Well, I’ll start with myself as it’s easier. During my time in coffee indistry, as a roaster, I was always mostly concentrated on technical side, quality and consistency. But, there’s more to it, the social side. I always left this aspect of bussiness on other people in our team but for me to grow, I need to learn to do it myself to fulfill my bigger picture. Which is establishing meaningful connections in countries of origin. To not be afriad to talk about sensitive topics like price, amnoutns and  quality to meet our needs. To bring the coffee along with the story. To build the bridges between producers and other roasters. This is the theme of this origin trip, at least for me – but surely, it going to be worth it!

I see this as an opportunity to create a more tightly connected mutual understanding of us/me as a roaster/barista and coffee producers. It is a start for better cooperation through getting the view from other perspective and that should help all of us to have better suited approach to producers but also our customers back home. We’ll be more knowledgeable and therefore can adjust to more situations. I see it as a benefit for all to learn about the needs of the others and how we can build the relationships based on that together. Not just the producers we’re going to meet but all producers we work or will work with. And other roasters likewise. It’s gonna be a blast. 

We have arrived in El Salvador today to indulge in the Typica Lab. At trip to origin with roasting colleagues from around Europe. Together with Shin from Typica we will visit producers, washing stations and drying mills. 

For us as a company we find it super interesting to meet up with our international ‘competition’.

As you can see I put the word competition in between brackets. I did this because at ANDY ROASTERS we strongly believe that in our niche market we have the ability to make each other stronger. It is not our goal to make our piece of the pie larger, it is our goal to, together, create a bigger pie in total. The better our fellow roasters create there customer base, through quality of product and customer service, the bigger our market will get and the more all of us will gain in the future. 

I notice everyone at the table is mostly quality driven as supposed to commercially. This makes for a strong connection between the group. I am eager to learn from everyone here and super happy to share my own experiences. 

A second layer to this trip is of course to build a stronger connection with local producers. I feel that in the past it was mostly a lineair approach with 

Roaster – traders – producers. 

With this trip we can evolve into a more triangular approach to the business. With new connections between all of the parties. 

For us as a roaster this can make us stronger in both a product way and in a story telling way. 

We see this trip as the beginning of a long lasting relationship with the producers, of colleagues and Typica.

Aside from that, my goals for this trip are to sponge up as much information as I possibly can from the producers and my fellow roasters, as well as finding a lot or two that could form the first iteration of Echelon’s new single origin espresso product line. 

It’s already been a real pleasure to meet the other roasters and get to know a thing or two about how they work and what motivates them. So far, despite the geographical diversity of the group, there’s a reassuring level of agreement on the benefits of learning more about the life and work of coffee producers and how we as roasters can adjust what we do to make our relationship with them more equitable and fruitful. 

*Yes, I’m reading Coffeeland by Augustine Sedgwick and it’s excellent!

Today I woke up at 6 o’clock a bit jetlagged and after breakfast I continued to meet the rest of the group. Afterwards we met by the pool and now we’ve been sharing our Theme of this journey, what we are expecting of this beautiful trip we have ahead.

After lunch we are going to travel to Metapan, where the people from Cafenor will host us. Can’t wait to see it!

Firstly, it is to establish a closer relationship with the coffee producers and learn more about them. What are their lives like, and what are their thoughts while producing coffee?

Naturally, the purpose of this trip is to gain a hands-on understanding of the coffee production process by observing and participating.

In particular, Primavera Coffee in Guatemala and Cafe Nor in El Salvador are our primary points of contact for coffee purchases. We want to understand their perspective on dealing with the farmers and develop a strong relationship with them for ongoing bean purchases.

Secondly, I want to deepen my connections with the Japanese roasters who are traveling with me on this trip.

What are their thoughts on coffee sales, and how do they feel about this journey? I want to have extensive discussions with them.

Since I have only been running my store for three years, there is much for me to learn. My goal is to establish a positive, long-term relationship with everyone.

Secret to high quality

Our first stop was the dry mill of Primavera Coffee where parchment coffee from different producers is processed into green coffee beans. Inside the facility, many jute bags of parchment coffee are stacked on top of each other. A machine sucked up these parchment coffees in large quantities, and foreign substances and poor-quality coffee due to color were removed, while the coffee was sorted into coffees with uniform screen sizes. After these machine processes, the resulting green coffee beans are of high quality. However, 20% of the weight, including parchment, is removed, and beans of poor quality are sold for instant coffee. The parchment is sold as a heat resource.

Large farm focused on commodity

We then visited a large plantation that produces commodity coffee. The plantation is situated about 1,000 meters above sea level, so it is not possible to produce specialty coffee, but a vast area is planted with a large number of coffee trees. At the entrance of the plantation, we saw coffee flowers that had just bloomed, but at the back of the plantation, we found that the flowers, which bloom only about three days a year, were in full bloom. The aroma was wonderful, and insects were gathering nectar. The flowers that bloom at this time of the year become coffee cherries, and the harvest season is in November.

Bananas are planted as shade trees on this farm, and many bananas were also harvested. Bananas are known to be compatible with coffee because they do not absorb nutrients from the soil, which is necessary for coffee to grow. They grow very fast, several meters in about a month. However, they do not grow well at lower elevations, and there were no bananas at the higher elevation specialty farms that we would visit later. This farm also installed an automatic watering system this year, which is expected to increase the yield.

We learned that in recent years, there has been an exodus of young people from Japan, and there is now a shortage of pickers and other workers. Usually, about 400 pickers used to gather at this farm, but now there are only about 100. We hope that the coffee industry will become more active and attract more people.

After Day 1

Chris, our guide for the day, took us to a large-scale farm that deals with commodities. By seeing both large-scale farms and small-scale producers, he thought we could learn the differences between them and gain a deeper understanding of coffee production in Guatemala.

We are grateful to Chris for showing us all aspects of coffee production in Guatemala.

On March 18th, we arrived at Narita Airport at around 4:00 PM to begin our trip. After greeting the other roasters who were also attending the TYPICA Lab, we boarded a United Airlines flight to Los Angeles, which departed at 6:00 PM. Following a 9-hour journey, we arrived in Los Angeles in the morning, local time, at a little after 11:00 AM. Unfortunately, I couldn’t sleep on the plane and ended up watching Disney’s “Inside Out,” causing me to miss my child even more.

We had approximately 11 hours to spare before our flight to Guatemala City, so we decided to explore the Venice Beach area. Our first stop was Intelligentsia Coffee, a well-known third wave coffee giant on the West Coast. 

I ordered a refreshing COLD BREW blend, which tasted amazing in the hot weather. The other members ordered a variety of Kenyan espresso and Ethiopian pour over coffee, and we shared our thoughts on each drink. It was odd to see all nine of us roasters gathered together, each ordering different coffees and sharing our impressions with one another. I thought it might make me uncomfortable if I had customers like this in my own store.

Before going to Intelligentsia, I had assumed that it was just a popular coffee shop, but when we arrived on a Saturday afternoon, it was constantly packed with customers. It was clear that specialty coffee had become a part of daily life for many people. Even though there was no information on the blend I ordered, it was delicious and everyone was enjoying it. I talked with Mr. Asai of Regolith Coffee about how specialty coffee shops in Japan tend to over-explain things, but I felt that this was how a coffee shop should be.

On the way to a nearby pizza shop, we stumbled upon a FELLOW street store. I was surprised to see a coffee goods brand in such a super touristy area. I realized that coffee’s position was different here than in Japan.

After a quick bite to eat at a pizza place, we took a walk on the beach and were delighted to come across a skate park I had been wanting to visit.

We continued to explore the area and went to Gjusta, a nearby bakery recommended by HONO Roasteria’s Mr. Murai. We intended to have a quick snack, but the bread and jam were so delicious that we ended up taking all the Lab members to dinner there.

The turkey sandwich was particularly impressive, with its lightly toasted, crunchy bread, fresh vegetables, tender and fragrant turkey ham, crispy bacon, and perfectly acidic pickles. The care put into each ingredient was evident, and the balance of the dish was exquisite. Even though it was quite large, I devoured it quickly and couldn’t help but praise it to Mr. Kondo of FINETIME COFFEE, who had ordered the same sandwich.

I could tell that each item on the menu was made with the utmost care, and I became an instant fan. While dining with the other Lab members, I noticed that there was no alcohol menu. If a similar type of business were to open in Japan, it would have to serve alcohol to be profitable in terms of both service and profit. It surprised me that, even with only coffee, lemonade, and other drinks on the menu, the restaurant was close to full and bustling with local customers. I felt like I had seen the basics of the restaurant business: that if you serve good food, customers will appreciate it and the business will thrive, even if it takes a lot of time and effort to carefully prepare the food and the prices are not cheap. This was also true of Intelligentsia, which I had visited earlier in the day.

After leaving Gjusta, we went to Firestone Walker, a craft beer brewery, to find some alcohol that we couldn’t drink at Gjusta. We didn’t stay long, but it was fun to experience an American pub. After that, I took an Uber back to LAX and flew to Guatemala City. I realized that I didn’t use cash even once in Los Angeles, including for transportation and food and drinks. Everything was done through touch, which was quite stress-free. I hope that Japan will also become more cashless in an easy way.

The flight to Guatemala City took about 6 hours, but I couldn’t sleep well. When I arrived, I went straight to the hotel, had breakfast, and fell asleep. I ended up sleeping most of the time in Guatemala City due to jet lag.

In the hotel lobby, there was a painting of a coffee harvest.

I had dinner with Shimon from TYPICA Europe and asked him about his background during our introductions. I was reminded that we are a group of roasters as we discussed in-depth the local coffee situation and trends. Shimon had worked in coffee shops in Spain and Germany. Even in casual conversation, when the topic of roasting or coffee came up, we had deep discussions. I felt like we could talk forever.

The Los Angeles to Guatemala City leg of my journey was mostly sightseeing, but I noticed many interesting things. Tomorrow, I will finally enter Antigua and see a dry mill and a wet mill. After getting plenty of sleep and recovering my strength, I hope to take in as much as possible.

After breakfast, we strolled around Guatemala City with a group of energetic people. Although we were aware that the area could be dangerous with many robberies and murders, we stayed together in groups.

As we walked, I noticed that there were few Asians around, and I felt a lot of stares directed towards us.

During dinner, we introduced ourselves and talked about our experiences in the coffee industry.

I know it may seem like I’m only talking about food, but tomorrow we will visit the place of origin and do a serious report.