Wakuli

The Wakuli-UNFAIR collaboration The official launch of the Wakuli-Unfair collaboration took place last week Thursday in our coffee bar on the Jan Pieter Heijestraat. That was great fun! But that is not the reason for this partnership.  For the second year in a row, we are joining forces with art platform UNFAIR, bringing together coffee and art. With this partnership both UNFAIR and Wakuli are strengthening their point: Without shady middlemen both the coffee industry and the art world are better off. UNFAIR connects you with contemporary artists, Wakuli connects you with specialty coffee producers.  After last year's success, we decided to go at it again, but this time bigger. We are proud to present the Wakuli & UNFAIR Limited Edition coffee pouch, along with three unique artworks by Thomas Trum. This collaboration takes place on the occasion of the curated art fair UNFAIR24, from November 21 to 24 at the Gashouder in Amsterdam. Thomas Trum is a young artist who has benefited from the UNFAIR approach, making some serious progress and building a reputation. And the coffee? That is one of our own success stories. One of our oldest partnerships with a clear case for impact of buying the coffee directly from our friends Thomas and Adolph of CBC in Tanzania. So, a perfect match! Today the limited edition coffee pouch is available in our webshop. And if you want to visit UNFAIR and check out loads of upcoming artists, then order a Wakuli & UFAIR limited edition coffee pouch including a ticket (with €8,50 discount): https://lnkd.in/eVadwPEY Sanne Elisabeth Talmon

Dark, wet and cold days are ahead. So it’s time to “Get Hot with Wakuli”. This week, we’re unveiling our autumn seasonal coffee menu crafted by our product team (They are the true alchemists of coffee based drinks!), featuring unique homemade brews like the “miso caramel foam filter coffee” and “salted praline latte.” But this campaign is about much more than these amazing to-go drinks. It’s a call to elevate your coffee enjoyed at home. With 70% of all coffee still consumed at home -very often from brands that don't really care about making a positive farmer or environmental impact- we are actively spotlighting our coffees for home brewing: these seasonal drinks are based on our blends and our Discover Monthlies. So visit our stores in Amsterdam, Utrecht or Nijmegen and Get Hot with Wakuli Coffee to level up your coffee game!

Wakuli in origin! We are in Sao Goncalo de Sapucai, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Here for our third visit with our long time partners at COOPERVASS - Cooperativa Agropecuária do Vale do Sapucaí . Together with Felipe Bastos and president of the coop, Alessandro Alves Hervaz our Sourcing and Impact team is working hard to bring our partnership to the next level. We are in deep conversations about the meaning of regenerative production, what is the value of sustainable production today for Coopervass’ markets and in the future for farmers who want to be independent and profitable for generations to come. 29 farmers are included in a program and the group is growing. These farmers are moving away from chemical fertilizers and pesticides and looking for new ways to improve soil quality and fight extreme weather events. First steps were taken by Wakuli COOPERVASS - Cooperativa Agropecuária do Vale do Sapucaí and Rubén B. in 2023 in colab with MVO Nederland and the progress is amazing. At the same time we are reiterating our principles of working only with small scale farmers who have less connection to the market and experience higher vulnerability to fluctuations of the commodity price as well as to freak weather events. So we are committed to bringing more small scale farmers on board and supporting them to run  regenerative, independent and profitable coffee farms. A delicate discussion is the one about fixing prices in a way that will benefit farmers in the long run and that will also work for Wakuli. This means we have paid a price that is significantly higher than the market over the last couple of years and we will keep doing so -on average- for years to come, but at the same time we hope and expect that farmers will not run away from our partnership if the market is in a short term high peak like it is right now. A sensitive conversation. And on top of all of that we work with commercial manager Felipe and the new quality manager Carlos to assess the new harvest and make sure we talk the same quality language so we can guarantee the balanced, chocolaty, nutty and slightly fruity character of the coffee. This is core for us for our Original House Blend enjoyed by customers at home and as our go to coffee for espresso and milk based drinks in our Wakuli bars. The first two days of this trip have already shown the power of partnership and the need to be in the same room and on the same coffee farm to get to the core of these issues. We will be visiting a decent number of farmers, cupping a great number of coffees and we expect some interesting conversations about all of the above. And enjoying our pom de queijos along the way. More to come…

After four years of research, the time has finally come. Our very own Wakuli Decaf is a reality! From now on you never have to compromise again on quality or impact and you can enjoy Wakuli 24/7. On the go, at home or at the office! We are happy to explain why it took a while. Wakuli only works in long-term partnerships we set up ourselves with coffee producers from all over the world. That results in special relationships with our partners and a positive impact on the lives of thousands of farmers. For you this means specialty coffee from producers you often won't find anywhere else. We went through this process to identify the best coffee and the most fitting way to decaffeinate that coffee. Questions we had to answer: Which coffee is the most suitable? Is this coffee available year after year and is the quality stable? Which of the four possible methods for decaf best retains that quality and which method has the lowest footprint in terms of process and extra mileage? All in all, quite a puzzle. But the result is impressive. High quality specialty coffee from our friends at CBC in Mbinga, with a distinctive taste from Tanzania that we decaffeinate close to home. We use the Sugar Cane Method. This method is known for best preserving the flavor of the coffee. So perfect for our characteristic Tanzania coffee! In this method, the coffee is brought into contact with a substance found in sugarcane (Ethyl Acetate), which binds to the caffeine. By soaking the beans in a solution of this substance several times, all the caffeine is removed from the beans.  Then the beans are cleaned and are ready to be roasted. The result is a decaf that rivals our other coffees at our cupping table. We are proud of that and we want to share that experience with you. Check it out here: https://lnkd.in/env-U9HS

Wakuli is quickly growing in retail bars and with increased presence in the streets we are experiencing some criticism as well*. And while I can totally understand the frustration of some people with "yet another" coffee bar in their neighbourhood we believe Wakuli plays an important role in reshaping the coffee industry. Our mission to eliminate bad coffee - creating a win-win for farmers and customers alike - means offering people an affordable and accessible alternative in the area. And as long as the majority of coffee-to-go spots serve coffee that undervalues and under-appreciates farmers and 95% of coffee consumed at home (in NL) is bought in supermarkets from marketing brands f*cking up the industry we intend to keep expanding and being that alternative we think is necessary for the future of coffee. No more bad coffee. *Video is from our 11th retail bar (under construction) at the Jacob van Campenstraat in Amsterdam where someone felt no more coffee was needed.

Dutch broadcasting service NOS printed and aired an insightful item on the state of the coffee industry and the looming -and already palpable- effects of climate change on the availability and price of coffee. And it's true.The current way of coffee growing is at risk of becoming harder and harder in the near future. And that prospect has its effect on the price we pay for the raw material now. But as always we have some side notes and arguments we would like to share with you. Because, while the market is starting to panic, coffee farmers have been in a state of constant crisis for generations. For them underpayment, limited access to finance/market, constant pressure from big global actors to keep down prices as well as the effects of climate change have defined their existence ever since the industry was born. The coffee industry might well be the best example of how the global North has subjugated the global south (for a lack of better words) for its own gain. So, just a thought: Isn't it high time for us (meaning all of the coffee industry) to pay a price for coffee that provides farmers with some outlook on a bright future? A price that enables them to invest in climate resilience and regenerative practices to minimize the effects of climate change? The current system of coffee production is at risk. So let's change the system! Minimize those climate risks and improve the lives of farmers as we go. Short value chains, maximum added value for farmers, diversification of products. As Aaron Davis says in the article: there are several types of coffee that can be cultivated. Most of them grow well in forested areas. But there is also the potential of growing more products with market value like the Colombian farmer quoted by the NOS. He has chosen a path of transition.  The green revolution is over. The negative outcomes are clear -degraded lands, erosion, pests and disease and big corporations with a stranglehold on small scale farmers in practically all agricultural production. On top of that, climate change and related climate events are taking care of the remaining arguments made by proponents of the old school, chemical fertiliser, monoculture approach. This way of production will not sustain. As with all big changes: it seems impossible until it becomes inevitable. This crisis is of our own making and we have the tools to fix it. Or at least to minimise the effects that will inevitably hit traditional production and financially volatile value chains with a vengeance. We at Wakuli are not waiting but shifting to regenerative coffee with our producing partners. Made possible by our short value chains and direct relationships. And the beauty is, that even though we pay a better price and we invest in futureproof production, our customers are paying a more reasonable price than they do at other specialty brands. https://lnkd.in/er8xv3aw

Our founder Yorick and sourcing manager Kerissa are literally knee deep in quality improvement and futureproofing coffee production with our friends Mzee Kumburu and Mzee Ngapomba in Mbinga, Tanzania. The coffee from this area has proven to be a true hidden gem and some additional attention to quality -like improved sorting, different types and intensities of fermentation- might well bring it to dizzying heights. Improvements in the business of coffee farming are needed because -like virtually all smallholder farmers- the 50+ farmers who contribute to the Wakuli export have their struggles to make ends meet. They over rely on traditional green revolution style farming methods like the use of chemical fertilizer and pesticides. Practices that have been aggressively promoted by “the global north”. With three very clear downsides for farmers: high costs in the short term and health issues as well as environmental degradation in the long term. We are at the start of a journey in Mbinga to move away from that. To provide alternatives and to prove that there is a more sustainable way of growing coffee that also improves yield stability, quality of the coffee and the health of farmers and their families. This work visit serves as an exploration and as a baseline for future regenerative interventions like compost, organic fertilizer and pesticide production by the farmers themselves with materials available in the area. It's a steep learning curve for us as well as for our partners. But the results in other places like Uganda and Brazil and the work we have done with Rubén B. of Rockinsoils give us confidence that regenerative coffee production is the way forward and will benefit all of us. #regenerativecoffee #specialtycoffee #impactfirst #regeneration

Tuesday we had the honor of hosting Luciana Flores Martins Swan the producer of one of our seasonal microlots and part of COOPERVASS - Cooperativa Agropecuária do Vale do Sapucaí - included in our blends, cups and our partners in crime on the regenerative front. Luciana and her family took the effort to visit Amsterdam after their trip to the World of Coffee in Copenhagen last week. We cupped a number of our microlots and a portfolio range while we were at it. Still amazing to see how her coffee with its distinct red lollipop flavor stands out amongst some other high quality microlots. After a tour through the roastery and a presentation of the regenerative work that is taking place on Luciana's farm, we visited the Wakuli bar at the Vijzelgracht to show how we connect with the customer. Luciana and her family got to join the Coldbrew Coffee Culture! For producers it is very important and rewarding to see where their  coffee ends up. While enjoying a cold brew Luciana explained what our partnership with her and Coopervass means to her. And needless to say the feeling is mutual. COOPERVASS - Cooperativa Agropecuária do Vale do Sapucaí Felipe Bastos Rubén B.

Today newspaper Trouw gave some well deserved attention to what we at Wakuli consider one of the biggest issues in coffee. Farmers make far too little money while big brands like JDE Peet's and the big retail chains are lining their pockets with coffee profits. Solidaridad Network and research institute Basic did a great job backing up what we all already knew, with some clear numbers: there is more than enough profit in coffee, just not for the farmer. However, the solutions that are presented do not cover the “how?” And a lot of talking and sector round tables are not going to save farmers and our beloved coffee from the acute problems facing us like droughts, floods, pests and freak frost. On the market side we see fluctuating, unpredictable prices that don’t cover the cost of production, let alone living. Come on! Let’s not TALK about that for the next three years. But let’s solve it! The blunt admission of JDE Peet's that they only provide a solution by “teaching” farmers how to earn more by selling other products -so JDE can keep buying cheap coffee?- or focus on growing more coffee -so they can buy even more cheap coffee?- is just too cynical for us to leave unflagged. However hard the big boys try to make you believe it isn't possible: We prove that short value chains are the solution. And that quality is a win for everyone. Farmers get paid a good price and we all drink amazing coffee. Yuca Waarts Niels Haak Frederik de Vries Heske Verburg Tijmen Koppelaar Oh yes, and a slight rectification, we don't educate (opvoeden) we just make drinking high quality coffee a lot more accessible while giving all the information needed to make a conscious choice.

Wakuli is featured in lifestyle magazine JAN living (Hearst Magazines) In this deep dive article, focussed on our impact first approach to the coffee business, journalist Emma Vloeimans sheds light on why we do what we do at Wakuli. And of course why everyone should go for quality coffee. Thanks Emma Vloeimans and Josephine Kay #impact #specialtycoffee