Coffee Creation Series (Part 2): It's all about the soil

Healthy, fertile soil is the mainstay for any organic coffee farmer.

This means raising high-quality coffee beans starts well before the seeds are sown. And, based on our experience visiting coffee farms across Central and South America and Indonesia, every farmer has his or her own way of caring for soil.

Take Byron Corrales of Jinotega, Nicaragua for example.

Byron consistently grows some of the best coffee in the world and is a longtime direct trade partner of ours. Byron is so deeply invested in the vitality of his soil that he actually grows nutrient-rich plants to feed to his cattle. From there, he uses the cow manure in combination with organic matter from his farm to naturally fertilize the soil.

His attention to detail and commitment to organic coffee production is remarkable, and although we highlight him here, we’ve met with countless coffee farmers around the world who share in Byron’s commitment to the land. Read what our partner Jeff from ThirstFirst has to say about organic coffee farming.

A soil specific example.

In March of 2011, we made good on a soil-related project that had been in the works for three years: delivering chippers to co-op Zacarias Padilla and co-op José Alfredo Zeledón in northeastern Nicaragua.

Watch the short film: Delivering chippers to Nicaragua »

With funds from our Fair to Farmer Direct program our intent was to help these co-ops make organic compost from readily available farming waste. Up until this point, the co-ops had no organized method for creating affordable, organic compost to feed their coffee plants. Well, things have turned out better than we could have imagined.

On a recent trip to Nicaragua in January of 2012, Banks cupped co-op Zacarias Padilla and co-op José Alfredo Zeledón's coffee and could taste the difference the chippers have made. For the full story, check out Banks’ recent Nicaragua 2012 Sourcing Trip Report.

Part 3: Varietals, varietals, varietals.

Wine and coffee have more in common than you may think. And, read how coffee farmers are adapting their varietal assortment to help protect their crop(s) against disease.

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