Specialty coffee & the Omar difference (Part 2)

Why does origin matter?

As you would expect, different countries and regions produce distinct kinds of coffee - with different processes, methods, quality controls, species of plant, etc. All of these factors effect the characteristics of the final result.

However, it’s more than that. Understanding every element of the coffee chain is at the core of what we do at Omar. We don’t take good coffee for granted. It’s why we value research ‘origin trips’ to the places and communities that our coffee comes from. These trips allow us to see firsthand the farming, ecology, trade and human aspect of the entire coffee process, and how this differs in each country and region. It gives us insight into how each origin perceives quality. 

This could be anything from how disease, outbreaks and biodiversity effect yields in Costa Rica, to the importance of strong, long-term trade relationships with Guatemalan farmers in mitigating the detrimental influence of drug cartels on coffee quality. But that’s a story for another time.

For us, origin trips take the self-importance out of coffee. Coffee farmers are exactly that: farmers. The reality, on average, is that they’re trying to earn a living to feed and house their family. If, for instance, the farmer knows that washed coffees demand a higher price, and they have good access to water at their farm, they will use a washed process. Similarly, they will use the unwashed process if there is no water available. It pays to remember that not all farmers will place importance on trends, nor have an opinion on how the coffee is brewed. A lot of farmers don’t even drink their own coffee. If they do, they often drink the lower quality coffees that have little market value. 

“Specialty coffee” doesn’t necessarily make farmers more money. The main difference between specialty coffee and commodity coffee is the time and effort put into the removal of unhealthy beans from the yield. Imagine a farmer has a large crop of mediocre coffee to sell. They then sort all of the specialty coffee from their harvest. Now they have a small amount of specialty grade coffee and a whole crop of coffee that is worse off than before the good quality beans were removed. The farmer may earn much more for this small percentage of their crop, but will earn much less for the balance. At the end of the day, they may actually be worse off financially. The key for the farmer is to understand that their entire crop needs to be sold. Better farming practice will improve the quality of the coffee grown as a whole, which is a much smarter way to increase profit. Once the general quality of the crop improves, they need to work out what type of mix works for them between high-input high-grade coffee versus the majority of their crop.

Does ‘Single Origin’ mean higher quality?

‘Single Origin’ is not necessarily a higher quality of coffee: it simply means it comes from one country. Whether it’s ‘good’ coffee for the consumer is an entirely different matter. By the same token, ‘blends’ aren’t necessarily poor quality. In fact, depending on your tastes and coffee preferences, the right blend could easily be your perfect cup. When we test, roast and blend coffees, it is to find the perfect balance of flavour, aroma and body for a particular use; served with or without milk, brewed as espresso or filter etc. It’s a careful and thoughtful process.

Our philosophy on blending is quite simple. Only blend with high quality coffee, and never use more than two coffees or the flavours get lost. Our White Blend contains coffees from the one area in the South of Minas Gerais, Brazil, and our Black Blend comes from Ethiopia. So, it’s possible to have Single Origin blends, too.

And as we’re talking quality, is ‘Certified Organic’ better?

Getting ‘organic’ or ‘biodynamic’ certification can be extremely difficult, and expensive, for small scale coffee farmers. Not only this, but there are differing organic certifications for different destination countries, so if a farmer wants to sell organic coffee to the USA and to Japan, they need two different certifications.

There is a farm in Brazil that we deal with called Ondas de Mantiqueira, owned by a lovely guy named Itagyba. They produce amazing coffee. They actually practice biodynamic farming techniques and principles that really nurtures the land and overall ecosystem. He makes his own compost and certainly doesn’t use pesticides or chemicals. His coffee is already expensive, but has said if we’d like it certified organic, the same coffee would be much more expensive for the sticker alone. The product would be identical.

Would you like to find out more? Please come in and talk to us. We are a space for everyone to learn about, and be excited by, all things coffee.