Every time it comes to writing an update about The Cup That Counts it evokes plenty of pride. Together as a community, through every coffee purchased at Commonfolk cafes, the additional funds raised through donations and tips from you and our incredible wholesale partners, we’ve raised over $28K so far this financial year and a lifetime total now over $250K!

As shared in the last update, we made a commitment of $20K to Zukuka Bora for this FY21/22 [we’re actually increasing this to $25K!]. We’re on track to having this commitment covered and are super grateful for our co-funders in realising these projects focused on economic empowerment. Take a gander below for a little ZB specific update.

While our South Yarra shop has traversed many a curveball, Connor and the team have brought the best energy and inclusive hospitality, with $4564.60 raised for Shared Value Project so far since doors opened in August. We’ll be stoked to share updates from Ben as projects focused on coffee labourer well-being develop over time. At the minute, Ben is working on a biomass stove design that hopes to vastly improve on the negative health impacts of many traditional stove designs.

Franki and the HomeGround team continue to build momentum with their traineeship program, and a new cohort is ready to go. We loved having the previous trainees in the Commonfolk training lab and big congrats to each of them for diving in and graduating! Commonfolk have donated just over $16K worth of freshly roasted Godfather espresso blend this financial year, allowing the house pour to create more resources for community engagement and support.

The blue donation tins you’ll see on the benches of Commonfolk wholesale partners have just been collected and tallied bringing in a huge $755.15! Bloody generous coffee drinkers, you lot! This is a huge additional contribution and we acknowledge that many of these teams, including our own Commonfolk cafe teams, forgo their tips to instead support TCTC. Look out for the blue donation tins on your fave cafe’s bench, or donate directly on our website.

Zukuka Bora’s 21/22 season is almost a wrap. Our coffee is through the mill, pre-shipment samples have landed in our hands for cupping and two containers are soon to depart for our shores! Every part of this process is riddled with challenges, opportunities, costs and reward. The nature of agricultural production, geographic and cultural diversity, and rich relationships keeps us excited all year round for our partnership with the ZB team and coffee farming communities. We’re proud of a lot of folks in our industries, but none more than ZB.

One of the biggest challenges Dave and the team face each season is cash flow. Then imagine coffee cherry prices increasing by 50%! Pre-committing to coffee purchases and pre-financing allows ZB to purchase the coffee cherries necessary to fulfil the growing global demand for their coffee, as well as for our own coffee program. This year it has been more important than ever and has also led to subsequent increases in prices; great for farming families and reiterated in videos and blogs by ZB’s Dave shared on our socials.

While we’re talking increases…how about the coffee quality? You better believe it, we’ve seen increased quality across the board! From cherry selection (a premium is paid for only ripe cherry) and processing, to drying and milling. With a production team honing their craft and learning season on season, all four processing methods used across the Mt Elgon and Mbale sites are delivering improved and cleaner mild acidity and body. You’ll see more micro lots released and our favourite washed lots featured in Progress Street blend across the second half of 2022.

As for the land in Sipi Falls that our Good Coffee Day raised $13K for, it was formally registered as ZB’s in time for the harvest and was especially beneficial in the purchasing and processing of all Sipi Falls lots. We can’t wait to be part of the improvements to the site’s infrastructure and coffee garden, and to hear more of its place in the Sipi community.

As shared in a previous TCTC blog, we have committed $20K of TCTC funds to ZB’s FY21/22 projects. These include:

Providing farmer training on methodology to improve coffee quality and yield per tree. There will be three sessions at each of the six ZB sites with as many farmers as possible. Improvements in yield will allow for capitalising on increased prices from the ever improving coffee quality.

Providing inputs to our farmers to support their efforts to implement good garden practices. From seedlings and tools to fertiliser and trees, farmers adopting this training will receive additional resourcing.
Improve our field work operations by improving our transport accessibility. The purchase of two motorbikes and a pick-up will support ZB’s field work throughout the year (all seasons), including accessing the remote sites for monitoring and purchasing of quality coffee.
Upgrade ZB’s existing processing sites to handle greater volumes of coffee. Installing greater fermentation and drying capacity will improve efficiency and quality of operations across Mt Elgon.

Keep on drinking Commonfolk coffee at our bars and those sweet cafe partners of ours. It’s how we can continue to support Zukuka Bora’s development and partake in economic empowerment across Mt Elgon communities, with growing project support and purchase commitments. The cherry on top is that it’s all so SUPER delish.

Flick Jordy any q’s or musings you might have and DRINK UP!

jordan@commonfolkcoffee.com.au

TCTC Summer update ☀️