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Posted on December 18 2019
2019 marks Mercanta’s first foray into sourcing coffee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Here we were lucky enough to meet Eba & Wally from Societe Matea! Using coffee production to forge a path for economic success and social stability, Eba & Wally, founders of Société Maitea, hope to make a difference to the local community, as well as to demonstrate the quality of DRC (and in particular Kivu province) coffee, to the outside world.
Posted on December 12 2019
December 12 2019
Stephen Cornford has just returned from his brief but insightful week long trip to East Africa; specifically Tanzania and Uganda, where he visited some of our export partners in the region. Read all about Stephen’s experience here.
Posted on December 2 2019
December 2 2019
I am sitting at Sao Paulo Guarulhos, almost exactly a month since I left the UK on this Brazil Trip. So now is as good a time as any to get this trip report written.
Posted on October 16 2019
October 16 2019
In preparation for his trip to the famous Aquiares Estate in Costa Rica, Ben talks to Diego, the estate’s manager, about the current on-going improvements at the farm.
Posted on August 30 2019
August 30 2019
Last week, coffee roasters from all around the world traveled to Buford, Georgia to meet at Lake Lanier for the 19th Annual Coffee Roasters Guild Retreat. The air was heavy but that didn’t stop us from roasting coffee!
Posted on August 19 2019
August 19 2019
Juan, our Colombia Coffee Hunter, traveled for the first time to Planadas to support in the selection of the lots that entered the auction held during the fair. Follow him as he gets from Medellin, where we have our sourcing office, to the last town in the south of Tolima and read about his vicissitudes getting there and about Planadas and Gaitania troubled past and bright present and future.
Posted on July 11 2019
July 11 2019
by Stephen Hurst The weekend of 6th / 7th July was long forecast to have very low temperatures in some Brazil coffee growing regions. Predicted temperatures were amongst the lowest expected in the country for many years. Why does this matter? Brazil is well-known as the world’s largest producer of coffee beans, by a considerable
Posted on July 5 2019
July 5 2019
Using Comparators when assessing coffee quality is best practice; however, it it also has issues. Stephen Cornford discusses how to improve Quality Control in Specialty coffee.
Posted on June 21 2019
June 21 2019
Mercanta UK’s Joe Fisher weighs in. Alongside providing expert product knowledge, a web of strong contacts at origin, and relief from administrative burden, one of the central roles of the coffee importer is to move the risk of green coffee buying away from roasters and onto their own shoulders. A significant chunk of this risk
Posted on June 14 2019
June 14 2019
This year's World of Coffee show was epic. Great Coffee, Great People, Great Times had by all! What's not to love? Ben Palmer re-caps.
Posted on May 29 2019
May 29 2019
Friday the 17th May marked a new stage in Mercanta’s relationship with the Scottish coffee scene. Joined from London HQ by a few good women and men from the lab – plus the boss for good measure – we set about cupping three tables of coffee and welcomed clients and friends to our brand-new digs.
Posted on May 17 2019
May 17 2019
Adryll, as Customer Account Manager, brings an extensive skill-set to Mercanta’s global team of Coffee Hunters. Starting May 1, Adryll Lin joins Aster Lam in staffing Mercanta’s Singapore office. Adryll brings a wealth of experience from various coffee industry sectors to his new role as Customer Account Manager. He possesses a deep understanding of the
Posted on May 10 2019
May 10 2019
Mercanta has participated in the Cup of Excellence programme from the very beginning, 20 years ago. We ask: is the competition still relevant? Juan Cano reports.
Posted on April 11 2019
April 11 2019
Stephen Hurst discusses the current plummet in the C-Price and how specialty coffee should address volatility It is the early 1990’s. The International Coffee Agreement, a producer/consumer cartel of sorts, which for many years had regulated the commodity coffee price via an export/import quota system, had ceased to exist. Not only did this mean
Posted on January 22 2019
January 22 2019
Our beloved friend and colleague, Grant Rattray, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly on Monday 21st January in Singapore, where he was regional sales manager for Mercanta in Asia In 2004, a principled and enthusiastic young man contacted Mercanta, seeking to get into the nascent European specialty coffee industry. I signed him up. Grant worked for
Posted on January 18 2019
January 18 2019
When highlighting the social aspects of coffees, we sometimes have a tendency to understate the contributions of our exporting partners. We focus, quite rightly, on the hard work and commitment of the the producer and her/his family. However, often, without a strong, sustainable and supporting relationship with an exporter, these producers would never have been
Posted on December 10 2018
December 10 2018
This year Mercanta will be matching the gifts you make to Food 4 Farmers instead of sending holiday cards between now and January 1, 2019.
Posted on November 6 2018
November 6 2018
Portugal Roasters Camp Ben’s first trip abroad representing Mercanta (we were one of the green coffee sponsors) without a doubt, caused mild apprehension, considering the roasting prowess of the attendees. Wet behind the ears with little to no specialty roasting experience, there was much to learn over the course of the four days. Here’s a
Posted on September 5 2018
September 5 2018
Craft: Connecting Coffee+Bread+Wine+Chocolate was held at London School of Coffee’s new Fulham location on 31 August. The afternoon was an opportunity for professionals and aficionados from a variety of overlapping industries to meet and discuss questions of quality, craft and value. To commence proceedings, Stephen Hurst introduced Mercanta and the London School of Coffee, both
Posted on June 7 2018
June 7 2018
We are quite late getting this up this year, so we thought we’d save this lovely account of this year’s trip to Kenya by our own Leah Warren for when the coffees land! Shout at your Account Manager on all sides of the ponds to hear more about our newly landed blackcurrant bombs! And read
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