Good things come from small origins.

The record lows of the coffee market represent a sinking tide that is lowering all boats, but some boats more than others. Some origins, particularly the big producers, have broad based economies both at the national and the farm level. These larger origins also have a built in demand for their coffee through strong internal demand, especially in the case of Brazil, and/or an ongoing external market thanks to consumer awareness (most notably Colombia). Others have tactical advantages to serving a particular market e.g. Mexico's proximity to the U.S. Still others hang their hat on their low cost of production, or at least their willingness to sell their coffee for next to nothing. Small origin producers are particularly hard pressed, however, their national economies are not strong, the built in demand for their coffee on the world market is low to non-existent, they have, if anything, tactical disadvantages, and finally, even before the market's collapse, many farmers were barely hanging on. As if it weren't bad enough, it seems that other factors -- many worse than the mere all-time record lows of the coffee market -- are plaguing many small origins from political unrest (if you can call bloody, fratricidal civil wars "unrest") to runaway AIDS epidemics. And don't forget global warming and the droughts, heat waves and changing weather patterns that are exacerbating the problem.

A case can be made for trying to give an obscure coffee a break once in a while. This doesn't mean that coffee marketers should throw out their tried and true favorites. Rather, they should consider that the simple act of adding a new and different coffee to their lineup has the potential of adding gloss and interest to their entire list of offerings. In other words, it's not a zero-sum game: a more exciting coffee line-up just might attract more coffee drinkers. In fact the more exotic listings, such as a coffee from Burundi, have been known to entice more customers to consider coffee even though they end up choosing something more familiar like a Colombian. What's important is that small origin coffee helps overall coffee sales increase and that could help to stem, if not reverse, that aforementioned tide.

Charles Ntezahorigwa's Sonicoff, the source of the Nile's coffees, is based in Burundi. The company is active in pulping, hulling and exports. The crop this year is around 42,000 tons of Arabica coffee, which accounts for more than 85% of foreign earnings of the country. Burundi coffee is 100% produced by 800,000 smallholders, with an average of 100 coffee trees per farm.

According to Ntezahorigwa, "Burundi is facing a severe financial crisis, which has been worsened by a bureaucratic management and parchment price being fixed by the government. A new payment system, and a new quality classification are progressively adapting the Kenyan model, which hopefully will recover from the decline in quantity and in quality. We still have in mind the year 1968 when Burundi achieved a crop of 44,000 tons. These stages are preparing the privatization of the coffee sector, under pressure of financial donors."

During the last decade, from 1991 to 2000, Burundi coffee revenue was shared in a way in which every coffee participant was insured against losses. Ntezahorigwa explained, "All expenses were covered and even a profit was insured by granting a percentage of the costs. It was as if the more charges you pay the better the profit. All this was at the expense of the poor farmer. A new payment system has been proposed by Sonicoff, unanimously accepted by the industry and the government. Unfortunately, the new system has been altered by the government itself which stated quotas of parchment to be processed by private coffee mills. Characterized by fees known before the season, this system enables coffee mills and pulping stations to manage properly, encouraging quality oriented processing."

Michael Glenister, president of Amcafe, Inc. in New Rochelle, New York offered his thoughts on different small origins and indicated that the crop outlook for various areas is very uncertain. "Southern Africa and East Africa, they're all suffering from the global warming effect," he said. "It's certainly hotter and drier than normal there. Only those people who have irrigation that's working are really gong to be okay."

Glenister was concerned about political situations in Zimbabwe. "I don't really know how the coffee crop is going to be this year because nobody knows how many farmers are going to be operating in Zimbabwe with the political problems. So many of the farms were taken over. I'm waiting on samples to come in so I have a clue how the quality is going to be, so we're going to have to wait and see.

"Tanzania I know is definitely a much smaller crop this year, again because of the weather. There should be more coffee from the Kilimanjaro region, but again a lot of coffee has been abandoned with the low prices. People just don't bother to pick it any more. They're better off planting maize and bananas.

"Papua New Guinea (PNG) is the same thing," he continued. "They're in the middle of elections. Elections that have lasted over a month now. Again the problem is how much coffee is being picked during this time of chaos and the elections. It's a great confusion around the world. It's not a great picture at the moment. It's confusing."

According to Martin Hasler, president of The Coffee Tree SA, which markets green specialty gourmet coffee worldwide, "The Galapagos Islands is a small origin with a crop size no larger than 2,000 bags per year." They handle grades ranging from Colombian to Sidamo to Kona to Jamaica Blue -- Hasler believes the Galapagos is a premium niche coffee for various reasons. "It is an old original variety of Arabica Bourbon coffee, with many of the trees in production still being the original trees planted over 130 years ago. The organic coffee is of high quality with a good cup. Conditions for growing the coffee are excellent.

"The entire archipelago of the Galapagos Islands is a national park and has been declared a "Patrimony of Humanity" by UNESCO. Because of this, the coffee crop cannot be expanded and special attention is given to the existing trees and plantation.

Hasler talked about the state of his current crop. "We are currently expecting a small mid-crop for August or September of 100 bags. Weather factors have delayed the main crop. Flowering is expected later July, which gives us an expected main crop harvest in February or March 2003. The reason for this year's crop delay is the three flows that affect the Galapagos Islands -- the cold Humboldt, the hot El Nino and the Crownel. The combination of these factors cause weather variations. About 70% of the time the crop is ready for harvest for the normal November or December period, but this year it will be delayed."

Countries Redefining Small

While Kenya is not exactly a small origin, many roasters have left it off their lists thanks to skyrocketing prices combined with skidding quality. Change is afoot, however. Phyllis Johnson, president of BD Imports, Inc. in Rockford, Illinois spoke about the state of the Kenyan crop.

"Kenyan Coffee Act is in place. The Coffee Board of Kenya serves as a regulatory board and no longer as marketing agent. The country's three largest millers have taken on the marketing responsibilities; KPCU, Thika and Socfinaf. Many issues remain unresolved during this transition. Due to the recent changes and the feelings of uncertainty, Kenya experienced a 50% decline in production this year over last year. The main crop season for 2001-02 is coming to a close. With adequate rainfall this year, the upcoming fly crop and main crop are expected to yield top quality coffees next year.

It is ironic that the second most populous country in the world should be considered a "small" origin. Certainly, India's coffee industry is committed to changing that and each year, within the trade, the profile of Indian coffees becomes mote prominent. Sanjay Jayaram, of Nandipura Coffee, based in Atlanta, Georgia noted that India's contribution is just 4.1 percent of the world's coffee production. Typically, India produces over 300,000 tons of coffee per year. Indian coffee production has a yield of 800-900 kg per hectare, which is low compared to the world average of 1,100 kg per hectare. During 1999-2000 the yield increased from 740 kg per hectare to mote than 900 kg per hectare in 2000-2001. The area under coffee cultivation is approximately 350,000 hectares. "India's output for the 2001-2002 year was 300,600 tons," Jayaram said. "The output for the coming 2002-2003 year is estimated at around 290,000 tons, a 5% decrease in output from last year. Delayed blossom showers in April, coupled with hardships faced by small growers point to a decrease in the output for the coming year."

Jayaram explained further, "Only one fifth of the coffee produced in India every year is consumed in the domestic markers, while the rest of it is exported. Most players in the Indian coffee market derive a larger part of their revenues from exports. Most of the exports are to Russian Federation, Germany and Italy followed by U.S. These four countries account for more than 43% of the total exports."

Nandipura and Indravally Estates are located in the Chikmagalur region of India. Since the early 1 900s this small estate has produced Arabica and Robusta coffees.

Considering small origins, as were argued earlier, is important to the coffee industry in general. Adding to the diversity of offerings made to the consumer can only help increase interest in the category overall. That, and making sure that each and every cup of coffee drunk in the world is a great experience, one that any coffee drinker would want to repeat. If not, even large origins today can look forward to becoming small origins tomorrow.

RELATED ARTICLE: Introducing East Timor 

The world's newest country East Timor has what it takes to become a quality coffee growing nation. After struggling to gain its independence from Indonesia, this small nation is ready to rejoin the world of coffee. In the beginning of last century large-scale plantations were encouraged, and in 1916 nearly 8 million bushes were planted. East Timor soon became known for its quality coffee and up to the year 1975, roasters and consumers with the taste for a sweet full bodied coffee made it their favorite, both in espresso and filter coffee blends. It was also enjoyed as a "single origin" by connoisseurs even long before the word "specialty" became a part of our daily vocabulary.

East Timor's coffee is primarily organic, grown in altitudes up to 1,500 meters, amongst shade trees, rainfalls, micro climates, a soil that was made for coffee growing, and good plant materials. There are three main growing regions in East Timor: Liquica, Ainaro and Ermera. Less than 20% of the coffee grown is Robusta, the remaining 80% is Arabica varieties such as Burbon, Typica, Catura, and the local mutation Hybrida da Timor that occurred around 1917 in Fatobesi, Ermera. As listed in material provided at the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe's conference, Paul Katzeff of Thanksgiving Coffee said, "I have always enjoyed the smooth, mouthfeel of fine Timor coffees. Combined with their heavy body and mellow acidity they make dark roasts fuller and light roast blends mellower."

Timothy J. Castle is the president of Castle Communications, a company specializing in marketing and public relations for the coffee and tea industries. He is also the co-author (with Joan Nielsen) of The Great Coffee Book, recently published by Ten Speed Press, and the author of The Perfect Cup (Perseus Books). He may be reached at [phone] or via e-mail at: [e-mail].