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Bringing the cupping experience to the farms
Rafael Marques, algrano’s local quality partner in the state of Espirito Santo, Brazil, set up a mobile lab to visit coffee producing communities and train growers on the quality of their coffees. Equipped with an IKAWA‘s samples roaster, this mobile lab allows Rafa to be close to the growers.
Growers from the mountains of the state of Espirito Santo in Brazil recently sold their micro lots on algrano to roasters in Europe. This was possible thanks to the support of the Q Grader and coffee professional Rafael Marques from Venda Nova do Imigrante. In order to have the growers sell their coffees online on algrano, Rafa cupped, analyzed and selected the lots to be presented by the growers and teached the growers on the use of this selling channel.
Rafael is a young and passionate coffee entrepreneur. He developed his knowledge of coffee working for the former local cooperative Pronova. He then founded his own roastery and the first specialty coffee shop in Venda Nova do Imigrante. After having co-founded ProveCafé, a local specialty coffee consulting and brokerage company, he recently embarked on a new entrepreneurial venture: Rafa Degusta. Instead of receiving growers at his own laboratory, he built a mobile laboratory in his car and visits farming communities where he organizes cuppings.
Rafa decided to set up this mobile lab for two main reasons:
During the many years working with growers, he noticed the importance of having growers understanding what is quality in a cup of coffee. It is a fact that even the growers producing some of the best coffees don’t understand what characterize a quality coffee. If growers understand and know what is a quality coffee, they will be able to judge their own coffees and valorize their own product.
Rafa also realized that the best place for growers to be trained is on their farm, in their environment. It is difficult to motivate growers to dress up and go to the nearby town to take a class on coffee quality. But if you go in the local communities, the attention will be higher.
When Rafa informed us that he was embarking on this project, we told him about IKAWA, the new portable sample roaster that makes roasting easy, precise and quick! Rafa jumped on the idea, ordered the sample roaster and started roasting in the farms during the past coffee harvest in Espirito Santo! The feedback from the growers was very positive and Rafa is decided to move on with this experience.
This samples roaster can bring growers closer to roasters and even consumers. It contributes to creating a common language around the quality of the coffee. This is needed to move the specialty coffee market forward and valorize the beans of the growers. This echoes well with algrano’s mission. Congratulations Rafa!
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