Page 43 - APPD_Something's_Brewing_Nov/Dec'24

Sustainability
Cafeology
ISSUES FACED AT ROBERTO’S FARM

Another issue pertains to
the fertiliser supplements

that are needed for
growing coffee.
Production of inorganic
fertiliser is typically done
in factories using the
Habor-Bosch process,
which is very resource
intensive and polluting.
However, inorganic
fertiliser is crucial to
Roberto’s operation (as it
is for agriculture
worldwide). Innovation is

A fully dried tree needed to make organic
fertiliser more viable,
The drying is the biggest bottleneck in and/or to make inorganic
production, Roberto’s mill can pulp 20 fertiliser production less
fanegas per hour but only dry 60 fanegas per polluting. This is perhaps
day (assuming the weather is warm and beyond the scope of a
sunny). Therefore, picked coffee could sit pre- coffee farmer to solve but
fermenting for too long before pulping, and/ the issue remains
or you have pulped more coffee than you nevertheless.
have room to dry (at which point you pay for The cost of fertiliser has
someone else to dry your coffee). A slight skyrocketed. The
solution is to designate more batches as a pandemic and the war in
washed process instead of natural or honey Ukraine have strained
because washed processed dries faster than supply chains for traded

natural or honey (but this is not ideal when goods the world over and,
you have specific orders to fulfill). Roberto is a as usual, it is the
clever man and owns the patent for a raised producers that have to
coffee bed, made up of three beds that rotate take the financial hit (do
around like a ferris wheel, from his days at they then absorb the
Coopedota (inspired by a visit to London and damage or pass it up the
seeing the London Eye). He plans to construct supply chain?). Without NOVEMBER/DECEMBER. 2024 | ISSUE 39
some of these to essentially triple his raised fertiliser, productivity
bed drying capacity. However, these require levels are unviable but,
lots of materials to build and maintain. They with the current price of
are also more unwieldy to move and store fertiliser (and its
when the harvest season is over. environmental impact),

using fertiliser is
becoming less viable.

www.beveragestandardsassociation.co.uk