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Posted on April 6 2021
April 6 2021
North America's Michaela Tomchek visits Victor Calderon in Palencia, Guatemala to explore Finca El Tambor.
Posted on March 2 2021
March 2 2021
With the new season of Guatemala arrivals just around the corner, Michaela from Mercanta North America reflects on her recent visit to long time Mercanta partner, Finca Santa Isabel.
Posted on August 28 2020
August 28 2020
There are not any naturally caffeine-free coffee trees that are currently being grown commercially, so a number of methods have been established to achieve this. We have discussed some of the more well-known methods, explaining in detail how the processes work.
Posted on July 27 2020
July 27 2020
Last year in 2019, we found something special. A nano-lot from the beautiful Finca Guadalupe Zaju… The ‘secret ingredient’; wood!
Posted on March 5 2020
March 5 2020
In general, Origin trips are instigated and organized with the aim of selecting lots from the current harvest. Although this was most certainly on the cards for Mercanta’s tour of Costa Rica, it was prominently an educational experience for both I (being my first Origin trip) and for the team at Cartel Coffee Lab based
Posted on February 17 2020
February 17 2020
We arrived in Kenya like previous years anticipating not only the amazing coffees we would cup, the farmers we would meet some old friends, new ones and of course the animals we would encounter. Exotic beautiful Kenya did not disappoint.
Posted on December 18 2019
December 18 2019
2019 marks Mercanta’s first foray into sourcing coffee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Here we were lucky enough to meet Eba & Wally from Societe Matea! Using coffee production to forge a path for economic success and social stability, Eba & Wally, founders of Société Maitea, hope to make a difference to the local community, as well as to demonstrate the quality of DRC (and in particular Kivu province) coffee, to the outside world.
Posted on December 12 2019
December 12 2019
Stephen Cornford has just returned from his brief but insightful week long trip to East Africa; specifically Tanzania and Uganda, where he visited some of our export partners in the region. Read all about Stephen’s experience here.
Posted on December 2 2019
December 2 2019
I am sitting at Sao Paulo Guarulhos, almost exactly a month since I left the UK on this Brazil Trip. So now is as good a time as any to get this trip report written.
Posted on October 16 2019
October 16 2019
In preparation for his trip to the famous Aquiares Estate in Costa Rica, Ben talks to Diego, the estate’s manager, about the current on-going improvements at the farm.
Posted on July 5 2019
July 5 2019
Using Comparators when assessing coffee quality is best practice; however, it it also has issues. Stephen Cornford discusses how to improve Quality Control in Specialty coffee.
Posted on June 21 2019
June 21 2019
Mercanta UK’s Joe Fisher weighs in. Alongside providing expert product knowledge, a web of strong contacts at origin, and relief from administrative burden, one of the central roles of the coffee importer is to move the risk of green coffee buying away from roasters and onto their own shoulders. A significant chunk of this risk
Posted on May 10 2019
May 10 2019
Mercanta has participated in the Cup of Excellence programme from the very beginning, 20 years ago. We ask: is the competition still relevant? Juan Cano reports.
Posted on April 11 2019
April 11 2019
Stephen Hurst discusses the current plummet in the C-Price and how specialty coffee should address volatility It is the early 1990’s. The International Coffee Agreement, a producer/consumer cartel of sorts, which for many years had regulated the commodity coffee price via an export/import quota system, had ceased to exist. Not only did this mean
Posted on January 18 2019
January 18 2019
When highlighting the social aspects of coffees, we sometimes have a tendency to understate the contributions of our exporting partners. We focus, quite rightly, on the hard work and commitment of the the producer and her/his family. However, often, without a strong, sustainable and supporting relationship with an exporter, these producers would never have been
Posted on February 6 2018
February 6 2018
Clients from four countries joined us on our annual Colombia residency this year. Since Mercanta set up our office in Medellin in 2012, we have sought to highlight the wonders of the marvellous Colombian Department of Antioquia to a wider audience: in a coffee sense, a city tour sense, and a social sense. The networking opportunity for
Posted on January 12 2018
January 12 2018
For many years, Mercanta has been telling you the same, old Ethiopia story: In 2008 Ethiopia began the centralization of all coffee exports through the newly established Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX). This eliminated most roasters’ and importers’ ability to provide accurate information of the precise traceability of coffees. Until December of that same year, growers
Posted on April 10 2017
April 10 2017
Jantioquia: A customer’s perspective; Fiona Grant from Glen Lyon Coffee Roasters guest blogs Standing in the middle of Plaza Botero, a plastic cup of fresh mango spiked with salt and lime in my hand, musica tropical blaring out from a passing taxi and Mercanta’s Juan Cano pointing out the city sights and I’m one very
Posted on February 15 2017
February 15 2017
2017 marked the second year of Mercanta’s Jantioquia (January in Antioquia) – an event inspired by my own experiences in Antioquia some years ago. When I first began visiting Antioquia in 2010, the department (Colombia’s largest administrative subdivision) had long been overlooked with regards to both coffee and tourism. At the time, Huila held distinction
Posted on December 21 2016
December 21 2016
The town of Las Victorias is located in Guatemala’s Alta Verapaz region – an area widely renowned for its coffee. Some 80 families are scattered among farms and rainforest in this beautiful, but impoverished, area. The nearest town, San Cristobal Verapaz, is about an hour’s walk. Although some families farm corn, beans and livestock to eek
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