MILAN – David Veal, International Tea and Coffee Consultant with 35 years of global coffee industry experience and Colin Smith, Coffee roaster & Tea Blender, Past President of Speciality Coffee Association of Europe: together, these industry players have created a project to discover the places where everything originates, Coffee origin trips. To give people the chance to get to know the realities that are the source of the drink and to touch the two extremes of a fragmented, long, complex supply chain.
A bridge between those who consume and those who produce, linked once again by the bean. We talked about this incredible experience with organiser Smith, who shared with readers the development and importance of his intuition.
Colin Smith together with David Veal are the creators behind the Coffee Origin Trips project: can you tell us when you decided to join forces and the reasons behind an activity so linked to the origins?
“David and I were both involved with the Speciality Coffee Association of Europe, for myself a founder member and President and David was the Executive Director. In 2016 the organisation decided to join with the SCAA to form the SCA. Up to this point I had started taking Origin Trips in conjunction with the speciality coffee associations of producing countries.
This formed part of the education programme which was a fundamental part of the SCAE. By going to origin enthusiasts could learn the growing and processing of coffee at first hand. From 2006 until 2016 I had taken 24 trips to 27 countries. Also I had taken trips to Probat, Neuhaus Neotec and Buhler for educational purpose. When the organisations merged I was instructed that they did not need my help anymore in organising origin trips and David, who was Executive Director at the time left as all the organisation was to come from the United States.
As a result David and I saw the need for this form of education to help professional members of the coffee community to understand how the flavours from various countries and terrain were different.
So we started the company – Coffee Origin Trips – and up to the pandemic were taking 3 or 4 trips a year. The focus is still on education and helping potential buyers to meet producers.”
You both have a lot of experience in the coffee industry, and just as many years in the association world: are and should the two things be connected?
“I have over 40 years in the business running Smiths Coffee Company, founded by my grandfather, roasting since 1936, having been a school teacher for 13 years. It was in the late 90’s that I went to Papua New Guinea and alongside some other enthusiasts started the SCAE in 1998. This was a time when speciality coffee was beginning to be sought after and the movement was growing to improve knowledge, roasting techniques and development of infusion methods. Thus the development of the education scheme which David did a lot to promote in his time as Director. He had started in the coffee machine and supply business in 1983 and had worked for corporates, run his own business and led coffee membership associations. So for us connecting membership associations with coffee experience is very important.”
Smith, why is it important to bring professionals more and more into contact with the other side of the supply chain?
“All the flavours that come from the roasting process derive from the way that the coffee is grown…it is relative to the tree, the height it is grown, the soil and fertilization and the methods of processing. Processing methods can be different and are developing all the time. Furthermore relationships which are made on coffee trips really helps people from both ends of the coffee supply chain understand one another’s challenges and opportunities.”
Shouldn’t one push even harder for such an experience among consumers? In Italy some people don’t even know where coffee comes from (and maybe for that reason too they have difficulties to better understand the need for a higher price).
“I remember giving a talk once to learn that coffee came out of a jar.! These trips are so important for anyone in the industry to learn about the product and as a result will help them to sell and promote different coffees. Lots of questions can be answered, how many baristas know the difference between natural & washed process….or to go further who knows about honey process ?
Also the experience of a trip enables you to meet other people in the industry, itself a learning process to go and understand the lives of the people who produce our livelihood is really enlightening. When you see the work involved it makes you wonder why the price is so low . I think the movement in the world’s economy will force the price higher…the average age of a coffee picker is 58 years old, better pay & conditions will attract more younger people to come into the industry.”
How did you manage to create a functioning network with farmers?
“We built up relationships with the Speciality Coffee Associations around the world and contacts who we met through events such as World of Coffee which we organised whilst at SCAE.”
Tell us about the first trip you organised with Coffee Origin Trips and the most significant one for you?
“We registered the company in 2018 and visited Minas Gerais in Brazil the following June. This was our most significant trip as it got us started, and it is always good to visit Brazil as so many people in the industry still see it as a producer of medium to good quality commercial coffees whereas there are significant quantities of really good speciality coming from Brazil now. And working with our hosts, the Brazilian Speciality Coffee Association we experienced some great coffees and saw so much exciting innovation.”
Which other countries would you like to explore through Coffee Origin Trips?
“We have organised trips to Jamaica and to Peru for the first time, but have had to put them on hold due to Covid.”
How can one participate in one of your trips and how are they structured?
“We have a website that advertises the trips, www.coffeeorigintrips.com, We have planned – Costa Rica for February/March 2023, Rwanda in May, Brazil in June, Indonesia in September and Ethiopia in November. Then India in January 2024. People sign up by contacting and we add them to our mailing list, to feed information towards the departure time – payment having been made for the trip.
Participants organise their own transport, as they come from all over the world. We then meet up for welcome reception and dinner in a specific hotel on the start date, leaving the next morning to the farms. During the trip we will visit about 5 or 6 farms, large and small, probably visit the coffee research station, visit the local coffee market and have meetings with farmers and exporters during the time. This is very valuable for people who want specific speciality coffees as they can come home and promote them with knowledge and pictures. One day we often do something cultural eg. Visit a temple, museum or a cultural exhibition. In Bali we saw the fabulous Fire Dance on the last evening. Then we have a last dinner and the group returns home at their own leisure.”
With Covid things got complicated: how did you manage to keep the whole mechanism going?
“We didn’t! We went into hibernation as it was clearly impossible to operate and it is only now that we feel that there is confidence from both trippers and our hosts to travel freely and safely.”
Next departure? Where? When?
“We are looking forward to our first trip back to Costa Rica in February next year. We are actually planning two separate itineraries there as it is such a popular destination, rightly so as it is a fabulous coffee land to visit. This will be organised in conjunction with The Speciality Coffee Association of Cost Rica. Interested parties can contact David or me and we can send them details when the programme is fixed.”
Colin@offeeorigintrips.com or david@coffeeorigintrips.com
Do the new generations seem to want to pick up the baton and carry on the Coffee Origin Trips?
“Good point, well taken! Yes we have a group of people who have been on quite a few trips who are keen to lead some of the trips in the future, coming from a variety of countries, Netherlands, Spain and Saudi Arabia, and of course as we become more successful it will be impossible for David or I to lead all of the trips, there will be too many!”.
