Introduction: A very brief history of coffee:
·850: First known discovery of coffee berries. Legend of goat herder Kaldi of Ethiopia who notices goats are friskier after eating red berries of a local shrub. Experiments with the berries himself and begins to feel happier.
·1100: The coffee first trees are cultivated on the Arabian peninsula. Coffee is first roasted and boiled by Arabs making “qahwa” — a beverage made from plants.
·1475: The world’s first coffee shop opens in Constantinople. It is followed by the establishment of two coffee houses in 1554.
·1995: Coffee is the world’s most popular beverage. More than 400 billion cups are consumed each year. It is a world commodity that is second only to oil.
You may drink coffee everyday, but do you know where and how your coffee is produced? Is the coffee you’re drinking organic coffee or is it produced with poisonous pesticides and fertilizers.
I (Trevor, owner/lead consultant of Pangea Proxima) can tell you that, now after my long weekend stay at Finca Java (FJ) in Nicaragua, when I look down into my daily mug of coffee it appears quite different and there is a an interesting story to be told below the rich blackness.
I was introduced to Jon Thompson through his one of his inspiring community programs (Comunidad Connect) that he initiated in Southwestern Nicaragua. After discussing our interests in community development, he invited me up to Finca Java, where he is an operator and partial owner. Another owner and founder of the organic coffee farm happened to be another mutual friend of theirs, Chris Robertson (owner of Finca Las Nubes).
Finca Java, is located about 20 minutes away from the town of Jinotega and is about a five hour drive North from San Juan del Sur, nearly spanning the entirety of Nicaragua. Finca Java is operating in the gorgeous Apanas Lake region, located 80 miles north of Managua Capital city. The lake is at 3,000 feet elevation and the mountains around it rise up to 7,000 feet. It was created as an artificial lake to provide hydroelectric power to the area.
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| Panoramic view from the guest cabins at Finca Java |
The area enjoys a wetter climate than much of Nicaragua, and stays green year-round. It is ideal for growing coffee. Many of the farms that they are acquiring currently have organic coffee on some part of the land. Coffee is the most viable cash crop; although all manner of vegetables and fruits can be grown in the region. Annual agricultural returns of up to fifty percent on investment are feasible. A model prospectus is included herein. This area is poised for the development of bed and breakfasts, hotels, lake front restaurants, recreational facilities, as well as building lots and homes to serve the eminent arrival of baby boomers looking for the ideal spot to retire in. The potential for return on this level is unlimited.
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| Panoramic view from inside the shared dining facilities at Finca Java |
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| Andruw overlooking Finca Java's organic garden |
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| Medicinal Plants at the organic vegetable/fruit garden |
These systems also support and protect the eco-systems our grandchildren will depend on. They are also committed to building a social infrastructure that would support increased productivity in a climate of cooperation. Its group of investors includes some of the most visionary and accomplished ecological land use professionals, agronomists and agricultural experts available anywhere. They are all committed to this long term, successful business strategy.
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| One of many old growth trees on the farm |
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| Chickens contribute to sustainable aspects of the farm |
Coffee (Coffea sp.) is a small understory tree or shrub, and has traditionally been grown amongst forest trees, in the shade. Coffee grown in the shade, takes long to ripen, and is often thought to taste better because the long ripening times contribute to complex flavors. In order to produce faster, higher yields and prevent the spread of coffee leaf rust (Hemileia vastatrix), many coffee plantations have begun to grow coffee under sunnier conditions. The fewer shade trees that are in coffee plantations, the less biodiversity there is in those plantations.
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| The various levels of shade components are seen here: Hardwood trees and banana plants rise above the coffee shrubs |
This loss of biodiversity, especially in birds, has led conscientious consumers to look for “shade grown” coffee. However, coffee is grown under a continuum of conditions, from rustic or traditional, to full sun, and these “shades of shade” are not all equal when it comes to the health of ecosystems. Unfortunately, there is no official definition of “shade grown,” so coffee so labeled may be grown under what are technically shady conditions, but which are little better than full sun.
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| Jon inspects coffee berries from this year's harvest |
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| Luscious coffee berries at Finca Java |
It is important to understand the various levels of growing coffee under shade. This lists the five most typical categories, from the most desirable, traditional growing method, to the least diverse, most modern and technified method.
· Rustic. Often used on small family farms. Coffee is grown in the existing forest with little alteration of native vegetation. Shade cover = 70-100%.
· Traditional polyculture. Farmers plant particular tree and plant species, including fruit and vegetables both for the farmer and for market, fuel wood, medicinal plants, etc. Common tree species under which coffee is frequently grown include Inga, Grevillea, Acacia, Erythrina, and Gliricidia. Shade cover = 40-70%.
· Commercial polyculture. More trees removed in order to increase the number of coffee plants. Sometimes involves use of fertilizers and pesticides due to the lack of vegetative cover which helps prevent loss of soil nutrients, etc.
· Shaded monoculture. Dense plantings of coffee under an overstory of only one or two tree species, which are heavily pruned. Shade cover = 10-30%. As you can see, coffee grown in a shaded monoculture could technically be labeled “shade grown,” but it would probably not be what the consumer, concerned about biodiversity, is looking for.
Good Nicaraguan coffees are considered a “classic” cup: great body, clean flavor, and balance. They are unique among Centrals in the fact that the highest grown (SHG grade: Strictly High Grown) do not develop the pronounced and sharp acidity of other Centrals.
Wet and dry mills are critical to the processing of coffee. FJ’s wet coffee mill is located on site and is the place where the ripe coffee cherries are classified by density, and the pulp layer removed by a wet milling machine.
The resulting beans in the parchment are then placed in fermenting tanks for a period that can go from 14 to 40 hours, depending on the relative temperature and climate conditions.
FJ’s dry mill is located off-site about 30 minutes away and is shared by other smaller area coffee farms. A dry mill or “Beneficio,” as it is called in Spanish, is the plant where the coffee is sun-dried, spread out in concrete or well paved patios for some 10 to 12 days.
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| Finca Java's Beneficio is shared by other small independent coffee farms and is located off-site |
The coffee is then placed to rest in well ventilated warehouses for a period of 45 to 60 days until the beans’ relative humidity is homogenized on the entire lot. This rest period, prior to de-hulling allows for the bean pores to close, which will give it great consistency and hardness that will enable its quality to last longer prior to and after its roasting.
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| Machines that separate the various sized of beans |
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| Food stand at the beneficio |
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| Coffee beans drying out at the beneficio |
A few important questions are answered below about your choice of coffee:
Why drink organic coffee?
It is well known that many of the chemicals used on coffee farms are highly carcinogenic and banned by industrialized nations. The World Bank and USAID promoted high tech sun-grown coffee. Farmers were taught to increase the yield and ripen their cherries faster by cutting down the shade trees. Many farmers had no choice because often that was the condition to get bank credit. Cutting down the shade trees reduced the habitat for the birds that controlled pests. So farmers had to use synthetic pesticides. This required the increased use of synthetic fertilizers to give the extra energy taken up by the pesticides. Also, without the shade, the weeds increased and became difficult to control, so the farmers had to use synthetic weed killers. Coffee is one of the most chemical intensive crops. The farmers do not know how to use the chemicals safely and many suffer from health problems caused by chemicals like DDT. Groundwater is contaminated causing further environmental problems. The pulp of the cherries, which constitutes about 60% by weight, is removed to get the coffee beans. This pulp is then thrown into the rivers, which reduces the pH of the water and kills the marine life. Organically grown coffee goes back to the age-old method where coffee is grown under shade trees and pests and weeds are controlled by natural means. One of the greatest ways to use the pulp is to transform it into fertilizer using redworms. This is successfully done at many organic farms. 
We take the pulp and place it in bins where the worms eat it and turn it to worm castings. We then soak it in water, which is then sprayed as a foliar fertilizer over the plants. Sadly, many businesses use organic labels on products that are not organic. The new certification laws will hopefully reduce this problem. It is believed that coffee roasted at very high temperatures loses all the toxic chemicals, so the use of those chemicals may not be directly harmful to the consumer. Coffee farmers have suffered. We can help them live healthier lives and support our environment by using certified organic products.
We take the pulp and place it in bins where the worms eat it and turn it to worm castings. We then soak it in water, which is then sprayed as a foliar fertilizer over the plants. Sadly, many businesses use organic labels on products that are not organic. The new certification laws will hopefully reduce this problem. It is believed that coffee roasted at very high temperatures loses all the toxic chemicals, so the use of those chemicals may not be directly harmful to the consumer. Coffee farmers have suffered. We can help them live healthier lives and support our environment by using certified organic products. |
| Fair Trade coffee bags |
Why use Fair Trade Coffee?
Refer to the section on the plight of coffee farmers. The industry has long taken advantage of poor farmers and farm laborers. It is time to step up and be fair to people who produce the product we love so much. Fair Trade is an international organization that certifies farmers and their cooperatives without any cost to them. The sellers of their products get to use the Fair Trade seal by paying a certain amount per pound. This money is then diverted to marketing of Fair Trade certified farm products and policing honest use of the seal. By using the Fair Trade seal the seller assures that the farmer is paid at least a minimum base price established by the Fair Trade Organization. This will assure that the farmers can live a dignified life. Fair Trade also makes sure that such farmers and their coops carry out community projects such as schools and health care, and that the farm labor is treated properly. The cost associated with coffee is only $.15/lb, which is less than half a penny per cup of coffee. The time has come to do a little something to help the farmers live a dignified life. Fair Trade Seal.
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| Beneficio workers (allowed one 15 minute break for every hour worked) |
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| Organic crops at Fica Java |
Traditionally, coffee was always grown in the shade under the forest canopy. It was in the 1950s that the World Bank and USAID promoted high tech coffee, the farmers were asked to produce sun-grown coffee in order to increase production. The shade trees were therefore cut down. When the trees were cut down the birds lost their habitat. Without the birds, the worms were not kept under control, farmers had to rely on pesticides. The coffee plants were stressed from growing in the sun and from the pesticides, to counteract this, chemical fertilizers had to be used. The sun also caused increased weed growth, necessitating use of chemical weed killers. The coffee cherries ripen faster in full sun, the quality of the coffee also became questionable. It is now generally believed that it was a mistake to cut down the trees, and we are now asking the farmers to go back to their age-old shade-grown coffee. The Smithsonian Institute certifies farms as Bird Friendly. The cost of certification is paid by roasters on charge per pound of Bird Friendly certified coffee sold. There are many farmers now growing shade grown coffee but they may not yet be certified.
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| 2009 Presidential visit and speech at Finca Java |
Pangea Proxima is in gratitude to Jon Thompson, Chris Robertson and the others at Fica Java for their hospitality and the depth of knowledge shared about their organic farming techniques.
To learn more about Finca Java, its farming methods and investment opportunities please visit www.fincajava.com
Oh yeah...and if you didn't think this place was special enough, where else can you see a white-faced monkey riding goats on a daily basis?
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| Finca Java's resident white-faced monkey lives with the farm's goats (free to roam) on a full-time basis. The goats consider him to be one of their pack. He ascended to leader of the herd quickly by not only riding the ram (seen pictured), but also by climbing trees and feeding the goats fruits and nuts that he finds. |
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