To make up for his extended absence from the podcast, Steve is joined,
on a special videocast filmed in the HasBean Roastery, by none-other than the distinguished
Erwin Mierisch of the legendary
Fincas Mierisch. In Episode 39, Steve
and Erwin walk through the history of the Mierisch family and farms and Erwin’s
experience working in coffee thus far, before ending with a serious and thoughtful
discussion about recent Cup of
Also covered: what happens when governments step into coffee farming, Intelligentsia’s producers
forum, Dr. Mierisch’s hobbies, Steve’s misbehaviour at multiple COE juries, family
coffee jobs, the impact of exchange rates on buying and contracts, when
cost-cutting measures taint entire lots from competition, and how El Salvador
are working to find COE-replacement using Finca Mierisch’s auction platform.
As operations manager for COE from 2000 to 2011, as well as overseeing
multiple farms in Nicaragua and Honduras, Erwin’s experience is vast—we could have
kept chatting with him for days—but this is a great introduction to green
buying, building relationships, and the history of COE: this is one you really