STiR coffee and tea magazine

8 STiR coffee and tea | 2023 Issue 5 (October / November) In This Issue T Editor & Publisher Glenn Anthony John glenn@coffeetea.media Managing Editor Brian Mertens brian@octobermultimedia.com Sales Director Emerson Leonard edl@octobermultimedia.com Art Director Somjet Thitasomboon snt@octobermultimedia.com Tea Correspondent Dan Bolton tea@coffeetea.media Special Correspondent Thomas Schmid Contributing Writers Aravinda Anantharaman (India) Melanie Boehme Bethany Haye (Colombia) Sherri Johns (U.S.) Sunalini Menon (India) Shem Oirere (Africa) Administrative Assistant Sommai Jekaram asj@octobermultimedia.com Subscriptions Malisa Kongkatitum malisa@stir-tea-coffee.com Director, October Inter Co., Ltd. Boonthin Tubsongkroh brt@octobermultimedia.com c/o October Inter Co. Ltd. Interchange 21 Bldg., 32nd Fl., Room 3221, 399 Sukhumvit Road, North Klong Toey, Wattana, Bangkok, 10110, Thailand Tel +66 2 660 3789 www.stir-tea-coffee.com Published by A Member of Subscribe to STiR Coffee and Tea Magazine 1 Year – US$75.00 2 Years – US$145.00 3 Years – US$210.00 For inquiries, contact: malisa@stir-tea-coffee.com Secure online payment: https://www.stir-tea-coffee.com/subscribe he October/November 2023 edition of STiR Coffee and Tea Magazine casts light on the science of coffee in coverage of Coffea genotypes and new analytical technology. In Uganda, the National Coffee Research Institute has developed five resilient new varieties of arabica that are expected to help lift both yields and quality. The project is supported by a European Union initiative that helps African countries expand access to the EU market. Uganda has a track record of success in rolling out improved robusta planting material that has recently lifted production to record levels — just in time to catch record demand and market prices for canephora beans. (See page 26.) World Coffee Research, the non-profit institute, keeps rolling out initiatives to support de- velopment and dissemination of better coffee agronomy and genetics. Its newly revamped Coffee Varieties Catalog, an online resource, now gets a handy graphical reference tool, Arabica and Robusta Coffee Varieties, a colorful poster that is free to download and share, as seen on this issue's cover and in our Coffee Report. (See page 14.) The coffee media and coffee industry devote oceans of ink and pixels to discussion on the importance of choosing the right coffee variety. Yet most farmers do not know which variety they are growing, according to World Coffee Research. As the institute notes, inaccurate identification of a coffee variety can degrade results downstream in the supply chain. To shore up this sagging situation, WCR has developed an open-access online database of Coffea arabica genotyping data for free use by researchers and identification service provid- ers throughout the world. New technology makes it fast and cheap to identify a variety, but it requires having access to the right data. It's done and it's free — thanks to World Coffee Research. (See page 12.) Another way to identify a coffee variety is to analyze green, roasted, or ground beans using spectroscopy. This is a fast, cheap, and accurate method that can be done using a portable infrared analyzer. The technology has a wide range of applications in the coffee value chain, allowing prediction of sensory qualities, identification of origin for use in fraud detection, classification of beans or roasted coffee by species, detection of adulterants, and other pur- poses. (See page 36.) In coverage of the tea sector, we look at a project in India's Assam State that is developing a cheaper way to extract bioactive compounds from tea for use in foods, medicines, and nutri- tional supplements. If successful, the system could enable existing tea factories to develop a new, value-added product stream that could support paying the higher farmgate prices needed by growers. (See page 40.) India's Tea Board has come under official criticism from the Auditor General. A major report faults the Board on a wide range of lapses in management, regulatory supervision, and spending. (See our Tea Report, page 17.) The remedy to Tea Board India' woes is reduc- ing its role as a regulator and increasing its work in promoting tea, especially on behalf of the smallholders who now produce most of it, according to STiR's tea correspondent, Dan Bolton. (See page 46.) Further tea coverage this month includes an update on India's other key Himalayan origin, Kangra Valley. (See page 42). Dan Bolton reports on the problem of low prices and oversup- ply that is hindering black tea producers, especially in India and Kenya. (See page 30.) Brian Mertens Managing Editor

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