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Onwards

Name: Onwards
Brand: Red Bank Coffee Roasters
Price: 8.0 GBP
Availability: OutOfStock

£8.00

More information

Behind the scenes

Onwards is our interpretation of the classic “house” espresso, but with a Red Bank twist.

Origin

Smallholders of El Carmen, Acevedo, Huila
Country

Colombia
Altitude

1,400-2,160 MASL
Process

Washed
Variety

Caturra, Castillo
Notes

Dark Chocolate, Cherry Jam, Frangipane

54°19'46.3"N

2°46'21.6"W
54°19'46.3"N

2°46'21.6"W
54°19'46.3"N

2°46'21.6"W
54°19'46.3"N

2°46'21.6"W
54°19'46.3"N

2°46'21.6"W

54°19'46.3"N

2°46'21.6"W
54°19'46.3"N

2°46'21.6"W
54°19'46.3"N

2°46'21.6"W
54°19'46.3"N

2°46'21.6"W
54°19'46.3"N

2°46'21.6"W

Onwards is our interpretation of the classic “house” espresso, but with a Red Bank twist.

With each iteration we explore a different origin or process, and shine a light on the progressive and inspiring producers behind the coffee. In terms of cup profile, when selecting Onwards we are looking for a balanced and easy-drinking coffee that is clean, round and sweet in the cup.

Our latest iteration is grown by 350 smallholder farmers in the hills surrounding El Carmen de Acevedo, and represented by the cooperative Asociación Agropecuaria El Carmen de Acevedo.

In the cup it is round, sweet and beautifully balanced, with notes of dark chocolate, cherry jam and frangipane.

Our importing partner Raw Material met with the cooperative members in 2017 to understand what was preventing them from accessing the speciality coffee market. Despite good production levels, income from coffee had dropped to unsustainable levels over the previous few years, and the smallholder families were faced with the prospect of having to find alternative income outside of coffee. The volatility of the commodity coffee market prohibited farmers from investing in the infrastructure improvements required to improve the quality of their coffee. Raw Material also noticed a huge gap between the way coffee quality is evaluated at farm level compared with at the roasting end of the value chain.

On the back of these meetings Raw Material launched the Red Associations with the goal of achieving stable and sustainable prices for the cooperative’s lots through improved quality-control, knowledge-sharing, and a connection to the specialty coffee market. The cooperative now offers extra drying tables to allow the farmers to dry the coffee themselves, as opposed to selling them to local intermediaries at a cheap price. There is also a lab where the farmers can get real time feedback on the quality of their coffee.

With the new infrastructure in place Raw Material is able to offer a minimum fixed price of 1 million Colombian Pesos per “carga” of dry “parchment” coffee. This represents double the household income of the typical producing family in the region, compared with the average income from the regular coffee market over the past five years. On top of this they receive a second payment from Raw Material once the coffee is sold for export.

The hope is that this system of guaranteed payment on the day the coffee is delivered (as opposed to waiting on credit terms or payment on export only), plus the possibility of a top-up payment on export, will give the farmers a sustainable income, and the confidence and certainty required to invest in improving the quality of their coffee.

Onwards

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