Happy new year, STiR readers! With this issue, I assume the role of managing editor from Dan Bolton, a writer and editor of grace and largesse who served the publication well for five years. Dan will continue on as a contributor, both in the news and features departments — in this issue, he takes a look at the threat of tariffs on coffee and tea in the trade war between the US and China, recently quelled by what appears to be at least a temporary truce.
Kim Westerman
Kim Westerman, managing editor
While Dan’s primary area of expertise is all things tea, I come to STiR more by way of coffee, though really quite circuitously. After training as a sommelier in the early 2000s and working as a wine (and travel and food) writer and editor for some years, I retreated to academia, where I taught English at the University of Arizona for the better part of two decades, always with an ear to the ground on food and beverage. When an editing role at Coffee Review came up, I jumped at the chance to develop my palate in an entirely new direction. As I got into the lab and began learning how to cup, I was struck with the recognition that coffee is not only as intricately complex as wine at every level (perhaps even more so given the multi-layered supply chain and its nuances in various producing countries) but it’s also a lot less snobby and, arguably, more fun.
Within a year, I had earned my Q-Grader license (a much more difficult certification process than wine, I must say) and fully immersed myself in the wide world of coffee, with a particular interest in the sensory realm. Here at STiR, I am happy to be able to work more closely with the broader coffee and tea industries, as opposed to just the narrow zone of specialty coffee, and I hope you’ll enjoy this issue, with a focus on trade, traceability, the ever-evolving world of single-serve, and Taiwan as a hotspot for both coffee consumption and production.
This year is off to a racing, even chaotic start. As this issue goes to print, the coronavirus is predicted by some to be a pandemic-in-waiting. Major airlines have suspended flights to China; the annual China International Specialty Coffee Expo, slated for March 18-22 in Pu’er City, has been indefinitely postponed; and Starbucks has closed nearly half of its retail stores throughout the country. Visit stir-tea-coffee.com for updates that affect the coffee and tea industries.
In this issue, we also take a look at the important topic of traceability. Peter GW Keen explores the new technologies that are poised to revolutionize how we do business. Thomas Schmid brings us up to speed on the state of the art of single-serve capsules, a growing segment that faces challenges around sustainability. Dan Shryock turns his attention to an Italian company, ACMA, that is tackling sustainability head-on with innovative tea-packing solutions. And we have a report on the solubles market in Russia by Eugene Gerden, who analyzes why instant coffees comprise about 80% of sales.
Frequent contributor Bethany Haye does a deep dive into the history and unique positioning of Costa Rica as a producing country, while new contributor Jason Sarley paints a picture of the burgeoning coffee landscape of Taiwan, where aesthetically driven cafes are on the rise and quality on the producing side is increasing exponentially. Our Q&A this month is with Parag Desai, executive director of Wagh Bakri — a global tea brand based in Guajarat; India that specializes in premium organic-certified tea — which just celebrated its 100th birthday and is continuing its expansion.
Here’s to a new decade of embracing change and learning resilience.