Coffee producing countries develop their local roasting industry as their local coffee consumption grows. Is it due to the increase of consumption or is the roasting industry driving the increase in consumption? It is difficult to say but we are sure that both phenomenon are closely linked. When coffee is locally roasted, cup quality sharply improves. Many reasons may explain that virtuous evolution:
- Better quality for the same price: competition between local roasters mainly relies on price and quality. Marketing means (advertising, promotion) are scarce and cannot be compared to international coffee brands. If you do not want to cut price, you better try to propose the coffee drinker the best possible quality!
- Ambition and Idealism: when a coffee grower starts roasting and tasting his own coffee, he quickly becomes a connoisseur. He will try to improve the cup of coffee as he can now regulate each parameter of the coffee production chain from the tree to the cup.
- Better coffee tasting experience: when people experience an exquisite coffee, their quality requirement improve. They ask for a better personal coffee tasting experience which can be provided only by the local roaster.
- Lifestyle: coffee consumption becomes the new trend among the young customers who turn into the new coffee addicts’ generation.
- National pride and consciousness: Today, coffee consumers in producing countries are aware that the quality of their coffee is often better than the quality of coffee that the country has imported (usually as soluble coffee!).
So they are trying to put more value on their local products instead of the imported products. A classical and traditional ways to improve coffee quality at grower’s or production level is to organize contests.
It is the purpose of AVPA in its 4th internatonal contest of locally roasted coffee to be hold in Paris by next October