July 2009

• Organic Products and Coffees – “No Health Benefits?”

  Thu 30 July, 2009
  Organic Coffees

  Today’s news seems to be awash with a report commissioned by the Food Standards Agency, stating that organic food is no healthier than non-organic food, much to the frustration of the Soil Association. In light of the fact that we have a number of organic coffees in our range, I thought I might add a little to the debate. The disappointing aspect of this is that the media picks up on these reports and the next thing you know organic products are vilified as an expensive luxury with no added benefits to buying them.
  
  We have several organic coffees in the Grumpy Mule range and I’d hate to think that customers become wary of buying them because of reports like this, because for us it’s the quality and taste of the coffee that is the key – our Organic Brazilian coffee from Fazenda Santa Terezinha just won 2 Star Gold in the Great Taste Awards because of the way it tastes, not because it is organic.
  
  The intensive use of fertilizers and pesticides on coffee farms may be a good short term measure for guaranteeing pest free yields, from ageing coffee trees and for less effort, but doesn’t exactly guarantee the long term sustainability of the farm and quality of the harvest. When the price of fertilizers goes up, suddenly they become an unaffordable luxury and both yields and quality of the coffee go down. Careful farm management, including regular pruning of coffee trees, replacement of old stock, weeding, turning waste...

• Cafes and Fairtrade in Ambleside, Lake District

  Mon 27 July, 2009
  The One Time the Rain Stopped...

  I decided to celebrate my dreaded 30th birthday by tackling Scafell Pike in the Lake District, along with friends. We’d originally planned for a summery outing (this being the 26th July and all), but the weather clearly had other intentions and we were instead subjected to a barrage of showers and wind, whilst even the shivering hill sheep looked like they needed an umbrella. It was that bleak on top that I couldn’t even bring myself to take out the flask for the customary cup of Grumpy Mule coffee, so the brew of Panama Diamond Mountain waited until we descended to the car.
  
  Nick had put his booking skills to the test and so we stayed overnight in Ambleside Youth Hostel overlooking lake Windermere, which Robert had fond memories of from years before. Naturally we were pleased to see that they had the luxury of an espresso machine in addition to a range of local, bottled ales. The Lake District has a very strong Fairtrade town movement that’s well supported by local businesses in the hospitality trade, so it was no surprise to see Fairtrade certified coffee available in the hostel.
  
  It didn’t take too long to naturally progress from coffee to beer, via wine and a cocktail (this being a birthday, after all) that tasted about as ice cold and bleak as the weather outside. The latte in the café beside the lake came as light relief the next morning.

• Ecuador and Peru Trip Reports

  Thu 23 July, 2009
  Coffee Farming in Peru

  Just a quick note to say that Ian's full reports from his visit to South America are now completed and available to read. Primarily visiting smallholder producers from Fairtrade certified cooperatives, they give a great insight into the successes and struggles of farmers growing coffee in Ecuador and in Peru.
  
  The two reports can be accessed in full via the "2009 Ecuador Trip" and "2009 Peru Trip" folders listed on the blog homepage.

• Sol & Cafes Producer Cooperative

  Sat 11 July, 2009
  Sol & Cafes Cupping Lab

  We then travelled back to Jean, to the Sol & Cafes cooperative. This is where each farmer delivers his coffee, still in parchment (the dry skin that surrounds each bean) and it is checked for moisture content – a maximum of 12 % is allowed – and each batch is tasted and recorded. These batches are then sent for milling (the process of removing the parchment, grading according to bean size and defect count) at the Norandino mill in Piura. We identified 2 coffees that we liked and are in the process of discussing which we should have for next year’s supply.

  Sol & Cafes have done a fantastic job in raising quality levels in this region, they provide expertise, training and technical assistance to members of the cooperative together with the marketing knowledge vital in selling to export markets around the world.

  In Piura the Norandino mill is a modern facility that cost $6m 5 years ago. It has a modern cupping and analysis lab with some expert cuppers, we tasted some of the coffees just arrived from the primary cooperatives and they were clean, sweet and lightly acidic – all were excellent.

  This was a highly informative visit to Peru, our hosts could not have been more welcoming, the coffee and the conditions in which it is grown were excellent and I look forward to roasting  a lot more Grumpy Mule Peruvian coffee in the future.

• Great Taste Awards 2009 - Coffee Winners

  Sat 11 July, 2009
  Great Taste Awards

  I'm delighted to report that Grumpy Mule has enjoyed considerable success in the 2009 Great Taste Awards, the benchmark awards for speciality and fine food and drinks. The majority of award winning products has just been announced on the Guild of Fine Food website - we entered into the "coffee for filters and cafetieres, beans or ground" category as these are the coffees that we specialise in.
  
  We're really pleased to have received the prestigious 3 Star Gold award for our Kenya Gethumbwini Estate coffee, the highest accolade in the Great Taste Awards and also Gold awards for 4 of our other coffees. I'd personally like to thank the efforts of all the Grumpy Mule team for their hard work in producing such great coffee but also our coffee partners who have played a strong role in this success and the farmers who produced such remarkable coffee.
  
  Grumpy Mule in the 2009 Great Taste Awards
  
  Kenya Gethumbwini Estate: 3 Star Gold

  Organic Brazil Fazenda Santa Terezinha: 2 Star Gold
  
  Rwanda Musasa Cooperative, Red Bourbon: 2 Star Gold

  Organic Ethiopia Yirgacheffe, Fairtrade certified: 1 Star Gold

  Tanzania Footprint, Blackburn Estate Peaberries: 1 Star Gold