and the Specialty Coffee Growers

www.kofeicoffee.com.gt

We live and work in Guatemala

We became the go between for both the grower and the buyer, this has taken us on the path of

specialty coffee hunting and export logistics.

Integrity, Quality and Traceability

Thank you for coming to our presentation

Paul and I want to talk

about the growers who are in search of excellence and show you where we go searching. We also are talking about our company.

Logistics according to Kofei f ind the buyer

find the grower find the coffee

visit and supervise the grower cup the coffee offer to buyer

prepare coffee for export shipping to buyer

prepare/send export documents collect payment from buyer

pay the grower

So, how do we discover the grower that is in search of excellence?

The blooming coffee tree

Morning dew, very early in the morning

How do we find the outstanding grower, the talented grower?

We will show you,

Please join us on a tour of coffee hunting

through the highlands of Guatemala

We start our work at sunrise

coffee hunting country We are so high in the mountains it

almost looks like the ocean, but it is the clouds

only small growers in this area of Huehuetenango

Atitlán, Sololá

As we approach, we are warned of danger: the mountain has collapsed!!

The landslide is 2 kms wide and 2 kms deep For the people of San Cristobal Verapaz the going gets tough

They produce their coffee beyond the landslide -now there is no road-

We went visiting the Department of San Marcos facing Volcano Tacana which borders with Mexico at about 4,000 meters.

The coffee sellers arrive to the coffee market in Toquian Grande where the ¨coyotes¨ go to buy for the big export houses.

The coffee arrives around 6am on Tuesdays, market day. By 8 all the coffee has been sold.

We went there on a visit, to check out the method of trading.

These growers take their coffee to market, leaving their homes around one am…

Coffee market begins around 6:30 am

We are at 2,000 mts above sea level. This is a bourbon crop

We meet the growers, throughout the year we follow up, teach them to understand and strive

for excellence. We take potential buyers to visit the grower, it is important for them to know who is buying their

coffee, because it gives them enthusiasm and hope. coffee hunting,

for the Specialty Coffee industry

Where do we go looking? All over in the highlands

Meeting the growers Then, getting to know their

work and gain their trust Then, verification and

supervision of their work Then, more verification,

always verification. Check and double check!

Attention to detail assures us the intention of the specialty grower

How do we choose the growers? We go exploring many different areas

Looking for signs of the quest for excellence Here is an example of a good sign

Look at the firewood…

The very narrow roads…

We continue our visits

The purpose is to determine the growers´ willingness to become international sellers

Then we want to know their method of production, since in order to achieve excellence they must be prepared to understand certain things about Specialty Coffee production

Training the growers is part of coffee logistics One year old Bourbon seedlings

Root samples are taken to be analyzed

if we have doubts. This is part of the logistics to ensure quality

Sometimes when we visit growers they

have prepared a party.

Once upon a time we had to find all the growers.

As time went by, some started to find us by word of mouth.

They like our method of working and the fact that working towards excellence is more profitable.

These are some of the highest mountains in Guatemala Coffee can grow at 1,800 mts and still be healthy

Coffee Hunting takes us deep into the country by many

roads which are passable only during the dry season from November to June

After we get to know the grower and understand their intention and ability, we

continue with technical visits in order to follow up and make sure they have understood what changes need to be made in order to achieve

very high consistent quality

We teach the grower when the coffee is completely ripe

For this purpose we use the brixmeter

Whem picking Specialty

Coffee we must remember coffee is a fruit: it has to be ripe when it is picked. We need the maximum amount of sucrose to obtain maximum sweetness

Coffee tree

For instance, we teach that this coffee is not ready to be picked

We use a garlic press to squeeze the juice of 5 beans which serve as the

alleatory sample, the juice lands on the brix meter to read the sugar content

Teaching the brixmeter technique

This shows us the sugar content of the ripe cherry ready to pick

With the arrow we show which is right

Now, they pick only the perfect bean

Not all beans mature at once

Two perfect pickers

Coffee pickers

This is perfection!!!

Medium size farms employ a lot of people

Checking and double checking

We check everybody’s work

After receiving the coffee at the wet mill, the sugar content “brix” is checked again

Clean Water

In Guatemala coffee is processed with water

It cleanses the product of debris

It is a method of selection It is also a method of

transporting the beans The secret is Clean Water

Clean water can be from

wells , mountain springs, or municipal water

This is a small coffee mill, we check and teach hygiene in the process

Very small wet mill, with excellent results

Another wet mill

During the crop work is at 24 hours until the work is done: 3 months

An exemplary wet mill and drying patio

And now: the process of drying coffee Every grower has his unique system

In areas where it is very humid they use domed dryers

Inside they use “pariguelas” or trays to ensure good ventilation during drying

Coffee drying takes about 10 days

Full sun coffee drying patio

Drying coffee at the edge of the world

Wet mill at the top of the world

Life does not stop,

coffee is a family affair

And we continue our coffee hunting journey

From our office we also coordinate the type of packing, and in general a very long list of subjects we need to do in order to export.

• Vacuum Packing • Traditional Jute

Church of La Pastora in Olopa, on our way to Esquipulas

A few moments of relaxation at the dry mill

Exact weight at packing

Logistics:

sometimes we suffer

The very finest is vacuum packed

We also vacuum pack

Before loading the container we check for leaks

Kofei team at the dry mill

After loading

Export logistics – at the dry mill. The truck is loaded and weighted

Leaving the dry mill to the port

Guatemala City

Our office in Guatemala City

Impeccable parchment coffee, ready for the dry mill

Double checking the quality before offering samples to buyers

Offer samples of Specialty Coffee ready to go

Here go the samples Paul took this picture one day when looking at the sky…

Coffee sailing to destination

“How many types of coffee are there?” somebody asked me

After thinking about the varieties, I told him that there are as many types of coffee as

people producing them

That’s Specialty Coffee

Guatemala is a complex country, there are 22 indigenous languages. Sometimes we need an interpreter to talk with the

producers

Each group has their own traditions

Guatemala, some data: • Official language:

Spanish • 22 indigenous languages • Country Area:

108,890 km2 • Population: 14,000,000 • Currency: Quetzal • Rate of Exchange: US$1 = Q7.80

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guate

Traditional Q’eqchi Ceremony at 4 am, praying for a good crop

After picking they go home

Voting day, it is also part of life for the growers

Small growers, their homes, how they live

Production of Specialty Coffee

This is the gateway to Specialty Coffee production

Seedling preparation hand labor intensive

Germinated seed

It takes 45 days for a coffee seed to germinate

At this stage the coffee is transplanted to the nursery

Butterfly stage of Robusta for grafting

Grafting Arabiga with Robusta

Natural shaded nursery

Artificially shaded nursery

Greenhouse

Transforming a traditional farm into a Specialty Coffee plantation

is hand labor intensive

digging the holes

marking

Tree ready to be planted

One year old plant with very strong root system

Benefit of planting in tublets

New plantation

One year later

Full grown trees

Selective prunning

One year after pruning and

shade control

Weed Cotrol

Pesticide free bug control

Flower buds

Coffe

e tre

e in

full

prod

uctio

n

Ripening stages of cherry not all beans mature at the same time

meaning that several rounds of picking are needed to get the right cherries

first time checking for sugar content in the field

Not ready

Two weeks later we check again for sugar content

Perfect, we can start harvest

Fully ripe Un ripe

Harvest

Quality control at the wet mill

Records are kept every day

Separation of dry and underdeveloped cherry by means of water

Reception of cherry in a dry syphon

Perfect Cut

Association of small producers, perfect cut at their community wet mill

There are different size wet mills

Every farm has a wet mill The size varies depending on its

production

Dry screen separator

Fermentation tank

• After the skin of the cherry has been removed the parchment is fermented for at least 24 hours for easy removal of sugars.

• Then washed

Water Channel

• Some wet mills use a cascade before the channel to loosen any sugar left in the crevice of the bean

Water Channel

Specialty Coffee is sun dried

Methods depend on weather conditions of each farm

Sun Dried on patio

Sun intensity

Guatemalan African beds

Dome Method

• No matter what

drying system is used the green coffee when dry must have between 11 and 12 per cent humidity

Storage of parchment at a farm

Dry mill

Thank you

www.kofeicoffee.com.gt

Robusta

BOURBÓN

This is yellow bourbon

coffee

CATUAI

CATURRA

This is another variety Yellow caturra