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Connecting through Conversation been beneficial in aiding my communication with the native
people. Speaking their language helps create a more comfortable
Last February, I joined the 2022 Barista League champions atmosphere and allows me to connect better.”
on their Mystery Coffee Vacation to Colombia. With support When I reached out to Ivette to interview her for this
from Café Tío Conejo, BWT, Crypto Baristas and Need a Baris- story, I thought to myself that since I know a bit of Spanish, I
ta, we had a jam-packed week of learning, competitions and should try to use it during the interview process and our in-
visiting a coffee farm in Manizales. teractions. This definitely added a layer of extra work on my
I soon realized that my little Spanish wouldn’t be enough part, but ultimately it helped me enrich my vocabulary as well.
and there were a few instances that I had to use either body I also felt that by asking questions in her native language, she
language or an app like Google Translate to make myself un- would be able to express herself more fluently and I could learn
derstood and to understand others as well. Truthfully, I some- more about her experiences.
times had the luxury of having friends who were bilingual Our third day in Colombia, Ivette and I found ourselves
and could serve as interpreters. But while they were always sitting on the same table as Julián Marín Hoyos. Julián works
available to help me out, it was still up to me to take initia- at the Universidad Autónoma de Manizales as an English teach-
tive in order to communicate effectively with everyone else. er and also as a translator and interpreter. He was there to help
One of the people in my group was Ivette Vera Loor. Ivette us with our communication needs and he even learned a few
is a Quality Assurance and Training Director at Nomad Coffee, things about coffee along the way.
a coffee roaster in Barcelona. Her native language is Spanish, “Before this event, I had no idea of how much I ignored
and during our conversation she said that this has been bene- about the specialty coffee culture and terminology. This was
ficial for her while traveling to coffee producing countries in an amazing learning opportunity, and thanks to a previous
Central and Latin America. “I have had the opportunity to contextualization exercise, things went well for me as an in-
travel to origin three times found that speaking Spanish has terpreter and therefore, for the event.”

Yiannis Taloumis

Julián Marín Hoyos
Sourcing Across Different Languages speak English. However, it’s also important to note that English
isn’t the only language spoken in specialty coffee – Spanish and
Considering the global coffee belt, it’s easy to understand Portuguese are common too.
why communication is critical when visiting coffee farms and Recently, I was having a conversation with Yiannis
cooperatives in Latin America, and Asia. For instance, an im- Taloumis, owner of TAF Coffee, member of the International
porter from Europe may not understand the language spoken Jury of the Cup of Excellence and certified Q-Grader, about his “I have had
by farmers in Guatemala or Indonesia. Or a buyer from Canada coffee sourcing trips. He mentioned that while in Africa, where
might find it difficult to communicate with an exporter from English is the primary language of many countries, he had an the opportunity to
Costa Rica. In these cases, one would imagine that language can advantage. His ability to communicate in English allowed him
be an obstacle to success – but it doesn’t have to be. to engage with farmers and exporters in a much quicker and travel to origin three
Many of these countries have distinct cultures and lan- more effective way than if he had only known the local language.
guages that can create barriers to entry for coffee professionals “When language is an issue,” he told me, “I try my best times and found that
who wish to learn more about the local practices and customs. to explain the concepts in English and use local words when
Things are much easier when it comes to Africa, however, as appropriate. In Central and Latin America, I use English as well speaking Spanish
many countries share the same language (English). This makes as body language and gestures. But my main focus is to try and
it easier for buyers and sellers to interact without worrying be clear in what I’m asking and what I’m saying.” has been beneficial
about language issues. And at the end of the day, it wasn’t that hard for Yiannis
Whether we like it or not, English is the international to communicate with farmers and exporters. He noted that they in aiding my
language of business. It’s the most widely spoken language on too were more than willing to make an effort to understand communication with
the planet. This means that even if you don’t speak the native him, just as much as he was making the effort to understand
language of a coffee producing country, odds are you can still them. He found that even with language barriers, it was still the native people.”
communicate with someone who does – as long as you both possible to build trust and establish lasting relationships.

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