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OFF THE WIRE continued from page 18 about more than going to the shop and buying it," says Angel Mario Martinez-Garcia, the Grow Ahead founder and executive director of Progreso. "It takes a lot of work and a lot of risks are involved." Of course, for Grow Ahead to develop into more than a pilot conceived by a group of well-traveled coffee pros, it needs a large base of consumer participants. Getting consumers to actually put money into the system, the founders have learned, is no easy task. The project's first container required $60,000 of funding for the Apecaform co-op, but Martinez-Garcia says delays getting the word out meant Grow Ahead could also raise about one-tenth of the cash needed, and Progreso covered the remaining amount. Now the push is on to persuade consumers to put money behind the Peru effort. "It's just those five minutes people need to sit down and put their email in, make a password and then put in their credit or PayPal information," Martinez-Garcia says. "We know that the closer people are to the information source, the more likely they'll be to sign up." It's for that reason that the initial growth of the program in many ways rests on the roasters that make up Cooperative Coffees. Many of the companies on Cooperative's member list—which includes Peace Coffee, Just Coffee in Wisconsin and Alternative Grounds in Toronto—have reputations for connecting with the social-awareness side of specialty and have attracted the loyalty of consumers who prioritize ideas such as fair trade and sustainable production. That's exactly why Martinez-Garcia turned to Cooperative as a pilot partner. "We know their customers are very involved," he says. Those roasters are looking to bring customers into the Grow Ahead fold by getting the concept out in front of them on Facebook, in e-newsletters and through any other digital realm. Wallace of Peace says she and other managers are spending plenty of time on Google Analytics, figuring out which of their efforts are leading to actual lenders. "The primary thing is that you need to encounter people while they're actually on the Internet," she says. "It's hard to get someone to go home and open their computer and decide to make a loan. That's kind of a whole new world for us: So much of what we do is based on [communication through] the coffee shop and wholesale accounts, but it's fun to learn to communicate with people digitally." If that communication can happen effectively and a growing number of backers pledge support with actual dollars, the individuals behind Grow Ahead envision the program continuously touching both farmers and coffee consumers the world over. "This is one way where we believe in the power of consumers," says Cooperative Coffee's Firl. "It should be fun and exciting to track how you in some way facilitated moving coffee from the farm to your cup." —Dan Leif FIFTEEN ROASTERS NAB GOOD FOOD AWARDS Last month, the Good Food Awards announced the winners of its third-annual competition at a ceremony at San Francisco's Ferry Building. Organized by Seedling Projects, the GFAs recognize products that are "tasty, authentic and responsibly produced." The Good Food Awards cover nine categories: beer, charcuterie, cheese, chocolate, coffee, confections, pickles, preserves and spirits. In the 2013 coffee category, three roasters— Heart, Intelligentsia and Verve—won for two different coffees. Interestingly, of the 18 total coffees awarded, 13 hail from Africa (nine from Ethiopia, four from Kenya). Here is the complete list of the winning roasters and their coffees: 1,000 Faces Coffee, Athens, Ga.—Ethiopia, Shakiso Mora Mora Case Coffee Roasters, Ashland, Ore.—Kenya, Nyeri Gaturiri Co-Op Peaberry Cuvee Coffee, Austin, Texas—El Salvador, El Molino Witness Project Evans Brothers Coffee, Sandpoint, Idaho—Ethiopia, Yirgacheffe Birhanu Flying Goat Coffee, Santa Rosa, Calif.—Ethiopia, Wottuna Boltuma Gimme! Coffee, New York, N.Y.—Colombia, Finca San Luis La Gloria Heart Roasters, Portland—Ethiopia, Yukro, and Kenya, Ndumberi Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea, Chicago—Kenya, Gichathaini, and Kenya, Kangocho Joe, New York, N.Y.—Ethiopia, Camp Joe Bean Coffee Roasters, Rochester, N.Y.— Nicaragua, Don Roger Pachi Kickapoo Coffee, Viroqua, Wis.—Ethiopia, Organic Yirgacheffe Haru Cooperative Panther Coffee, Miami—Colombia, Finca El Ventilador Portland Roasting Coffee, Portland—Ethiopia, Organic Sidamo PTÕs Coffee Roasting Co., Topeka, Kan.—Ethiopia, Nanno Challa Heirloom Verve Coffee Roasters, Santa Cruz, Calif.—Ethiopia, Birhanu, and Panama, Elida Estate Gesha certified through Fairtrade International. | FOUR WINNERS WERE crowned at the Big Central Regional Barista Competition and Brewers Cup in Kansas City last month. Charlie Habegger of Intelligentsia Coffee and Jon Ferguson from Dogwood Coffee won the barista competition and Brewers Cup, respectively, for the North Central region, while Pete Licata from Parisi Artisan Coffee and Jonathan Aldrich of Houndstooth Coffee were the respective South Central champs. continued on page 22 20 Fresh Cup Magazine freshcup.com