Coffee growers have been struggling to survive for a long time. Even current high prices may not help all of them. I met one grower in his roaster facility in Bogota, Colombia, who is still trying to earn all the possible value of the chain. He has not only tried to sell his coffee directly to the consumer but also used his metallurgic and mechanical technical skills to build his own roaster brand. His farm is located just 50 miles away from Bogota in a town called Sasaima.
Mr. Milceades’ story started 35 years ago when he bought a coffee farm and named it Providencia. He started growing Typical variety, then moved to Colombian variety, promoting the last one among his neighbors because it is rust leaf resistant.
Twenty years ago he started to roast his own coffee in Sasaima and became a small wholesaler under the Providencia brand. Based on his experienced in mechanics, he also designed and built his own roaster brand. He offers a 5 Kg roaster model with pre-order. The roaster brand is also called Providencia.
Mr. Milceades controls every step of the process, from the harvest all the way through to the wet and dry mill process, ending up roasting just the selected green bean coffee.
It surprised me that he designed the hauling machine that helps to remove the husk of the parchment bean. The dry milling process is usually complicated to craft, the fact that he was able to design some of the equipment needed for the process is an amazing accomplishment.
His roasting facility and small wholesale operation is located in Bogota, specifically at the following address: Calle 49 No 20 – 46. He is selling whole and ground coffee. He also sells Macadamia nuts, which have become an alternative income product for many coffee farms in Colombia. He roasts and sometimes caramelizes the nuts before selling.
Mr. Milceades is convinced that growers need to get as much value as possible from the value chain. He blames some cost inputs such as manpower and fertilizers that increase the cost of production. He also believes that some local financial policies have not been beneficial for his coffee business. He believes that doubling the current price of the parchment at the farm level may help to cover the production cost, leaving some margin to the grower.
Mr. Milceades spends his day between his mechanic shop business and the coffee roaster facility. Both businesses are located in the same place but perfectly separated to avoid cross-contamination. Two distinctive and different businesses co-exist in the same place showing Mr. Milceades passion for the mechanical activities and coffee roasting.
Finally, Mr. Milceades recommends drinking 5 cups a day to get the benefits from this unique beverage. He believes the coffee helps to energize and increase the cognitive level of a drinker. He faces challenges ahead such as increasing his market share and receiving brand recognition as well as trying to get his green beans graded by coffee experts in order to find a specialty market.
