A young entrepreneur in Middle Saxony Germany is making waves in the coffee scene with his unique approach on coffee sourcing and how it reaches the end consumer. Nicolas Sihombing, a previous freelance musician and voluntary co-pastor, started his first coffee venture in 2015 when he was 33 years old, with the goal of roasting specialty coffees in small batches. This goal in itself is not too unique of an ambition, but he insisted that the nurturers and growers of his award winning beans get recognition and support for their efforts. KAFFEEkostBAR is committed to the two kings principle, that is, customers and coffee farmers are the two kings in the life cycle of coffee, everyone else is a middle man.
Direct coffee trade seems to be a movement within the coffee market that is producing extremely valued results. The thought that a knowledgeable and appreciated coffee farmer will produce a better product seems to be a fair assumption. If a coffee farmer is making just enough money to live on, or just enough to get by, why would you expect the farmers’ coffee to be extraordinary or anything less than the minimal acceptance level? Nicolas has taken action to display this concept time and time again with his amazing award winning coffees. By connecting the sale price of small batch roasted coffee beans directly to the profit for small coffee farmers, it rewards the coffee farmers for taking better care of their plants nutrition as well as their overall harvest quality. Nicolas also displays the name of the grower responsible for each crop on the front his packaging, this too is encouraging and rewarding to a prideful farmer. There are many steps from bean to cup that should be considered when producing award winning coffees. The growth and development stage of the raw material itself should not be overlooked.
The idea that the coffee farmer plays a huge part in the quality of the end product is not a novel idea, but it is one that may be gaining attention and momentum. People within the coffee industry know there are many layers and middle men (necessary or not) between the farmer and the cup. Nicolas’s approach is to minimize all the in between positions, by way of himself. Nicolas travels to coffee farms twice a year and stays on the farm with the farmers. He enjoys hearing about their philosophies and different methods they deploy when farming, and he embraces the coffee farmers hospitality while he gets to know them and their product. After meeting the farmer Nicolas incorporates them and their profit margin into his business strategy. This is giving a direct connection between coffee drinkers and coffee farmers, and it appears to be producing a better product. When a farmer is compensated financially, and holistically for a better product, more effort is afforded to his products’ environment and cultivation.
With the success and acknowledgement of Nicolas’s coffees (Kaffee Batavia), the two kings principle is gaining attention of other premium coffee roasters who also want the best raw materials for their award contention coffees. KAFFEEkostBAR is now operating in multiple locations in Germany, and doing well with their Kaffee Batavia line of farmer recognized, small batch roasts. Coffee-Tech Engineering is proud that when Nicolas Sihombing was looking for the best roasters to use for his award winning coffees, he chose the FZ94 Pro-Lab Roaster for his research and the Solar Shop Roaster with the Avirnaki Smoke Trapping System for his fresh, in shop roasting. Every aspect of creating a perfect cup should be considered in its pursuit. The farmer’s attention, the nourishment of the soil, the perfect day for harvest, the drying method, the roasting vessel, and the method of preparation are all essential aspects in this pursuit. To ignore one aspect will only yield lesser results. The next step towards perfection in the ever evolving coffee industry may very well circle back around to the farmer, where it all originally started.
Nicolas and KAFFEEkostBAR are re-imagining the concept of farm to cup with the two kings principle, and his results are amazing. If you would like to try Kaffee Batavia you can order the award winning coffee from their website. If you are in Döbeln or Dresden Germany, and you are a coffee drinker, I would suggest stopping by KAFFEEkostBAR for perhaps the best cup of coffee you have ever had.
Credit to Nicolas Sihombing for his assistance
Chris Nance / Moshav Mazliach / 23.4.2020
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