Coffee Quality Analysis in the ECX - by Dan Streetman
In late 2012 I had the opportunity to visit Ethiopia for the first time. A young coffee buyer's dream. The magical birthplace of coffee where everything somehow was delicious.
Much to my surprise, many unexpected lessons awaited me upon my arrival. Primarily, that there is bad coffee in Ethiopia, we just never saw it here in the US. (A story for another time). But more importantly, it would cultivate in my a strong appreciation for the value of standards, and industry collaboration.
In 2012, the Ethiopian government had newly formed a body called the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange, that would control the flow of coffee inside the country of Ethiopia. The exchange promised to bring price transparency, among many other benefits. With it's emergence, understanding how this new entity would work was a primary motivation of the trip.
After a few days of rough travel, we arrived in Yirgacheffe, in the town of Dilla. A primary regional receiving center of the ECX at the time. We were greeted by an employee and shown inside. They asked if we would like an explanation of how samples were graded in their facility. We eagerly approved. Thereafter, we were walked through the standard sample evaluation protocols and standards set forth in the Q Arabica Grader program. As a freshly minted Q grader myself, I was floored. How incredible it was that here I was on the other side of the world having someone explain to me, that they evaluate coffee in exactly the same way that I did. It was especially surprising given that I had traveled to a half dozen countries already that year, and it was rare to find a lab where samples were prepared in the way we would expect.
The point was proven, as we were invited to cup coffees, and found ourselves quite calibrated with the local cuppers. So it was no surprise then when we found their Q Arabica Grader certificates on the wall.
I still find it remarkable all these years later. Luckily for me, it was a foreshadowing of the change I would see over the next 10 years. As time has progressed more and more labs have adopted the standards and it has become easier and easier to communicate with our colleagues around the world. And that is a beautiful thing.