14 DAY TRIAL // In a new, multi-billion dollar project, a consortium of US-based specialty coffee roasters and agricultural researchers have partnered up with the in partnership with the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) to form the Global Coffee Quality Research Initiative (GCQRI). The goal of the new association, which was set up at a recent SCAA symposium, held in Long Beach, California, is to increase the production of existing specialty coffee, and also research new cup qualities in a scientific approach.
Representatives of companies involved in the effort, including Peet's Coffee & Tea, Intelligentsia Coffee, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Counter Culture Coffee, Coffee Bean International, Tony's Coffees & Teas, Royal Cup Coffee, Union Hand-Roasted Coffee, Sweet Maria's Coffee, and Songer & Associates, say that they want to improve the entire production process, “from tree to cup.” This is nothing but exciting news for coffee enthusiasts around the world. There are multiple aspects to this work, including finding ways in which to stimulate farmers in producing more, and of a higher quality. The workers also need to be compensated more for their efforts, and new consumers need to be attracted.
“There has never before been an attempt to look globally into the primary motivating factors for coffee quality. What is being proposed – a comprehensive 'voyage of discovery' originating and funded from the specialty coffee industry itself – has the potential to revolutionize and improve the specialty coffee business here in the US and globally. It also has the potential to positively impact the lives of tens of millions of smallholder coffee farmers around the world,” explains the Executive Director of the SCAA, Ric Rhinehart. He adds that the new project be administered by the Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture, which is a part of the Texas A&M System.
It's “unprecedented that a $25 billion dollar global industry like specialty coffee has no front-end research and development to grow and protect the supply of their product. In fact, in doing a preliminary assessment of all research conducted on factors affecting coffee cup quality, we have found less than 75 projects in the last 100 years. There's actually been more global research into making better kiwifruit than into making better coffee!” summarized the importance of the new initiative Dr. Tim Schilling. He is the director of the Borlaug Institute enterprise development and partnerships division.