BOGOTA – Sixteen representatives from leading Japanese companies are currently enrolled in the “The World Behind a Coffee Cup” course led by the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC).
Seeking to share the FNC’s 85+ years of experience, the course has trained specialists in mild coffee quality control over the past eleven years. This edition started on February 2nd which started in Bogotá and will conclude on February 13th .
According to Armando Cortés, Director of the Office of Coffee Quality, “Participants want to get to know the origin and producers of the highly coveted Café de Colombia. They want to experience this because it strengthens their marketing strategies.”
As part of the course, participants will attend lectures led by experts on coffee’s production process, international qualification and classification standards for mild Colombian coffees, and the methodologies, procedures, techniques and technologies used by the FNC for exporting coffee.
Additionally, in order for participants to witness the process that Colombian coffee undergoes (production, quality control, tasting and roasting), they will visit the National Coffee Research Center (Cenicafé), the Buencafé Freeze Dried Colombian Coffee factory, the storage facilities (Almacafé), and coffee growing farms.
“Visiting Colombia and meeting coffee producers creates a connection and a bond based on friendship. Building trust with a Japanese customer opens the doors to Colombian coffee,” notes Cortés.
According to Yuri Ebitani, representative of UCC Ueshima Coffee Company, “When I return to Japan I will have more tools to speak with my clients about Colombian coffee and its attributes. This will improve and expand my business and enable me to better train my employees.”
