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C

New tools, methodologies, and customs

have emerged.
Photo / Clay Banks

Lockdown

Making Coffee

Fair

Gain?

W ithout diminishing the massive suf- answering questions one-on-one about realities on the

fering experienced by much of the
producer side, and admiring fancy coffee machines.
world’s population, I wanted to
highlight a silver lining of all of the Also, many, many hours in trucks, buses, airports,
hotels, and friends’ sofas.
isolation that many have experienced. Without any None of that has happened this year. I’ve been
doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic has had horrific and stuck inside my apartment in Pereira, Colombia, only
tragic consequences for many. I would twice penetrating a 1-kilometer radius since
never try to downplay this. Howev- March. Through March and April, as I
er, as this has been covered in updated my CV, sure that I would be
detail by others, I wanted to out of a job, possibly unable to pay
outline some innovations that rent within 3 months, I was able to
have resulted and possible out- think critically about what really
comes that aren’t all necessar- constitutes value in the coffee sup-
ily negative. ply chain. While travel, physical
Out of 52 weeks in a year, I contact, and friendships are often
might normally spend 10 of them methods and byproducts of the
interfacing directly with coffee creation or maintenance of value,
producers, often far off the grid, and perks of the job, they do not
slurping soup, walking up and constitute value for the end custom-
down mountains, taking photos, er. I, and I’m sure most people
playing with dogs and kids, etc. working in the sector, was able to
Then I might spend another 10 identify workarounds: the next-best
interfacing with roasters outside way, or even a more efficient way,
Colombia, holding cuppings, to create the same value, without
talking shop for hours on end, changing physical location.

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