Crafting Markets’ Post

What is your take on "Bean count" in the cacao realm? The categorising of cocoa beans into different grades, which can determine the price of the cocoa beans. 📊💰 I am struggling a bit with this topic because there seems no universally accepted classification for bean sizes. I found two different standards, the Philippine National Standard and a standard by the FCC (Federation of Cocoa Commerce). Which standard should be followed by chocolate makers and cacao farmers? Or is there a better standard available? Nevertheless, there is a consensus that bean count plays a vital role. It gives us insights into the fat content or cocoa butter present in the beans. 🍫🧈 The lower the bean count, the higher the fat content (though moisture and shells contribute too). 👉 The FCC Method for Bean Counting The Federation of Cocoa Commerce (FCC) provides a standardized method for bean counting. A sample of at least 600g of whole beans (excluding flat beans) is counted to determine the number of beans per 100g. The cacao grades are here: Grade A, Main Crop (bean count from 90 to 100 in 100 grams) Grade B, Light Crop (bean count from 101 to 120) Grade C, Small Beans (bean count from 121 to 130) Grade D, Remnant (bean count above 130) 👉 The Philippine National Standard delineates 6 primary cacao bean grades, which are determined by their size. Grade 1 with a permissible threshold of 3% for cacao beans showing signs of being slaty, moldy, insect-damaged, or otherwise affected. Grade 1A: bean count less than 100 per 100 grams Grade 1B: bean count from 101 to 110 per 100 grams Grade 1C: bean count from 111 to 120 per 100 grams Grade 2 with a permissible threshold of 6% for cacao beans showing signs of being slaty, moldy, insect-damaged, or otherwise affected. Grade 2A: bean count less than 100 per 100 grams Grade 2B: bean count from 101 to 110 per 100 grams Grade 2C: bean count from 111 to 120 per 100 grams Are you aligning your quality standards with the Philippines standard or the FCC standard in your journey as a chocolate maker or cacao farmer? Let's discuss and share insights! 🍫🌱💡 #CacaoQuality #StandardsMatter #CacaoCommunity #CocoaBeanCounting #ChocolateMagic #CocoaQuality #CocoaFarmers #BeanCount #SustainableCocoa

Cocoa futures are at an all-time high of $7950 USD/MT, with Ivory Coast and Ghana providing over 60% of the world's output. Unfortunately, annual harvests are expected to be down 33% MT compared to last year. This will have significant implications on food and candy producers and ultimately on the consumer. As a consumer, what is your cut-off price to switch to an alternative? Also, what do you think is the next best thing to chocolate? #cocoa #futures #food #candy #consumer #alternatives

Fancy a trip down the "farm gate" rabbit hole? Pick up a cup of something delicious and dig into Charlie Habegger's article as he delves into the intricacies of coffee pricing, the importance of transparency, and the impact of farmgate prices on coffee communities. He even gets into three examples of farmgate pricing at the smallholder level to show how technical it can be to understand in the context of a single FOB price. "Farmgate coffee prices have become a fixture in financial traceability efforts by traders and roasters. The term is self-explanatory: The farmgate price is the price paid to a farm for its coffee. And yet, whether you have personal supply chain experience in coffee or not, if you sit with the term for more than a few seconds, it starts to seem blindingly complex." Read the article: https://zurl.co/iwFO #royalcoffee #specialtycoffee #specialtycoffeeroasters #coffee #coffeeroasters #greencoffee #greencoffeebeans #greencoffeeimporter #farmgate #FOB #pricetransparency

Attention chocolate enthusiasts and industry professionals alike: A significant shift is underway in the cocoa market that demands our attention. 🍫💼 With cocoa prices doubling in 2023 and no signs of slowing down, the industry faces unprecedented challenges driven by poor harvests and widespread shortages. 🌱🚫 As we navigate this evolving landscape, it's crucial to stay informed and proactive in our approach. Let's come together to explore innovative solutions and ensure the continued availability and enjoyment of our beloved chocolate treats. 🌍💡 #CocoaMarketInsights #IndustryChallenges #InnovativeSolutions #ChocolateIndustry #CocoaMarket #PriceSurge #Shortages #SupplyChainChallenges #CocoaHarvests #IndustryTrends #ChocolateLovers #SweetNews

Medium-sized farms play an important role in specialty coffee For many consumers and industry professionals, specialty coffee and direct trade are inextricably linked. Building strong and mutually beneficial working relationships between producers and roasters is often seen as a cornerstone of establishing a truly sustainable supply chain. So with this association between specialty coffee and direct trade, there can be a narrative of smaller-sized roasters forging long-term partnerships with smallholder producers to work closely together. Simultaneously, farmers require capital and resources to grow specialty coffee, so larger farms often have more capacity to invest in improving quality and yields. Read more: https://lnkd.in/dCT_F7GF #coffee #coffeefarm #coffeebeans #coffeespeciality

The market price of coffee continues to increase, many buyers are urgently looking for coffee beans to import, demand is increasing while supply is weak. Although coffee prices are very high, many farmers regret having no more goods to sell. Traders and purchasing businesses are having headaches because coffee prices are too high. Coffee prices are so high, although many coffee shops still want to retain customers so they do not increase prices or increase them very slightly, but if so, how long will they last? ❓ What do you think about these issues? We have 3in1 instant coffee that can be one of the solutions for your business. Contact for more details. #coffee #vietnam #vietnamese #instantcoffee #coffeeprice #coffeebeans #coffeesupplier #roastedcoffeebeans #trending #now #agriculture #anthaivietnam #anthaicafe

EXPECT TO PAY MORE FOR CHOCOLATE. 🙄 For the confectionery industry, the #prices present an acute problem. I doubt the sector will be able to pass all the higher costs onto consumers. So margins could fall, and demand #growth for chocolate slow down, or even reverse. 😮 The producers of mass-market chocolate would suffer. Consumers, inevitably, would pay more, and the #crisis is a necessary one. The world needs higher prices to encourage the re-planting millions of old trees, and take better care of the current ones. 😉 If every farmer applied a little more fertilizer, and had pesticides at hand, production could recover. So, projected chocolate demand growth needs to slow. Clearly, global cocoa inventories can’t drop much further: cocoa is just another boom-and-bust #commodity. Over the next few years, #market forces will rebalance the business, but everyone must brace for a few years of higher prices. 😎 #food #foodandbeverage #marketing #markets #investing #future #management #chocolate #cocoa #confectionery #commodities #sustainability #sweets #pricing #supplychain #strategy

Vanessa Quesada is a farmer with CoopeVictoria--the oldest (and largest!) cooperative in all of Costa Rica. It began in 1940, and in 2009 cooperative members started their Fairtrade journey with a focus on sugar. Next, they added in coffee to the mix. One thing that’s unique about this co-op? It owns a sugar mill, which means that co-op members have opportunities to both grow sugarcane AND process cane sugar, thus participating in multiple rungs of the value chain. 📷: Eyder Montaño #Sugar #Coffee #WeAreFairtrade #ValueChain #ChooseFairtrade

Our much-anticipated Origin Report for the 2023-24 harvest season has just been released. Here's a glimpse of what you'll discover in this report (link download in the comment). 1. Foreword - the coffee landscape through our eyes. 2. Cư M’gar - explore our robusta coffee's home in the Cư M’gar region and why we liken it to the Barossa for robusta. 3. Our coffee cherries - our buying approach. 4. Processing methods - methods we use to produce our premium and specialty robusta. 5. Our sustainability focus - we don't produce washed robusta at Great Cherry. We have a good reason for that. 6. Our production capacity. 7. Our product offering and roasting recommendations. 8. Our cause. If you're as passionate about coffee as we are and crave in-depth knowledge about robusta, this report is a must-read. And if you find this helpful, like, leave a comment or write to us at partner@greatcherry.org. #greatcherrygreatcoffee #robustabeans #finerobusta #vietnamesecoffee #robustacoffee #specialtyrobusta #premiumrobusta #robustainaustralia

Coffee news 🌱   When Fairtrade certified, farmer organizations benefit from the #Fairtrade minimum price. It acts as a safety net in case of price volatility.   In order to better protect coffee farmers, Fairtrade International has decided to increase its minimum price from USD 1.40 to USD 1.80 per pound of Arabica coffee beans, effective August 1, 2023. ☕️   In addition, the premium paid for #organic coffee has also been increased from USD 0.30 to USD 0.40 per pound. This is excellent news, as it better rewards the efforts of producers who invest in organic production!   At FairCapital, we applaud these decisions, which will help #farmer organizations face challenges such as abrupt changes in the market price of coffee, higher production costs or crop loss. 🙌🏼   We also strongly encourage consumers to purchase #Fairtrade certified coffee, especially organic one! Increasing demand stimulates production, and therefore better trade conditions for farmers.   #impactinvesting #coffee #fairtradeproducts #sustainability