Steve's 2017 Indonesian Adventure - The Summary
What an adventure, what a time, how do I even begin to summarise……
I would like to start by thanking Cafeology for sending me on this wonderful trip and for organising all the flights and giving me the opportunity at Roastology.
This is a trip I will never forget, I have made friends for life, tried some fantastic coffee, learned so much more than I could have ever thought and got to experience the the first stage of coffee production.
It’s with the coffee production most of my thoughts are with currently. Seeing the farms, the workers, the difficulties faced everyday. Coffee production is on a decline and the demand for coffee increases each year. Global warming & climate change is having such a negative effect on the coffee production and is something we all need to take extremely seriously. As a world of coffee lovers, we need to strive to improve conditions and ensure the thing that binds us all together, our love of coffee can continue for ever. With organisations like the SCA we are working on huge amounts of research into global warming.
Another hard hitting fact is how the farmers and their staff are living. Many farm workers across the globe are living in poverty and it’s so important that with every sip of coffee you take, you think long and hard about where that coffee has come from. I think it is vital that you know and understand how and where the coffee you are drinking comes from. Ethical sourcing is paramount, understand that the hardest part of the coffee chain is the growing & processing, please make sure you do your bit to make sure the farmers receive a fair price, this doesn’t necessarily mean you have to buy Fairtrade cert, as many farms don’t subscribe to the foundation but still receive an above market value price. KNOW YOUR COFFEE PEOPLE!
You wouldn't really describe me as an emotional type of chap but as I sit on the airport floor, waiting to check in, looking through the photos I have taken reminding me of the amazing adventure I have been on has almost bought a tear to my eye, almost though, I’m still cool.
I can’t speak highly enough of my experiences, some people complained about the long bus trips, I took that time to talk to people in the industry. Some people didn’t like the early starts, the late nights but again, I wanted to cram as much as I possibly could into this once in a life time experience. I got to see an active volcano, I saw genuine Indonesian culture, we were treated to welcome parties by town mayors, I made friends, we laughed, we learned we tried coffee, I saw some parts of the world only a handful of ’tourists’ will ever see. The food has been incredible, granted I won’t be having rice again for breakfast on Monday morning but I have loved it. Experience, thats what I crave in my personal & professional life, experience is what I have had.
From leaving Sheffield to sitting on the airport floor in Bali, I have had a smile on my face.
Java, Bali, you will stay in my mind and my heart forever.
A quick thanks to the organisers Mr Saff & Colin Smith, great work both. Also thanks to my fellow SCA travellers, without you guys it could have been a very different story.
I guess the next question is how I can get Cafeology to agree to send me on my next Coffee Origin adventure, apparently there is an SCA trip to Ethiopia later in the year : ) I hope you have enjoyed reading this as much as i have enjoyed writing it,
For the final time in Indonesia,
Steve. Out
