"Welcome to Five Senses Coffee"

When I found out that Sustainable Harvest’s ’Let’s Talk Coffee’ conference was being held in Moshi immediately following the Rwandan COE, I managed to extend my trip to East Africa and make my way to Tanzania.

The town of Moshi is about an hour’s drive from Kilimanjaro airport and acts as an unofficial base camp for the thousands of international tourists arriving specifically to climb Mt Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa. Most days ‘Kili’ is covered in cloud and even just a glimpse of the exposed base was breathtaking and much bigger than I imagined. Moshi turned out to be the perfect setting for the next couple days.

The ‘Let’s Talk Coffee’ conference is about getting as many stakeholders as possible from the coffee supply chain together in one room, and then giving them the opportunity to exchange information about the successes and challenges they face in the specialty industry. As this was the first ’Let’s Talk Coffee’ in Africa, the majority of attendees are producers from either Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with only a handful of us representing wholesale roasters and buyers.

The presentations focused on training and development with guest speakers covering topics such as sustainable farming, cupping practices, quality control, understanding coffee markets, and learning about opportunities such as Cup of Excellence and certifications. Through this conference, farmers are exposed to new ideas and can learn from successful producer models, as well as compare cultural, logistical (e.g. getting coffee to port from land locked countries) and economic challenges unique to their country.

It was a very valuable time for attendees who came away with brighter insight into the roles of the different members of the coffee supply chain. It did, however, remain difficult for farmers to understand how one cup of coffee could be worth so much to the end user in Western countries. With international travel rarely an opportunity for many coffee producers, it’s incredibly hard to fathom how one cup of coffee can be worth $3.50. With vastly different economies and costs of living, as well as the varying costs associated with the resell of coffee, it’s impossible to compare “apples with apples.” Understandably, $3.50 in Australia is just nowhere near $3.50 in Tanzania. I’m pretty sure the cost of coffee will continue to be a heated debate with each player in the chain wanting to make sure profits are not disproportionally distributed.

In addition to the presentations, I had the chance to network with many industry experts, reaffirming to myself that by participating in events like this, I continue to paint a more detailed picture of the specialty industry. I strongly believe that the more context we have as buyers, the more realistic advice and information we can give to both the farmers with whom we choose to trade directly, as well as cafe end users.

On the last day we visited Machare, a very well organised and scenic farm on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Leased by a German family (the government owns all of the land), they have spent the last 13 years rehabilitating the massive, rundown coffee farm into what is now a picture of health and sustainability. Using more modern equipment, they have managed to significantly reduce the amount of water required to process coffee, as well as to eliminate the use of water to ferment. They have also added small hydroelectric stations for electricity. With many community projects on the go, the owners of Machare make a big effort to help their neighbours and other local Kilimanjaro farmers to learn from their own more modern farming practices. It sounds like they are playing a pivotal role in increasing quality initiatives in this area.

The drive out to the airport was stunning, with huge open fields, some glimpses of Masai people and the majestic mountains in the background. Although my visit to Tanzania was brief, it was an awesome opportunity to connect with so many East African coffee supply chain participants in one place.