Fresh Cup Magazine

Sizing Up the
Coffee Consumer

A Day in the Life
of a Coffee Grower

A Cupper's
Covenant

The Art of Blending

Master of the Roast

Brewing a
Golden Cup

Deconstructing
Decaf

Portrait of the
American Barista

American
Coffee Culture

Kopi L'Amour in
Kuala Lumpur

In Search of
the Perfect
Italian Espresso

Confessions of
a Socially Responsible
Coffee Drinker

Voyage in a Cup

Muddy Waters
Burlington, Vermont

Stumptown Coffee
Portland, Oregon

Ancora
Coffee Roasters
Madison, Wisconsin

From the Publisher

From the Editor

Coffee Resource
Directory 2001

Advertiser Index

A Cupper's Covenant
by Lindsey Bolger

It's a glorious moment in the work of coffee buyers when the right combination of taste and aroma freezes us in our tracks. With spoons suspended in midair, we halt the rotation of the cupping table and take another taste of whatever it is that has suddenly captured our attention. The second sip confirms our initial hope—we've identified something different, something unique, and, moreover, something special.

Through a rare and remarkable combination of craft and good fortune, an outstanding coffee has found its way to our cupping table. Its flavor may be elegantly refined or intensely complex, its aroma delicately floral or heavily perfumed with berries and chocolate. Whatever its qualities, the coffee is a representation of countless decisions that have resulted in excellence rather than compromise.

Of course, our first instinct is to immediately purchase such a coffee and determine the best way to incorporate it into our line. But increasingly, our encounter with a fine coffee requires expanding the scope of our activities beyond scrutinizing samples on the cupping table and writing purchase orders. In these times of low prices and ever-increasing amounts of mediocre beans flooding coffee warehouses, coffee buyers seeking excellence have a growing responsibility to help ensure that coffees of the highest quality will continue to be available in the future. This means that when we find a coffee that meets our expectations, we must ask ourselves why it tastes so special and what can we do to actively support its qualities.

   A simple approval and purchase does not always translate to a vote of support for the coffee farmers and millers who grow and craft excellent coffee. In today's changing market, and with coffee farmers struggling to make a profit, seeking excellence on the cupping table means supporting excellence on the farm.

   Those of us who work in the specialty coffee industry are especially well poised to develop closer relationships with farmers who produce excellence. We are finally moving beyond the commodification of coffee—what some have called "the tyranny of the 'C' market"—toward a recognition of the true value of fine coffees. As a small, relationship-based industry, we have the ability to invest in quality today to ensure quality in the future.

   Extending your support to producers of high quality begins with communicating your appreciation. When a coffee captures your attention, call your importer and inquire about the details of its production and preparation. Chances are your suppliers are just waiting for the opportunity to share with you why they have selected the coffee for their inventory. They've probably visited the farm or community where the coffee was grown or the mill where it was processed.

   Ask your importer or roasters how the local topography influences the coffee grown in that area. Get out your atlas and locate the village or city closest to the farm or growing region. Learn what you can about the varieties of coffee that the farmer or community prefers for their specific climate and soil conditions. In other words, gain as much understanding as you can about why the coffee is special.

   Let your importer know if you're interested in carrying the coffee in your line for several months. It's crushing to fall in love with a coffee only to discover that it's no longer available. Consider a contract that will ensure your supply for the coming months. Most importers are happy to work out a financing and invoice schedule that will accommodate your cash flow.

   Once you've planned for your immediate needs for a specific coffee, it's time to develop a plan for keeping it in your line. Again, let your importer know what your intentions are. Securing a special coffee for the coming year generally requires writing a contract in advance of the next harvest. While contracting a coffee for future deliveries requires a certain commitment on the part of the buyer, it's the best way to ensure the coffee's availability.

   Making a commitment to a specific coffee presents an opportunity for a buyer to actively support and ensure its quality in the future. If you're truly inspired by a coffee, share your enthusiasm with those who are directly responsible for its unique flavor—the people who grow and process it.

   Writing a letter of appreciation is a simple and sincere way to make a huge impact on those responsible for the continued quality of your product.

   Several years ago, the importer of a very fine Colombian coffee asked me to write down a few words that expressed my fondness for the coffee so that he could pass them on to the producer. I wrote a brief description of the cup profile along with some well-earned praise and sent it to the importer. Three years later, I had the opportunity to visit that same producer in Colombia, and there, framed on the wall of his office, was the letter I had written that detailed my appreciation for his coffee. He told me that it was a constant reminder that the hard work and effort he poured into the preparation of his coffee was indeed recognized and valued by roasters and their customers.

   If a coffee impresses you on the cupping table, you're likely to be equally inspired by the people who grow it and the environment in which it is produced. Visiting the farm or growing region that your special coffee hails from is the foundation for truly understanding the challenges and complexities involved in its preparation. You will also gain insight about how to help preserve those influences that set it apart from other coffees in the area.

   Perhaps the best way to support excellence in coffee is to pay more for it. If farmers are struggling to cover their costs of production, they surely won't have the resources to invest in the quality of future harvests. If you are truly committed to sustaining the quality of your coffee and meeting the expectations of your customers year after year, make a direct investment in the future of your supply and the reputation of your product by paying a premium.

   This is not the time to put price before quality. If our businesses are built on sourcing and roasting coffees that rise above the tide of mediocrity, then you have an obligation to raise your level of support to the farmers who produce excellence. Low prices, increasing costs of production, and the crushing volume of cheap, nondescript coffee that is obscuring those of higher quality are not just the problems of coffee producers, they're our problems as well. We can passively wait and hope for the best, or we can act now and become partners in quality with our producers, ensuring future moments of glory at the cupping table.

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