norway, the first thing that my therapist said to me was, ‘Usually people stop seeing the symptoms so significantly after 30.’”

Browne says this changed her perspective; it went from thinking she’s going to be medicated for the rest of her life to “There’s a way out of this.”

“I’m a regular human being that has dealt with trauma, and it has led me to where I am now,” she says.

“There is a future for me.” FC Stay tuned for “Working on the Frontline, Part 2,” next month, where we further explore issues facing the service industry and what can be done to help.

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FERRIS COFFEE & NUT CO. offers many gift options that pair well with coffee and tea.

I

f you work in the café hospitality industry, chances are you’ve given a lot of coffee and tea as gifts—and probably received almost as much in return. Coffee beans, instant coffee packs, and loose-leaf tea tins do make great gifts, but why not gift adventurously? The joy of giving is also a chance to explore new territory and gift something the recipient might not have tried before. Specialty coffee and tea professionals are often experts in terroir, keen sensory evaluators who love to learn about the origins of what they eat and drink. This gift guide offers suggestions of what to get for the barista or café owner who has it all (and maybe what to also add to your own wish list) to put those palate skills to work savoring something special.

High Curcumin Turmeric Slices are grown by a cooperative of organic farmers in Diriamba, Nicaragua. Sliced turmeric, rather than ground powder (which Burlap & Barrel also sells), works better for infusing flavor into a dish or a drink. Try dropping some slices into your next batch of cold brew for an exciting twist.

The coffee community spends time educating consumers that coffee grows on trees and is often picked by hand. Frisch is on a similar mission to teach food and beverage pros that spices, too, have their origin story, and grow on trees, vines, or in the dirt before showing up ground and packed. The Cinnamon Verum Shavings, for example, will change the way you think about cinnamon.

Spice It Up Based in New York, Burlap & Barrel is the only comprehensive single-origin spice company in the United States.

“We work directly with smallholder farmers in thirteen countries to source unique spices for professional chefs and home cooks,” says co-founder Ethan Frisch. “As a public benefit corporation, we set our partner farmers up to export their own crops for the first time. They get access to a whole new market for their spices, and we get access to spices that other companies can’t source.”

Frisch suggests creating infusions from spices, on their own or as blends.

As for brew time and temperature, “spices are way more forgiving than coffee!” he says. “I recommend using them in whatever way is easiest for people.”

Burlap & Barrel includes recipes and tips on its website, and its Facebook page has an active community of cooks and foodies who share their favorite uses for spices.

Cloud Forest Yellow Cardamom is grown on a biodynamic farm in Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. The cardamom fruit yellows as it ripens and is sweeter than the more common green cardamom, making it a great ingredient when blending your own chai.

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF FERRIS COFFEE & NUT CO. (LEFT), COURTESY OF BURLAP & BARREL (RIGHT)

“The Zanzibar archipelago, particularly the island of Pemba, where our cinnamon grows, is really beautiful, with steep hills descending down into lush ravines. The main road on the island is on the ridgeline above the canopy of the jungle,” describes Frisch of his recent spice sourcing trip. “The cinnamomum verum tree was brought to Zanzibar in the 19th century by Arab sailors and merchants and now grows wild in the jungle, along with clove trees and pepper vines. It’s a small tree with lots of branches growing out of a central

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Holiday Gift Guide

trunk, and those branches are cut by hand and carried back to the co-op’s workshop, where the bark is peeled and laid on grass mats to dry in the sun. The cinnamon shavings are the bark from the youngest branches of the cinnamon tree, which are prized for their complex citrusy and herbal flavor.”

Infuse it straight for a new way to experience a familiar flavor.

Nuts About Nuts Gifting time of year is an opportunity to support local and family businesses.

Family-owned and operated Ferris Coffee & Nut Co. in Grand Rapids, Michigan, was established in 1924. Coffee beans, like nuts, are seeds, and their roasting processes bear many parallels.

“The Ferris Coffee & Nut team is committed to responsible sourcing and building thriving relationships to produce delicious, high-quality products,” says Sarah Eyk, content manager for Ferris. “We are in the business of plantgrown food and beverages. We depend on the planet’s people and its resources.”

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Gift giving is also a chance to show convictions about sustainability. Eyk describes how Ferris “strives for continuous improvement through stewardship in our business practices, our ecological impact, and positive engagement with our community.” This can be seen in their coffees, some of which are blends named for local neighborhoods, and in other organic, single-origin, and sustainably sourced offerings.

Ferris’ fruit and nut mixes come in 16-oz. plastic jars that make perfect gifts for a whole office or team to share, or to bring to a holiday party. The team at Ferris suggests “Raw Major Mango Mix as a wonderful complement to green tea.” The sweetness of dried fruits makes it a perfect tea pairing, eliminating the need for any sweetener in the drink. To pair with coffee, they recommend “anything with chocolate, like our Roasted Salted Cherries Berries & Nuts with Dark Chocolate.”

Chocolate & More Chocolate Chocolate may be the original gift idea, but with the number of fine chocolates available from specialized chocolatiers, there is something new for everyone, from terroir purists to sweet-toothed teens. Cacao grown in different origins presents as varied flavor profiles as coffee and tea from different places, and artisan chocolate makers are reclaiming the treat as a craft product made with care from the harvest of cacao pods to the embossed wrapping of bars.

Exquisito Chocolates opened Miami’s first chocolate factory in May 2018, located in the historic Little Havana neighborhood.

“Starting with organic cacao beans directly sourced from eight farms in seven different countries, Exquisito makes all its chocolate confections from the bean to the bar,” says owner Carolina Quijano. “It takes four days to make a single batch of chocolate from fresh roasted cocoa beans that properly balances all the delicate flavor profiles.”

Exquisito’s products include premium chocolate bars (Cookies & Dream,

EXQUISITO’S INFUSED TRUFFLES

White Chocolate, Peanut Gallery, Almond Gosh), infused truffles (Champagne Papi, Fresh Baked Oreo, Little Guavana), ground haute chocolates, and Latin s’mores, to name a few.

“One of our top chocolates to pair with coffee or tea is our Gettin’ Nibby With It bar,” says Quijano. “It is a 73% Hacienda Victoria [from Guayaquil, Ecuador] with pieces of crunchy nibs. The bar is fruity, almost with a mild raisin taste and the bitter nibs elevate your cup of coffee and tea with each bite.”

Or, there’s the Cafe Con Leche, which is an homage to the Miami cafecito.

“We make two different bars with Panther coffee and Per’La coffee roasted locally to create very different flavor profiles,” adds Quijano. Beyond careful sourcing and crafting of its products, Exquisito also offers tours of their factory.

Coffee and cacao have long been natural companions, from lower elevation farms where both trees can be intercropped to collaborations between coffee roasters and chocolate makers.

Kyle Hodges, of Chicago’s Dark Matter Coffee, talks about their partnership with La Rifa in Mexico City.

PHOTOS: (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT) COURTESY OF BURLAP & BARREL, COURTESY OF EXQUISITO CHOCOLATE ,

BY CARINA MASK & CHRISTINA MENDENHALL, AND COURTESY OF FERRIS COFFEE & NUT CO.

those who source, cup, roast, and serve specialty coffee.

“Since the pre-Hispanic era, Soconusco [is] one of the regions most valued for the taste of its cocoa, rich in flavor and aromatics, thanks to the fertile soil,” he says. Cacao for the Soconusco bar shares terrain with various trees, flowers, and fruits, which helps conserve of the whole ecosystem in the region. The Jaguar Blanco is a mixture of cacaos native to Ostuacán, Chiapas. Most are young trees, from five to six years old. “Their environment influences their notes of dairy and caramel,” says Hodges.

Dark Matter’s coffees riff on music and art, featuring unconventional names and creative connections; pairing these coffees with La Rifa chocolate creates a veritable gift basket of nature, art, music, and flavor.

The Gift of Craft “La Rifa is a group of intellectually honest and progressive artisans, [led by] Daniel Reza Barrientos and Mónica Lozano,” he says. The alignment between the two companies lies in mutual respect for culinary progression while maintaining the same love for tradition. “The folks at La Rifa use two ingredients in their chocolate: cocoa and sugar. Their dedication to studiousness of their craft instead mastery has grabbed our hearts for sure.”

Similar to Dark Matter’s seasonal coffee rotations, different La Rifa chocolates are available seasonally, all made with cacao from Mexico and grown in agroforestry systems.

“Cacao for the Uranga is cultivated by the Jimenez Garcia family in agroforestry systems that include precious woods, fruits, flowers, vanilla, and various spices,” says Hodges. “It is fermented and dried under sunlight in boxes made from red cedar resulting in a chocolate with fresh flavors and mild acidity.”

The Almendra Blanca cacaos, used for the Blanco Marfil bar, have a higher amount of butter resulting in a chocolate with intense flavors with no bitterness. Hodges discusses La Rifa’s chocolate with language familiar to

Spices, nuts, dried fruit, and chocolate are only the appetizer course of familiar foodstuffs being revitalized by new companies focusing on craft and origin.

Locally crafted honey, marmalade,

PHOTOS: COURTESY OF EXQUISITO CHOCOLATES (TOP LEFT), BY MANNY VALESCO (TWO AT BOTTOM RIGHT)

preserves, jam, barbeque sauce, and hot sauce are popping up in small towns and big cities alike, offering products that are especially interesting to folks with a professional background in tasting and understanding sourcing supply chains.

Late nights cupping coffee and building a vocabulary of flavor make it that much more exciting to give and receive the craft food and drink renaissance happening beyond coffee and tea.

And, because it seems incomplete to let a gift guide go without mentioning at least one fun new brew tool, Hodges suggests the Origami Pour Over from Japan, of which Dark Matter is the exclusive U.S. importer.

“2019 World Brewers Cup Champion Du Jianing of China used pink Origami,” says Hodges. “These are great items for those baristas who have it all or someone just starting out.”

The holidays can be busy, with extra shifts and late-night production runs, but hopefully holiday gatherings are spaces to try something new and to share these new discoveries with colleagues, friends, and families. FC

ORIGAMI POUR OVER

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COFFEE WIZARDZ’S Treebreads Tincture mocktail.

The Milwaukee-based company crafts elegant and intriguing non-alcoholic drinks.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF COFFEE WIZARDZ

M

y childhood is full of rich holiday food and drink traditions, from stealing pecans off of pies cooling in the laundry room to sipping madefrom-scratch eggnog while decorating the Christmas tree. My mom enjoyed cooking and instilled that joy in me and my sisters. But the love reaches further back even than that. My grandmothers and great-grandmothers spent a lot of holiday time in their kitchens, and the smells, sights, and flavors were always well worth the effort, and the wait.

When I got married, my husband, Young, brought an entirely different set of food traditions—as well as a passion for coffee—into our little family, but what we have truly enjoyed over the years is creating our own seasonal rituals. Although there are a few family recipes we still dig out each year, our holiday routine now consists of always trying something new and, hopefully, delicious. As we roll into the season, you might find it easy to just go with familiar holiday flavors, like chocolate, mint, pumpkin, and maple. Let me encourage you to explore outside the flavor box and discover something fresh and tasty for yourself.

prised of milk, sugar, coffee, cloves, and aguardiente (a Chilean grape alcohol).

When you begin to explore other cultures, you soon discover that there are many similar, yet different, recipes, especially for drinks. The Puerto Rican coquito, Dutch advocaat, and Turkish sahlep are all milk-based drinks, like the American classic eggnog. Glögg in Scandanavia, glühwein in Germany, and wassail in the U.K. are indigenous versions of mulled drinks passed down from antiquity. With a simple swapping of spices, sweeteners, dairy, or other ingredients in your traditional holiday libations, you can create a unique holiday experience for you, your guests, or your customers.

ADVOCAAT: A Dutch drink made with eggs, sugar, brandy, and cream.

Expand Your Borders In the cultural melting pot that is the United States, holiday traditions can be individual, familial, cultural, societal, religious, or a blend of any and all of these. The earth is a treasure trove of unique and complex flavors, spices, and textures, especially during holidays and celebrations. My first advice for spicing up your holidays is to look to other cultures for inspiration.

Although Thanksgiving is the sole property of the United States, many countries and peoples around the world celebrate Christmas or another December holiday, such as Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or Boxing Day. In Germany, it is traditional to eat goose instead of turkey or beef. An English celebration isn’t complete unless there’s a Christmas Pudding on the table. And in Chile, families sip a cold milk punch com-

PHOTO BY M0TTY/CC-RY-SA-3.0

cook. Still, the pumpkin spice fixation is undeniable.

One way to mix it up is to combine a traditional flavor with a non-traditional one. One of my favorite holiday recipes that illustrates this is a quince cranberry sauce that I picked up from my local natural food store and made my own. This piquant recipe is simple and utilizes seasonal produce in an uncommon way. It’s perfect spread on a thick slice of walnut sourdough toast with a smear of cream cheese. (See page 37 for recipe.) Another example: Last fall, Young and I served a maple black lime latte at our mobile café, Coffee Roboto.

Espresso. Milk. Maple syrup. Ground black lime, or loomi, a Middle Eastern dried lime. Some customers hesitated, but once they tried it, their taste for adventure was instantly amplified.

Another approach is to treat traditional ingredients in a new, fresh way.

Bake up a batch of fruitcake scones by combining spices like cardamom, ginger, and cinnamon with dried fruit and nuts. Concoct an apple shrub syrup, then combine it with hot mint tea and lemon for a toddy twist. Make cranberries savory with coriander, and oranges with chipotle powder.

Substitutes & Alternatives

Mix Up Your Flavors Chocolate, mint, apple, cranberry, and maple have long histories as holiday flavors. Then, in 2003, Starbucks overhauled our idea of fall and holiday flavors with the introduction of the pumpkin spice latte, or PSL. It’s a fact that people either love or hate pumpkin, but this luscious little drink gave the familiar orange squash a whole new life. Now, we have everything from pumpkin spice cereal to pumpkin spice dog snacks, and the annual release of the PSL at Starbucks has become a renowned social media event. It’s hard to compete, as a café owner and as a home

Dairy-free, vegetarian, vegan, paleo, keto, and other diets continue to cycle through our society. At the heart of all of these is the desire to live healthier and find a more environmentally friendly approach to our use of the earth. As a result, products that appeal to these diets, intolerances, and food allergies have significantly increased over the past decade, and are projected to reach revenues of more than $38 billion by 2024. According to a March 2019 agribusiness report from Report Buyer, sales of non-dairy creamer alone increased 131% in 2018. Much of this is due to the parallel advancing popularity of veganism, vegetarianism, and reducetarianism (the reduction of animal food products). This doesn’t mean that the consumption of animal dairy

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Beyond PSL & Peppermint

SALTED CINNAMON OAT LATTE

will cease to exist. However, the trend can’t be ignored, and, in my opinion, it deserves to be explored to its fullest.

Alden Kelley manages the West for Gourmet Source, a sales and consulting group representing specialty beverage companies including Pacific Foods. Kelley has successfully used Pacific’s Barista Series Coconut beverage to adapt a Puerto Rican coquito, normally made with rum, coconut milk, and sweetened condensed milk, into a café drink.

“Adapted for the café,” he says, “it’s important to choose the right vanilla syrup or extract, cinnamon, and espresso that will emulate the rich fruit and caramel notes missing from the lack of rum.”

He has also experimented with replacing eggs with plant-based gums, like xanthan (bacteria fermented from corn) and agar (seaweed), to add texture to oat milk and almond milk nogs. Kelley adds, “Our Barista Series Oat, Almond, and Hemp Plant-Based Beverages have creamy flavor and a rich mouthfeel that lend well to eggnog, Tom & Jerry, Brandy Alexander, coquito, or generally warm-spiced seasonal drinks.”

Oat milk is an excellent non-dairy addition to fall flavors and goes well with all the seasonal spices, sugars, and produce, creating that satisfying creaminess we often crave as the weather turns frosty. Try it in a Salted Cinnamon Oat

36 ] NOVEMBER 2019 » freshcup.com

Latte (recipe on opposite page, courtesy of Pacific Foods) or whip it into a foam and spoon on top of a mulled cider or citrus cranberry punch.

Sans Alcohol The “sober curious” or “sober sometimes” movement has gained momentum in the last few years, resulting in the rise of dry bars, more serious “mocktail” menus, and sophisticated non-alcoholic distilled spirits, like MeMento, Three Spirit, and Seedlip.

Birthed out of the historic tradition of alchemy and distilled herbal remedies, Seedlip has curated the art of nonalcoholic distilled spirits and created a new standard for “what to drink when you’re not drinking.” The sober scene is quickly moving beyond curiosity and into a cultivated art that builds on mixology and craftsmanship to create a complex experience anyone can enjoy.

With one foot in coffee and one foot in “different, yet familiar, beverages,” Milwaukee-based Coffee Wizardz is jumping headfirst into the craft of elegant and intriguing non-alcoholic drinks, as well as singular café foods.

Co-founders Sam Brown and Chris Christen believe in only conjuring drinks and foods where you can “taste, smell, and/or see every ingredient.” A little over a year ago, they launched their first pop up at Discourse: a Liquid Workshop in Sister Bay, Wisconsin,

which claims to be a platform for “the Fourth Wave of coffee.” Since then, they have hosted novel pop-up experiences and launched a successful Kickstarter to buy a Mill City coffee roaster and roast their own coffee.

According to Brown, the Wizardz’s craft philosophy is this: “It has to be fun, and it has to make someone go, ‘whoa.’”

Exploring the fringes of what is possible with coffee, tea, shrub syrups, other artistic liquids, uncommon-yet-common ingredients, dramatic visuals, creatively complimentary garnishes, and something called “spherified coffee balls,” they are well on their way to establishing a new level of whoa-factor in both the coffee community and the overarching beverage world. Check out their social media pages and website for a taste of their creations, as well as the sidebar for their recipe for Vegan Pumpkin Pie with Coffee (Spheres) in the sidebar.

You Do You As you take a thoughtful look at your holiday season, with all the stress, joy, work, and partying waiting for you, consider taking one recipe and changing one thing about it. Give it a test run before you spring it on someone else, but at least take a risk on one thing. Once successful, you will find your imagination quickened and your palate stimulated for further toothsome adventures. FC

PHOTO COURTESY OF PACIFIC FOODS

RECIPES

QUINCE CRANBERRY SAUCE Recipe by S. Michal Bennett 16-20 ounces fresh cranberries 1 very ripe quince, cored and chopped Zest and juice of 1 large orange 1 Cup filtered water 1/2 Cup raw agave nectar or cane sugar Place cranberries, quince, orange juice, zest, and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until the berries burst and sauce begins to thicken, about 30-40 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add agave or

MINI VEGAN PUMPKIN PIES WITH COFFEE (SPHERES)

sugar and return to a boil. Turn heat to

Recipe by the Coffee Wizardz

low and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring.

Remove from heat and cool.

Makes 4 servings.

SALTED CINNAMON OAT LATTE Recipe by Pacific Foods

CRUST

FILLING

16 vegan graham crackers, crushed

1 can pumpkin (15 ounces)

3 Tablespoons coconut oil

1 Cup full-fat coconut milk

3 Tablespoons brown sugar

1/4 Cup maple syrup

Pinch of sea salt

2 1/2 Tablespoons brown sugar 1 1/2 Tablespoons pumpkin pie spice

TURKISH APRICOT SYRUP

2 Tablespoons corn starch

1/2 Cup demerara sugar

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 Cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 ounces dried Turkish apricots, chopped

Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine the crust ingredients in a small bowl until crumbly and thoroughly mixed. Press into 12 mini pie tins. In a medium

LATTE

bowl, stir together the filling until smooth. Pour into the crusts and bake for

1.25 ounces Turkish Apricot Syrup

28 minutes.

1 pinch sea salt 1 dash ground cinnamon 2 shots espresso 10 ounces steamed Barista Series Oat

For the Turkish Apricot Syrup: Combine the sugar, water, and apricots in a small saucepan over medium heat. Simmer 30 minutes. Remove from heat and steep for 1 hour. Strain and refrigerate until ready to use.

Combine the apricot syrup, salt, and cinnamon in a 12-ounce cup. Top with

COCONUT FOAM 200g coconut cream, with water drained off 50g agave nectar Combine in a whipped cream canister and charge with CO2. Shake well and keep cool.

COFFEE SPHERES Coffee, brewed double strength (1:6 brew ratio—use some ice for 1/4 of total water weight) Modernist Pantry Rapid Molecular Caviar Maker Kit Brew the coffee, then follow the directions on the Modernist Pantry package.

espresso and steamed oat milk.

Once pies are cool, top with the coconut whip, leaving a well in the center.

Makes 1 latte.

Pour the spheres into the well and serve immediately.

PHOTOS: BY S. MICHAL BENNETT (LEFT), COURTESY OF COFFEE WIZARDZ (RIGHT)

FRESH CUP MAGAZINE [ 37

Sponsored by Lotus Energy Drinks

Cascara: Nature’s Forgotten Superfruit

O

ur industry is constantly evolving, searching for new products and innovation to capture the consumer. The days are long passed when the traditional menu of coffee drinks satisfies all of today’s consumers in a diverse social gathering atmosphere that now includes multiple generations, with the latest innovations being cold brew, nitro brew, and flavored energy drink spritzer/refreshers.

Enter cascara, nature’s forgotten superfruit that comes from the coffee plant, yet tastes nothing like coffee. For centuries, coffee farmers have only preserved the coffee beans and discarded the precious antioxidant-rich cascara, often dumping it into rivers or simply leaving it to rot.

Cascara contains unique phenolic compounds that produce a powerful growth hormone, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Studies show that coffee fruit can not only help boost brain health, but is also high in antioxidants, enhances immunity, and reduces blood pressure, plus potentially even fights the growth and spread of cancer cells, according to some animal studies.

Today, cascara is on the rise in the functional beverage and food space—it’s where nutrition, innovation, and sustainability come together.

Lotus Energy, a pioneer of coffee fruit innovation in functional beverage applications, has created a unique line of plant-based energy drinks and concentrates featuring cascara. These products harness the nutritional power of coffee fruit through a patented extraction/ stabilization process, designed to preserve the health benefits of the coffee cherry and deliver maximized levels of all-natural, never roasted coffee polyphenols.

“We reunite coffee fruit with natural caffeine from green coffee beans in a plant-based energy super fusion that is healthier, stronger, and mesmerizes the taste buds!” says Scott Strader, CEO/founder of Lotus.

Lotus Energy has created a buzz in coffee shops and drive-thru espresso stands across the country adding to an arsenal of flavored syrups shops already carry to create a myriad of custom, refreshing, energized options. These energy spritzers are generating as much as 50 percent of sales, especially among Generation Z (those 20 years old and younger) who don’t like the taste of coffee but are looking for healthy alternative ways to get caffeinated.

“Lotus Energy is an ideal fit for the specialty coffee market to help expand its younger audience with an energizing and flavorful new way to enjoy another efficacious part of the coffee plant without the health concerns of artificial/synthetic mainstream energy drinks or their ingredients,” says David Morris, CEO Dillanos Coffee Roasters.

For more information, visit LotusEnergyDrinks.com.

38 ] NOVEMBER 2019 » freshcup.com

KENYA: Farmers working on a tea plantation in Kericho County.

40 ] NOVEMBER 2019 » freshcup.com

T

MANUAL TEA pickers assemble with their leaves to be weighed.

ea is a national pride cash crop that generates foreign exchange for Kenya. For years, thousands of smallholder farmers have relied on income generated from growing tea—but that may not be for much longer.

Pioneer smallholder farmers, like Julius Kirui, 81, remember in the early 1980s when tea had the real meaning of “green gold.” Farmers’ earnings were true returns of their investment and labor.

“Tea those days was a source of wealth. We earned enough money for decent living and to reinvest in more land, building residential and commercial houses,” says Kirui. “Today, a farmer cannot even afford to buy gumboots, gloves, or insecticides to spray the plants, yet they are the producers of most of the tea for export.”

The Export Market Kenya is ranked the third highest tea-producing country after China and India, but the leading tea exporter in the world. According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), tea production in 2018 increased by 12.1 percent, while prices declined by 12.2 percent.

“Tea export rose to 501.8 thousand tons in 2018, from 467 thousand tons in 2017. But earnings declined to $138.8 million from $147.3 million in 2017,” the KNBS report indicates.

Pakistan has remained the principal importer for decades, followed by the United Kingdom, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, and Sudan. Iran and the United States are also major importers.

Though Pakistan imports account for 36 percent of Kenya’s total tea export, the country imported 90.5 million kgs in June 2019, below its average. U.S. imports for the first six months of 2019 also declined to 1.13 million kgs from 1.8 million during the same period in 2018.

However, there was an improvement in nontraditional markets, such as Canada, which increased its imports 75 percent from June 2018 to June 2019. Other countries that improved

their imports of Kenyan tea include the Netherlands, India, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Oman, and Australia.

But while Kenyan tea in the export market has been increasing in volumes, it has been declining in earnings due to price fluctuations in the global market since 2018, according to the KNBS and the Agricultural and Food Authority (AFA).

The price of Kenyan tea in the global market from January to June 2019 averaged $2.24 per kilogram (kg) compared to $2.76 per kg in 2018. In volumes, the country exported 252 million kgs in the first half of 2019, compared to 241.6 million kgs at the same period of 2018.

The East African Tea Trade Association (EATTA), which runs the largest black CTC (Crush, Tear, and Curl) tea auction in the world in Mombasa, Kenya, is worried that the trend of low prices of tea may continue for some time.

Smallholder farmers in Kenya produce 65 percent of tea. They deliver

their tea leaves to factories run by the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA), which is also responsible for selling the processed tea and paying the farmers.

The KTDA warned its 600,000 farmers not to expect any better returns this year due to the falling prices of tea.

Global Factors Behind the Falling Prices Several factors have contributed to the falling prices of Kenya tea. Politics in the global market have been identified as one of contributors, according EATTA. “Lower prices is attributed to reduced trading activities at the Auction owing to uncertainties in certain key markets occasioned by political and economic instability,” EATTA recently told local media. “The factors have had a negative impact on disposable income of consumers leading to reduced purchasing power, hence low demand for the Kenyan tea.”

FRESH CUP MAGAZINE [ 41

Turning Over New Leaves

TEA PICKING MACHINE operated by Mary Cherono (left) and Anthony Kimeto (right).

The remarks were in reference to political situations in some of tea importing countries.

The conflict between Pakistan and India over the state of Kashmir is believed to have one of the factors in the market for Kenyan tea, and the Pakistan rupee has also been declining against major currencies in recent days.

However, Manuja Peiris, the CEO of the International Tea Committee (ITC), the London-based international body responsible for compiling statistics on tea production, exports, consumption, and stocks in the producing countries, says that the current challenges facing Kenyan tea is independent of the conflict with India.

“In more recent times, Pakistan has been sourcing tea from India that is priced lower compared with those from Kenya,” says Peiris. “If required, Pakistan blenders are likely to consider other alternative origins such as Vietnam, Tanzania and Uganda to meet about eight percent of their regular total imports from India.”

Egypt, another traditional market for Kenyan tea, has been facing inflation of

42 ] NOVEMBER 2019 » freshcup.com

about 20 percent, as well as unpredictable political stability.

Sudan is also another potential market, but it has been politically unstable before and after the military coup that removed President Omar al-Bashir in April this year. The country inflation hit 64 percent in June.

The U.S.-led sanctions against Iran also have an impact on Kenyan tea, considering that Iran is one of the Kenya’s tea exports markets.

Some observe that the U.K. market, another key importer, may also register low imports due to the uncertainty over Brexit. According to the EATTA statistics, U.K. imports in the first half of 2019 declined to 22 million kgs, from 26 million kgs in 2018. The same was also reflected in July, where the imports fell to 3 million kgs against 4.8 million in the same month in 2018.

Local & Regional Challenges Besides challenges in the global market, there are also local problems affecting the tea sector in the country.

Over-supply of Kenyan tea in the market, as well as poor quality of tea

supplied, have also been blamed for the declining prices. The lower quality of tea, according to tea market players, is contributed by drought and short rains in March–May season.

Rwanda tea, from Gisovu factory, attracted a higher price in the market for three months to August. The Rwanda’s broken pekoe-1 (BP1) tea fetched $5.5 per kg, yet the same grade and quantity of tea from Kenya’s best factory, Githongo, in Meru, was sold at $4.28.

This came as KTDA branch in Nyeri County advised farmers to replace old tea bushes to improve the quality, as some of them were planted in 1950s and 1960s. Nyeri, where coffee and tea are also produced, is reported to have over 56 million tea bushes.

Competition has also contributed to the declining in prices of the Kenyan tea. The EATTA’s tea auction in Mombasa is a regional center for tea from several countries, including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Malawi, Madagascar, and Mozambique. Single country dominance of the market at all times is impractical.

The KTDA, on the other hand, blames the farmers for selling highgrade tea directly to private tea factories. But the farmers say the private processors pay better price than the KTDA, and they are paid on delivery, as opposed to the KTDA, which forces farmers to wait for months.

According to Simon Wanyoike, a tea farmer in Muranga County, “The private processor pays us up to $2 per kilo of green tea, yet the KTDA makes a monthly advance payment of $0.16 per kilo, and farmers have to wait for months before getting the final token payments.”

He adds that farmers need money on delivery to buy food and pay school fees.

“Making a farmer to wait for six months to be paid is punishment to us, and the final amount remains unknown until the day it is paid,” says Wanyoike.

But economists do not isolate confrontation between county governments and multinational tea companies over renewal of their farms’ leases.

Counties want the companies to surrender part of the land, claiming their people were forcefully evicted during the British Colony and their land given to European settlers.

According to economist Paul Njoroge, the face-off can also contribute to falling prices of tea.

“When an economic unit is facing problems, demand for the products and stocks of such a unit declines, and the final outcome is fall in prices,” says Njoroge.

Conflict began during British Colony in Kenya, when settlers evicted people from their ancestral land a century ago. The British government gave the settlers 999-year land leases.

It was then that some of the multinational companies were formed to grow tea and continued even after Kenya’s independence in 1963. After passing the 2010 Constitution, all the 999-year leases were reduced to 99 years, and land matters passed to the jurisdiction of county governments.

Most leases have expired, and counties want the companies to surrender part of the land, accounting for thousands of acres, to the people as a condition of leases renewal.

Kericho, Nandi, and Bomet counties are the most affected as they host most of the companies. In March this year, the governor of Kericho, Paul Chepkwony, demanded that the companies pay

$100 as annual land rate per acre, up from $3.

“I am directing the county land department to move with speed and immediately effect the new land rates of Kes10,000 ($100) per acre of land per year,” Chepkwony said in a past interview.

His counterpart, Nandi governor, Cleophas Lagat also increased the rates to $50 up from $1 per acre per year.

The push and pull is not yet over.

Kenya has been trying to venture into Chinese market, but the country shows no interest of Kenyan tea. The highest China tea import from Kenya was over 2.1 million Kgs in 2011. The amount went on declining to one million Kgs in 2017.

“The tea industry will continue to lament the inability of Kenya to establish an identity and promote the image of Kenyan tea value-added exports,” says the ITC’s Manuja. “It is generally felt that the failure by the government to provide relevant and adequate infrastructure support and incentives to native exporters who are not equipped well enough to compete with multinational operating in Kenya makes this a stiff challenge.” FC

MAINTENANCE: Alice Ngeno (left) and other farmers rake the tea fields.

FRESH CUP MAGAZINE [ 43

F

or centuries, green tea reigned supreme as Japan’s beverage of choice, and the tea ceremony was a high-status, even an almost sacred, activity. But with the rise of globalization, loose-leaf tea consumption is declining, and the tea ceremony has lost cache among the younger generation.

Attendance at Japanese tea ceremony schools is falling. Japanese youth are more likely to hang out in Starbucks than in a tea café. Soda, imported mineral water, and coffee are stealing supermarket shelf space from Camellia sinensis. Globalization, technological advances, and population decline are changing tea culture.

But the tea industry is fighting back.

Why is Traditional Tea Culture on the Decline?

Various explanations exist as to why traditional tea culture is losing appeal. Journalist Seiichi Oshima thinks that the tendency to communicate by SMS, email, and smartphones has created a generation that is not comfortable with the face-to-face philosophical communication that is an integral aspect of the tea ceremony.

Cultural changes in gender roles also affect tea culture, adds businessperson Satoshi Daiguji. Women no longer feel cultural pressure to master flower arrangement and the tea ceremony.

The Global Japanese Tea Association (GJTA) webpage expresses a concern that worries the Japanese tea industry: “The younger generations in Japan tend to view tea as old-fashioned.”

“It is rare to find Japanese teaware in younger people homes,” says CEO Simona Zavadckyte.

44 ] NOVEMBER 2019 » freshcup.com

GOUSHI IIJIMA, sixth-generation tea farmer and president of Fujimien Tea, stands in his tea fields in Northern Japan.

FRESH CUP MAGAZINE [ 45

Surprising Changes in Japanese Tea Culture & Tea Businesses

A TRADITIONAL TEA SHOP in Murakami, Niigata (left), sells matcha ice cream (right).

Sales of bottled tea are skyrocketing while loose-leaf tea sales are sinking.

Youth don’t take the time to make fresh-brewed tea. It does not match contemporary high-paced lifestyles.

Japan’s Population, Tea Farms & Tea Consumption Japan’s population has been declining for 10 years. The government predicts a loss of 15 million by 2040.

People like Goushi Iijima, a 43-year-old, sixth-generation tea farmer and president of Fujimien Tea, are rare. Most young Japanese, including children of tea farmers, are uninterested in farming. Many farmers are retiring; few are replacing them.

Tea farm acreage declined by almost 15% between 2000 and 2016, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. Farms across Japan are disappearing partly due to aging of the farmers. A 2000 census counted 53,687 tea farms; that number plunged to 19,603 in 2015.

Iijima observes that today’s generation isn’t learning from grandparents to enjoy brewing tea. His solution is to create events in which young Japanese learn how to brew and appreciate tea. By partnering with sake producers, who are also competing with imported products

46 ] NOVEMBER 2019 » freshcup.com

and cultural changes, to promote local products, he can reach more people.

Adapt, Innovate & Become Fashionable Iijima says the Japanese palate has changed, and therefore tea makers must adapt. He is thinking of creating teas with locally grown fruit. He believes that his small company in Niigata prefecture, Northern Japan, needs “something unique that the big companies do not do.”

In Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, Birouen Tea House created a unique green tea mixed with the dried, powdered skin of a rare mandarin orange that grows on a small island. The tea, named Sakurajima Komikan, won a gold prize in the 2017 World Green Tea Contest. Birouen Tea House salesperson Andre Andersson explains that developing new teas is one of Birouen’s strategies for domestic and international sales.

For the Japanese market, his company is in the process of “reinventing our domestic stores and creating new markets.” The company is experimenting with cold-brewed teas served in wine glasses, variously shaped to allow customers to savor different aromas.

In big cities, some new tea cafés are following the examples of boutique

coffee shops. Tokyo Saryo bills itself as the “World’s First Hand-drip Green Tea Shop.” Tea makers prepare rare handdripped single-origin teas. The café is introducing unusual Japan-grown teas to customers; most employees are Japanese in their late twenties and early thirties.

Making tea more fashionable is a goal for the tea industry. Birouen’s in-house designer is creating elegant tea bags, says Andersson. One stylish tea package, shaped like a purse, includes seven assorted teas individually wrapped in differently colored sachets.

Looking Overseas for Survival Andersson says that as the domestic market declines, international sales for his company have been doubling or tripling every year for the last seven years. An emphasis on producing organic teas is paying off. He promotes his products at organic produce shows in addition to beverage trade shows.

Creating New Products & Uses for Tea Creating original goods and services is another survival strategy for tea farmers and companies. Green tea salt, face masks, pillows, bathing powder, lip balm, dyed clothing, deodorizing

URESHINO, KYUSHU: Hot mineral tea baths at Warakuen Hotel. Below, from left to right: Tea sushi, tea processing, and tea candy.

sheets, and insoles are only some examples. The tea industry is encouraging the inclusions of tea powder in various foods: cookies, pancakes, soba, pasta, and more.

Tea Tourism Tea farms across Japan are supplementing their incomes by creating tours that include walking through tea gardens, picking leaves, processing tea leaves, and drinking tea. Iijima of Fujimien arranges tea tours twice a year.

Partnering with tea farmers, Warakuen Hotel in Ureshino, Kyushu, was one of the first Japanese hotels to develop tea baths. Ureshino is rich

with tea fields and natural hot springs.

Hot mineral water flows through giant stone teapots stuffed with pounds of tea leaves into hot spring baths. Bathers rub their skin with tea bags while soaking in tea. The hotel spa provides facial masks and massages with tea. The restaurant serves local beef with tea shabu-shabu, tea porridge, and other tea dishes.

Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs, to cater to the growing number of annual foreign tourists and in preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, is promoting the country’s heritage by creating tours focused on education, the silk industry, tea, and more. The agency chose historical loca-

tions near Kyoto with connections to tea, created maps, and suggested tour routes for what it calls “A Historical Walk Through 800 Years of Japanese Tea.” On this route, according to the brochure, foreigners and locals alike “can experience the different developmental stages in the history of tea production through the beautiful tea fields, rows, of wholesale shops, and tea-related festivals,” in the hopes that “this heritage may be effectively preserved and maintained.”

Globalization, demographics, and technology have traditional tea culture on the ropes, but the Japanese tea industry is working hard to reinvent itself. FC

FRESH CUP MAGAZINE [ 47

High in Flavor, Low in Hassle Fresh Brew Plus Thermal Carafe Coffee Maker Zojirushi Zojirushi.com Brewing flavorful coffee is easy with the 10-cup Fresh Brew Plus Thermal Carafe Coffee Maker. 200°F high brewing temperature heats water to the optimal temperature to brew flavorful coffee. Vacuum-insulated stainless steel carafe keeps coffee hot for hours without the “burnt” flavor. Removable water tank makes filling easy and is fully washable, and comes with special iced coffee water measure lines to adjust the water-to-coffee ratio for a stronger coffee that doesn’t taste watered down when chilled over ice. Comes with a permanent stainless mesh coffee filter.

All surfaces that come into contact with food and beverages are BPA-free.

Counter Intelligence Fresh businesses & products

This Snack is Bananas, B-A-N-A-N-A-S Bubba’s Fine Foods ‘Nana Chips Barista Pro Shop BaristaProShop.com Tired of snacks full of ingredients you can’t pronounce? Or, perhaps clean ingredient kale chips just aren’t your thing anymore? Bubba’s paleo banana chips are full of easy-to-read, real ingredients, and taste just like your favorite potato chips. They kettle cook low-sugar Saba bananas to perfection and then toss the mixes in finger-licking spices. Not convinced? See for yourself—call 1-866-776-5288 to request samples (hurry, supplies are limited!). These savory snacks are gluten-free, grain-free, paleo, vegan, and non-GMO, plus they contain no added sugar! Available in three scrumptious flavors— Blazing Buffalo, Grand Garlic Parm, and Not-cho Nacho—they are the perfect paleo appetizer or mid-afternoon snack. Order Bubba’s Fine Foods ‘Nana Chips today from Barista Pro Shop.

48 ] NOVEMBER 2019 » freshcup.com

Boost Your Mornings Vegan & Collagen Creamers Picnik PicnikAustin.com Austin-based food company Picnik recently added two new products to its growing family of creamers: Vegan and Collagen. Like its Original Cream, these two options are unsweetened, powered by MCT oil, keto- and paleo-friendly, and have a similar flavor profile to half-and-half. In honor of the new releases, Picnik has also updated its packaging—look for the vibrantly designed, modern cartons on shelves of retailers including Target and Giant/Martin’s, as well as online. Try these healthinfused creamers in your coffee and other hot beverages, or even in your morning oatmeal!

Fall Into the Season with Wild Flavors Chai Pear Jun Kombucha Wild Tonic WildTonic.com Now through December, you can enjoy the warming spices and cozy vibes of Wild Tonic’s Chai Pear Jun Kombucha. A refreshing, exotic fermentation of fine teas and sustainably sourced honey, Jun kombucha differs from regular kombucha, traditionally brewed with cane sugar. Wild Tonic’s seasonal release of its Chai Pear is perfect to usher in the holiday season—featuring luscious pear balanced by spicy cinnamon and slight fennel sweetness, the concoction can be enjoyed on its own, or in mocktails and cocktails like toddies. Find Chai Pear and more Wild Tonic flavors, as well as recipe ideas, at WildTonic.com.

Tapping Into Something Good Coffee Infused Maple Syrup Runamok Maple RunamokMaple.com Since debuting earlier this year, we knew that Runamok’s Coffee Infused Maple Syrup would be in Fresh Cup’s lineup of seasonal must-haves. Using organic coffee beans from Vermont Artisan Coffee & Tea Co., the combination of the caramel sweetness of maple syrup and the coffee’s nuanced chocolate-almond taste is a perfect pairing of two bold flavors. Ideal for adding another element of flavor to your coffee, topping your pancakes, ice cream, or pies, drizzling over oatmeal, or crafting unique cocktails, this syrup is versatile for all your menu needs.

Available at a variety of food stores throughout the U.S. and online.

Cauliflower Love Cauli Hot Cereal Purely Elizabeth PurelyElizabeth.com Boulder, Colorado-based natural foods retailer Purely Elizabeth launches the first grain-free hot cereal made with cauliflower. Cauli Hot Cereal, made with freeze-dried cauliflower, is a single-serve, grain-free alternative to your morning oatmeal, with 8g of protein and 15g of carbs per serving.

Prepare just like instant oatmeal, with hot water or in the microwave, or as overnight “oats.” Certified non-GMO, vegan, and gluten- and grain-free, Cauli Hot Cereal comes in two flavors: Cinnamon Almond and Strawberry Hazelnut.

FRESH CUP MAGAZINE [ 49

Trade Show & Events Calendar NOVEMBER 1-3

NOVEMBER 2-3

NOVEMBER 1-10

NOVEMBER 7-10

CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL TEA FEST

SAN FRANCISCO COFFEE FESTIVAL

KONA COFFEE CULTURE FESTIVAL

WORLD COFFEE LEADERS FORUM

Chicago, IL

San Francisco, CA sfcoffeefestival.com

citfest.com

Kona, HI

Seoul Korea

konacoffeefest.com

wclforum.org

NOVEMBER 7-10

NOVEMBER 8-10

NOVEMBER 10-11

NOVEMBER 13-16

CAFE SHOW SEOUL

LOS ANGELES COFFEE FESTIVAL

HX: THE HOTEL EXPERIENCE

SINTERCAFE

Los Angeles, CA

sintercafe.com

Seoul Korea

New York City, NY

Los Suenos Resort Costa Rica

cafeshow.com

la-coffeefestival.com

thehotel experience.com

NOVEMBER 15-16

NOVEMBER 20-22

NOVEMBER 21-23

NOVEMBER 24

COFFEE FEST

INTERNATIONAL COFFEE WEEK

WORLD TEA & COFFEE EXPO

WORLD AEROPRESS CHAMPS

Tacoma, WA

Belo Horizonte Brazil

Mumbai India

London United Kingdom

semanainternacional docafe.com.br

worldteacoffee expo.com

worldaeropress championship.com

NOVEMBER 28-30

DECEMBER 4-6

DECEMBER 14-15

JANUARY 9-11

INDIA INTERNATIONAL TEA & COFFEE EXPO

INTERNATIONAL COFFEE & TEA FESTIVAL

COFFEE & TEA FESTIVAL VALLEY FORGE

CAFE MALAYSIA

Kolkata India

Dubai UAE

Valley Forge, PA

cafe-malaysia.com

teacoffeeexpo.in

coffeeteafest.com

coffeefest.com

50 ] NOVEMBER 2019 » freshcup.com

coffeeandtea festival.com

Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

JANUARY 30-FEB. 1

FEBRUARY 12-14

FEBRUARY 20-22

FEBRUARY 21-23

SENSORY SUMMIT

AFRICAN FINE COFFEE CONFERENCE

CAFE ASIA & ICT EXPO

US COFFEE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Marina Bay Singapore

Orange County, CA

UC Davis, CA sensorysummit.org

Mombasa Kenya

cafeasia.com.sg

uscoffee championships.org

afca.coffee/conference/

MARCH 5-7

MARCH 8-10

MARCH 8-10

MARCH 12-14

NCA ANNUAL CONVENTION

COFFEE FEST New York City, NY

COFFEE & TEA RUSSIAN EXPO

Austin, TX

coffeefest.com

INTL. RESTAURANT & FOODSERVICE SHOW

ncausa.org

New York City, NY

Moscow Russia

international restaurantny.com

coffeetea rusexpo.ru/en

FRESH CUP MAGAZINE [ 51

Golden Bean North America 2019 Awards

OVERALL WINNER Bonlife Coffee (Tennessee) SMALL FRANCHISE WINNER Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea (Ohio) LARGE FRANCHISE WINNER Canterbury Coffee (Canada)

T

he 2019 Golden Bean Coffee Roasters Competition and Conference wrapped up last month in Nashville, Tennessee, after four days filled with cupping, camaraderie, and lots and lots of coffee. Held September 11–14 at the Cambria Hotel, roasters, baristas, importers, and other coffee professionals from all over the world descended upon Music City to sample and judge the best beans from all over North America.

Speaker sessions during the day included presentations from Brian Nichols of OPTCO/Coffee Holding Company, Andrew Bettis of Rancilio, Jen Hurd of Genuine Origin, and representatives from other companies in the industry. Evening events featured a Welcome Night with live music at the Cambria as well as drinks and dinner at Stay Golden, with the weekend culminating in the Westernthemed awards dinner and ceremony on Saturday.

The top award, Overall Golden Bean Champion, went to Tennessee’s own Bonlife Coffee, while Saskatchewan, Canada-based Prairie Lily Coffee earned runner-up.

Visit GoldenBean.com to see a list of all the 2019 winners. Follow

Super Automatic (Espresso)—Rancilio Egro Next Pure Red Whale Espresso Single Origin, Red Whale Coffee (California) Chain Store/Franchise (Filter) Ethiopia Keramo, Augie’s Coffee (California) Chain Store/Franchise (Milk-Based) Wayfarer Blend, Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea (Ohio) Chain Store/Franchise (Espresso) Ethiopia Keramo Natural, Augie’s Coffee (California) North American Grown (Milk-Based) El Salvador Loma La Gloria/Anny Ruth, Manzanita Roasting Company (California) Decaffeinated (Milk-Based) Laurina Naturally…Queen of Cups, Moon Mountain Coffee (Costa Rica) Single Origin (Espresso) Pitalito, UP Coffee Roasters (Minnesota) Organic (Espresso) Ethiopia Guji, Kafiex Roasters (Washington) Filter—Behmor Brazen Brewer Super Mario San Jose Natural, Campos Coffee USA (Utah) Milk-Based (Latte) Ethiopia Ardi, French Press Coffee Roasters (New Jersey) Honey Suckle, Proud Mary (Oregon) Espresso (Short Black) Red Whale Espresso Two Countries, Red Whale Coffee (California)

@GoldenBean.NorthAmerica on Instagram to stay up-to-date for 2020!

52 ] NOVEMBER 2019 » freshcup.com

GOLDEN BEAN & FRESH CUP MAGAZINE HALL OF FAME AWARD Reg Barber, Coffee Tampers

FRESH CUP MAGAZINE [ 53

Show Shots

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Golden Bean North America | Nashville, TN | September 11-14

EVENT PHOTOS BY HALEY AUSTIN PHOTOGRAPHY, AWARDS CEREMONY PHOTOS BY TILLY EDWARDS

FRESH CUP MAGAZINE [ 55

The Last Plastic Straw New Life for Leftovers Community Partnerships Help Cafés Reduce Landfill Waste

BY ROBIN ROENKER

H

oping to reduce their shops’ landfill waste, many cafés are forging innovative partnerships to ensure that organic materials, like coffee grounds and food scraps, find their way into compost bins rather than dumpsters, and that items with reuse potential, such as empty jute bean bags and wood pallets, find new purpose.

“We start with [posts on] Craigslist, but this is a small town, so it’s really easy to become connected with a network of people who would actually use the stuff,” says Bennett.

Achilles Coffee Roasters

Alakef Coffee Roasters

In San Diego, Achilles Coffee Roasters founder Chad Bell has been partnering with a local initiative called Food2Soil to turn his organic waste into compost fertilizer for more than two years.

In Duluth, Minnesota, Alakef Coffee Roasters goes through perhaps 80 to 100 bags of beans a week. That means the shop’s stack of discarded jute bags can pile up quickly. But rather than pitch them into the landfill, Alakef makes them available to anyone who wants them.

“We have had a long-term open-door policy with regard to local farmers and landscapers coming in and repurposing our jute bags,” explains Alakef head roaster Ezra Bennett, who notes that a good portion of the bags are picked up by a local organic composter, along with the shop’s food waste and coffee grounds. “The bags generally last about 18 months or so until you can’t recognize them anymore, and you just till them right into your soil as compost.”

Alakef’s jute bags are also often used by landscapers as biodegradable grass-killing material to prep areas for reseeding or sodding, or to insulate around trees. School groups use them for sack races. Crafters sometimes repurpose them as tote bags or belts.

Hunters use them to carry their duck decoys. The uses vary widely—but everyone in town knows the bags are freely available and up for grabs.

The same come-and-get-it attitude prevails around the café’s wood pallets, which are picked up by a citizen who grinds them into chips as a biomass fuel source.

“We had all of these coffee grounds that were going out to the garbage. I had just moved to San Diego from San Francisco and was used to composting there,” says Bell. “I searched for local composters and came across Food2Soil, which was just getting off the ground.”

Both San Diego Achilles locations compost their coffee grounds and food scraps with Food2Soil, which provides plant-based compost to local community gardens and backyard growers, and also serve as community drop-off points for area residents who also wish to compost their food scraps.

“Food2Soil was designed to promote a decentralized network of community

56 ] NOVEMBER 2019 » freshcup.com

compost hubs in San Diego,” says Sarah Boltwala-Mesina, executive director of Inika Small Earth Inc., which oversees the composting program. “Our vision is to have a compost hub in every neighborhood, so that people who don’t have the space or time to compost in their backyards can take their scraps and know they will be composted for them.”

Individual residents can purchase monthly or single-use access to drop off their scraps through Food2Soil, and partners like Achilles serve as the custodians of the compost receptacles.

Between the start of its partnership with Food2Soil in June 2017 and the beginning of October 2019, Achilles had diverted 18.7 tons of organic scraps from the landfill, Boltwala-Mesina estimates.

During that time, their efforts reduced CO2 emissions by 12.9 metric tons—the same effect as reducing emissions from

31,625 passenger vehicle miles, according to Food2Soil’s estimates.

“Nearly every day, a customer will see our compost bin outside, and it leads to the conversation that, ‘Oh, yeah, we do composting, and there’s community composting here as well where you can drop off your own scraps,’” says Bell.

“And that often encourages others to come online [with the initiative].” FC

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FOOD2SOIL

Advertiser Index

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