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and tenders to get linked with the end buyers such as
micro-roasters no matter where in the world they are
located. “I do believe our own auction platform is a
technology that helps. I see more auctions and orga-
nizations like Cropster Hub providing more access for
farmers to sell their coffee or at least have increased
identity in the market,” says Darrin Daniel from COE
(Cup Of Excellence). Started 10 years ago, Cropster
RADERS Next step in the chain are trad- provides services such as collecting data for roasters,
buyers, producers, sellers and cuppers, linking them
ers. Consolidation of the large
coffee industry to only a few large roaster groups up on the same platform in real time online. Everyone
such as JDE, Lavazza, Nestle, left no choice for can create their own account and make their own
smaller roasters and they cannot survive competing ‘research facility’ and follow the information on any-
with such large companies if not counting on the thing they have a demand for, by collecting all the
Specialty coffee business. That is what brought the data on one website for people to be able to compare
most important changes in trading, that the two dif- the change of information. The company started as a
ferent markets have grown and been going to two research management for green coffee producers, so
contrary extremes: mass commercial grade market now Cropster sees its goal in helping people to de-
and specialty coffee. In these 5 years more and more velop their coffee with providing information to
people started asking more questions about coffee maintain good quality of coffee in the whole chain
they drink. from bean to cup.
That is why, right now in both markets, sustain-
ability and transparency are the most important
words as large coffee roasters are under serious watch
by the NGOs and/or consumers’ groups in the fair
trade and natural conservation front. And in the age
of new media and technology everything is getting
more and more transparent. Thus, important technol-
ogy employed by the Specialty industry is the Inter-
net auction system through which even smallholder
farmers can participate in the quality competition

can now adjust the drum speed and airflow, control the
burners more accurately, use software to monitor every
roast profile, and save all these profiles and collect very
piece of valuable data. Good is example is Pilot Roaster
Shop, a control software that was especially developed for
the Probatone series of shop roasters, enables you to re-
cord, edit, analyze and store roasting profiles that you can
call up at any time. We can now clearly see what is hap-
OASTERS Talking about roasting, 10 pening with roast curve and development times. Once we
years ago it had its own se- find a favorite profile by using this technology, we can
crets about roasting profiles and how to influence it. Now replicate this profile every single time. Technology is
there are number of things that have been developed in enabling us to improve roasting, which will improve the
new coffee roasters. For example, in a lot of roasters we quality of coffee in the future.

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