STiR coffee and tea magazine

STiR coffee and tea 33 7 4 % O F T H E W O R L D ' S C O F F E E P R O D U C E D I N T H E L A S T 4 Y E A R S C A M E F R O M J U S T F I V E C O U N T R I E S . W E A R E C O M M I T T E D T O M A I N T A I N I N G T H E D I V E R S I T Y O F C O F F E E Q U A L I T I E S B Y O P E R A T I N G I N 2 8 C O U N T R I E S A N D S O U R C I N G F R O M E V E N M O R E . E X P LO R E W H AT E L S E W E D O TO S EC U R E T H E F U T U R E O F CO F F E E : nkg.coffee/future Designed to handle rugged terrain and sporadic internet connectivity, new AI farm tools can help even the most remote coffee farmers make rapid decisions. Photo credit: Rainforest Alliance The Connectivity Challenge Coffee's geographic reality complicates technology deployment. Production is concentrated in mountainous, remote regions where internet infrastruc- ture remains sporadic or absent. Yet sophisticated AI systems traditionally demand constant cloud connectivity for processing power. Technology providers have addressed this constraint through thoughtful architecture. "All technology providers I know aim to make sure that their so- lutions work offline, even with limited or unstable internet access," Onoprienko explains. "Some can collect and process data locally on a mobile phone or device at a farm, then sync with cloud systems only when a connection becomes available." ProfilePrint's devices exemplify this approach. Analyzers can scan and collect sample data locally, even without internet access, with the results sync- ing to cloud platforms once connectivity becomes available. This design ensures quality assessment continues uninterrupted regardless of infrastruc- ture limitations. Neuhaus Neotec, the German equipment manufacturer, takes a complementary approach. Edwin Calla Durandal, r&d in-charge at Neuhaus Neotec, explains their strategy: "We have different LLMs (large language models) that can run directly on-site as they are small enough to be installed in the cabinet, but sufficiently powerful to achieve the necessary mathematical reasoning." This enables processing equipment to oper- ate autonomously, making intelligent adjustments without relying on cloud dependencies. Emerg- ing satellite internet services, such as Starlink, are beginning to open up new possibilities in major production regions, enabling real-time informa- tion access and remote support even in previously unreachable areas.

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