What's Wrong With Robusta?

A sack of Colombian arabica coffee. Why not robusta, as well?

Colombia exports nearly all of the coffee it grows - and imports 80 to 90% of the coffee it drinks.

This paradoxical situation has been the source of much angst and even protests by Colombians, who feel it's wrong for the country to send its best arabica beans to rich countries, and keep only the defective beans and cheaper imports for Colombians to drink.

Freshly roasted Colombian
arabica beans.

Altho exporting that good arabica coffee makes economic sense, since the beans bring high prices internationally, importing even cheap beans does not. Most of Colombia's coffee imports - from Peru and Ecuador - but occasionally from as far away as Vietnam - are the cheaper, bitterer and smaller robusta beans. In contrast to arabica beans, which are grown in small plots at high altitude, generally under tree cover, robusta beans grow in corn-style monocultures at lower altitudes. Arabica is harvested by hand, robusta with machines. Robusta, as its name suggests, is hardier and more resistant to diseases. The beans also contain about twice as much caffeine and have a stronger, harsher taste.

Some other coffee producing nations, particularly Brazil, grow both the arabica and robusta varieties.

Regions of Colombia where arabica
coffee is cultivated.
(Image: Cafe de Colombia)

At a recent national meeting, Colombian coffee growers rejected a proposal for the country to plant robusta beans.

"We're against robusta," Marcelo Salazar, a coffee planters' representative from Caldas Department, told Reuters. "It doesn't require much labor, it's much cheaper in the international market...and doesn't reflect the quality of Colombian coffee."

It's true that Colombia, the world's fourth-largest coffee producer, has built its reputation for good coffee by planting expensive, high-quality beans. And that solid reputation deserves to be protected.

Samples of 'green' and roasted Colombian arabica beans.
The piles on the left are cheap beans for the domestic
market; on the right are export quality beans.

But robusta and arabica beans are so different in how and where they are grown and in their markets and uses, that they might as well be considered different crops.

Chains like Starbucks, which plans to open cafes in Colombia next year, mix arabica beans for their taste and quality with robusta beans for their higher caffeine content. When Starbucks lands in Colombia, it will be importing robusta.

Arabica and robusta coffee beans.
(Photo: Whole Latte Love)

Robusta could be planted on Colombia's Llanos Orientales - the low elevation Eastern Plains region - far from the mountains where arabica grows. To protect Colombian coffee's international image, the robusta could be packaged differently, clearly marked 'robusta' and without the title 'Cafe de Colombia' label. And, the robusta wouldn't even have to be exported. They could plant only enough to replace what's now imported, providing more jobs and income at home.

But this is a great example of vested interests at work. At the recent meeting arabica coffee farmers were eager to denounce the supposed threat of that evil robusta bean. No robusta coffee farmers were there to sing their bean's praises simply because they don't exist in Colombia. And, the way things are going, they probably never will.



By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

Another Reason to be a Vegetarian; Saving the Wax Palm

Wax palms in Bogotá's Parque de la Independencia, where cattle do not roam, but lawnmowers do.

If better health and less strain on the planet aren't enough to convert you to vegetarianism, then perhaps saving Colombia's national tree.

Wax palms growing in the
Valle de Cocora,
where it is under threat.
(Photo: Wikipedia)

The palma de cera, or wax palm, forms elegant forests on the Andes' western slopes, at elevations between 2,500 and 2,800 meters. But the tree, which is the world's tallest palm, has long faced multiple human-created threats, including illegal logging, harvesting of its fronds for Christmas decorations and the use of the palm's fruits as cattle feed. According to Wikipedia, the tree's numbers have declined drastically.

Now, however, National University researchers have found an event more serious threat in many regions: Cattle, which eat the palms' sprouts, preventing the trees from replacing themselves. If the wax palms go, so will many other species, including parrots, which depend on them for food and shelter.

A hillside in the Valle de Cocora in 1988, with numerous wax palms. (Photo: Universidad Nacional)

The same hillside in 2012; few palms remain. (Photo: Universidad Nacional)

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

Drunk Driving Out of Prison

Today's El Tiempo reports that a judge freed a woman who hit six people while driving drunk.

It's like a broken record. Someone gets drunk, hits and maybe kills people. The victims go to the hospital, the driver goes home to relax and recover.

In the most recent case, a woman hit a group of children and adults waiting for a bus to take them to the last day of school. One victim is in critical condition with head injuries, and an 11-year-old boy had to have his leg amputated.

But the driver, a 34-year-old psychologist, was freed and allowed to go home - altho it appears likely that she will ultimately be charged.

It's latest the latest travesty involving a drunk driver.

Fabio Salamanca, a wealthy young man, rear ended a taxi July 12, killing its two women passengers and leaving the taxi driver paralyzed. According to news reports, in late November Salamanca's charges were reduced, opening the possibility of home detention, after his family paid 'compensation' to the victims' families.

Last year, Juan Carlos Varela Bellini. heir to a wealthy Cali family, was drunk driving his Mercedes Benz in La Calera last year and ran over four motorcyclists, killing three and severely injuring a fourth. Varela's family paid the victims and the 27-year-old is serving his sentence in his family mansion.

Altho the victims, who are usually from humble backgrouinds, apparently agreed to these soft sentences, they did so for financial motives, not for justice. Such sentences offer terrible examples and weaken the fear of punishment for those considering getting behind the wheel after a few drinks.

For me, these cases also create an absurd contrast with what happened to an acquaintance who made products like soaps out of marijuana. (I'm sure he smoked the stuff, two.) Riding the bus back to Bogotá after a purchasing trip, police discovered he was carrying several kilos of marijuana. The guy is now serving a seven year prison sentence. (And no home detention for him.)

The case is particularly ironic to me, since marijuana use may actually reduce highway fatalities. That's because driving, while high on pot is certainly dangerous, it's less dangerous than driving after drinking alchohol. And, where pot is easily available, some consumers apparently shift from highly dangerous alcohol to less-dangerous marijuana, making the roads safer.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

Camp Petro

'The peace town - Bakata.' Bakata was the Muisca Indians' name for the place which is now Bogotá, as well as the origin of the city's name. The poster places Petro alongside Nelson Mandela. Perhaps an exaggeration?

Scenes from Plaza Bolivar, where Mayor Gustavo Petro's supporters are camping out in his defense.

'A coffin for democracy.' Petro's supporters call the unelected inspector general's ousting of the mayor a blow to democracy. 

Women pose with an M-19 guerrilla banner. Petro was once a leader of the M-19, most notorious for their disastrous attack on the Justice Palace in 1985.

'The corrupt mafias condemned Petro.'

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

Petro Fights On

An array of leftist groups, including animal rights activists, sexual minorities, communists and others, rallied on Plaza Bolívar today to protest right-wing Inspector General Alejandro Ordoñez's decision a few days ago to oust Mayor Gustavo Petro and ban him from politics for 15 years for bungling a reorganization last year of Bogotá's garbage collection scheme.

Petro is fighting Ordoñez's ruling in the plaza and in court. But it's hard to see how Petro can stay in office without a major remaking of Ordoñez's authority.

The polemic over Petro's ouster seems to be turning him into a folk hero and something of a martyr. It's also spilled over Colombia's border, as both a U.N. official, the FARC guerrillas and recently designated U.S. Ambassador Kevin Whitaker chimed in in support of Petro. Whitaker warned that Petro's ouster could damage hopes for 'political pluralism' - a reference to prospects of the FARC guerillas signing a peace treaty and entering politics.

FARC leaders called Petro's ouster "a severe blow to the peace process."

But outsiders opining on domestic issues has, predictably, been rejected by the Colombian government and probably damaged Petro's cause. Most strangely, the episode has, for once, put the FARC guerrillas and the incoming U.S. ambassador on the same side of an issue!

Homeless people for Petro!

Ordoñez=Hitler?

Inspector General Ordoñez as non-recyclable toxic waste.

Pirates for Petro!

Members of the Presidential Guard hang out on a corner near Plaza Bolivar. 

Riot police walk thru Tercer Milenio Park, heading toward Plaza Bolivar. 

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

The Most Hated Man in Colombia?

Inspector General Alejandro
Ordoñez.

Not long ago, Alejandro Ordoñez was a somewhat obscure, if polarizing, government official and Gustavo Petro was mayor with a popularity problem.

Then Ordoñez ousted Petro from the office and banned him from politics for 15 years - all for mishandling Bogotá's garbage collection system.

A sign outside a La Candelaria cafe says:
'No to the inspector general's intolerance.
No to dictatorship.'

Today, Petro is on his way to becoming a martyr and folk hero, while Ordoñez is the target of anger by Petro's backers and is being questioned and criticized by other high government officials.

Ordoñez extreme conservatism has long gained him the oprobrium of many left-leaning Colombians. A conservative Catholic and follower of controversial French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre - some of whose followers deny the Nazi Holocaust - Ordoñez has staunchly opposed same-sex marriage and abortion rights in Colombia. Ordoñez believes that the Colombian state, which is officially secular, should be based on Catholic doctrine, according to his Wikipedia entry. Ordonez's efforts to discourage even information about legal abortion rights have earned him warnings from other government officials.

Petro already a folk hero? Signs on Plaza Bolivar associate
Petro with assassinated comedian Jaime Garzon.

Ordoñez's latest decision to oust Petro was criticized by both the minister of justice and the attorney general, Eduardo Montealegre, who called Ordoñez's action "inquisitorial" and "anti-democratic."

A survey this week found that 60% of Bogotanos disagreed with Ordoñez's action - and that Petro's popularity had leapt from 42% to almost 51%.

On the other hand, amongst very conservative, very Catholic Colombians, Ordoñez is surely very popular.

And, to Ordonez's credit, he has ousted both liberal and conservative politicians from office.

But Colombians will have to live with Ordoñez for a while yet. Recently elected by Congress to a second term as inspector general, he will hold office until 2017.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours

Scenes From Plaza Bolivar

Petro supporters on Plaza Bolivar this evening.

Workers look upon the crowd from a City Hall window.

Thousands of people gathered on Plaza Bolivar this evening in support of Mayor Gustavo Petro, who was removed from office yesterday by the inspector general. Petro later emerged and made popular announcements about a planned subway system and transport subsidies for the poor. He also called for continued protests - and announced that 'indigenous guardians' would come defend City Hall. In so doing, Petro came close to declaring himself above and in defiance to the law.

Guy Fawkes for Petro!

The event was full of ironies - an ex-leader of a guerrilla group was calling the government 'undemocratic' on the same plaza where his M-19 guerrilla companions attacked the Supreme Court building less than three decades ago.

Petro has a mediocre mayoralty, and an expected recall election early next year might very well have cut his term short. But by ousting Petro in a dubious fashion, Inspector General Ordoñez seems to be turning the mayor into a martyr and cult hero. The extremely conservative and very Catholic Ordoñez won't be sorry to see Petro, a one-time leftist guerrilla leader, go away.

During his speech, Petro charged that Ordoñez had met with conservative ex-Pres. Alvaro Uribe and other conservatives. This, Ordoñez' questionable decision feeds nicely into right-wing paranoia.

A protester equates Ordoñez with Adolf Hitler.

In an ironic situation, riot police protect City Hall from the mayor's supporters.

Even the porta potties on the plaza spoke of Petro's achievements.

The Justice Palace's wall was covered with posters defending Petro.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours