Finally found the BEST coffee!
It exists, people! The best coffee I’ve ever in my life had, after all coffee subscriptions, and specialty coffee tastings, and countless of bags from different cafes is…
*drumroll*
……… from UCC Hawaii’s Estate Grown coffee. Yup! You read it. Me, out of all people, speaks about “Best” and being so biased about loving the coffee, from where I work at.
If some of you have read from my previous blog, Is there a place for BEST, you can be curious as to how I arrived with a topic like this.
I always raise my eyebrows on this subject, but I had to review my statement, having to work in the same farm for more than a year now.
Maria brought me to understand a different perspective. Every time she drinks a cup of coffee she brews, or whenever we drink the pot of estate grown coffee, she’d always say “Mmm! Sabroso mi cafe”, meaning “My coffee is delicious!” or “This is the good coffee”. I smile with her statements, but she’d always follow it up with saying “of course, it’s our coffee” and laugh. 😆
I could not quickly agree with this in the past because “Best” is in preference, but after having to work with UCC Hawaii for more than a year now, I finally understood.
I can say it’s the Best because it’s a product of our hard work. It’s a product of the effort we exert to take the rocks off the trenches, keep our plant nursery healthy, control the pest by spraying with a 28lb backpack while walking the rocky areas and coffee rows (oh and sometimes slipping but quickly getting up because a coworker might laugh), meticulously reminding and teaching our pickers to pick red, and many other backbreaking and mind challenging ways to keep our coffee plantation producing good quality coffee. It’s one crop with a great amount of work! Especially during this year, where we are extremely short handed, it takes so much!
I am proud to say that our coffee is the best because in everything we do, we pour our heart and minds on doing our best. You can say I’m biased and all, but ask me about our coffee, and I can guarantee you that I can speak about our crop and work in detail. Mmmmm! I love our coffee!
I don’t really hate Starbucks.
Just because I work in specialty coffee means that I am very against this company. Sometimes, it’s more than just the coffee.
I grew up getting excited when me and my family would grab a Frappuccino. Home was about an hour drive from the city to the province. Our stopover had one shop, and we’d sometimes stay to hang out, talk story and just be cozy.
I loved the experience of being greeted by a barista, and feeling the warmth that Starbucks has in their cafe. On some days, I’ve wondered “Hmmm…. What if I was a barista?”. However, this thought is immediately followed by the idea that I cannot sustain a lifestyle I want by being so. Being a barista is simply a profession I cannot pursue. But well… until I learned about specialty coffee.
But before then, I loved being in Starbucks because of the hospitality!
Working and learning the existence of specialty coffee had me want to ignore Starbucks. Starbucks isn’t one that takes lead into good growth for coffee, when it comes to valuing the actual product. It’s so big, that it obviously doesn’t source coffee for quality, but quantity. Machines are automated. It’s so fast paced that it values speed, more than output. Sizes. Changing terms of using ounces that could’ve been more universal and helpful for other cafes. Oh and most importantly, drinks? It’s more milk and artificial flavor based rather than the coffee. Coffee becomes more like a caffeine supplier and crave satisfier to majority of drinks in the menu.
But sometimes, even with all of these in mind, I come to think. Is it really a bad thing? How do these qualities of Starbucks directly affect the industry of specialty coffee?
Well… come to think of it, that’s what lessens the stress to specialty coffee shops or owners. There’s some filter to the consumers we serve. This is also one reason why we can distinguish commodity from specialty. We are of a different industry.
Starbucks is a different entity. If they cannot fit into the idea of specialty coffee’s standards, they create a standard of their own. I don’t necessarily mean that this is a good thing, nor it is a bad thing. But ya see, the point is, I just can’t be too mean with the frappucinno drinkers because I’d be a hypocrite to say so. I love my Java chip frap! To simply put it this way, I don’t really hate Starbucks because they’re not really coffee.
This blog will be in conflict because my brain is arguing. A topic about Starbucks brings that in me.
The Cost of Discipline, Persistence and Drive
When your time is ticking, that's when thoughts rush in.
I have less than 1 1/2 months to be in the farm. If some of you have been following my blogs, it is quite an understatement to say that I enjoy working in the farming/processing side of coffee.
Prior to deciding to work as a coffee farmer, my main priority was to understand the value of the labor done, and to credibly speak about this side of the industry to consumers. I knew that when my time's up, I have to head to roasting.
1 year and 1 month later, and the in-betweens of the year, I realize that a huge portion of my heart goes to coffee producers. Somehow, I find home, purpose, freedom, and a child like joy of being one myself.
and yet, I have to leave. I think that's where my mind and heart finds that conflict of loving where I'm at, and still sticking through that decision of moving onto the next step.
There is no instruction manual on how to chase my dream. I simply stand by what my conscience tells me what to do.
I love the big island. I really, truly, do. It's a triathlete's dream to be here. Coffee trees are here! My eyes sparkle with a drive to work. My farm mentor feeds me good food, and has answers to unending questions I have. My partner/bestfriend is here. I just love where I'm at.
but ya see, that's the cost of being disciplined, persistent and being driven. It's to temporarily let this joy go. I know with what I'm trying to learn, I'll represent the people of the coffee industry better. Finding purpose, greater than myself makes it all more reasonable.
Yea Danni, so suck it up and don't be a cry baby.
Get yourself situated already.
Sanity outside of Coffee
I finished a full marathon 2 days ago in sandals. That's what inspired me to write something about the importance of my hobbies outside of coffee.
My day to day life is wrapped around my profession, in which everything I do is important to the present and for the vision I have for the future.
Now is my life too much and too extreme when it comes to coffee? Am I reaching that point that all people can see me as is a coffee bean? Okay. That's quite a weird visual. I'd rather be a coffee cherry.
But here's what it is. I seemed so focused about coffee because of the hobbies I do outside it. I run, I explore, I get fascinated with so much more in this life. How money moves, how people think, human interaction, being with family.
I don't need to reach a breaking point where I simply get burnt out and tired in serving my greatest purpose. I pace myself, find the balance, so I can reach goals while enjoying the process. I run on the weekends, enjoy nature with my partner (while brewing coffee outdoors).
But outside the routine, I ran my 12th full marathon, 22nd long distance (with ultramarathons included), and 1st full marathon in sandals in Portland. My dad ran the full marathon, and we went out to explore the state with the family afterwards.
It has become my goal to atleast run one full marathon every year to keep my mind in callibration. It reminds me that I have a mindset that can conquer anything I put my heart into.
Time moves strangely/quickly as I carve my path, and time can only tell when opportunities like these exist. We all do need that healthy amount of break to get the head back into the game with full clarity. But yes, I mean, with ALL the things I question, problems I try to solve, ideas that keep me up at night, this is how I keep my sanity outside coffee. We all need that, I believe.
The Worth of Processing Shitty Coffee Cherries :)
I feel so strongly about the experience, that it's maybe better to write about it 5 days after.
I bought coffee for $100. $2 per pound for 50lbs. It's one of my goals to focus on processing coffee because of the recent workshop I have attended with Lucia in Colombia.
Now I never bought cherries before. I never knew how. I simply trusted this producer because of the recognition he gets and because he is a smart and kind person.
The coffee represents how you truly work though. I noticed how bad the picking was already as he was weighing my portion and transferring cherries from the other bag. However, my heart immediately fell as I put the cherries into the bucket to float the damaged and the rotten ones.
Floaters
Data:
Weighing the floaters at 32.3lbs (initial trash 64.6%)
17lbs at the bottom
3lbs green
13lbs pulped (with skin on still and very little water added. ** Note that inconsistency)
I began to wonder, "Wow. Is there anything on the bottom that may still be worth saving?"
Weighed the floaters. I took the remaining "supposedly good ones". I was about to pulp by his area but I wanted to sort the green and yellow first. There was too many!
Green, yellow, rotten I took out.
I paid $2 per lb for trash, basically. But here's where we're at. What will this teach me. $100? Is it saving me for a greater loss in the future?
In this amount, I can say that...
1. Producers may do naturals with a heavy fermentation process to mask their coffee with majority defect.
2. This producer's intention for entering competitions for a small portion of coffee is to add price to his name.
3. A person who you can look up to, possibly seen as a mentor, can also fool you. My thoughts run like "wow. I didn't know anything. This person knows that. This producer is knowledgeable about numbers, business, labor wise in coffee. But this person charged me this way.
4. Atleast this initial loss isn't in hundreds/ thousands yet, as I bring myself to learn more processing.
5. I have to study the cherry prices, and how purchasing works, as with the quality I have, this is worth about $20. Found out through some bigger coffee farms that buy cherry, they pay a certain amount based on amount of defect.
6. This is where money becomes the main priority in coffee. It makes me sad because the specialty coffee industry should not move this way.
7. I learned how people cheat.
I was hating the world enough for sorting for 2 hours in the evening after work because the skin was stuck as I was pulping. Blame it on the pulper, but also, why the heck was I going through this work with terrible coffee? Oh yeah! Because I wanna teach myself a lesson?
Great "freaking" job, Danni. *facepalm*
I bought coffee to save time from picking. It was my intention to give credit or to highlight a producers's work with my name/brand and this is what I get. Extra work. I spent too many hours sorting coffee that may be worth less than a pound of good green beans.
Could I say that these thoughts and realizations are worth more than a $100?
I'd heavily give a big <*sighhhhhhh* > and I'd say, "Yes. Indeed. I think this experience is worth more than what I spent, and maybe I can say that it is an investment for what I want to achieve" </ *sighhhhhhhh* >
Why? Because it saved me so much time to know that this is how it works. I could've spent more money but decided to play with 50lbs. I have one year of experience being in the producer’s side of coffee, and now having these realizations gave me a big step on how I could play this game even better.
Please don't get me wrong. This producer is a good person, I believe. I simply cannot accept the idea that this is how some great business minded people work. I just cannot. They have the power to set good standards for the industry, but instead, they do it this way. I'll take what I can from his smart ways, but that's about it.
I won't purchase coffee from him again, but I’ll say thank you because this experience is all part of the process.
Now I get back to sorting parchment too. Heck.
A Plead to the Pickers
"Danni, you need to pick coffee. Aida not coming today", my farm manager says on such tone with some sense of urgency.
Right now, in our farm, the amount of pickers we have varies per day. 2 minimum, 5 maximum. We have about 20 acres of coffee trees to pick. It's September now, peak season has started, and when the whole land has ripe cherries all at the same time, you'd need more people.
We need help.
But that being said, a service leader can get exhausted too, ya know. Yes we need pickers, but can they not break the branches? Can they be punctual with time? Can they be true to their word? Like, be there when they say that they're coming to help us? Can they take the ripe off from the tree? Can they pretty pretty please clean the basket so that the machine won't break?
It's simple. Good work ethics please. Whatever job it is, it still is work.
What they don't really see is that for the rest of the months that it isn't coffee season, the work is continuous for field maintenance. The spraying, pulling of shoots, fertilizing. That's the expense. But for that to be worth it, we need the freakin cherries off from the tree!
This is a message that won't find its way to the initial recipient. But know, as a reader, that it is a challenge and it can be quite frustrating. Being so nice can also be tiring. We can only be too kind. sigh
Farm workers are teachers
Knowing how things really work. Coming from people who do it everyday. Using their work time to get someone's experiment done. What is it around them that will solve the problem. Strategizing with time.
Who is it that really knows the trick of the trade?
It's those people who's been working on that aspect, with the same materials everyday. Now. I think about learning from my farm manager She who's very observant, who cares deeply about the farm and trees, and is very resourceful.
One more thing is they have connections. Being in the profession for long, people know them. One weekend, I was invited by Maria to work on this other farm for a few hours. What's fascinating is I never have passed that road of coffee farms. I learned the owner's story, and just knowing the diversity of people who does coffee and their character is some kind of learning. Now would I get that experience just from anybody?
Nawp.
And one more thing. They understand the very meticulous parts of the job, that is sometimes not noticeable. But to understand a task, the difficulty, and what to ask of people or how to treat a situation, one must learn how to empathize with it.
The way I treat people in necessary to sustain a business. And a very important aspect to take note of is that workers know a lot. Learn from them. Be one of them. Workers are teachers.
Making mistakes & leaving an impact
(A blog about the recent preliminary competition I joined)
I had a chance. It felt like I did. What got me into trouble? Rules. I failed to fully understand it. I failed to pour more coffee into the judges’ cups. Another thing? I changed my grind size for the actual performace, didn’t fully understand the flavor of my cup with the variables of my brew. I spoke of a wrong ratio. I should’ve elaborated more on flavor & had better analysis of the cup. I brewed like I was brewing a light roast. I forgot that this is Kona we’re talking about. I failed to find the balance for the cup.
These are my realizations after a day goes by, since the competition.
How should I have done better? Where was I lacking?
More than the realizations of my mistakes, I also try to recognize the situation and the composition of my performance. Now that I think about it…. People actually loved it.
It was a small audience, and so I had to call their attention to come together, and feel comfortable as they joined me for this presentation. I chose a coffee that reminded me of the good attributes to find in a cup of Kona coffee. It was one by Hala Tree Farms. On the day of the presentation, it turns out that the producers of the coffee I’m representing, Danielle and Jean Ozlowski, are sponsors too, and they happen to be the designated time keepers for the competition!
I found more value, presenting this coffee, really. I’m like…. “Wow, the world is in my favor”.
My scores for service was said to be good. I have captured my audience’ attention, I believe. The few people who were present praised me for it. They haven’t tasted the coffee, but the essence of what goes into this single cup, has maybe brought people to be excited to have a sip. I don’t know… It is what it is. I love speaking about coffee. No, I actually love performing too! As I brewed my coffee, I told my story like everyone was a friend, was a companion, and was part of something special. It was a feeling of everyone from the chain, hearing me out, appreciating my favorite aspects of every part of the process.
Success for me is having an impact, no matter how small it is. And maybe making those mistakes will simply lead me to a much greater impact.
A saying that my choral group lives by, We win not golds but hearts. Somehow, I still found success by making mistakes and leaving an impact.
Brewer’s Competition; Why it meant too much to me
Have fun. That was the important reminder. Yes, indeed. That was to take note of, but why was my head so wrapped around the idea of getting a spot despite this being my first time?
Because I asked help and sponsorship from people I worked with in the industry. Going to Oahu is cheap but staying is expensive. I asked help from a lot of them. Producers, Cafe Owners, Baristas, Past co workers from farming and coffee shop, roaster, and even the online coffee magazine blog!
After farm work, even after I take the pickers home, I head back to the property to take a shower, read, watch, edit my script and practice. First thing in the morning, I sometimes read rules, even.
I just couldn’t let them down. As an independent, representing producers is why I wanted to understand the value of farming and this was the best way to speak credibly about my work. Even when I was on site, and needed vessels to practice, I was lent some to take to the airbnb. I don’t know if I’ll be a producer some time when I do this again, but I know I’ll need to have that connection when I try one more time. I lost. It sucked. But the best way to think about it is that,
Damn. So this is how much people have faith in me. People treated me with kindness. Wow. Now, I see… and that’s enough to give me that idea to keep going. That faith is fuel to the life I live in coffee. I learned, and I’ll take this practice as a way to improve the next time. :) We’re only getting started.
Couldn’t have had good practice run without:
Bryan & Lindsey from Tradition Coffee Roasters, lent me a Hario and challenged/invited me to compete.
Mariam Pinza, who encouraged me to go to Oahu and watch but ended up giving advise on how it’s done because I decided to compete, and to just do it, despite not being with a sponsoring company
Those who contributed a generous amount to pay for my expenses:
Cafe Owner, past employer: Tim, Kona Reserve Coffee
Baristas, past co worker: Joci Adele & Esther Galuban, Kona Reserve Coffee
Producers: Doug Mckenna
Current Farm I work for: UCC Hawaii
Past Farm Manager: Jeffrey Smith
Past Farm Co worker & guardian: Mike & Ryan Lybarger, Drew Paone (bestie)
Current Farm Manager: Maria Rivera, UCC Hawaii
Current Employer & his partner: Tsukasa & Yuka Kobayashi, UCC Hawaii
Current Co Workers: Beny & Junko, UCC Hawaii
Online Roaster friend: Pablo & Ines, Syzygy Coffee
Online Magazine Blog (Standart Magazine) : Michal Molcan & Grant Fleming
Bestest of the best partner ever and moral support award goes to my human, Michael
Again, thank you. We keep going. Teamwork made a dream work. We got this. Till next time!
The biggest challenge is how to move forward
Coming from the Fermentation Training Camp, where I met inspiring people that I want to be like someday, and learning about this new perspective and approach towards processing coffee made me think. Ok.... so what should I do now.
But prior to coming here, I knew that I needed to learn processing so that I could use resources around me, being working in a farm, to apply what I learn in Colombia, but in small scale. And so, that came with the mission to know what I need and to know how to start. Lucia was already there so might as well ask!
The result is? As I get back to Kona, and the farm, I grab my car and grab yeast by the coffee research lab by the island. My stuff from amazon was arriving. As soon as it did, I went and started picking cherries, doing the process, the yeast, tracking data, and drying.
A day after I got to Kona, I wanted to share some experience to a friend who said he wanted to hear about it!
We ended up talking for a few minutes till I was invited for a freakin competition. I was like woah. A great way to let my voice be heard, and so I impulsively registered.
The trip made it feel like I have a greater mission somewhere. I was just left wondering how can I apply what I learned?? And in addition to that, Lucia recommended to me to learn Spanish. It's a great way to get involved with more producers. And so I took her contact, and had a class the next weekday after I got back.
Too much on my plate. Competition, experimenting, spanish lessons!
I just have to find growth somewhere while being in the farm. UUUUUGH. My head is screaming. But yea. Had to let go of Spanish lessons till the next 2 weeks after competition cause I had to focus. I was running out of time.
I compete tomorrow, and that's a different story. So atleast I'm getting something done. Someway, somewhere, somehow.
Right? Right.
Everyday is challenging but oh well. We got this.
Why I chase for education. Hmm?
Years of experience. This is something that I don't have control over, despite the passion and persistence to learn. Quite suckish is that I look like a child for some cause am asian (we know how Filipinos work with that) and sometimes am not taken seriously with my ambitiousness.
So….how can I gain credibility and proper knowledge, the fastest way I know?
Being in my early 20's, people tell me, learn how to save as early as now. The constraint being time and money, I had to choose which is more valuable. It's time. It's time because I can use the little money I have to save for education for my next step.
If I can learn from people who has dedicated years to collectively learn a specialized side in coffee, a.k.a finding mentors for every aspect of it, it is to my greater advantage to have that head start and to apply it myself, and just go from there.
If I need to buy equipment that is necessary for self learning or experimenting, I will definitely put that as priority to acquire, to have better understanding of a topic. Should I have a reason for traveling, it has to be related to learning something in coffee.
If I invest my money on the time I am learning coffee, I know that I’ll be able to save (labor wise) in whatever business I choose to do in the future, and that I can say that I can trust myself on this aspect.
Education is my investment, to add value for the time I spend to gain credibility as quick as I could. I may be young, but if I could learn correctly throughout the process of understanding the chain, I could achieve more, so that one day I could bring myself to educate, to have greater impact, and to give more.
Panama is my Disneyland
A trip to Boquete, in Panama is one I'll never forget. It was Disneyland for an aspiring coffee professional like myself!
Planning to attend a fermentation workshop, hosted by Lucia, me and my partner, Mike decided to visit Panama as it was on the way anyways.
Prior to coming, one of the connections I have in Kona, Pepe, connected me to his brother Jorge, to welcome me in Boquete. Just before flying, I was warned that rallies towards the government have been on going.
1 day in the city, as we went around Casco Viejo, explored some coffee shops around.
Yes indeed, Geishas are on the menu, and a trip to the Panama Canal. On that one day stay, we saw people gathering by the President's house. The next morning, an after before we let for the airport, the roads were then blocked!
We arrived at Boquete, and Jorge greeted us. I was linked to Pepe's cousin, Manuel as he hosts an airbnb very close by the town, where so many great cafes and food places are around.
Jorge basically gave us his day to take us around the area. We were able to enter this place where The Best of Panama is hosted. We got to meet Panchy, one of the region's producers, and I was able to have a good conversation on his strategy for selling coffee. Selling coffee cherries to Katowa, one of the most common cafes around is one of em. Worth more of his time and money.
Next stop, we went to La Finca Esmeralda. While I was doing my research on best farms in the area, this company appeared in one of the blogs I've been reading. I learned that they don't do tours. And so, I was so excited when I saw a sign on where we were heading to next!
We drove to one of their properties to visit Poncho, the farm manager and the one who discovered the Geisha Variety! To actually meet the person who was a part of why Panama is very much known for specialty was an absolute honor. We stopped by their house, and together with his wife, Mitilda, they greeted us with so much hospitality. Jorge was joking about maybe brewing us some coffee. We ended up staying for a sandwich and a coffee that they themselves fire roasted, and brewed by a sock filter. We talked story while Jorge kindly translated from Spanish to English.
That afternoon, Jorge and his son, showed us around the province and we had really good dinner by the mountain.
Staying in Boquete was quite a strategy so that we can visit other regions around it. However, with the strike, we were afraid that we wouldn't be able to get back to our place, and so we stayed around the area
Going around the province was really lovely. However, with this region being known for specialty coffee, I knew I had to get into one of the farm tours. The next day, we went to Finca Lerida a 50 hectare farm. There are many specialty coffee farms to choose from. I'd say that this farm has exceeded my expectations. Our tour guide, Caesar was very much knowledgable about the farm, being part of the team for more than 10 years! We had a tour around, cupped coffee. was given some natural cascara to take away, and a coffee & cake at the end. With so much I've learned in that first part of the day, I'd say I was very much content already!
Going back from the farm to town, we stopped by in coffee shops too. Both cafe Ruiz and Berlina Estate served good coffee, but the conversation I had with two Baristas, Marvin and Eric, from Berlina Estate Coffee gave me a really good insight. Learning that the locals of this region, love, serve and know the value of their own coffee is a refreshing encounter.
The next day, the strikes have gotten worse, to the point that gas stations have been ordered to close. We rented a car, but it was of no use because we couldn't go around.
As we stayed by the town, me and Mike went around. One more reason why I love Boquete so much is because of the local chocolate stores. Can you imagine? A province that have shops that serves bonbons or truffles? A 3 minute walk from home to get truffles. The Perfect Pair and Katowa chocolate was such a convenient grab and go for us. I just couldn't resist. These were of really high quality too! The freaking hot chocolate was to die for. I had to take 2 packs with me.
I am a very simple human whose eyes light up with great coffee, chocolate and a comforting hospitality experience. I’m really grateful for those people I’ve connected with in this experience. Definitely a memorable one because of such encounters. I'd say Boquete is my happy place. It's my Disneyland. I'll be back!
*We left early at 7am for our flight to Medellin, before roads got blocked.
Luxury in the convenience of good coffee
Two experiences during my Panama-Colombia trip that made my eyes sparkle:
1. In Panama, we grabbed breakfast in Olga's, a regular breakfast cafe by the town of Boquete. I asked for coffee. I didn't expect it to be in that profile that suits my preference. Light roasted with floral fruity notes.
2. In Colombia, on our way to catch a flight from Medellin to Pereira, we were early enough to grab some coffee in the airport. Low and behold, a specialty coffee shop, serving pourovers. The barista did well on my chosen origin. I browsed through their roasted coffee and a roasting date was on label. A freakin roasting date on a coffee producing country, may I add.
These unique instances made me smile. Why?
Drinking good coffee honestly makes me feel rich enough (in happiness terms), and to not make an effort to hunt for good coffee around, is perhaps a beautiful surprise, and for me, a luxury experience that I am not to take for granted!
Literally, coffee is life
On most days I obsess with learning, this is what my routine looks like.
A series of alarms by 4:30am starts ringing. I actually get up at 5am.
5am - Cupping / Sensory
5:30am - Prepare to work in the farm
6am - Leave for work, listen to some good songs
6:10am - I arrive 20 minutes early, and so I listen to a coffee podcast in my car
6:25 am - Stays in the office & greet co workers before 6:30am for clock in.
6:30am till 3pm- Farm work
3pm - Work on my laptop, watch videos or go home, to take a shower then roast
3pm till 10:30 (the in between)- Brew coffee, Read my Standart magazine, analyze my graph or roasting, do some research of anything coffee
Idle time? Talk to my family or friends via FaceTime while having dinner or something like that.
I write this blog as I take my 15 minute morning break from work. There's just no way around it. I have built my life around coffee. Literally, coffee is life! My hobby is my profession, and I'm happy about it. :)
My Purpose in Coffee Tasting
Situation:
Maria, my farm manager comes to the kitchen, with some coffee in a ziplock and says, “Danni, here’s the coffee from —farm. Please tell me what the coffee taste. Roberto wanna know.”
I say, “Oh. Yay! Thank you. Why? Isn’t that coffee from Roberto?”
“Yes. I drink coffee but I don’t know how to taste. You can give me what the flavor is when you test and try”, Maria replied.
I answered “Okay! Will do tomorrow!”, with a smiley face, of course.
That conversation brought me to realize, that the skill I’m trying to build with learning how to assess coffee, comes very handy. I say I’ll give an answer “tomorrow”, because one of the weekday routines I have is to practice cupping before work, with whatever I roasted, a day or days prior. This is why I’m learning what I’m learning. I use my skill as a tool to give producers that immediate feedback on their product. I mean, sure I’m not yet a licensed taster, but it’s nice to use this kind of education & skill to those who has almost direct control over the coffee. I feel valued as they ask for my opinion too. The more I want to improve with calibrating my sense of taste. More than a license/some certificate to build credentials, it gives me purpose, as I could serve those who need feedback the most.
Educate your producers, a topic on health hazard
Part of the consistent tasks we do on the farm is maintaining our coffee trees, and making sure that the green is healthy for when coffee season starts, we have healthy cherries to pick. With that, comes spraying herbicides and fungicides. There’s so much threat to the crop, that there’s no choice but to keep up with this task twice a month.
This past week, us, the workers have been called to the office to watch a video about handling fungicides or liquid for spraying. It was about 50 minutes in total. In that video, it showed how the liquid may enter your body in ways that can be harmful, protective gear, protocol if something happens, ways to avoid it, and other topics that revolved on how to protect yourself from falling ill by it. At the end, we talked about the system on how to keep track of records, suggestions on what we’re using, and how we can improve our current actions on spraying.
I was stunned by all that information. I was wondering, why do I only know about this now? After 9 months of doing farm work in two farms? Only now??? But at the same time, I was also grateful that someone credible from Department of Agriculture came by to give this presentation & talk.
Before we hold up a fight against any person/company, let me just say that I’ve always been guided in UCC. What to wear, how to protect myself and I’ve been given gear too. My farm manager has done her part and has been compliant with making sure that I’m all set with handling the spray. The only missing part was the detailed “why’s”.
However, I get flashbacks on what it was like in my previous farm as I wasn’t guided at all, because no one was there to properly inform the workers. No one credible! The only protective gear we had that didn’t even protect us was a covid surgical mask, the backpacks weren’t taken care of and that’s why there’d be occasional spills on our backs. We didn’t even use gloves! They’ve provided respirators before I left, which I’ve only used once or twice.
For both farms, I am partly to blame for not asking.
That memory made me realize that heck… freaking hEck. I’m doomed. I’m gonna die early. What if diseases related from the mishandling of spray products catches up on me when I get older? What if my death is not because of triathlon or dying from a crash while traveling for coffee? What if my death will be a slow, painful and pricey death? WhAT IF?!
I am already so worried about the impacts on my health, when I’ve only had improper handling for 2 or 3 months from the first farm, but I also come to realize about other farm workers who have been in the industry for so long, and never knew about this. What about other employers who sneak past & avoid the system, and would keep workers uninformed? That’s what I’m scared of.
In my opinion, if spraying responsibly is a sustainable way to keep a farm running & producing, I am totally fine with it. A farm cannot earn if cherries won’t produce, and a picker earns because of the cherries they pick. However, I also believe that, for us to find balance in keeping the trees healthy, we must also keep our workers healthy and protected. Employers must do their part in that aspect. That’s the trade off.
(Let us not be biased. Workers shouldn’t be hard headed too. Some can be VERY stubborn)
To make sure though that employers have done their full part on their job for the workers, it is always important to include the reasoning behind actions. Never miss out on the “Why”. When we educate our workers this way, it simply means that you care about us & see our health as priority & want us to actually understand.
What’s the solution to this? Maybe upon hiring a farm worker, have him/her learn about the implications of spraying first? Find a way to educate about major health hazards prior to getting them to work in that particular aspect in farming? Or something?? I have no clue. But whatever it takes to have this instilled in our minds, please educate us. Our health is at risk.
It’s the producers who mostly deserve the right to know.
The immigrant chose to work in coffee.
Coffee, to begin with is a non traditional path to pursue. As Asian, particularly Filipino, I've already encountered people questioning my decision to take Culinary Arts.
But through that course I decided to shift to coffee. A beverage that one want to dedicate their life on? Eyebrows have been raised, but I keep walking with my head held high.
My mom is a nurse. My mom was petitioned by a hospital in Texas that's why we were approved to migrate, and get a greencard. Her reason for wanting to live in the United States was because she wanted to broaden the options for me and my brother for the path that we wanted to pursue.
After I finished my culinary internship, I decided to pursue coffee. It is strange because who would have thought that the girl who left the Philippines, came to the United States to work in a coffee farm, doing labor intensive work? Why would I, a Bachelor's degree holder (with honors. Ha!) want to be paid the minimum wage????
Side note: Actually I can only brag about the honors cause I grew up with flunking grades that I never expected it even from myself. I was a scholar too for singing. It doesn't really matter but carry on...
Well, think about it this way. I have to choose a profession that I'll love and work my way around it. My goal is to establish a coffee business in the Philippines one day.
In order for me to understand how the system works, I have to get involved in the system, learn the problems, find solution and create a standard that suits my vision. What I'm currently earning is enough to give me a comfortable life and save up for the next path I need to take (barely now cause inflation) If I strategize this way in the Philippines, I don't think I can live independently.
Knowing that I have the opportunity to live good in the United States while pursuing every step will save me time and money for the goal I have in mind. As a single woman, I have the means to save up for education too. I earn in dollars and SCA courses / Q grader's test fee is feasible for saving up even if I work in low paying jobs in the industry.
I see it as taking advantage of the American dream to help build & educate in The Philippines.
So yea. That being said, I firmly believe that it is a good enough reason why an immigrant would choose to work in coffee.
For the love of coffee, get over that worm phobia!
I’ve been working in the farm for about 8 months now, and let me just say… damn there’s a whole national geographic education just by constantly being in the field/farm! I am honestly fine by seeing bugs or insects crawl. However, with worms, it just reaaaaaally grosses me out. That slimey, slithery creature that inhabits in wet and moist environments. It’s that job of separating rocks by the trenches that gets me. It’s like playing peek-a-boo when you lift rocks off the ground, low and behold, a centipede crawling away.
Where did that fear come from, as you may ask. I grew up in a plant nursery. Our house was surrounded by dirt and plants. I grew up seeing worms randomly pop up somewhere. You’d be surprised, I never got over it till now. My brother or whoever is around, would always pick it up for me. Even a snake statue gives me chills & could take the life out of me. With that fear in mind, I knew I didn’t want to be in a farm or work in the garden. I just didn’t see myself dealing with these creatures. Mind you, I can stare at a cockroach or a spider or almost aaaaaaanything. It’s just this type of animal that I can’t stand.
With that said, I couldn't believe that here I am now, calmly coexisting with worms, while crushing centipedes with rocks. Who would’ve thought! My profession leads me towards the coffee producers & I mean yea…… I guess…… My love for coffee is the only thing that will force me to get over that phobia. *facepalm*
Slinging shots for your producer
On a Saturday morning, me and my Bestfriend drove down south of Kona to the bakery, and realized... damn we were early! There was a cafe open across the street, so I thought, we could give it a try.
As we walked in the coffee shop, it has that modern vibe, accentuated with wood. They used a La Marzocco machine, and the whole cafe was simplistic, yet well thought of. It's very seldom that I see these types of coffee shop in Kona.
I fell in line, and there was a guy who commented on me being in awe and taking photos, saying "later on, it will be on Instagram", and I just praised how it really looked!
He explained that some wood were taken out from benches from other schools, and the process of remodeling the building.
Then, he called out his friend at the back of the line, asking if he wants to order with him. He commented as he walked up front about the remodeling. And then, one way or another, I mentioned I worked in a coffee farm, and I love how they reuse stuff. And then, he mentioned "oh nice. I own the coffee farm that sells the beans that they use".
With that, I realize what a cool coincidence that the producer is buying coffee from the cafe he supplies his coffee to. In my thoughts, well it's nice for this guy to have a shop that can best represent his work, and that he supports, even.
The coffee chain is brought closer that way, and I just realize that the shop has given justice with the producer's product. That's a goal I want to achieve.
I honestly love seeing the coffee chain work closely & supporting each other. There is immediate feedback, less carbon footprint, the teamwork is there, and there's no closest way to this than having the producer as your customer. If I were the barista though, I’d brag about about slinging that espresso shot for the producer.
Repetition creates deeper understanding
Repetitive jobs, at times are often seen as the boring ones.
Being in my early 20's, I understand that the younger minds tend to struggle on staying focused, but as a marathoner at 18 years old, I've learned how to develop this really quickly, and since then, I've applied it in certain aspects of my life & ofcourse, coffee.
The type of learning that can't ever be translated enough in videos, blogs, or stories, from people who has never gone through the experience of actually doing it. I can have as many resources out there, but will it really be retained in my mind as I create action & conscious decisions in my future business?
I think about this as I've been pulling shoots from the coffee trees. All the simple repetitive tasks keep piling up. Every time I do the task again and again, I see the purpose & value of why everything I do, no matter how small, matters.
Can't be surface leveled. Showing up everyday is a big step to my goal. I'm definitely in that rabbit hole.