It’s no secret that rainforests produce and trap moisture, which turns to cloud cover that in turn produces rain. Coffee farms that have a protective tree cover - whether they are purely there for shade or purposefully planted as other cash crops - mimic a rainforest’s natural cycle of producing rain and provide water security for the coffee farmers who choose this way of growing. Clearing land for coffee production can lead to water shortages which will ultimately affect not only the coffee itself, but nearby communities. In fact, producer Eduardo Feirrera saw this in action back on his family’s farm in Brazil. Coffee here is often grown under full sun so that it grows as quickly as possible, but Eduardo saw the toll this took on the farm. In 2016 there was a huge drought, which inspired him to study regenerative agriculture practices. A huge focus of this was water retention in the soil and by planting or nurturing a natural forest canopy over the coffee trees, the ground is protected by the sun and the coffee can rely less on adequate rainfall by tapping into reserves underground. In general, there needs to be awareness about circular water systems by local governments in growing regions as it’s difficult for individual growers to gain the skills or knowledge required to treat water adequately. But there are plenty of initiatives out there aiming to tackle this, and many partners in our supply chain are putting steps in place to increase awareness and invest in water treatment and conservation.

Once we get past the growing phase, there is usually heavy reliance on water for many processes, particularly at the milling stage. The ‘wet’ mill, so called as this is where coffee cherries come to be washed and depulped, is often situated by a local river or water source. The sticky, sugary fruit residue has to be washed entirely off the bean with fresh, clean water in order to not affect the flavour of the coffee, but the result is wastewater that is saturated with nutrients and devoid of oxygen, and therefore a danger to wildlife if released back into the water stream. Producers and washing stations have different ways of treating this wastewater. Jonny, founder of Ugandan coffee exporter Agri-Evolve, has seen this in action with great success. Agri-Evolve has spent $30,000 investing in their water treatment facilities at the wet mills there. And he talks us through their process.