BRAZIL - 12 days in coffee plantations with the Coffee Diploma System modules by SCAE
20°15'18 ''S, 47°28'41''W. It is Brazil, the green lung of
the world, hosting this time the Umami Coffee Camp. However, this edition is
part of a bigger frame, that of C.O.F.F.E.E. project, born thanks to the
collaboration between Starkmacher e.V., German NGO, leader of the project,
Umami Area and 6 other organizations, with a total of seven different
participating countries. The project, funded by the European Commission, aims
to improve the chances of education and working opportunities in the coffee
industry, maintaining a social engagement, thanks to the involvement of
partners such as Fazenda da Esperanza who sustains the education and rehab
programs of young drug and alcohol addicts.
Pedregulho, meso-region of Ribeirão Preto, is the frame of the
first days of the Campus, which take place in the vast plantations of O'Coffee.
This latter is a huge company that, despite the large amount of coffee
produced, is able to ensure high product quality, thanks to constant innovation
and research. Here, the participants of the camp, 26 young people from Italy,
Germany, Belgium, Spain, Uruguay and Argentina, retraced the history of the
company, reflecting in part the history of coffee in Brazil. A participant
says: "... it is impressive how
innovation and constant search for excellence lead to a varied and quality
coffee. The fact that mechanized coffee harvest manages to deliver a very high
quality product astonished me. Extremely interesting is the use of high
technology in the plantation management, which therefore aims at the so called
precision agriculture".
The classes on SCAE – Specialty Coffee Association of Europe
- Green Coffee modules took place in O’Coffee plantations. The focus was on the
botany of the plant, with the help of two agronomists, one from Italy and the
other one from Brazil. Thanks to the diligence of the latter, the company keeps
experimenting and testing new coffee varieties, including Café Limao, a plant reminding
lemon or tangerine trees. The technology of the company caused great interest:
an automatic picker is used for cherry harvesting, replacing so the work of 150
workers, picking cherries 24/7. This machine, due to its size, is used only in
Brazil, and only in plantations allowing it.
Flowering of the plant, growth, life, chemical elements
necessary for a good cup profile, irrigation system, pruning, fertilizing,
digital mapping of the plants, and “sweeping coffee” were some of the topics
discussed. “Sweeping” is the collection of the coffee beans fallen during the
season. It takes place after two months of the end of the collection and the
coffee deriving from it will be sold on the domestic market. It is an important
process to avoid possible settlements of insects in the fallen cherries and in
the plant. A participant, impressed by the fact that local people consume a
low-quality coffee, despite the high quality one exported, comments: "... I really appreciate the commitment
of Umami Area also towards the coffee producers and the local people. It is
important to increase their knowledge in terms of sensory skills, allowing them
to appreciate the quality of specialty coffees. "
The participants witnessed here the whole coffee processing,
from harvesting to exporting. to which the company pays particular attention in
terms of desired method (natural, semi-washed, honey, fully washed), but also
according to the country of destination. In fact, the company reserves hectares
of plantation to foreign companies, which have exclusivity on the coffee
produced from the single plot rented.
The company
delivers finished product, too: a roaster machine is located inside the main
building, adjacent to the tasting lab. Here, the Sensory Skill classes took
place. For many participants it was the first time to professionaly taste a
coffee. Nevertheless, with the help of the SCAA Cupping Protocol, everyone was
able to express a qualitative judgment on the various coffees. After three days
in Pedregulho, the bus is ready to drive 500 km, cutting through the vast
Brazilian lands to reach the south part of Sao Paulo region, at the border with
Parana, in the city of Piraju, where participants will spend the remaining days
of the Campus.
Fazenda da Esperanca and Capricornio Coffee company, both
project partners, are waiting here the participants. The members of Fazenda
raised the experience to a different quality level: from the final cup quality,
to the quality of life that can arise from the coffee. In fact, thanks to the
work in the coffee plantations the young drug or alcohol addicts are reintegrated
into society, with a new lease of life after having successfully completed a
period of rehab. In addition to job creation and the recovery from difficult
situations, Fazenda is committed to coffee quality production and promotion.
Capricornio Coffee supported the Camp from a Technical viewpoint.
The company is investing big money in research, creativity and innovation in
the coffee world, delivering so niche products and high quality micro lots. The
coffee production in the Tropic of Capricorn region is characterized by the
close relationship between altitude, latitude and quality of the coffee,
dispelling so the myth of the impossibility of having the highest quality even
at low altitudes. Here Green Coffee and Sensory Skills classes took place.
The fifth day is all devoted to green coffee: understanding
the botany of the plant from a more theoretical point of view; differences
between Canephora, Arabica, Excelsa and Liberica species; climate, altitude and
latitude for the balanced growth of the plant; understand the close link
between the growth conditions of the plant and the final cup profile; defects
of green coffee; export and decaffeination methods. In the afternoon the
participants took on a detailed selection of the defects found in a sample of
green coffee: it is of crucial importance to recognize, taste and detect them
in the cup, in the case of a low-quality coffee. They selected black,
fermented, unripe, worm-eaten and malformed beans and foreign materials. A
participant says: "... it was a very
interesting workshop. Knowing how to recognize the defects and be aware of the
presence of them in many blends sold in Europe has spurred me to become a
promoter of a higher quality coffee once back home. The dedication behind a cup
is surprising: a direct link between land, producers and consumers ".
Two whole days were then spent in the plantation Fazenda de
Esperanca, with Green Coffee classes. The topics were: plant diseases, insects
and external factors risks. The few coffee cherries left on the trees after
harvest, have been a perfect scenario for the identification of insect pests,
diseases and visual effects of a cold season, like the one had this year in
Piraju. One afternoon was dedicated to the nursery. One participant affirms: "... the care of this stage is crucial,
since it will determine the health and the strength of the future plant.
Producing specialty coffee forces you to have extreme attention to every little
thing. It is a commitment. Engagement with the earth and every human being
".
L’ottavo giorno si rientra in aula e in laboratorio, per
proseguire con assaggi e cupping, approfondendo così il livello intermedio del
modulo Sensory Skills. È un modulo complesso, che ha bisogno di molto
allenamento e tempo. Proprio per questo motivo l’intera giornata viene spesa ad
allenare i sensi per un’analisi più approfondita e valida del caffè.
In the same day, the participants and the youth of the
Fazenda, in a joint effort, planted 320 new Arabica coffee plants, variety
Mundo Novo, which will further increase the amount of coffee produced by
Fazenda.
Sensory Skills is a complex module, which needs practice and
time. That’s why the whole eight day was spent in the sensory lab, tasting,
cupping and improving participants’ skills.
#notonylcoffee is the ash-tag for the ninth day, spent in the
wild Brazilian nature. The Umami experience is also built during leisure time:
a professional experience, but, most of all, a life experience. The
relationships established with the youth of Fazenda have been a driving force
for the union and collaboration of the group. There were also moments of
sharing, discussion and exchange of experiences, in a familiar context. During
the Camp, the participants were asked to define the Camp with three words. Not
surprisingly, the most frequent were: coffee, quality and family.
Andrej Godina, responsible of the educational part of the Camp,
and president of Umami Area said: "The
efforts during the preparation of COFFEE project, have been fully repaid by the
satisfaction of the participants. They had a professional experience in coffee
plantations, combined with the CDS courses, as well as a life experience,
shared with the youth of the Fazenda da Esperanca. In this campus I experienced
first hand how coffee not only combines the producing and consuming countries
but also makes possible true bonds, friendships and cultural exchanges. Umami
coffee training format represents the highest form of mutual growth between
coffee experts, coffee producers and, as in this case in Brazil, marginalized
youth. "
