Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/612330
STiR tea & coffee industry international 27 www.fl avourtech.com flavourtech Processing Excellence Aroma Recovery Extraction Concentration Complete Process Lines Your Soluble/RTD Coffee can be the Market Leader Contact Flavourtech for your: Barriers to Adoption Fewer than 15% of coffee mill opera- tors use "dry" pulping, according to Paul Hicks, water resources coordinator at Catholic Relief Services (CRS). Ask the question, "Why aren't more mills moving to these newer systems?" and an impas- sioned discussion about underlying issues is bound to ensue. As with many sustain- ability topics, awareness of the political, economic, and cultural issues involved has not yet been enough to overcome such obstacles. The prices for the ecological "dry" cof- fee mills vary; though tend to cost around $1,000 at a minimum (all amounts in this article are USD). That price may seem low Ipanema coffee pulping facility Photo courtesy Penagos to some in the coffee value chain. It is, however, out of reach for many small holders who still struggle to finance what they need to keep trees healthy and producing. Hick's colleague Michael Sheridan, coffee advisor for CRS, wrote about the eco- nomic and policy barriers preventing wider adoption of new wet mill technologies in 2012. Sheridan's post focused on regulatory and economic barriers in Central America, however many of the same issues exist for all coffee-growing regions. Hicks and Sheridan are far from alone in trying to understand why more operators have not upgraded equipment. Carlos Bran do, director of P&A International Market- ing, that exports Pinhalense equipment to 92 countries, is an expert on mill ing equip- ment, has a background in sanitation engineering, and is a frequent consultant to orga- nizations including the International Coffee Organization (ICO) and the World Bank.