Coffee Bodega offers farm-to-table specialty coffees. Our coffees are grown, roasted and packed by small farmer cooperatives in its natural environment; a socially responsible approach that yield exceptional coffees that are produced in a sustainable way.
At Coffee Bodega, we believe that by bringing farmers and consumers closer together, we foster a positive cycle that allocates more resources to farmers, empowering them to produce exceptional coffees that are of true known origin.
We aspire to create positive change in the coffee industry. Less than 0.1% of coffee trade in the world is roasted in the country where it was grown, and there is no true justification for this. When organized farmers control the whole process, from growing to roasting to packaging, coffee quality is preserved much better, and the whole industry is more sustainable.
The Zen of Coffee
In your quest for the best cup of coffee, the path will undeniably take you high up tropical mountains. The best coffee you’ll ever taste was carefully grown, recently picked, promptly prepped, and roasted at the farm. Short of taking your coffee in the mountains, there will always be a trade-off.
Aged Misconceptions
Because for decades we have been let to believe that great coffee is the one that is freshly roasted, we find ourselves limiting our options. It is in the interest of roasters to say that ultra-fresh is the secret to good coffee, but it is not. The point is that no matter how you roasted or prepare it, you cannot turn bad coffee into great coffee, great coffee can only be made by the farmer.
Coffee quality determinants are overwhelming at origin
According to Norman Borlaug Institute at Texas A&M University research, factors like time from picking to processing and preparation have a dramatic impact on the quality of the coffee. For each hour that passes, after 3 hours of picking, coffee loses almost a point in the Specialty Coffee Association of America quality scale.
Improper fermentation or just not enough fermentation impacts coffee almost as much. Coffee can lose up to 5 points in the aforementioned scale. Mishandling in these early stages of the coffee custody chain has a dramatic impact on quality, more than at any other stage. Specialty grade coffee can be turned into industrial grade in matter of hours.
It makes sense that value should be added at origin as much as possible. This will guarantee that farmers have enough resources to produce great coffee in a sustainable way
Improving the Coffee Custody Chain
When the farmer, particularly when organized in cooperatives, manages the whole process, coffee quality is preserved better. High quality coffee (Specialty and Gourmet) is more abundant. There are also gains in efficiency that translate into lower cost. All this adds up to more and better coffees for consumers and more income for farmers.
Coffee farmer cooperatives produce some of the most amazing coffees you’ll ever taste, they have the collective knowledge, experience and resources to produce truly exceptional coffees with the utmost respect for their land.
