Felipe Sardi (La Palma y El Tucán) wasn’t always a coffee producer and exporter. We dig into the early years of failure preluding La Palma as it is today, and what the tipping point was for Felipe and Elisa (co-founder of La Palma). Felipe talks to us about how organic farming practices haven’t paid off for Colombian coffee farmers, and why the specialty coffee industry should be pushing the limits to become more sustainable.
collected and translated by Joy Mavugo in conjunction with Robyn-Leigh van Laren from the Long Miles Story team.
July is a significant month for the farming communities in Burundi. It’s usually the month that marks the end of harvest season- not just for coffee, but for other subsistence crops too. Some farmers call July ‘the month of resting’, as their focus shifts from coffee towards preparing their land to plant other subsistence crops in time for the next rainy season (expected in September). Other farmers call it ‘one of the busiest times of the year’ as their focus stays on coffee. The short dry season in July means that their soil needs to be protected from the East African sun with mulch and weeding. It’s also the time to start thinking about which coffee trees need to be pruned.
On Wednesday, 1st July 2020 the country also celebrated its fifty-eighth Independence Anniversary from Belgian rule. We asked some coffee farmers what their thoughts were on the country’s anniversary.
“Independence Day is really important to me. I celebrated [the independence anniversary] with my children in Kayanza center. That day, I celebrated freedom; there was no freedom before our independence. I was still a little boy, but I remember many things from that time. During the colonization period, people were beaten and forced to do certain activities. But I’m grateful for the good things that the colonizers brought into Burundi. My father was once beaten for cultivating coffee, but now my family stands on coffee. Even my own children are now coffee farmers, and they’re not doing it by force. It’s because of the benefits they saw in growing coffee. The colonizers also taught us to know God.” Pascal Murengerantwari is a seventy-year old coffee farmer from Mikuba hill. He has ten coffee plantations with 1,000 coffee trees.
“I think that 1st July is special for all Burundians, especially for those who were alive during the colonization period. I learnt about it in school. Burundians were forced to do labor like building roads, bridges, and other national works. They were also physically punished. Whenever I talk with old people who were alive at the time, they say that it was very hard, but there are many benefits for myself and other Burundians because of it. I also learnt that the colonizers taught Burundians about God. They built hospitals and taught people about health; built schools and taught people how to read and to write. I’m celebrating the country’s freedom and the good things that came from colonization.” Bonaventure Niyibigira is a twenty-two year old coffee farmer from Munyinya hill. He has two coffee plantations with 200 coffee trees.
From the Field
written by Seth Nduwayo, Quality Control Manager for Long Miles Coffee
Last time, I shared our plans about parchment transfer from the washing stations to the dry mill. This has begun and is still going on. So far, all the trucks we loaded reached the mill successfully. No breaking down during the journey, no delays that result in waiting to offload the following day. Moreover, on July 20th, we were allowed to start milling.
However, some of the challenges I mentioned in the previous newsletter have already prevailed. In fact, we waited longer than expected to be allowed to mill and the handpicking space is almost full. We plan to start handpicking tomorrow, July 22nd, but the space will be so limited that we will only employ around seventy people while before we could hire three hundred. However, seventy is ok as we will be able to manage them well (which is good for quality) and also we can guarantee that there is enough space between each other in a way that respects the social distancing, in this period of COVID-19.
written by David Stallings, Roaster Relations for Long Miles Coffee
For the past seven weeks I have spent the better part of every day engaged in either analyzing green coffee samples (taking humidity and water activity readings), roasting samples, cupping samples, or logging data associated with one of these activities. I then use this data to construct lots of coffee that are roughly twenty bags in size.
In order to construct the roughly twenty bag lots I first consider the hill from which the coffee was delivered. All of our micro-lots are traceable down to a specific hill (a hill, or colline, being a distinct geopolitical unit in Burundi) from which the coffee came. After that I consider the water activity of the day lots. All of the micro-lots we produce have a water activity reading between 0.45 and 0.55aw. If the water activity is above this we will re-dry the coffee, if it is below this it will not be sold as micro-lot quality coffee. For lot construction purposes this year I have chosen to blend coffees together based on where in this range they fall. Coffees with a water activity reading between 0.45-0.49aw are blended together while coffees with a reading between 0.50-0.55aw are blended together. Finally, the flavor profile of the coffees are considered in blending.
As Seth mentioned above, I am thrilled to note that milling of our lots has begun. Once I receive the finished, milled and handpicked samples from our first run through the mill, our partners can expect samples to begin arriving in the post! We will be milling the remainder of July, all through August, and even into September. As such, I expect to be sending samples from mid-August through October. If you have not been in touch with me to discuss your 2020 harvest needs, please do so! If you have been, know that I will be in touch soon with updates on samples coming your way!
Tyler Youngblood (Azahar Coffee Company) co-founded an export company and café while on a road trip with friends through South America in 2010. Ben and Abby talk to Tyler about his role in developing the Colombian specialty coffee sector, co-creating “A Sustainable Coffee Buyer’s Guide” and whether it’s affordable to pay a dynamic price for coffee.
SHOW NOTES
Sprudge is a coffee publication and global hub of coffee culture and original journalism.
The Long Miles Coffee Scouts are grassroots community changers who take coffee quality very seriously. They are a team of twenty-six Burundians who live and work on the hills where coffee is grown. Under the leadership of Epaphras Ndikumana (Long Miles Social and Environmental Impact Leader), The Coffee Scouts come up with innovative and home-grown solutions to fight the threat of the potato taste defect, mitigate the effects of climate change on soil health and empower farmers with the tools they need to produce quality coffee.
The Coffee Scouts got their name the day they left on their first mission, armed with spray bottles of organic pesticide to scout for antestia bugs, the colorful bugs linked to the potato taste defect, in neighboring coffee farms.
“The name ‘scout’ is used in Burundi to describe a group of people in the Catholic church. Most of the time, they are dynamic people who are ready to serve their neighbors, whoever they might be. I thought that we needed dynamic men and women like this, who are ready to serve the community of coffee growers; people who are ready to spend their time and energy accompanying coffee farmers in the trajectory of becoming specialty coffee producers. This is why we called the team ‘The Coffee Scouts’.” – Epaphras Ndikumana, Long Miles Social & Environmental Impact Leader
Since their inception in 2014, The Coffee Scouts have become a quintessential part of Long Miles, and have been pivotal in improving the quality of the coffee we produce at the farm level. They play a crucial role in bridging the gap between our washing stations and the neighboring coffee farming families who deliver their cherries to us.
Each Coffee Scout works with a group of farmer friends from the hill they work on, committing to help them understand and use better agricultural practices. Together with these farmers, The Coffee Scouts set up Farmer Field Schools which are small, model coffee farms. On these farms, anyone in the community can come to practice farming techniques, ask questions, and learn.
During coffee harvest, The Coffee Scouts can be found in the field, guiding farmers through selective cherry picking or at the washing stations, helping with farmer reception and coffee cherry quality control. You can’t miss them in their bright red t-shirts. Long after coffee harvest has ended, you’ll still find The Coffee Scouts in the hills teaching communities of coffee growers the importance of mulching and fertilizing the soil, seasonally pruning their coffee trees, growing green manures, planting and distributing indigenous shade trees, and preparing coffee seedling nurseries. And catching antestia bugs, of course.
While The Coffee Scout’s work is widely appreciated on the hills we collect coffee from, their job hasn’t come without challenges.
“At the beginning, it was hard for us to get farmers to follow what we were doing. People had never seen others running after insects trying to catch them. They thought that we were crazy! It was also difficult to build relationships with communities of coffee growers because we were new to the coffee sector.”
Back in 2014, the team was made up of just four junior agronomists working on two hills. Since those early days, The Coffee Scouts have expanded to a team of twenty-six (nine of which are women), working with coffee growing communities on twenty neighboring hills. Two of the founding Scouts have become the managers of Bukeye and Heza washing stations, with another two Scouts becoming washing station assistants.
“Our vision is to scale the team, not just for Long Miles Coffee in Burundi but on an East African Community level. The valuable contribution of The Coffee Scouts, both in empowering coffee growers and increasing the quality of coffee they produce, needs to be known and recognized worldwide.” – Epaphras Ndikumana
The Coffee Scouts are continuously growing as leaders and mobilizers in their communities. Their innovation and positivity is the beginning of a better future being realized for generations of coffee farmers in Burundi.
collected and translated by Joy Mavugo in conjunction with Robyn-Leigh van Laren from the Story Team.
It’s been a hard week for Burundi. On Monday 8 June 2020, we heard the news that Burundi’s late president H.E Pierre NKURUNZIZA had very suddenly and unexpectedly passed away. Flags were lowered to half-mast and the country went into a week-long mourning period to remember the person who lead and governed Burundi for close to 15 years.
“When I first heard the news, I couldn’t accept what others were telling me. Two days before, the police stopped people on the road saying that the president was passing by. The second person who told me was my friend who said that the president had died from disease. I asked him: “Who told you that news? Is that disease CORONA?” He told me that he didn’t know. After realizing that it’s true, that the president died, the first question I asked is: “Who will give the presidential chair to his successor at the big ceremony in August?” Death is not afraid. Even if people call themselves great, only God will live forever.” – Céléstin from Mikuba hill.
“It was really scary news, because it happened just after the elections. Burundians, especially from the hill where I live, have bad memories of elections. When I heard the news, I didn’t even ask the cause of his death. Immediately, my heart told me that things will happen again like they did in 1993. I went home and started listening to the radio to hear what the situation is in the country. The good thing is that after his death, no other Burundians have lost their lives. Only…it’s still too early to believe. The lesson I’ve learnt from the president’s death is that there is no great person in the world. God is powerful, and he does what he wants on earth and heaven.” – Bénoit from Mikuba hill.
“When I heard the news, I was very surprised. At first, I didn’t believe what people were saying. I am now wondering: what will happen next? What makes me happy is that things are quiet in the country and there is peace. Nothing is impossible. Three days in the country without a president, and life is normal. The world has surprises in store for us.” – Noël from Mikuba hill
Constructing drying tables at the new Ninga Washing Station
From the Field
written by Seth Nduwayo, Quality Control Manager
Weather It would sound as if I have an endless repetition of climate stories. One can wonder, “isn’t there anything else more interesting you can be talking about?” However, this is to emphasize how severe and strange the climate is. So, when our partners hear that we have an Environmental Bottom Line among our four bottom lines, they find that it was not a mere choice of words. Rather, it is a real and serious challenge we have to face. While previously I shared with you the lack of rain that caused some berries to dry on the trees, before yesterday we got unexpectedly some rain in Bukeye and a lot of it at Heza, Kayanza. This is not bad as it will help some berries to ripen. However, for trees that didn’t have berries these will start blossoming. And as after this little rain sunny days are going to follow, then the blossoms may dry because they will have sprouted in a wrong period.
Ninga Washing Station I also spoke about how Ninga farmers are so happy that finally Ninga project is in course of implementation and they can deliver close, without the long walks. As Long Miles Team, we share the happiness with those farmers because Ninga has started to bear fruits. In fact, the first lots that were collected in Ninga and surrounding hills have been taken off the table, this week. Though I referred to our infrastructures at Ninga as basic, I believe that the quality of coffee that was processed there is at the same level or even higher than what is produced at our old stations. My fear is that the supply might be too much lower than the demand. However, we expect the next harvest to be good enough to satisfy all Ninga lovers in both quality and quantity.
A No-Visitor Harvest COVID-19, has changed the way humanity lives and works; the coffee industry was not spared. We used to host guests who came to visit our factories (Washing Stations). They came for various purposes but we enjoyed hosting them. Some were customers, others were interns, students who want to be at an origin, Cup of Excellence judges, etc. Personally, I really liked that they were coming. In fact, even when they may not buy our delicious coffees, at least they would tell a story about us or recommend their friends to partner with us. In this way, our reputation kept expanding, with many eyewitnesses. This year no more new visitors so far, except those following on Instagram or receiving our newsletters. I wish COVID ended so that we come back to normal.
Since the last Harvest Update email, I have received two boxes of table samples. Two more are currently en route; one has just made it to New York City the other is in Nairobi. The coffees I have tasted the past two weeks represent the first coffees delivered to our washing stations this season and, as such, are from quite small lots – some projected to be well less than one bag in size once milled.
Every single table sample produced will be coming through our East Coast lab [i.e. my basement] this year. This includes everything from our highest quality parchment, which is destined to become micro-lots, to our “Cherry-B” lots. (Cherry-B being the underripe and overripe cherries delivered by farmers. We are legally obliged to purchase these coffees from farmers but process them separately as to not lower the quality of our micro-lot coffees.)
The majority of my time over the next two months will be spent analyzing green coffee samples, roasting and cupping said samples, and constructing lots based on volumes, quality, flavor profile, hills, and demand. This is some of the most enjoyable and rewarding work I have the pleasure of doing. I could not be more thrilled to report that the table samples I have cupped thus far this season are of absolute stellar quality.
Beyond cup quality, the physical characteristics of the lots I have analyzed thus far have been quite reassuring. Every lot I have measured the water activity of has fallen between our desired 0.45-0.55 aw, with the majority of them being in the lower half of this range. Based on the quality of our landed lots from last year, this is exactly where we want our coffees sitting for optimal longevity and freshness.
Links worth checking out
Our friends at La Cabra recently shared a video shot by Paw Gissel during their 2018 visit to Burundi. Check it out here.
An interesting NPR piece on COVID-19 and Africa can be found here.
A New York Times article on the death of President Nkurunziza can be found here.
An Al Jazeera article on what happens in Burundi following the president’s passing can be found here.
words by Firmin, collected and translated by Joy Mavugo in conjunction with Robyn-Leigh van Laren from the Story Team.
On 20 May 2020, Burundi took to the polls to vote in the presidential election. This was a pivotal moment for the country as the last election like it, which took place in 2005, was wrought with controversy and violence.Firmin, a 52-year old coffee farmer from Mikuba hill, which is close to our Heza washing station, shares their thoughts on the elections.
“Everything went well on the day of the elections. I went to vote at a polling station set up at a primary school on Nkonge (a neighboring hill) around 11:00 am. I didn’t want to go any earlier because I was waiting to hear about the security of the situation. Up until now, I can say that the elections went well. People are at peace and still going about their everyday activities as usual. Whenever elections have happened in Burundi, I have felt insecure because it reminds me of the bad times we went through as a country after the 1993 elections.
Those who survived the violence in my family hid and lived in the bush for a month. There was one day when my father got drunk, made his way to our house and accidentally fell asleep there. He was killed that day, and all of his crops were thrown into a sewage pit.
It doesn’t really matter who wins the elections – whether the title of president is won fairly or not. What’s important is that there will be no more death on this hill. As someone who has already been through a terrible history of death caused by the elections, it is too early to tell if there will be peace. Violence only erupted three months after the 1993 elections. This time, I like to believe that there will be peace for longer.”
FROM THE FIELD
written by Seth Nduwayo, Quality Control Manager.
“In the first update I raised the issue of irregular rain. What I want to narrate today is its consequence. In fact, after the long days of extravagant rain, next followed long days of baking sun. This, then, causes the berries to dry on trees instead of ripening. However, what is a problem on the one hand becomes an advantage on the other hand. In fact, two weeks ago, we were complaining that we do not have enough drying tables because parchment delays on drying tables, because of rain but today at one of our washing stations, the half of lots that were drying have been taken off table (because of enough sun light).
I will also talk of Ninga Washing Station. Ninga is located 10 kilometers from Bukeye Washing Station. When Bukeye started, there were farmers who were members of a cooperative at Ninga who came to know Long Miles had opened a station at Bukeye. These cooperative members were interested in how Long Miles take care of the farmers they partner with (farmer education through coffee scouts programs, transparency, bonus, social projects…). So they decided to deliver their cherry to Bukeye, though it was far. When they were lucky, they rented a truck but it happened that cherry collection was banned. Then they started walking to Bukeye. However, it was not easy to reach Bukeye, not only because of the distance, but also because of threats from workers of another washing station they went past before reaching our station. Those workers were supported by some corrupt local leaders. As Ninga is a region with a lot of good coffee, Long Miles got a plan to build a Washing Station there. Then land was bought in 2017. We always thought Ninga could start in 2018 and Ninga farmers hoped to cut with the threats and long walking. But for many reasons, some financial, others related to coffee sector regulations and speculations, it is in this year that we will be able to set basic infrastructures that can allow us to receive farmers and dry some coffee on the land. So, farmers are very happy that the washing station they had been waiting for has just started slowly. For them, this is a victory as many challenges made them feel pessimistic while today, a candle of hope is shining in a room of darkness.”
FROM THE LAB
written by David Stallings, Roaster Relations
“The first round of samples from the 2020 harvest season are officially en route to our lab in the States. Currently “On Hold” in Bahrain, according to DHL’s tracking, to be exact. These samples represent the very first coffees to come off of our drying tables this season. Over the next eight to twelve weeks I will be tracking hundreds of samples as they pour into our lab, eager to do a complete physical analysis on them, roast them, cup them, and in turn, send them back out to roasters and importing partners the world over.
Admittedly, when I say “our lab” in the States, I am referring to a corner of my basement. Do not be mistaken, it is a well-outfitted corner. In it sits an Ikawa, a two-barrel Probat sample roaster, an EK43. Immediately upon moving into this house, three years ago, I installed what I deemed the necessary water treatment equipment to make sure I could cup and brew coffee I would be happy with. It is, without question, the basement of a coffee professional. But, a basement none-the-less.
But that is 2020. I do not know one person who is not “making do” right now, who is not parent, teacher, employee, employer, (and so much more) all wrapped into one. While we often wear these many hats, we are not accustomed to doing so simultaneously. The dramatic shift away from what I, and so many others, know to be normal has provided some excellent and much-needed perspective.
Just a few short weeks ago, for example, we believed that we were facing a harvest that would be comparable to the volumes we saw in 2017. As the days pass, one after another, without rain, we are realizing that some cherry on the tree is likely to not ripen. Though significantly better than last season, volumes will likely not be what we expected and certainly not what we had hoped for. Six months ago this would have been extremely jarring to me. But the world has taught me some measure of patience through the pandemic, some measure of understanding just how little control I have. As the old adage goes, it is not what happens but how we respond, and I am certain this year holds many wonderful responses from the team I am so lucky to work with.”
Links worth checking out
We wrote a letter to our friends at Onyx Coffee Lab about Coffee Production in the age of COVID. You can read it here.
Over the coming weeks, we plan to share updates from the ground in Burundi; updates from the farm, field and lab.
Emilliene, a coffee farmer from Nkonge hill, with their son
FROM THE FARM
words from Emilliene, collected and translated by Joy Mavugo in conjunction with Robyn-Leigh van Laren from the Story Team.
“This coffee harvest is going well -much better than last season but it has also been challenging. When you look at the coffee trees, there are so many cherries. But, there are a few things that I’m worried about. Firstly, there has been too much rain. It’s been destroying roads, houses, and so many other things in our community. Some of the coffee cherries are taking more time to ripen because of the rain. Since the start of harvest in April, I have only picked and delivered cherries to the washing station two times. The general elections are also coming up. I don’t like it when the elections happen in Burundi. In 1993, many of my family members, including my husband, were killed. When I think of the elections, all I can think of is the hard times we’ve had to go through since then.”
Seth Nduwayo, Quality Control Manager and Joy Mavugo, Story Assistant
FROM THE FIELD
written by Seth Nduwayo, Quality Control Manager.
“Today, I will talk about weather/climate. In fact, the climate in parts of Burundi where we are operating is unpredictable. We may be expecting a rainy period and this delays or vice versa. For example, at the end of August we had some rain and this caused the blossoming of coffee. Then, we thought that harvest will start as early as February instead of March. Still, we experienced some sunny days between January and February. However, February was very rainy- something we usually experience in April. As the cherries didn’t have enough sunlight, they ripened later and up until today, there are too many cherries in the plantations that are still green. This caused harvest to start later, on April 15th (a month later than expected). Most farmers affirm having a lot of cherries that will take long enough to ripen.”
FROM THE LAB
written by David Stallings, Roaster Relations.
“Along with concrete plans the world over, the current global pandemic has forced us to reimagine our lab situation for the 2020 Harvest. Long Miles was incredibly lucky to have the lionhearted Jordan Verdouw managing our Bujumbura lab for the 2019 Harvest. Jordan did an absolutely top-notch job screening coffees, providing cupping feedback to all members of our team, and also setting up systems for success in future harvests. While we had every intention to bring Jordan back into the Bujumbura lab for the 2020 season, the universe has decided to keep Jordan in his native Australia for the foreseeable future. When we realized we could not bank on travel restrictions lifting during the harvest, we shifted and decided to move the entire lab to the States. As samples come off the drying beds they will be dispatched weekly. From the East Coast of the States they will be analyzed (physically and sensorially). The biggest boon from this scenario is that samples should be getting to our roasting partners earlier than ever this year, as they will all leave from the States.”
Every year we hold our breath and hope as the Burundian government reviews applications to produce coffee. Producing coffee in Burundi is never a guarantee, which means that annually we need new permission granted only by the government in order to operate. There are always new hurdles to jump though in order to get a license and this year was no different.
As this season started, the government coffee board demanded that every coffee producer have the money needed to pay their farmers already in the bank; to be held in trust, before a single coffee cherry was delivered to the washing station. Last year’s coffee harvest was 25% of the normal export nationwide, which makes having these funds in advance unreasonable for most producers, including ourselves. On top of this law came the statement that if coffee producers were unable to comply, they would lose their washing station(s) along with any permission to produce coffee ever again in their lifetime.
We are no stranger to this kind of last-minute law building as coffee season starts, but scrambling to comply with these laws has made for a hard month. Add COVID-19 and its worldwide effects on top of this and we, possibly like you, have been surrounded by a thunderstorm of worries. Thankfully, we were able to find a way to comply with the government’s new laws and we began collecting coffee cherries last week. Friday’s daily report showed that 2,181.5 kilograms were delivered to our Bukeye washing station, so harvest is off to a nice slow start. Our other washing station, Heza, is at a higher elevation and is usually a few weeks behind Bukeye.
Image taken during coffee harvest in 2011, before Long Miles really began.
Recently while we were looking over our coffee-producing years, we realized that March Madness doesn’t just take place in basketball. March has, for the last six years, always held big challenges for us. Whether it’s a nation-wide fuel shortage, a coup d’état, a strangely low harvest or COVID-19, the start of harvest has always been marked by a challenge that feels larger than life.
As we all navigate this pandemic and its devastating challenges together, we’ve found hope in the coming harvest. Just like Spring coming or the sun setting, nature seems to hold a solidity that we all need right now. Harvest can’t be held back or rescheduled, the coffee cherries will ripen when they ripen. Production license or not, COVID-19 or not – harvest just comes. In a world that feels out of control, nature is a veiled reminder that stability will come again and that maybe, just maybe, normal life will too.
Like in any culture, there are no absolutes that apply to everyone. There are many Burundians who do drink coffee, but generally they are not the farmers who grow it. Whenever we ask coffee farmers if they’ve tasted their own coffee, the response is the same almost every time:
“NO, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO.”
Coffee trees grow almost everywhere in Burundi’s higher elevation ranges, but coffee beans are hard to find outside of niche markets in the capitol city. The coffee cherries are too valuable for most farmers to keep and dry for home consumption, so the coffee crop goes to a washing station where it can make cash on the kilogram. It’s a common daily ritual for farmers to drink a glass of fresh milk or a thermos of hot tea, but almost never coffee. This might be because when Burundi was a Belgian colony, Burundians were forced to grow at least 50 coffee trees but never had the opportunity to drink it.
Coffee arrived in Burundi with the Belgians in the 192o’s. Growing coffee wasn’t a choice for Burundians from 1933 until Belgian rule fell away in 1962. When it did, many farmers ripped out their coffee trees, choosing instead to plant subsistence crops like bananas or cassava. Those who kept their coffee trees did so with little enthusiasm for coffee itself, having seen very little compensation for their efforts under Belgian rule. War, political uprising, a monarchy, democracy, and global warming have followed in the decades since. It has only been since the early 2000’s that producing specialty coffee has become a focus in Burundi. With such a turbulent past, it’s no wonder that farmers have had little opportunity to taste their own coffee. We wanted to change that for a farming couple named Philippe and Sabine.
Philippe and Sabine live on a piece of land tucked underneath Gitwe hill, a stone’s throw away from Heza. They grow just shy of 500 coffee trees in between a sea of tea plants and banana trees on a piece of land inherited from Philippe’s father- a coffee farmer before them.
Have you ever tasted your coffee?
“Never.”
What do you think it tastes like?
“It must be nice, otherwise you wouldn’t ask us to keep growing it.”
How do you feel about learning how to make coffee today?
“Excited. When we have cherries again, we’ll be able to make it ourselves at home.”
A wood-fire takes less time than coal to heat up a traditional Batwa pot
It was hard work brewing coffee with Philippe and Sabine in the hills where it’s grown. There are coffee farmers the world over who spend their days caring for this precious crop they might never get the chance to taste. It makes one realise that it’s a privilege to be able to buy, brew and drink coffee so easily in other parts of the world every day.
