for some folks, it's officially the season of embracing the cold, enjoying carbs, & snuggling into sweaters. for others, it's a chance to slow down, a creative time where the world darkens early & our opportunity to tell stories and make crafts grows.
this year at ecc, it's meant wiggle room for new travels, space to host a latte art throwdown, and the relief of tariffs shrinking as we enter the holidays.
what will it mean for you this year?
here's what we're looking at this november:
- our team's visit to ana vizcaino in guatemala
- latte art throwdown #1 is in the books
- wholesale partner exclusive: tariff's begin to ease
our team's visit to ana vizcaino's farm
its a goal: visit origin once a year. while ambitious, our hope to visit a farm & partner each year has been more than fruitful.
last year, our visit was to colombia, where we got to spend some time with those coffee people. yes, that's their name, we can testify that they are indeed coffee people. that is, they were so kind, so hospitable, and such a delight to spend time with.
this year, the first week of november, four folks from our team got to visit ana vizcaino and her family farm with two birds.. we source their coffee for our guatemala single origin, as well as our luna, stella, and other blends.
we got to taste fresh fruit from the tree, meet many people who tend the very coffees we drink, & especially heart-warming: bring roasted coffee back to them to try (many farmers never get to try their own roasted coffee). we hope to go back again in the future.
learn a little more about the trip here:
latte art throwdown #1 is in the books
alex gale (black lodge coffee roasters) competes against adeline bryant (solo competitor) at honey moon west side.
alex would go on to win, cheering on every other competitor along the way.
see more photos
as a dear friend put it, you could feel the memories being made.
on november 23 at honey moon west side, we hosted our first ecc latte art throwdown. baristas from several local coffee shops competed to win grand prizes of high quality home espresso machines, espresso equipment, and bragging rights.
head to head, a bracket of 24, obnoxious cheering, lattes galore. this is a latte art throwdown. maybe it's a whole lot of hubbub over some coffee 'n milk, or maybe that's the magic.
a drink and yet an art, a science and yet a connection point; people came together over coffee, and we loved every bit of it.
as a local barista for many years, an evening bringing together so many folks from so many shops was more than a dream come true. we at ecc were truly delighted to host so many amazing baristas, represented coffee shops, and friends. to those who made it out, thank you. to those who didn't make it, you're invited for next year (:
here's to many more cups shared and lattes thrown.
below, a continued conversation for wholesale partners & curious folk
tariff updates
as business often picks up during the holiday shopping season, it can be easy for stressors to build to unparalleled levels.
if tariff concerns have been on your naughty list (you're not alone), may this update serve as a chance to breathe deep and enjoy good news.
let's cut to it: as of november 20th (and retroactive to nov. 13th) the most serious & seismic tariff for the coffee industry was dropped; that is, the tariff on brazilian coffee imports. dropping from 40% to 0%, the industry will soon feel waves of deep relief (although not all will be immediately reversed, more below).
each month, we've tried our best to reiterate our approach as your roaster:
- buckle in
- maintain relationships
- trust the market to stabilize
- seek how to adapt
thankfully, market stabilization is much closer now than it was one month ago.
yes, we've continued to buckle in. and yes, we have thankfully continued to maintain relationships (see example above), seeking quality coffees at approachable prices.
yet today, it's worth primarily digging into the last two points.
first, trusting the market to stabilize.
while this is perhaps the most uncertain category, built on hope & history, it is also often the most reliable. the united states coffee market has, up to now, always recovered its stability (for better or for worse).
with tariffs on coffee's largest producing country (brazil) officially removed, world economic effects begin to take root.
suddenly, there is less demand on other countries to supply the world's coffee demands, and worldwide green coffee costs are likely to begin stabilizing.
it's worth mentioning: this change will take some time, and there are always unknowns. some costs may not drop as radically or quickly as we would hope, but what we have already seen is an average 10% price drop in the market over the last 10 days.
this leads to the remaining step:
seeking how to adapt
indeed, we continue to seek how to adapt. with green coffee prices still higher than ideal, we're still progressing toward:
improving blend ratios & bean sourcing
contracting: we have actually mitigated major contracting by sourcing more intentionally from producers such as two birds (above)
purchasing quantity to reduce shipping costs
what's our word to you?
as with last month, our word is similar. we'll keep you updated and prepared. through this calendar year, we’re holding your wholesale costs with no changes.
we're indeed outlining a wholesale price update come the new year, & i'll reiterate that we'll be working hard on our end to keep said price update in a range that feels both practical and possible. last month, we told you this with a caveat: prices were high. this month, we're telling you with hope: tariffs are dropped, and prices have begun to lower. we hope the progress continues!
as always, please feel free to reach out! our team would be delighted to hop on a phone call & join in this tariff conversation anytime. you can reach our ecc team during business hours at 812-746-3668, or reach out to your contact individually.
until next time, cheers, friends. let's keep working hard to serve incredible coffees to incredible people.
- jacob seger, director of coffee