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Posted on 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 December 17 2013
December 17 2013
“We have drawn a line in the sand which not many have dared to do. All our business is done on a fixed price, above the cost of production.” For the everyday high street coffee trader, the matter of coffee pricings is a minefield… indeed, probably something to stay well away from. And yet, nobody
Posted on November 28 2012
November 28 2012
On Friday 23rd November we held our first off site invitational cupping day at one of the UK’s leading specialist coffee shops, Colonna & Small’s in Bath. We had a great turnout from roasters based in the South West and I’m sure that everyone enjoyed this opportunity to put faces to names and companies. We
Posted on October 28 2011
October 28 2011
We have just been sent some photos of the damage caused in Guatemala by weeks of heavy rain, as a series of tropical storms batter Central America. Meanwhile El Salvador is forecasting losses of between 7 and 20% of its national coffee production in 2011/12. According to the Red Cross, in Guatemala more than 470,000
Posted on October 25 2011
October 25 2011
More than a million people have been affected by devastating tropical storms in Central America and Mexico in recent weeks. Over twelve days of torrential rain have caused landslides and serious floods, with El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua hit particularly hard. Needless to say many coffee producers have been affected – damage caused by
Posted on December 7 2010
December 7 2010
An interview with Stephen, Mercanta’s managing director, was published today in a World of Coffee report in The Times newspaper. The report is quite advertising-heavy, but still definitely worth a look. Everything that helps spread the word about specialty coffee is good publicity in our opinion! To view the report click here. Stephen’s interview is
Posted on August 10 2010
August 10 2010
Coffee leaf rust is spreading through farms in southern Colombia, according to local reports. This is worrying news. After frost and drought, leaf rust is Arabica’s greatest threat and can devastate crops if preventative steps are not taken. The situation may be exacerbated by heavy rains caused by the weather pattern known as ‘La Niña’.
Posted on August 6 2010
August 6 2010
The commodity price of Arabica coffee hit its highest level since 1998 at the end of last week. Although our business operates largely independently of the commodity market, it is impossible not to feel the effects of such a major development. On Monday (2 August) Arabica coffee for September delivery reached a high of US$1.815
Posted on April 20 2010
April 20 2010
London’s great coffee moment has come, writes food critic and coffee writer, Daniel Young, in his most recent ‘Young and Foodish’ blog. Read Daniel’s analysis of the “coffee buzz” currently being felt in London here. And don’t forget to listen to BBC Radio 4’s excellent programme on coffee before Sunday (25 April) – to listen
Posted on April 19 2010
April 19 2010
Radio 4’s The Food Programme has produced an excellent report on the so-called “Third Wave” of coffee, looking at the remarkable growth of specialty coffee in the UK and its effect on the coffee business as a whole. The programme was inspired by a recent report by market research firm Mintel, which found that during
Posted on December 18 2009
December 18 2009
The Nordic Barista Cup: The first competition took place in Denmark in 2003 and it’s been going from strength to strength every year since. These annual events bring together baristas and many other specialty coffee professionals in an environment where knowledge can be shared through meeting, learning, seminars…and a lot of very hands-on practical workshops
Posted on March 5 2009
March 5 2009
We’ve long known about the sophisticated espresso culture scene ‘Down Under’. Some of the leading specialty roasters and retailers in Australia are now stepping up to explore Cup of Excellence coffees. Excellent reason to indulge in a cuppa By: Necia Wilden | March 05, 2009 What champagne is to sparkling wine, a Cup of Excellence
Posted on February 27 2009
February 27 2009
With Fairtrade Fortnight now almost over for 2009, we were delighted to be given a platform to describe our sourcing model to Financial Times journalist, Francis Percival. The editor’s choice of title rather misses the point(!), but the body of this carefully considered and well-written piece appeared in last weekend’s edition and makes clear the
Posted on January 27 2007
January 27 2007
This year, our annual Coffee Hunter Field Trip took Flo and me together with eight customers to Guatemala. This would to be our fourth Field Trip and we believe that these excursions are the single most important way to illustrate Mercanta’s unique way of doing business to our Specialty Coffee roaster customers. For the coffee
Posted on January 25 2007
January 25 2007
Excellence in a Cup: A competition promotes trade in coffee based on quality, not just quantity– Jan 25 2007 (Viçosa, Brazil) From The Economist print edition One morning last month in an airy hall at the Federal University of Viçosa, Brazil, the only sound to be heard was a chorus of zestfully inelegant slurping. Twenty-four
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