Day 29 - Possibly the best coffee shop in the world

I have drunk in (possibly) the best coffee shop in the world.

Given that Starbucks alone has over 31,000 worldwide branches that is some claim, so let me explain. The “Café Flor de Jinotega” is in the town of Jinotega, the “coffee capital of Nicaragua”. An altitude of over 1,200m, fertile soil and densely forested mountains combine to provide ideal growing conditions for coffee of the highest quality.

The café is owned and run by Soppexcca, a local organisation working with small farmers to process, market and distribute their coffee, providing a valuable source of income in this poor part of Nicaragua. But Soppexcca also has an ambitious agenda to reduce poverty, improve primary education and health, support gender equality and much more.

Soppexcca is supported by Christian Aid, and I was there with friends from the Congregational Federation because we had an appeal to support Christian Aid’s work across Nicaragua. By the time we visited the café, we had spent two days with Soppexcca, meeting their workers and visiting some of the isolated rural communities for which they provide a lifeline. We had even shared lunch with one family whose lives have been transformed by the income coffee growing has brought them.

So, by the time I came to sampling the product, there was a richness, warmth and depth to the coffee which had nothing to do with its taste.

But … and it’s a big “but” … that was ten years ago. Since then, things have changed. When we visited in 2012, Soppexcca was experiencing early signs that climate change may alter the fragile environmental balance on which the livelihoods of the coffee growers depend. Now, these fears are more pressing than ever as temperatures continue to rise and rainfall levels fall.

How often do we stop and really think about those across the world who grow or make the things on which we rely? If one producer can no longer grow coffee, the coffee importers or supermarket chains will always find another. Even where we choose to buy Fairtrade we may not always be aware of exactly who is growing the coffee beans we drink. But these are lifechanging concerns for those whose livelihoods depend on it.

Soppexcca has responded to the changing climate by supporting local producers in northern Nicaragua make the change from growing coffee to growing cocoa. In the Congregational Federation’s 50th year, we will have an opportunity again to support Soppexcca in this work. Maybe, if I ever visit Café Flor de Jinotega again, I will be able to taste some of the best chocolate in the world too!

So, as you drink your coffee or your tea today, pause to think about the people who toil in a fragile and uncertain world to bring us the things we take for granted and so enjoy.

A prayer for fair trade from Christian Aid.

As I enter the street market

wheel my trolley at the superstore

leaf through a catalogue, or log on to the internet:

be with me and help me.

When I spend money

be with me and help me

to see the market place as you see it

as wide as the world you love so much.

Be with us and help us

to share the markets we share

for all people.

As we live under your steady gaze,

so we can change, by your gracious love.

Amen

Philip Clarke