Recap 2023
What a year to recap! Following the challenges of high coffee prices for us importers in 2022, 2023 began with Daniel’s exit from the operational cumpa business. Simultaneously, we initiated the transformation of our company from a regional player to a nationally mobile enterprise. In March, we left our office, progressively vacating our warehouse until October 1st, when we completely relocated to Schwarze&Cons. in Hamburg. Now, in Herrenberg Gültstein, where we spent over 3 valuable years, only our mailbox remains. Until we find a suitable place for our new headquarters, it will stay that way. At this point, we want to express our heartfelt gratitude to the Kraus family, not only for being caring landlords but also as mentors and supporters who stood by us with advice and assistance in various situations.
Just a few weeks after Daniel’s departure, in April, we co-hosted the first Canephorum with Hoppenworth&Ploch, Latitud0, and other coffee companies, focusing on Fine Robusta. The event was a great success, attracting around 40 people from 5 countries. The workshops, competitions, discussions, and networking were entirely new and continue to give us goosebumps. Finally, Canephora received the international stage it deserved! The call for a second edition grew louder even during the event.
In the summer, we traveled to Peru, compensating for the missed origin visit in 2022. This time, 12 employees from roasteries joined us for the cumpa Origin Trip Peru, where they got to know the country, its people, and the culture behind their coffee. We received a royal welcome in San Martin and spent intensive 8 days together in cooperatives, on farms, on boats, under waterfalls, in typical restaurants, and amidst coffee plants. It was particularly beautiful that Germán made a special trip to Moyobamba to participate. Such a journey always involves some risks that are everyday occurrences in Peru but not for us Germans. We are all the happier to look back on this trip as a complete success! The exchange was valuable for both visitors and hosts, leaving behind unforgettable memories.
Before and after the Origin Trip, as part of the Qoffee Qulture association’s work, we visited coffee farms reforested with Robusta. Out of 70,000 plants on 22.5 hectares, we saw approximately 20% and discussed the project progress with three beneficiary farmers. To conclude, we visited our new partners at the CEPRO Yanesha cooperative, which will be covered separately in the following article.
Following our Peru trip, in October, we organized the second edition of the Canephorum event “Canephorum V2.0” at the Swiss Coffee Festival in Zurich, this time with the Neumann Coffee Group and Nestlé as partners. The program was even more sophisticated with extensive workshops on Robusta. Participants were offered exclusive high-quality workshops providing unique insights into the still largely unexplored universes of Canephora. It was prestigious, with contributions from This Side Up Coffee, Gloria Pedroza, Fabiana Carvalho. Among the participants were The Coffee Quest, Olam, Lavazza, Keurig, and others. All of this reinforced our Canephora enthusiasm and reaffirmed our intention to realize a third version of Canephorum in 2024.
In November, Lukas, Daniel, and Paul convened for a joint strategic weekend in France. We are excited to work in the same direction and share the same vision as shareholders and employees!
Immediately afterward, Paul traveled to Vietnam, where he initially visited our partners Future Coffee Farm and Zanya Coffee. Here, he also marveled at Mr. Toi’s Organic Robusta Farm, where we and our customers have donated around 200 trees already. After the visits, Paul spent time in the capital, Saigon, attending a Q Grader Robusta course. Unfortunately, he fell just short of the license, but with 17 out of 20 passing exams, he can still be proud of his achievement. We keep the completion high on the agenda for 2024. Finally, Paul visited our partners Detech in Son La in Northern Vietnam for the first time. The cooperative’s work in the underdeveloped region deeply impressed us, and we look forward to further future collaboration.
Between all these activities, there were additional festival visits, cuppings, events, and advancements that this article does not cover.
Now the year has come to an end, and we take a moment to pause and say THANK YOU. This gratitude goes especially to all roasters and coffee producers, but also to all employees there, our partners in financing and logistics, to everyone enjoying cumpa coffee and supporting us in our development!
Between December 24th and Januar 2nd, we will close to enjoy moments with our families. Thanks for understanding. We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. And we look forward to 2024, for which we already have many plans. Stay Tuned!