Crimson Cup Expands Friend2Farmer

(PRWEB) August 30, 2014

Cuppers from Ohio coffee roaster Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea recently traveled into Peru’s Andes Mountains to develop relationships with local coffee farmers. Visits resulted in stronger ties with the producer of its Chanchamayo Highland coffee and discovery of a new Friend2Farmer offering from Finca Santa Rosa.

“Personal relationships form the foundation of our Friend2Farmer program,” said Crimson Cup Founder and President Greg Ubert. “By traveling to meet with coffee farmers, we develop a better understanding of growing conditions and community needs.”

Coffee Buyer Brandon Bir and Coffee House Sales Leader Elmer Plasencia flew into Lima, Peru and chartered a bus to take them over the mountains to La Merced. There, they met Jose Jorge Durand, owner of Chanchamayo Highland coffee. A coffee and fruit farmer, business leader and philanthropist, Durand has been honored by the government of Peru for his central role in promoting organic farming and improving social conditions. His company helps local growers organically cultivate, process and market coffee, nuts and fruits – more than 200 products in all.

“We were overwhelmed by Señor Durand’s hospitality and the importance his company placed on meeting buyers from a small roaster like Crimson Cup,” Bir said. “It seemed as if trips from American coffee roasters were rare. They even announced our visit on the local radio station!”

Durand’s company produces Crimson Cup’s Friend2Farmer Chanchamayo Highland coffee. Grown by The Farmer’s Association of Alto Rio Amarillo, this Fair Trade and USDA Organic certified coffee grows in a preserved thousand-year-old virgin forest. Durand’s company washes and dries this blend of red bourbon, caturra, pache and typica varietals before export. Lightly roasted by Crimson Cup, it presents a floral body with notes of citrus, nuts, and spice.

After sharing breakfast and coffee with Durand and local government officials, the Crimson Cup team headed deeper into the mountain jungle to the small town of Villa Rica. There, they met Selena Contreras Obregon and toured Finca Santa Rosa, her Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee farm. Established in 1927, the farm grows catuai, caturra, bourbon, typica and geisha varietals under a canopy of indigenous trees. Rigorous quality controls and meticulous attention to detail produce some of the cleanest coffee in the region.

“Finca Santa Rosa was beautiful, with flowering trees, brightly painted buildings and red-ripe coffee cherries drying on the patio and some raised beds,” Bir said. “But what really impressed us was the attention to detail and passion for progress in every aspect of the farm’s operation. We knew we had to add this special coffee to our Friend2Farmer program.”

Crimson Cup developed its Friend2Farmer direct trade program to ensure that farmers receive a fair share of proceeds from coffee sales. The company pays an above-market premium to farmers, who can then invest in agricultural and community improvements. Crimson Cup coffee experts also collaborate with farmers on ways to improve the quality of the coffee and quality of life for farmers, workers and their communities.

About Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea

Since 1991, Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea has hand-roasted specialty coffee in Columbus, Ohio and taught independent business owners to succeed through its coffee shop franchise alternative program. Sustainably sourced Crimson Cup coffee is available through a network of more than 350 independent coffee houses, grocers, college and universities, restaurants and food service operations across 28 states, as well as the company’s own Crimson Cup Coffee House in the Columbus suburb of Clintonville. For more information, visit crimsoncup.com.

Crimson Cup Expands Friend2Farmer