Thirty-six samples of RainforestAlliance Certified coffees werecupped at the event. The samples

originated from eight different countries,with Kenya, Uganda, Zambia and Hawaiisubmitting entries for the first time. Ofthe eight different countries of originentered into the running, 11 samples werefrom Brazil, 10 from Peru, six fromIndonesia, four from Kenya, two fromHawaii and one each from Tanzania,Uganda and Zambia.

The panel included twelve experi-enced cuppers representing coffee roast-ers, retailers and trading companies whoevaluated the samples following the

SCAA Cupping Protocol, scoring eachcoffee on its fragrance/aroma, flavor,aftertaste, acidity, body, uniformity, bal-ance, cleanliness, sweetness and overallimpression. At the start of each flight, thecuppers knew only the origin of the cof-fees; the farm names were not revealeduntil after the final scores were submitted.

Kigutha Coffee Estate in Kenya (seeprofile) received the highest score at86.54, Tunki coffee farm in Peru took sec-ond place with 86.00 and Machare Estatein Tanzania received the third-highestscore at 85.71. Coffees from Peru per-formed especially well, with three of thetop 10 samples hailing from that country.

How It All StartedThe Rainforest Alliance has been holdingannual cuppings since 2004, when theevent was established with two goals inmind. The first was to recognize farmersfor their hard work in implementing sus-tainable farming practices. Many farmersaren’t aware that their sustainable farmmethods often produce a higher qualitycoffee so by participating in these cup-pings, they can see how the quality oftheir coffee compares favorably with oth-ers. They can then use that information toimprove their crops and continue to boostcupping scores in subsequent years.

“The second reason for the annualcupping events is to create a market linkbetween farmers and coffee buyers,”explained Leif Pedersen, manager of theRainforest Alliance’s coffee program.“Many of the coffee cuppers who volun-teer their time and travel to these eventsare coffee buyers themselves. By partici-pating in the event, coffee farms are ableto find new markets for their coffees, andbuyers get to try out new origins and seewhich ones they might be interested inpurchasing. It’s a win-win situation.”

Benefits of CertificationThe Rainforest Alliance Certified seal isawarded to farms that have met the envi-ronmental, social and economic standards

( Rainforest Alliance )

Where Quality Meets Sustainability

In the cupping lab, only the loud sounds of sipping andslurping were audible. The panel of coffee experts gath-ered at the Rainforest Alliance Cupping for Quality at theSpecialty Coffee Association of American (SCAA) inDecember was hard at work. Their goal: to evaluate thearoma and flavor profiles of a range of specialty coffees.For two long days, these industry experts workedsteadily, sampling and scoring coffees from around theworld — all of them grown on Rainforest AllianceCertified farms. ( By Petra Tanos )

50 TEA & COFFEE TRADE JOURNAL | www.teaandcoffee.net

of the Sustainable Agriculture Network(SAN), a coalition of local conservationorganizations that first set the standard forsustainable farming in rainforest areas inthe early 1990s. The SAN standards coverecosystem conservation, worker rightsand safety, wildlife protection, water andsoil conservation, agrochemical reductionand education for farm children.

Farmers who cultivate these specialtyRainforest Alliance Certified coffees takegreat pride in the sustainable way inwhich they grow their beans, and in thequality coffee they produce. By formallyevaluating these coffees in cupping, theRainforest Alliance acknowledges andrewards those who work extra hard to pro-duce the finest possible quality of coffee,in the best possible way. It’s also yetanother venue for demonstrating anadded benefit of Rainforest Alliance certi-fication — a focus on quality.

“Rainforest Alliance Certified farmsimplement better farm practices thatresult in tangible environmental, socialand economic benefits, and those meth-

ods tend to result in better conditions forgrowing coffee,” explained SabrinaVigilante, director of markets at theRainforest Alliance.

Biologists in the SAN have demon-strated that forested coffee farms can bebio-rich buffer zones for parks, protectwatersheds and serve as wildlife corridors.These “coffee forests” are also importantsources of firewood, construction materi-als, medicinal plants, fruits, flowers,

honey and other goods. Many farms inthe certification program protect nativeforest reserves and community water sup-plies. Certified farmers in ecosystems thatare not naturally forested, such as the cer-rado in Brazil, are required to conservetheir native habitat.

Cupping with CareThe cuppers – all of them volunteers –-represent companies such as Java City,

52 TEA & COFFEE TRADE JOURNAL | www.teaandcoffee.net

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The Top 10 Farms

Rank Score Farm Name Farm Country

1 86.54 Kigutha Estate Kenya

2 86.00 Tunki Peru

3 85.71 Machare/Uru Estates Tanzania

4 84.50 Ipanema Coffees Brazil

5 84.06 Quechua Peru

6 83.46 Tambopata Peru

7 83.40 PT Olam Indonesia Indonesia

8 83.33 Terranova Estates Zambia

9 82.79 Mirante da Boa Vista Brazil

10 82.79 Nchengo Estate Kenya

Gloria Jeans and Allegro CoffeeCompany. Eight of the twelve cupperswho were in Long Beach are licensed QGraders, professional cuppers accreditedby the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI).The event presents a unique opportunityfor the cuppers, many of whom are greencoffee buyers, to evaluate a range ofRainforest Alliance Certified coffees allat the same time. They play a key role inhelping the Rainforest Alliance recognizethe farmers who produce these high-quality cups, and the cup scores andfeedback they provide are invaluable tothe farmers, who work year after year toimprove cup quality, matching it to thetaste profiles in demand in leading con-sumer markets.

In years past, the Rainforest Allianceheld just one cupping event each year inMarch, with samples from all over theworld. This year, the organization has splitthe cupping into two sessions to accom-modate the harvest cycles in the variouscoffee origins. The first was held inDecember 2009, and the second sessionwill be in May 2010. Farms can choosethe session they’d most prefer.

Shawn Hamilton, vice president ofplant operations and coffee buyer for JavaCity, was the lead cupper for theDecember event. “One of the nice thingsfor me is the fact that I have been involvedin this event since its inception and havebeen able to witness the improvement ofquality over the years,” noted Hamilton.“In the beginning there were few coffeesthat scored in the 80s, and now there areonly a few that don’t. Now there are sever-al standout coffees, and we can have dis-cussions on why we think one is betterthan or different from another. It is veryinspiring to see such improvements fromyear to year in this program.”

“It was definitely a benefit to allowBrazil and Peru to submit coffees in theirprime,” said Hamilton. “Coffees fromPeru stood out exceptionally well this yearcompared to past cuppings. ”Hamilton isalso looking forward to seeing the coffeesfrom Central America in May, as they willbe in the prime of their crop and shouldshow even better than they have in thepast, he says.

Looking AheadThe Rainforest Alliance will hold the sec-ond cupping on May 19-21, 2010 in NewYork City at the IntercontinentalExchangecupping lab. The session will feature sam-ples from certified farms in CentralAmerica, Colombia and Ethiopia along-side recently certified operations in India,included in the cupping for the first time.Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee farmsthat would like to submit samples for this

session, or those interested in seeing theresults from previous cuppings, can con-tact Petra Tanos, the Rainforest Alliance’sSustainable Agriculture MarketingAssociate, at ptanos@ra.org.

The ten highest scoring coffees fromthe December cupping will be availablefor tasting at the Tea & Coffee World Cupin Vienna, Austria on April 25-27. TheRainforest Alliance’s European marketingmanager, Marcel Clement, will be at the

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MARCH 2010 53

event as part of a panel discussion called“Sustainability at Origin.”

The first Rainforest Alliance certifi-cates issued to coffee farms outside ofLatin America were in Indonesia,Ethiopia and Tanzania in 2007, and theprogram has continued to grow in EastAfrica and Asia. In 2009, coffee farms inIndia, Vietnam, Kenya, Uganda andZambia achieved certification and theprogram now includes both Arabica andRobusta growing operations.

To date, over 302,962 hectares(748,635 acres) of coffee farms worldwideare Rainforest Alliance Certified, account-ing for nearly 2% of the world’s coffeeexports. The organization estimates aquarter-billion dollars were paid toRainforest Alliance Certified farms fortheir coffee via farmgate prices in 2009.

The Rainforest Alliance works to con-

serve biodiversity and ensure sustainablelivelihoods by transforming land-usepractices, business practices and consumerbehavior. For more information, visitwww.rainforest-alliance.org

A Profile in Sustainability:Kigutha EstateLocated on 303 acres (122.82 ha) in theKiambu District of Kenya, just north ofNairobi City, Kigutha Coffee Estate is a

shining example of sustainable farm man-agement. And it’s paid off in the quality ofits product: Kigutha Estate received firstplace ranking at the Rainforest Alliance’scupping in December 2009,

Managed by Tropical FarmManagement, part of the NeumannKaffee Gruppe, since 1976, the estatereceived Rainforest Alliance certificationin 2009, a process that took them justover eight months. With prior expertise insafety and environmental practices, soilerosion control measures and integratedpest management, Tropical FarmManagement had little trouble in imple-menting the criteria required forRainforest Alliance certification.

“Our major challenge though was theshade tree issue,” explained JeridaSinange, of the environmental & certifi-cation office for Tropical FarmManagement. “Kenya has a long traditionof growing coffee without shade, andchanging that was a big problem. At themoment we are still increasing trees perhectare, using indigenous species.”

As part of the certification process, thefarm had to increase the number of treespecies cultivated in its nursery from fourto 12 species. And the farm now aims tohave a tree shade coverage of 30%, whichwill create a habitat for wild animals andbirds. Because hunting, capturing,extracting or trafficking any wildlife isprohibited on Rainforest AllianceCertified farms, these animals will have abetter chance of survival.

Water conservation has been anothermajor concern for the Kigutha CoffeeEstate. A borehole provides domestic and

54 TEA & COFFEE TRADE JOURNAL | www.teaandcoffee.net

( Rainforest Alliance )

The cuppers• Michael Boyd, Boyd’s• Jeffrey Chean, Supreme Bean Coffee

Roasters* • Chris Davidson, Atlas Coffee*• Nathalie Gabbay, RGC Coffee• Fernanda Hernandez, Elan Organic*• Alexandra Katona, Coffee Quality

Institute*• Stephen Leach, Gloria Jeans• Rocky Rhodes, Rocky Roasters*• Keita Matsumoto, Wataru* • Alex Russan, Castle and Company*• Christy Thorns, Allegro*• Ted Vautrinot, Kean Coffee

*Licensed Q Grader accredited by the Coffee Quality Institute

Farms in the Cupping must followthe 10 Principles of Sustainability ofthe Sustainable Agriculture Network

1. Farm Management System2. Ecosystem Conservation 3. Wildlife Protection 4. Water Conservation 5. Workers’ Rights 6. Occupational Health and Safety 7. Community Relations 8. Integrated Crop Management 9. Soil Conservation 10. Waste Management

Cupping Rainforest Alliance Certified coffees.

coffee processing water while water forirrigation comes from dam in the KiuRiver. The dam is only filled using surfacerunoff from higher grounds. Basins aredug between coffee rows and blue grass isinterplanted to reduce soil erosion andconserve water. Rainwater is also harvest-ed from the factory area and sent directlyto the dam. The basin irrigation system inKigutha Estate is not only cost-effectivebut uses about 45% less water comparedwith overhead irrigation. The farm hasinstalled water meters to measure waterusage and a water recycling system toreduce consumption. The dam on thefarm provides habitat for hippopotamus-es, which are protected by the governmentin this area.

The Kigutha Estate has social policiesaimed at protecting workers’ rights, pre-venting discrimination and promotingsafe working conditions. The farm alsoworks to continuously improve workers’living standards and invests in the skilldevelopment of workers.

In addition to taking care of workers,Kigutha Estate also provides clean water tothe neighboring school and has establisheda kindergarten that now enrolls 30 chil-dren from the neighborhood and the farmitself. Kigutha employs many workersfrom the local community and provides allemployees with transportation and food.The farm manager also heads a social com-mittee that meets regularly with the localvillages to discuss mutual concerns.

“The Rainforest Alliance’s entry to thecoffee sector has making the producers

think more about sustainable use of thenatural resources and conservation,” saidSinange. In addition to the certifiation ofthe Kigutha Estate, Tropical FarmManagement and Neumann KaffeeGruppe have achieved Rainforest Alliancecertification for many of their operationsin Central America, Asia and elsewhere inAfrica. “This represents not only ourcommitment to sustainable coffee pro-duction but also our belief that adheringto the Rainforest Alliance standardsimplies a farmer’s understanding of andwillingness to adopt sustainable prac-tices,” said Jason Green of Tropical FarmManagement. “This in turn increases hiscompetitiveness and thus improves hislivelihood, whilst benefiting the commu-nity and environment around him.”

The company offers sustainable coffeefarming and agronomy expertise to com-mercial farms and smallholders alike andpartners with the coffee farming communi-ty in the provision of inputs, finance, accessto markets, certification and sustainablequality improvement. In Kenya aloneTropical Farm Management (Kenya) Ltdmanages over 40 coffee estates and operatessmallholder coffee projects for over 30,000smallholder farmers. 7

Petra Tanos works to create market link-ages for Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee,tea and cocoa. Through events like theRainforest Alliance Cupping for Quality, shebuilds bridges between those who grow sus-tainable coffee and the quality-drivenimporter and roaster community..

56 TEA & COFFEE TRADE JOURNAL | www.teaandcoffee.net

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From left to right: workers from the Terranova Estate; children from the Kigutha Estate.