For Asia, as well as for Africa, the time has come to act
By Pierre E. Leblache
Published in Tea & Coffee Asia, October 2004
Ask any mildly interested consumer where the best coffees come from, and you will invariably get the five or six same answers : Jamaica, Kenya, Costa Rica, Colombia, Hawaii and Guatemala. Some people may add a few contenders such as El Salvador or Ethiopia, but any name beyond those and a couple of others will be a rare exception. That one of the origins mentioned has become but a shadow of its former self, increasingly producing mediocre types, poorly prepared and unreliably delivered due to a collapsing economy and a crumbling administration is irrelevant: In the world of Gourmet Coffee, such is the power of Image that the country could indeed disappear as it practically does, it would remain a symbol of coffee excellence. Similarly, the fact that producers in Burundi, India, Java, Brazil, Ecuador and elsewhere produce outstanding types, and that at least 10 other origins, several in Asia, have the potential to do so and are more or less advanced on that road, remains globally unknown by the general public and seriously slows down their specialty coffee sales. This is a world where Recognition, with a capital R, means everything. Gourmet Coffee is a very subjective topic which involves many factors. The beans’ appearance, consistency, aroma and flavor, though essential and central towards a good image, represent only part of the whole picture.
It all began very soon after the ICO collapse of 1989, when prices nose dived and sank, in most cases, near or below production costs. The specialty coffee market, which up to then had been an elegant exercise in exclusivity for a discerning elite, became a much needed survival tool for those few origins which realized the risk of doing nothing and what somber perspective lay in the future. At the time, precious few producing countries enjoyed a special reputation: Ethiopia, Kenya, Jamaica, and that was about it. Colombian coffees were entitled to a premium when tendered on the exchange; More than a token of excellence that was mostly the result of muscle flexing and bargaining power by the then 2nd world producer. Central American coffees, while enjoying decent prices and trade, were classified according to their various degrees of political upheaval and by altitude, not by their distinctive types. Everything else was deemed to be more or less the same, classified as washed or natural, arabica or robusta, with price differentials in the few percentage points for each category.
The main figure behind the birth of Gourmet Coffees on a large scale was without any doubt Jorge Cardenas, the formidable leader of the Colombian Federation, a man larger than life, an iron fist in a (not so) velvet glove, and a visionary who changed twice the world of coffee (the other time being 5 years later, when he orchestrated and held to a tightening of supply by many origins, jumpstarting prices which were at an all time low). Jorge Cardenas decided to boost his country’s coffee image, with an aim to generate large premiums for 25 %, not less, of Colombia’s beans, a minimum of 3 million bags. For this, the Federation created Juan Valdez, the ubiquitous cafetero and his mule, probably the best known characters in the coffee world. Only two countries immediately followed in Colombia’s footsteps, Costa Rica and Guatemala. Then, other origins or regions stepped in gradually, El Salvador, Hawaii, Nicaragua, Jamaica, Indonesia to name a few… This was done with variable dedication and intensity, different budget sizes and approaches, and sometimes quite a few mistakes. Among those, the best known is probably what is remembered as the “Antigua Disaster” during which, for lack of a trademark, the excellent coffees of Guatemala’s Antigua region were plagiarized. Enormous quantities of very common coffees used the Antigua name, ruining the brand and the premium, which it took years to restore.
Little by little and over the course of nearly 15 years, origins have crafted precise characteristics for their types, different levels and premiums for their offerings, and a country image which has been essential to determine appreciation by coffee lovers and market share in the specialty market. Building and maintaining that image is paramount for producers and implies long lasting consequences: That Salvadorian coffees sell for less than Costa Rican, and that most robustas are stuck in a losing spiral has as much or more to do with image as with the coffees’ intrinsic qualities. Brazil, the world’s largest producer and quintessential source of fillers, understands this so well that it is widely publicizing recent achievements such as the creation of the first coffee genome database, its future use to create different types of “super coffee” and new plant varieties dedicated to the Gourmet sector. Simultaneously, in an effort to regain its coffee leadership image in all aspects of the industry, Brazil organizes in October the first international event exclusively dedicated to robustas.
While the image will essentially be perceived by consumers and determine their relative enthusiasm to purchase coffee from origin A rather than origin B, its creation, development improvement and constant updating is a task which relies almost entirely on the coffee sector of producing countries. How this is done is vitally important and all factors must be considered, not exclusively those involving the specificity of coffees. Obviously, these are paramount, but surrounding factors such as the country’s history, it’s nature and landscapes, sustainability, traditions and legends, culture, and many more can and must play a part in this image building process. A good example of this is the recent use of the Haitian naïve painting style to promote one of their types, but such opportunities abound for each and every origin wishing to increase its exposure abroad. One piece of good news in this whole process is that a big budget is not necessary to build and acquire fame: Obviously, Colombia poured hundreds of millions of dollars into Juan Valdez over the years, but they remain an exception. Most recognized Gourmet producers have dedicated far smaller amounts to their image, focusing on positive factors and qualities, and targeting their message to their most likely clients. One should never forget that Gourmet coffee sells in small lots, and that a few hundred bags well placed often suffice to put an origin on the map. Giving One’s prospective buyers a favorable disposition does not cost an enormous sum of money, and the image should grow from there with time, shipment by shipment.
In order to build a good image at an affordable price, origins must be particularly watchful not to generate negative feelings in the consuming sector: Unfortunately, some cannot be avoided when there is political turmoil, economic uncertainty or plain harassment of farmers (causing for instance the collapse of the Zimbabwe coffee trade in spite of excellent quality). In many cases however, actions such as double sales in fluctuating market conditions, non delivery of contracts, non compliance on quality or other betrayal of firm commitments un-necessarily ruin a country’s reputation, even when its coffee has a potential to be very successful. It has happened at least once in South America but other countries in the producing world are threatened by this and need to be vigilant: While producers have the responsibility to build their image, good or bad feedback often comes from consumers. In a trade which has been based on handshakes and verbal agreements for a very long time, word of mouth goes a long way…
Over the past 15 years, numerous origins have undertaken this huge image-building task. The proof of their success lies in their market share. Others have not yet done so and, while they have the potential, they lag behind in the profitable specialty sector. This applies to all coffee varieties, but it is particularly true with robustas: Uganda, Madagascar, Cameroon, Ecuador among others are ready to reap the benefits but need to step up to the challenge. In Asia, only India has so far initiated the right moves, and in too limited a way. Other origins, big and small, can and must start to think along those lines if they are to be profitable. Let us not forget that the robusta futures market has largely missed the 2004 price improvements so far, that robusta overproduction will not subside anytime soon, and that Gourmet premiums remain the only escape: Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Nepal, Myanmar and Bhutan all have the capacity to produce Gourmet coffees, but they must make the world aware that they exist. As to Vietnam, the new giant sometimes blamed for all coffee evils, transforming 1 or 2 % of its robusta production into washed Gourmet coffees would quickly make it another Costa Rica. Looking at opportunities 10 years from now, the perspective is dizzying… What are we waiting for ?
