As coffee prices climb higher and higher, producers face new threats beyond climate concerns, borer beetles and 2-methoxy-3-isopropyl-pyrazine: an outbreak of gang robberies at origin, involving hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of top crop en route to noted roasters and green buyers. From the Sweet Maria’s Wee-Blog:
We lost 98 bags of coffee (Pulcal – Hacienda Carmona) that was en route from Antigua to the port, just over an hour away. I don’t know the details yet, if the truck was stopped by thieves, or if anyone was hurt.
Tom of Sweet Maria’s tells the story of this most recent heist, and shares a harrowing account from Finca Siberia involving forced confinement, intimidation, and the senseless destruction of Pacamara coffee trees. Read all about it here.
