News Archive
From the Road: Ethiopia, Part II: The Southern Region
11-03-09Counter Culture's Director of Coffee and co-owner Peter Giuliano filed another report about a recent combined coffee-buying and diplomatic visit to Ethiopia.
From the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, Peter made the long trip through heartbreakingly beautiful landscape into the mountains of Sidama to the ancient homeland of coffee. In this report, Peter recounts his mission to get to as many villages and coffee mills as he could and to talk to as many farmers and mill managers as possible about the upcoming harvest and the changes in the Ethiopian coffee industry over the past year!
Read Part II of Peter's trip report from Ethiopia in our COFFEE ORIGINS section!
Best,
Nathan
From the Road: Ethiopia 2009, Part 1
10-30-09
Counter Culture's Director of Coffee and co-owner Peter Giuliano recently completed a combined coffee-buying and diplomatic to Ethiopia with a delegation from the Specialty Coffee Association of America—for which he is Vice President—and its sister organizations in Europe and Asia to attend a conference hosted by the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange to introduce and discuss work with the Ethiopian coffee sector. About 150 Ethiopian coffee exporters, farmers, traders, and policymakers gathered in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa for this important conference, which was widely covered by the country's national newspapers and television networks.
Read Peter's full trip report in our COFFEE ORIGINS section and stay tuned for Peter's update from Yirgacheffe!
Thanks,
Nathan
From the Road: Colombia … ¡Qué chévere!
9-8-09
Counter Culture Coffee Sustainability and Producer Relations Manager Kim Elena Bullock visited Popayán, Colombia, in late August to meet with coffee farmers, producers, and exporters, including contributors to our La Golondrina project. Read her trip report in our Coffee Origins section and find out which farmers will be featured with a La Golondrina Microlot!
Thanks,
Nathan
A Virtual Tasting with the 21st de Septiembre Cooperative
8-21-09
Earlier this week, our Sustainability & Producer Relations Manager Kim Elena Bullock had the unusual opportunity to speak, via Skype video, to a group of budding coffee cuppers in Oaxaca City, Mexico. Gathered around a conference table at the offices of Sustainable Harvest—one of our importer partners—were representatives of the 21st de Septiembre cooperative, the Union of Oaxacan Organic Coffee Producers and Processors (UNOPCAFE) dry mill, and another Oaxacan cooperative named Un Sueño de Tantos. The farmers travelled to Oaxaca City from around the region to participate in a cupping training, and Kim Elena spoke with the group about what cupping means to us at Counter Culture.
Read the full account in our COFFEE ORIGINS section.
Thanks,
Nathan
Counter Culture Visits La Marzocco and Square Mile Roastery
6-19-09
Source or origin trips often bring us to coffee farms and washing stations, but Counter Culture Coffee's Technical Services Manager Brian Ludviksen recently traveled afar to make a different kind of source trip; an espresso machine source trip. Some of you may be familiar with La Marzocco, the espresso machine manufacturer that Counter Culture has worked with for many years, which is located in Florence, Italy. Brian spent a week at the La Marzocco factory in early June, with a brief stop in London to visit with Square Mile Roastery, and our old friend and World Barista Championship Executive Director, Cindy Chang.
It's a different type of "trip to origin" than we're used to, but very interesting, nonetheless. Read Brian's trip report in our Origins section.
Best,
Nathan
