The Coffee Belt

With the new season of Guatemala arrivals just around the corner, Michaela from Mercanta North America reflects on her recent visit to long time Mercanta partner, Finca Santa Isabel.

The Coffee Berry Borer or Coffee Borer Beetle (CBB) is an insect found around the world and prevalent in most coffee producing countries. It is among the most harmful pests to commercial coffee plantations and can attack 50-100% of berries on a farm if no control measures are applied. Description The CBB belongs to the

Mercanta’s Stephen Cornford takes a journey to Peru: 11,265 km long and, 2,500m high.

Mercanta Medellin's Juan Cano recounts his recent visit to the Antioquia's Best Cup prizewinning La Falda del Centro.

At this time of year (northern summer, southern winter), no trip to Brazil is complete without mention of the weather cropping up in every conversation and this visit was no exception… I was going to visit my farm near Poços de Caldas, and also catch up with many of the good friends that I have

Camocim is a 300 hectare timber and coffee farm located at some 1,100 metres above sea level in Espírito Santo, Brazil. Henrique Sloper took over Camocim from his grandfather and first planted coffee on the farm in 1999. Following a two year conversion process, Camocim was officially certified as biodynamic in 2008. Why did you

Already a recognised agricultural process in the world of wine, the reputation of biodynamic farming in producing high quality produce is growing worldwide. In 2008, Mercanta began sourcing coffees from two biodynamic certified farms – Balmaadi in India and Camocim in Brazil. What is biodynamic agriculture? Sometimes referred to as ‘super organic’, biodynamic was arguably

“Shade grown” has become something of a buzzword in the Specialty Coffee business in recent years. As consumer interest in ethically sourced coffee has grown, the issue of shade – or lack of it – on coffee-producing farms is coming under increasing scrutiny Traditionally, coffee is grown in the shade of taller trees but in