Two Chicks and a Hoe
We’re gonna dig deep into some really amazing people and topics — cultivating ideas about nature, the environment and conservation — in your backyard and globally. We want to share stories with you where the only intention may be for you to say,“Wow, I didn’t know that!”…and now that you do, maybe you might think about your relationship with it differently, share the information with a friend or get involved.
Two Chicks and a Hoe
The Invisible Journey of Your Morning Cup of Joy . . . Coffee!
Ever wonder about the intricate journey of your morning java? Prepare to have your curiosity quenched. We sat down with coffee expert and industry innovator, Mariana Faerron Gutierrez, owner of Tico Coffee Roasters, to explore the complexities of the coffee industry. Brace yourself for a stimulating conversation as we traverse the terrain of coffee origins, growth methods, and environmental impact. Uncover the secrets behind the world's second most traded commodity and the factors that influence the taste of your favorite brew.
Mariana doesn't stop at the beans - she dives deep into the challenges that the coffee industry is currently facing. From climate change disrupting coffee production to the decreasing number of coffee pickers due to migration and low wages, Mariana offers a first-hand account of these pressing issues. She also sheds light on the influential role women play in coffee production, sharing her personal mission to empower women through her work in the field.
We also scratch the surface of sustainable farming and conscious consumption. Mariana reveals the critical importance of sustainability in coffee farming, advocating for consumer awareness and fair trade practices. As we uncover the significance of agriculture certifications and their impact, you'll realize how vital it is to be informed and involved in the coffee industry. This episode is brimming with insights, perfect for coffee lovers and conscious consumers alike. Brew a pot, sit back and soak up a conversation that will change how you view the humble coffee bean.
Tico Coffee Roasters
Interview with Mariana Faerron
Things that make you say "Wow"!
For more episodes and additional information visit the Two Chicks and a Hoe website and our Facebook page.
Big thanks to our Producer, Casey Kennedy.
Coffee is coffee. Is coffee right? Well, kinda, but not really. As we know from the varying prices of a cup of coffee, coffee is not just coffee. There are so many factors that are going to bring in you that delicious cup of coffee and, according to the numbers, over 2.25 billion of us drink at least one cup of coffee every day. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. I think I've had too many cups of coffee this morning. I was saying coffee is coffee right? Well, kinda, but not really. As we know from the varying prices of a cup of coffee, coffee is not just coffee. There are so many factors that are going to bring in you that delicious cup of coffee and, according to the numbers, over 2.25 billion of us drink at least one cup of coffee every day. Hey everybody, it's Vanessa from Two Chicks in a Hoe, the podcast that talks to amazing people doing wonderful things in our world. We're going to dig deep into coffee. I don't think many of us know where it's grown, how it's grown, who grows it and the impact that it has on our environment. But let's start with a couple of fun facts. First, brazil is the largest coffee produced in the world. Vietnam is second.
Speaker 1:Coffee was outlawed several times throughout history. Leaders in Mecca outlawed the drink in 1511 because they believed it sparked radical thinking. Coffee was also attempted to be banned by certain 16th century Italian clergymen who called the drink Satanic. Pope Clement VII, on the other hand, was so fond of coffee that he abolished the ban and had it baptized in the year 1600. The biggest consumers are Finns, drinking 27 pounds a year.
Speaker 1:Coffee is the world's second largest traded commodity. Crude oil is first, and coffee was discovered by goat herders, yep. The legend says that the first coffee berries were discovered by an Ethiopian goat herd around 800 AD. The shepherd noticed that the goat started to jump happily every time they chewed on the cherry red berries. Today we have the pleasure of chatting with Mariana Faerron Gutierrez, owner of Tico Coffee Roasters in Campbell, California. She's going to fill us in on the coffee industry from the field to the cup, the impacts on the environment, the future of coffee and the role of women in the coffee industry. She's also going to share how Tico Coffee Roasters is going about it differently than many of the big players. So hi, welcome. So much, Mariana, for being with us today and sharing your wealth of information in your beautiful coffee roasting facility.
Speaker 2:Thank you, Vanessa. Thank you for inviting me to your podcast.
Speaker 1:I love it. So let's chat. Let's chat about this, let's chat about coffee, with the thing that I think so many of us you know was at 2.25 billion cups a day. That's a lot of coffee and that's a lot of people drinking coffee across the globe. It's amazing, so I guess let's dig right into it. Tell me a little bit about where is the majority of coffee grown.
Speaker 2:So coffee grown around the equator, bail around the world around the equator, bail around the world. So Latin America, africa, asia Pacific, india, that's basically. And then Hawaii, of course that's a little bit more south, it belongs to the US but it's a little bit more south in the latitude. And then there is an experimental farm now in Santa Barbara, california Really, but it's a greenhouse.
Speaker 1:Oh, I was gonna say, isn't it under a freeway, or something like that? I heard that somebody was growing coffee next to a freeway?
Speaker 2:Yeah, but it's a greenhouse. But naturally it's on the equator belt.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:Yes, all right.
Speaker 1:So and that's. They say that's 25 degrees north and 30 degrees south of the equator. They call it the coffee belt, correct? Yes, okay, so there's. I was reading. There's so many different ways traditional, more industrial, under the shade in the sun, tell me a little bit about how coffee the plant itself has grown.
Speaker 2:So coffee grows mostly in higher altitudes?
Speaker 1:Oh, I didn't know that In Latin.
Speaker 2:America and in some parts in Asia Pacific as well.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:It can also grow so high altitude I mean above 1000 meters over sea level, Okay, and it can go up to 2000,. Some places in Panama even close to 3000 meters. So it's a really high altitude grown crop and it needs to have that altitude. So the it's very similar to the wine industry, something that people can relate to, Okay. And so the higher the altitude it allows the plant to produce the cherries. And each fruit has two coffee beans inside. Okay, there's a few mutations, but that's how it works. So the higher the altitude, then it has some more cooler weather, that it has sun exposure during the day and then cooler or foggy evenings, Okay, and that allows the fruit to mature slowly but also allows the beans to get harder and harder. That also influence for good quality. So the beans are kind of the seed, the seeds of the fruit. Basically, that's what we buy, Okay.
Speaker 1:Okay, and what we roast? Okay. So do they need a lot of water?
Speaker 2:They do need a lot of water, and that's why the tropics are ideal for that right, because we have more rainfall compared to other parts of the world.
Speaker 1:Exactly yes, okay, okay. So Santa Barbara in a greenhouse.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:There you go, we'll see. Yeah, we'll see. Okay, all right, so tell me the difference. So I hear about the traditional way of growing coffee originally was within the forest, correct? Yes, so that's considered shade grown.
Speaker 2:Yes, basically it is in between the forest right and coffee is originally from Ethiopia. Wait a minute.
Speaker 1:Ethiopia. See. No, when I think of Ethiopia, I don't think of forest, even though I know that there are forests.
Speaker 2:Yes, I had the option to visit some of our partners in 2018. And so we went and there is forest, there's a lot of forest in Ethiopia, and the country, the capital, is about 1500 meters from mistaken, so the weather is really nice. That's ideal. It's ideal. It doesn't really feel hot Like when people think on Africa. We all think, oh, my God, it's so hot, it's so sunny, it's desert, it's not.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Ethiopia is in a higher altitude and it was discovered there, so it grows on the trees and, mixed with other plants, got it. So that's kind of like the original way of the coffee plant and they are very tall over there, very high plants. Is that the Arabic bean? They are Arabic, but they are also heirloom varieties, so very ancient. They haven't really been breeded with other varieties, so they still keep a lot of the endemic characteristics and flavors as well. Okay. Okay, in other parts of the world, like in Latin America, they are also shade grown, but these have been planted and the plantation has been designed in a certain way that allows the farmers easier. And that's, I quote, unquote, because coffee farming is not easy. So I understand, yes, but it's easier for them to manage the plantation but at the same time get the shade that the plants need so they are healthier.
Speaker 1:Okay. So, with the 2.25 billion of us drinking coffee every day, that's a huge, huge crop. That my understanding. The idea that they grow faster in the sun, in a full sun is that correct? The coffee bean itself.
Speaker 2:They don't necessarily grow faster. I think it has to do more with environmental or geographic conditions.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:Okay, it has to do more with what is available to them and how. What kind of variety they have planted in their fields? Okay, some of them produce a higher yield or they grow just faster. They have been brewed for that specific characteristic.
Speaker 1:Okay, so the shade sun thing is not really a problem, or is it in terms of deforestation, for to grow more crop then?
Speaker 2:I would say the shade grown. The advantage of that is that it protects the plant from diseases. So it allows it to grow like in a better temperature or more constant temperature, and no, be stressed like full exposure during the day and not at night. Okay, so it's a more constant temperature that allows the plant to behave in better. It also keeps more humidity Okay, so it doesn't need so much water, like if it will be fully exposed to the sun.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:And it also protects with the seasons.
Speaker 1:If the plant is stronger and it's healthier, of course it's going to be less susceptible to pests, because I understand that there's a lack of genetic diversity within the plants, within the coffee plants, but also too, of course, then that's stressing the potential for disease of the plants as well. Yeah, yes, so we had a conversation with Dr Rodrigo Medellin in Mexico about blue agaves and how they are all so similar to each other clone-like that one disease can wipe the entire species out, and it's starting to sound like that might be the case with coffee as well, in terms of the idea that it could get a type of disease that can wipe that out because of its lack of genetic diversity.
Speaker 2:And it has happened before in the 70s and 80s with the leaf rust. It's a fungus that grows underneath the leaves. It's a yellow dot and it grows many yellow dots underneath the leaves. And what it is, you know? It releases spores. So it is very easy, easily spreadable through the wind through different plants and plantations, and what the plant does is that it starts losing the leaves to get rid of what is harming the plant. But if the plant doesn't have any leaves, there's no photosynthesis and obviously won't be any coffee production. So the plant might survive completely stressed, but there is no harvest. So that's the problem. And if there is a lot of infection, the farmers have pretty much no choice. If they didn't control it on time with pesticides, what they have to do is basically just cut, get rid of the plantation If they can save it like stump, and wait about four years for the plant to regrow and to produce harvest again. So there's a big financial loss for them because of these fungus.
Speaker 1:Is it so? Is that why there's so many pesticides used in the growing of coffee? Because for disease prevention, for something just?
Speaker 2:like that.
Speaker 1:What I keep reading about is that there's this I don't know if it's a fear for us coffee drinkers that they say by the year 2050 that we're not going to have coffee as we know it, that there's so much stuff going on with the plants with, in particular, because of climate change, the increase in temperatures and how important it is to have it cooler for the plants, that and, of course, changes in rainfalls because of temperature increases that the coffee we know we won't have anymore. Have you heard that as well?
Speaker 2:Yeah, there is a big concern in the industry and it's a combination of factors. One that is really critical is definitely climate change and it's the raising in temperature. So coffee needs that cool weather to optimally grown and harvest or produce the harvest. And if the plant is exposed, or certain plants or breeds, like we have them now pretty much around the world, they are designed to survive or to thrive in certain climate and if they don't have that ideal temperature, they might not produce the same amount of coffee and or they will be exposed to more pests or the same different diseases.
Speaker 1:So we're potentially facing a coffee crisis, so to speak.
Speaker 2:Yes, and there's a lot of research right now in different parts of the world to breed or create hybrids to make plants more resistant to certain specific environmental variables or some specific diseases. Oh, okay, so to try to provide farmers with an alternative right? If this plant doesn't work for you, perhaps this one will because it has been designed in the labs for that. But the problem is not just I mean, that's, I think, probably the biggest climate change. Also, how much the rain pattern has changed around the world.
Speaker 2:And it's something uncontrollable, right? Some parts that used to have like a regular rainfall now they don't, or places that used to barely had any rain, now there's floating, and this you know like. We all are exposed to this in many different ways, and this industry, specifically, is facing a lot of challenges because of that. Another challenge is the decrease, I would say, of coffee pickers. So you need Coffee pickers are just the people that go to the farm to harvest the coffee cherries.
Speaker 2:In the past it was very easy to hire them. I would say it's people that go, you know, just in my country I'm from Costa Rica. It's a small country, but we have different coffee regions and, depending on the altitude, the harvest is happening at different times. Maybe a month of different, two months they were here in Tarasub, then they moved to Orozzi Valley and then they went to some other places, or then they went out to Panama, for example. Right now it's really hard because of migration, economic forces that are, you know, forcing people to really move to other areas, because it's really expensive, it's a job that is labor intensive but doesn't pay enough. So then, and then younger generations they just don't want to deal, they don't want to do this job.
Speaker 2:They don't want to do it. So that's another issue for coffee farmers in the industry in general, like how do you keep the labor that you need but also reward them and this is something that we emphasize a lot to our consumers here. Right, everybody wants this great cup of coffee, correct, but they don't want to pay for that. They don't want to pay for that. And there's people suffering, a lot of people suffering, because they're not getting the money that they deserve.
Speaker 1:So let's talk about that. Who's growing the coffee?
Speaker 2:Coffee has been passed through generations, family to family.
Speaker 1:This is globally correct. Globally, yes, Okay.
Speaker 2:It's mostly family owned. A lot of knowledge, definitely, that these people have and they teach it to their children. And, you know, next generation comes and takes over the family business. And so men, women, even youth participate in the coffee production. And coffee production is year round, it never stops. It's just the harvest. They have to fertilize, they have to prune, they have to apply other things, then the harvest comes, then it has to be dry, then it has to be back. Someone has to do the work. Exports.
Speaker 1:It never stops. It never stops, yes, so in terms of who does it? So I was reading too that the majority of the labor workforce and I'm assuming this is globally as well that 70% of it is women that's actually doing the physical labor, the harvesting, the planting, the picking, that type of thing. Is that correct?
Speaker 2:I would say it's a high percentage. I'm not really sure and I have to be honest that if it is 70%, they take out toll not just in picking the coffee cherries right and at the fields, which is really, really hard because a lot of them are in steep terrain so they have to walk with the With the children yes with the children, with the basket where they're picking the coffees, everything.
Speaker 2:But it's not just that. It's also people who are cooking, people who are doing some other things that is not necessarily the farm but are directly related to the harvest. So this is a harvest season, I would say, and throughout the year. Some countries, unfortunately, they relate more on women and they don't get rewarded for what they do. I think some other countries, the situation is more even it's men and women.
Speaker 1:So, mariana, tell me a little bit about this project that you were telling me briefly about when I met you originally, and it was about empowering women. Yes, please tell me some more about that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, this is something that I'm really excited about and, as I mentioned to you, I came to the United States 16 years ago, originally from Costa Rica, and I came here because I married my husband and he works in tech. We're in the Silicon Valley, so a very easy path for him to move to this area of the world, and when I came here, I didn't really have a network or a job or anything to do, so for me there was a lot of disconnect and a little bit of loss of identity. I would say, like what would I do now that I'm in this new place? So I had to start learning everything making friends, going out, even going something as simple as going to the supermarket, right, right.
Speaker 2:And in that search or learning process I started trying to find coffee shops and then I went to my local coffee shop and then I tried that coffee and then I was thinking this doesn't taste like it tastes at home.
Speaker 1:And I've been to Costa Rica. I know we brought so much coffee home from Costa Rica. We got stopped at customs. They looked at us. They didn't even touch our bags, they could smell. They said you got a lot of coffee, don't you? Yeah? We do so. Yes, amazing coffee, yes.
Speaker 2:And so you know it happened the next one and the next one, and then also meeting people. I told them where I came from and a lot of people told me I really like your country. I have been there. It's really great. It's a great environment, the Pura Vida life, which means pure life people are so friendly.
Speaker 2:And then I kept hearing the same message. And then the other side of the story, you know, looking at the coffee. I started agricultural economics in Costa Rica and I work with coffee farmers there, so then finally it clicked. And then I said, well, this is what I know. I have friends that grow coffee. People love coffee. Americans drink a lot of coffee. They contribute to that to Billion Cops.
Speaker 1:I think they're the number one contributor.
Speaker 2:Yes, and so I thought well, there's something that can be changed. There's so great coffee, and not just the quality, but also the stories that are missed in this equation. Yes, who is growing this coffee? Who is participating on this labor? Who is actually making this great product for you? Yes, and so that's how Tico Coffee Roasters was born, and Tico is a nickname for Costa Rican people. Oh, that's right.
Speaker 2:Yes, and so I wanted to name the company that, something that resembles my heritage, that resembles our lifestyle.
Speaker 2:It's not really about me, but like who do we want to be as a company in this place? What is the change that we want to create? So our mission is to empower, protect and nourish lives from farm to crop, and the empowerment part comes from working directly with farmers in my country and in other countries, our relationships that we have developed for the last 11 years and this is really important for me because, growing there, I mean, I was literally surrounded by coffee plantations, so I could see every year, right, the trucks full of the cherries, that delicious smell, the blooming season, all families really engage into the activity, and how that has been disappearing because the pricing or different crisis, that is just really hard for families to continue in something that they used to do Right, and I wanted to be able to share those stories, to be able to buy a great product, because people deserve a better cup of coffee Nice, but also the people who grow it. They deserve to be acknowledged and they deserve to be paid for what they are producing.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:Yes. So a lot of our coffees, more than 60% of our coffees, come from direct relationships in different countries in Latin America, africa and Indonesia. And we also started a project about five years ago and me, as a woman and as an immigrant, really wanted to make a difference in highlighting the work of women in the coffee industry, buying more lots produced by women or women collectives. So right now we have four different lots and there is one more coming. It's here in Oakland, actually, we just have to wait for the release. It's coming up and it's really exciting and really, I think, provides a lot of hope for me and also for consumers, because women now are more aware and they feel more supported and that they are finally being seen and that they can really take over or really like to stand up and speak up and for what they are doing, basically, and getting the recognition that they deserve.
Speaker 1:So are you saying that you're buying coffee? You say in lots from these places around the globe, but from women owned Correct Coffee? Yes, farms yes, I'm trying to figure out what they call it. Yes, coffee farms Excellent.
Speaker 2:For example, we have a lot of. It's a collective of some women farmers in Chiapas in Mexico that they are really far in the mountain, but there is a lady that really took over that project and created this collective. And the ladies it's like one after another. I want to belong to this group. I really want to be part of this change, because now they're finally getting the money. It was always their husbands and now they are getting money and they want to be empowered. They want to be able to buy what they need. They want to be able to feed their children or even send them to school right, like before it wasn't possible. And another great example that I have is a very young woman. We started working with her probably like about five years ago, and I think when I met her she was just 24, 25. Now she's close to 30, but just an example of young people.
Speaker 2:All of these younger generation is like the comeback to the coffee industry. My generation I'm 45 and people who had education or even a little bit older than me. They didn't want to do anything with agriculture. It's like I'm finally done right. I don't want to be working in the fields like my father's did, my parents did. I'm sorry, but this generation is. You know what I got education, I'm bilingual or even sometimes I speak three languages, and you know what I can make this business better.
Speaker 2:Now they have the knowledge that I guess before it was not that people didn't have the knowledge, but they didn't have the vision. And this generation has a vision, and so there's a lot of young people, young professionals, young people they have education that are involved in the corporate production and they are changing the landscape and this is really really exciting For the better right. Yes, correct.
Speaker 1:So for the better, for not only for the community, yes, okay but the environment as well. They're going about it differently. Yes, got it. And then, of course, for the women yes, tell me a story about you mentioned that now the women have money and everything and they could potentially send their kids to school. Tell me what else. Tell me what else is happening now that women are becoming more empowered through this, through this industry.
Speaker 2:I think a very good example is the same young woman her name is Daniela the house. She started working. I mean she was, she grew up in the farm and when she graduated from university she said I want to work with you. She told her dad. He said okay, but he was still like in his mind you know, she's just going to be just right next to me and she started trying to take over or like asking more questions, getting more involved. So she shared last time that we went in Costa Rica that there was like kind of friction right, because he didn't want to let go. And it's not that he was excluding her, it's just the mindset.
Speaker 1:It's more of a tradition, right.
Speaker 2:Like years of, you know, horticism that they had to be breaking down. Yes, but she was, I guess, persistent enough that she started taking a little bit over that. Now she's in charge of exports, she deals with all the buyers and everything. And when before her father used to get paid like two, three months later she figured how to get paid like in two weeks, nice. And then her father told her, like what did you do? How did you do that? He said well, did you stop? Right, you negotiate. And it's just such a great example of how the equation changes when women are involved in an, involved with vision. I think, right, it's not just growing coffee, they are also business people.
Speaker 1:Yes, and they are having a voice now and you've given them that voice. Yes, that's Bravo. Thank you Very nice. Thank you, very nice. So where do you see the future of Tico coffee roasters?
Speaker 2:I see the future increase in distribution. We sell online throughout the United States, but I would like to probably get into some like bigger accounts here in Northern California, some distribution with some stores that are conscious and also participating more into more, I would say, like regional or in country programs in terms of sustainability. That's my passion.
Speaker 1:In country where the coffee is grown. Correct, got it. Yeah, okay, okay.
Speaker 2:Teaching sustainability, showing them how to farm sustainably, that kind of of education I would say probably programs that are more suitable not just to grow coffee, but maybe what else is needed or was forgotten, I guess throughout the years. Yes, to make not just the production but the whole ecosystem. Yes, sustainable. They have a lot of knowledge. I don't have anything to teach them. Right, but it's more like what else can be done to create not just your coffee plantation but something else that can contribute to the ecosystem Right.
Speaker 2:And involving youth and women in this.
Speaker 1:You're just reminding them.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Correct, you're right, they know, they know they have all the knowledge it's been passed down. Yes, that's awesome.
Speaker 2:That's really awesome, great.
Speaker 1:So people can buy your coffee online? Yes, okay, and if you are in the Bay Area, you can come to Campbell California. Come in the morning, you can get a cup of coffee right here, and then you can also purchase fresh beans here, freshly roasted beans, yes, so great. So we'll have all that information up on the website and tell you where you can go order coffee. And, Mariana, is there anything else you'd like to share with us about your story?
Speaker 2:I would like to share. Let's see what I would like to share.
Speaker 1:I know one of those, I think question.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yes, I think for everyone to, to get more involved, to be curious about where your food comes from.
Speaker 2:Not just coffee but everything that you purchase. Be curious about it, because I think the change is in our hands. Putting the change into big corporations? We know that that is not going to work. Putting the change or the responsibility into companies like small businesses like mine? Yeah, we're working directly with farmers. But I think we are all responsible and I think the more that you ask questions, the more that you get involved in trying to figure out okay, is this product really supporting families? Is this product really supporting the environment? With everything that we see in the news now, we cannot afford not to be involved, not to be ignorant about what's happening and also the power that we have as consumers.
Speaker 2:So, I encourage every single person, anything and everything that you buy, be curious about it and try to find a way to get involved, to make a change.
Speaker 1:Love it Beautiful. Thank you so much. Thank you for inviting me. Wait, wait, I have a few more questions. I had the chance to ask Mariana about the terms we hear so often associated with coffee, so I want a better understanding of what fair trade means. I mean, there's some coffee terms, coffee industry terms that we see on labels, but I don't think we really know what those mean and sometimes I think people think, oh, I have to buy that because. But what does that mean? What does fair trade mean and what does it mean to the people that are actually growing the coffee?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so fair trade is an organization in the United States that certifies different crops, not just coffee, but cow, pineapple and some other crops around the world. Okay, so what the organization is that they are going to pay a minimum price in the market plus an incentive to per pound of, in this case, coffee. In the rest of the products works the same way like an incentive over the minimum price, so the farmers can get a little bit more money for what they've grown. Okay, so it guarantees that it doesn't matter what the seed market or the stock market is right, because prices go up and down. It guarantees a minimum price, which is a good thing.
Speaker 1:So, but it guarantees a minimum price for the growers, the farmers, right, correct. So this really fair trade really is about protection for the farmers. Yes, excellent, okay, so that makes sense.
Speaker 2:And also they have to go through different audits and requirements to be certified, and so it also guarantees, for example, healthy working conditions, that there's no child labor or inconsistent compensations Got it. What is sometimes a little bit of, I would say, like maybe not ideal for the farmers, is that they have to be organized in a co-op or certain type of group, so the incentives are paid to the organization and then they will have to distribute that among all the farmers that are associated.
Speaker 1:Got it.
Speaker 2:Sometimes that is a little bit diluted because they also have to cover the audit costs, inspections.
Speaker 1:There's other people that need to get paid.
Speaker 2:Exactly. So then at the end sometimes what the farmer gets is not really, let's say, 25 cents extra. They get five, three cents extra, and so that is at least it's something guaranteed and at least the minimum, but it doesn't allow for a decent living Right.
Speaker 2:Like there's so many things that need to be covered for any family your food, housing, basic services, water, electricity, sending your children to school so it provides certain safety, I would say, but it's still a lot to be done and at least I would say it's something that ensures to give certain peace of mind to the consumer. But it's more than it needs to be done, because what is paid is not enough. There's a lot of labor involved in crop production around the world cacao, oranges, pineapple, coffee, vanilla, you name it. There's a lot of labor involved and a lot is in the field, so long distances has to be traveled, so people need to cover all those bases. Something that we do as a business is what is called direct trade, and this is what we, when we buy directly from the farmer.
Speaker 1:There's no middleman.
Speaker 2:There's no middleman, and so we meet these people, we establish those relationships and many of them we have had since we started our business, so basically 11 years ago and the reason for that is that we can get the quality of the coffee that we want. We can work with them to develop, for example, a new process. So say you know, we're going to buy this lot and we want you to process or dry it this way and we commit to buy it.
Speaker 1:So you actually have a little bit more involvement so to speak which is good, whether the crop is.
Speaker 2:You know the result of the experiment was good or not. We commit to buy it.
Speaker 1:Right right.
Speaker 2:And also they really, you know, go above like even the first rate prices. So let's say, right now the marketing is like 150, 170. We pay three, four, five, seven dollars a pound upon a coffee.
Speaker 1:Is that indirect trade? So the farmer really benefits directly or incredibly from that, correct? Okay? So, and I guess you know the idea that, like you said, all of our crops, all of our food products, the fresh food products and all of those things are so labor intensive but we're for so long we've really never paid that, correct? So now those people are suffering and now the true costs of their labor, so to speak, is coming out and they need to get paid for that. It's going to change pricing of things dramatically.
Speaker 2:It's going to change pricing, but I think it also has to bring the awareness of the appreciation of food for consumers. Yes, because we're used to have everything anytime. Yes, right, like I remember when I was a child, we got apples. I lived in Central America during Christmas time. Yes, and that was it Right. We didn't get apples, or like barely any other time of the year, right, right. Now you get apples any time of the year. You get kiwis, you get. I mean, you get anything.
Speaker 1:Right, because it's all brought in from other parts of the world.
Speaker 2:Correct and there's nothing bad with, you know, trading and globalization Right. And the problem is the overuse of our environment soil that gets damages because it's used over and over and over again.
Speaker 1:It doesn't get a resting time, it doesn't have time to regenerate.
Speaker 2:Got it. And then also the labor intensive that is needed in every crop and is not rewarded. That is the problem, got it, Wow.
Speaker 1:So the other thing that we do see on labels a lot, in particular associated with coffee is the term Rainforest Alliance Certified, which sounds wonderful to me, but to tell you the truth, I don't really know what that means. It means, you know, tell us her name. I mean, I think it's a logo with a little frog on it. I know that, yes.
Speaker 2:It has to do with the amount of forest that is in the farm, and it doesn't mean that the coffee is shaped, grown, it's. You can have, I don't know, like 40 hectares of coffee, and then, additionally, you have 10 hectares of forest. So it doesn't have to be I'm what? Yes, yes.
Speaker 1:So I thought it really did mean that coffee was grown within the forest kind of a situation. So is it about protecting those 10 hectares of forest, correct.
Speaker 2:Ah, okay. So basically, yeah, that's what it is that farmers, all depending on the plantation they have to commit to keep certain area, that is like basically forest, that they also how do you say, like offset the carbon footprint because they have a forest.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay, got it, but it doesn't mean that Carbon sequestration Got it.
Speaker 2:It doesn't mean that the coffee is shaped grown.
Speaker 1:Oh, interesting. Okay, yes, I have to say I never. I realized, no, you know what? I never realized how complicated the coffee business industry really is.
Speaker 2:It's very complicated, yeah.
Speaker 1:Nor did I actually. You know when. You know, when you say 2. And I didn't even know how to say it initially 2.25 billion cups of coffee a day, a day yes, I did that. That wows me and that just really wows me that this, this crop, is so big, so immense and it takes up such a large part of landscapes to cultivate. I had, I really didn't understand. And then all the complications involved and how labor-intensive it really is. I think it's really good for, like you said, for our listeners to understand the path that the coffee bean takes before it ends up in their cup, but to really understand where does our food come from.
Speaker 2:Yeah, correct.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. And who's bringing our food to us?
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's awesome.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much. You're very welcome. All right, we'll talk to you soon. We'll have all the information up on the website and you can order coffee directly online from Tico Coffee Roasters. That's right. Thank you so much, mariana. Thank you, thank you, take care. The coffee we enjoy so much has a journey and challenges I hadn't fully understood before the conversation with Mariana. From dealing with climate change and diseases to shifts in the way families do business, to now the chance to support women-owned coffee companies, the coffee scene has evolved. Mariana's focus on the origins of our food raises important questions about fair pay and an environmental impact. She doesn't just provide great coffee beans. She connects us globally, reminding us that our choices impact people we may never meet, but play roles in our lives.