For many years now, we have had good American customers and moved coffee directly from origin to the United States. Through our new US office we aim to better serve the needs of our customers across the pond.

New York has always been the epicentre of business creation and innovation. As a hub for finance, global and inclusive culture, with a rather it only seemed as the natural choice to start.

All the way from Melbourne, Australia, Sam began his coffee career in the central highlands of Vietnam. Lured by the bright lights of New York City, and the even brighter prospect of joining Europe's premier specialty merchant, List + Beisler, Sam is responsible for gearing-up L+B's sure-fire expansion into the North American market.

When not chasing the sun, waves, or playing golf, you'll find Sam hamming-it-up in the Hamptons social scene, tending his manicured lawn, or passionately explaining the difference between Rugby and Australian Rules Football - the actual game played in heaven!

What is an SCA Premier Training Campus?

In short, an SCA member company or organization that has met all the requirements set forth by the SCA, and is thus certified to impart SCA-approved coffee education.

Campuses are located all over the world, with more being added to the list of campuses each year. In Germany, we are proud to be the first added to the list! As a campus, we strive to offer a unique experience when it comes to coffee education —all while showcasing commitment to standards of the educational experience.

As part of the certification process, we had Owen Thom visit our training facilities who shared his feedback with us:

keyboard_arrow_right"The classroom makes a very unique set up but one that is perfect and something that can be taken advantage of. Students have the chance to relax, as well and learn in a surround of peace, comfort and atmosphere."

keyboard_arrow_right"Overall List and Beisler have a great premise for green and sensory [Premium Training Center] status and meet all the necessary standards to have this."

If you would like to know more about Premier Training Campuses, you can check out the SCA website for more info on it ( https://sca.coffee/education/campuses/).

Why did we decide to become certified?
At List + Beisler we believe in fostering high coffee quality standards both within and outside. What that means is an explicit commitment to quality standards within the company, all whilst taking an outward and active approach to coffee education and its promotion. We want to equip ourselves so that we can empower others.

We do not play the part: we are serious about coffee and becoming certified was our way of materialising and publicly acknowledging our commitment to high coffee quality standards and education.

Back in February 2018, we visited the Sidamo coffee producing region together with our Ethiopian Partners, Moplaco. During this trip, besides visiting producers, we were introduced to one of the projects that Moplaco has developed in this region in collaboration with the local community: The Sergera Elementary School.

This school was built over 8 years ago and its intention was to create an environment that would encourage children to attend classes. Year by year, attendance has improved and now about 2000 children attend the school. Since its early beginnings, the school has significantly improved but as the people at Moplaco put it, "it is an ongoing feat".

The school operates on two shifts, morning and afternoon, in which 1000 children attend at a time. Currently, it has 10 classrooms of which only 2 have concrete floor, the remaining have a sandy dirt floor covered by wood straps. This type of flooring, although cheap is the perfect environment for fleas to nest, which represents a problem to already overcrowded classrooms.

At List + Beisler, we believe in fostering sustainable communities within the coffee industry. On this occasion, we have decided to collaborate with Moplaco and the Community of Sergera to help renovate further classrooms, improve the floors and walls as well as provide them with furniture, with the aim of creating a safer and healthier environment for the children; a space where they can learn and work in better conditions.

The project will span from March 2018 until December 2018 and during this time, we are tasked with managing the overall project design. Moplaco will collaborate as manager of the overall project while the community of Sergera will be involved as workers.

We believe that bettering the overall existing infrastructure will give children the opportunity to learn in proper conditions.

Stay tuned for updates on the project.

Following the unexpected eruption of Volcan de Fuego in the southern region of Guatemala on Sunday, June 3, over 1.7 million people have been affected, according to CONRED – Guatemala's National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction.

The affected area is also home to a large number of smallholder coffee farms. In fact, the Guatemalan National Coffee Association (Anacafé), estimates losses of roughly equivalent to 64,000 bags of green coffee (60kg), which is about 0.91% of the national harvest.

Within the affected regions of Chimaltenango, Sacatepéquez and Escuintla, coffee is a significant source of livelihood. Funcafé, the Guatemalan Coffee Foundation for Rural Development, reports that there have been about 5000 families directly affected. The eruption has not only badly damaged their coffee crops but also hampered their food safety and access to basic needs for these families, such as education.

Some of our coffee partners have been seriously affected by the eruption, with some having lost their lives and others still missing.

A number of fundraising efforts have been put in place to provide relief to those affected. Through Anacafé and Funcafé, we have decided to donate and thus support the victims of the Volcan de Fuego Eruption. According to a press release by both organisations, in the short-term, donations will be used to meet immediate needs of victims and as the situation evolves, needs will be further evaluated to better allocate funds received.

As a trusted partner, List + Beisler fully supports Anacafé in this endeavour in helping the affected coffee producing regions recover from this tragedy. With our donation, we aim to support the efforts done in Guatemala by our esteemed coffee partners. We invite others to donate and support this endeavour in helping the affected areas. Donations can be made via Paypal here. Funcafé offers transparency of donations made upon request.

For any questions, feel free to get in touch with Alejandro Molina: Alejandro.aml@anacafe.org

Photo Credit: CONRED

We would like to thank all participants at the Berlin Roasting Competition. None of the participants knew neither the origin nor the detailed quality description of the green beans. It was a truly fun experience with 11 top roasted coffees – all with unique roast profiles! Not an easy job for the judges to select the best cups... the winners are:

1. The Barn
2. Five Elephant
3. Buena Vida and Spring Roasters
4. Fjord and Qualia Caffe
5. K9 and 19grams
6. Bonanza / Rösttrommel
7. Populus

The secret of the "mystery coffee" is finally lifted: the green beans were Kivu 3s, coming from the Lubero and Bashu regions in northern Kivu (D.R. Congo) and produced by farmers belonging to the Kawa Kabuya Cooperative, winner of the Taste of Harvest competition 2017.
Further, we would also like to thank all visitors that came along our cupping sessions during the Berlin Coffee Festival. It was good meeting you there!

Last week we hosted Germany's very first Q-Arabica Course and Exam at our SCA-Training Campus in Berlin. Twelve participants from all over Europe practiced and got tested in 19 different disciplines in order to receive the most respected certification in coffee sensory: the Q-Grader.
Since there was such great demand we are already planning another Q-course in the second half of 2019. Please get in touch with us in case of interest.