Working With Producers
Colombia Planadas
In Colombia, I helped to establish a cluster of producer groups around the town of Planadas in Tolima. This area was engulfed in guerrilla conflict as recently as 8 years ago and the landscape, together with entrepreneurial and quality-focussed farmers, produces beautiful organic coffees, which you will find in Danelaw Colombia Planadas Seleccion.
I’ve become good friends with coffee producers in several countries, and as Danelaw grows, it is my goal to work with them ever more closely.
This is me cupping pre-shipment samples with Fernando Aguilar (left) and Jan Carlo Handtke (right) who I have worked with in El Salvador.
World Class Coffees.
Earlier in my career, I was lucky enough to be introduced to world famous coffee farmer, Graciano Cruz.
I used his coffees in competitions, and thanks to them I won the 2014 and 2016 UK Coffee in Good Spirits Championships, finishing as a finalist in the World Championships in Shanghai.
Graciano and I have worked together since, with his coffees featuring as the first coffee from Panama in the popular Dog and Hat subscription coffee box, and being used for UK Barista Championships too.
Not just farmers
Coffee supply networks are complex, and it’s really important to remember and recognise the value-adding work that other players in supply networks also make.
Without the work of those in processing mills, export agents, import agents, brokers and financiers, the flow of coffee would grind to a halt.
I also have great relationships with professionals across the coffee supply network, such as Mokhtar Alkhanshali, who was responsible for helping me launch coffee from his Yemeni “Port of Mokha” export business into the UK.
His story is incredible - and you can read about it in the bestselling book by Dave Eggers, The Monk of Mokha.
My goal is to work with producers and supply network professionals who I know, trust and with whom I have a relationship, but I also know that as a small start-up I have to earn their trust that I can be relied upon to do justice to their coffees, so I have to start small, and practically.
You will not hear me claim to be buying all my coffee directly from producers, because I’m not.
You will not hear me claim to be buying all my coffee from producers I know, love and have a relationship with, because I’m not.
You will not hear me claim to have an exclusive relationship with a producer, because I don’t.
BUT. I will keep working towards this goal, and with your support, as the business grows, I will be able to demonstrate to producers that I am a safe pair of hands and I can be trusted with their coffee.