Child labor

Growing up as a child in a developing country often means a life of poverty and exploitation.
Many children in poor, rural areas have little access to education. But education is the key to getting out of poverty.

Although child labor is not particularly widespread in Colombia, 4% of children under 15 have to help the family earn an income. At Barrique Coffee we say NO TO CHILD LABOR and will not work with any producer whose children do not have the right to education and personal development.

Quality

High quality starts with the selection of coffee varieties. An aspect that should not be underestimated is the distance at which the coffee plants were planted. During our quality audit on coffee farms, we advise producers to plant seedlings 3 x 3 meters apart. In between, we recommend planting oranges, bananas, lemons or plantains. This not only provides the families with additional income, but also supplies the soil with nutrients and minerals and protects the coffee plant from massive sunlight. This means the coffee cherry has more time to ripen and gains more sugar, which has a positive effect on the taste experience. Selection, both during harvest and before further processing, ensures that only ripe coffee cherries are used for quality coffee.

Continuing education

Anyone who rests will rust.
At Barrique Coffee, we attach great importance to continuous training. Participation in tastings and regular exchanges with coffee farmers, roasters and coffee specialists are just as much a part of our tasks as training the producers.
We also offer quality audits almost at cost price. Particular emphasis is placed on the HACCP concept and unconventional fermentation processes. Maceration, anaerobic fermentation and natural coffee in a controlled process should contribute to increasing quality and thus to a higher selling price. Only those who know their own product can improve it. In rural areas, not everyone has the opportunity to have their cupping profile checked in a coffee laboratory. Here we offer professional help.

Sustainability

In order to preserve nature, as shown in the image on the right, it is important to educate producers about global environmental degradation and global warming. We argue against the common misconception that burning the soil destroys chemicals and is beneficial for replanting. Nutrients destroyed by burning must be replaced with fertilizers. Which causes additional costs. In addition, beneficial insects such as beetles, bees and earthworms die. In our audits we recommend switching to organic fertilizers. These are not only cheaper, but also sustainable for the environment.

Certificates and organic

We know from many years of experience that certificates do not bring any added value for Colombian producers and only incur costs. The Fairtrade certificate is awarded to cooperatives, but they do not pass on the small surcharge, which makes the matter even more absurd.

Of course, there are also companies that work without chemicals but cannot afford organic certification. Of the 185 coffee farms visited so far, only one could boast the organic seal for Europe, Japan and the USA.

When we visit fincas we get an impression of how meticulous the work is. A little intuition and a trained eye will reveal within 10 minutes at the latest whether quality coffee from sustainable farming or standard coffee leaves the farm.

Trust

Trust in other people is important for our emotional well-being and successful business relationships.

That's why we are in constant contact with our partners. We have to make sure we get exactly the coffee profile we have selected for our customers. These bonds create harmony and unity and are the beginning of a long-term partnership in which everyone involved can feel like a winner.

Cultivated areas

In Colombia there are 540,000 families who (should) earn their living from growing coffee. It's easy to explain why we put "should" in parentheses. The producer where we took the photo on the left has a total area of less than one hectare. The income from coffee cultivation is nowhere near enough to support him and his 83-year-old mother. For this reason, this producer from Dosquebradas must work full-time at the FNC (National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia).

The average size of the farms is 3 hectares. In some regions there are cultivated areas of 200 or even 450 hectares. It can be assumed that most small producers have a maximum cultivation area of one hectare.

Traceable

Because we only work with producers and not cooperatives, all of our coffees come directly from farms.

No mix of varieties, no false promises.

Transparency