After almost two weeks, we find ourselves nearing the oft-ignored back cover – we’re soon to return from the moth-ball scented wardrobe, climb up from the rabbit hole, step back through the partition between platforms 9 and 10. Soon, we will stand disoriented amidst the hustle and bustle of King’s Cross, not quite prepared for an end to this surreal odyssey. The conclusion of a journey is at times the most important moment throughout. Only at this point can we reflect on what’s been done, achieved, learned. Only now, with a backward glance, can we acknowledge and appreciate the widening aperture between who we had been and who we are today. It is the moment of resolve that reveals the gravity of an experience, and so I say with a meditative breath that I am grateful to have arrived at this end.
There’s so much I’ve learned both about the world and myself during this trip. Not pictures nor words can sufficiently demonstrate what the experience has truly meant, and yet my inability of expression might itself provide the best description I can give.
Now, on an academic note (as there always is one), I’m going to assess the impact of logistics within the coffee supply chain, from the farm to the processing mills to the roasters and to the customers.
On the farm, harvesting coffee is a monumental task on its own. It requires the effort of thousands of workers and can take up to four months. Coffee pickers in Costa Rica are largely immigrant workers from neighboring countries like Panama and Nicaragua. Overseers must keep track of the volume of beans each worker gathers in a day, collecting the harvest in a central location where the next step can take place: processing.
As a harvest makes its way to the processing mill, it begins a long sequence of sorting, peeling, fermenting, drying, and de-husking. Each piece of this procedure must connect to the previous one physically and logistically. Beans can’t be dried until they’re fermented, and newly-peeled beans can’t begin fermenting until there’s room to hold them. It’s a multi-faceted process that takes the cooperation of many individuals.
Once processed, the “green bean” is ready to roast. In some cases, entire companies specialize in this step, while other businesses harvest and roast or just roast and ship. Starbucks is a unique model that both roasts and serves. Within roasting (and really also throughout the previous steps, as well) it’s important to treat the beans carefully in order to avoid compromising the integrity of their flavors. Coffee can have tastes and aromas varying in many dimensions, from light to dark roast, and wash to natural drying, not to mention the type of bean grown or the conditions of where it was grown in the first place. All of these factors tied together contribute to a successful roasting process.
The logistics of getting the roasted coffee to the customer are the final stage in the process. The way a company decides to deliver their product to the end customer largely defines their overall business model. In some cases, as mentioned for Starbucks, roasting and consumption occur pretty much together. In other cases, it’s possible to buy pre-roasted beans on the market. Cafe Britt is an example of this, roasting their beans and selling them in their retail shops.
Like any industry, the connection between the beginning and end phases tells a complex story of interconnected parts. At each turn, there’s a new opportunity for challenge and strife, but also a chance to add value to the efforts of others. A supply chain is more than just moving a product from A to B: it’s about improving what came before.