151. Water for coffee

With SCAA right around the corner, I revive my annual lament about the exclusive focus at the show on the quality of the water that goes into your coffee.  Last year, I celebrated the water that doesn’t go into your coffee.  Smallholder cooperatives all across the coffeelands are adopting water-efficient post-harvest technologies to reduce their reliance on scarce water supplies in their communities.  These include “semi-dry” mills that reduce the amount of water used in the depulping process, closed-circuit mills that recycle water used in the depulping and washing processes, and “ecopulpers” that remove the mucilage from the coffee when it is depulped, eliminating the washing process altogether.  As climate change continues its course and pressure on water resources intensifies, these investments will become increasingly important.  Hoping water-efficient post-harvest technologies makes the agenda at next year’s show.