Kar Yee and Stewart are the husband and wife team behind Karst Organics, a micro importer focusing solely on coffee grown in Timor-Leste. Ludwika and I first tasted their coffee in early 2022 and at the time it was an entirely new origin for us. We didn’t know anything about the country or that they even grew coffee there. We’ve since learned that it’s one of the world’s youngest nations, having gained independence in 2002 after four centuries of Portuguese colonisation and another 25 years of Indonesian occupation.
We wanted to work with Karst from the beginning because it was clear we had alignment on our ethics and that they were doing something really different and interesting. Also from the very first email chain Stewart was transparent about their pricing and actively shared what they pay farmers. We admired their transparency and wanted to support their work.
But in addition to all that, the way the coffees tasted also got our attention. In 2022 they were interesting and clean and we had notes ranging from mirabelle plum and fruit tea to cedar and leather. The first two years we tried their coffee they sold out before we were able to secure a contract. The following year we jumped at the chance to cup pre-shipment samples and managed to secure our first lot of Tau-Rema, which we’re now roasting for a third year in a row.
It has been remarkable to notice the improvement in the quality of their coffees, which were good the first year, but just got better in subsequent years. In fact, Stewart told us that this year they sold 80% of the coffee before the harvest even finished. Karst is an example of a uniquely sustainable business model in the coffee industry and their success gives us hope for the future.
Your work is rooted in long-term relationships with farmers in Timor-Leste. How did your relationships with these farmers begin, how did you build trust and how have your relationships with them changed as you've worked together over multiple harvest seasons?
Stewart said:
" Our relationship with the community and farmers of Letefoho first began in 2017 during which time I (Stewart) was already living and working in Timor-Leste as the project manager of an educational and capacity building project with the Timorese military. A Timorese colleague, Antonio, who happened to be from Letefoho, had invited Kar-Yee and I to visit his home village one weekend so we could get out of Dili (the capital city) and see first-hand the beautiful mountains and hillsides of the country, many of which I had been told were covered with lush coffee forests for as far as the eye could see. Having happily accepted my colleague’s offer - and happy to escape Dili’s oppressive heat and humidity for a few days – we headed off to the mountains in a hired 4x4 and within an hour of our journey were struck by three things: firstly, how much cooler the temperature was once you head into the mountains, secondly, how bad the condition of the so called roads were and thirdly, how imposing the shade trees were that stretched as far as the eye could see, exactly as my colleague had described.
We spent the weekend with Antonio’s uncle and aunt, Tiu Francisco and Tia Filomena, third generation coffee farmers from the village of Rotutu. During our stay they showed us around their coffee forest which, in addition to coffee trees, was also home to other crops such as avocados, mangoes, potatoes and yams, to name but a few. Tiu Francisco explained that the forest, in addition to providing an income during the coffee harvest (June – August) through the sale of cherry, also provided families with daily fruit and vegetable staples. Tiu Francisco also explained about the relationship between people, the land, Mother Nature and his ancestors and how we are all interconnected. Having only ever seen photos of mono-cropped coffee under direct sunlight, we were both astounded that coffee could be grown under shade trees alongside other crops and the agroforestry system that we had been introduced to was a first for us and seemed so harmonious. We were also captivated with the traditional animist belief system that Francisco had described and although day-to-day life was clearly challenging, there was something enchanting about the spiritual connection the community had with Mother Nature.
Over the course of the weekend, we met other members of the community and after speaking with them, a common theme was emerging that they were struggling financially to support their families based on the sale of their coffee which, at that time, was being bought for $0.32c per kilo for mixed grade cherry by Timor-Leste’s largest commodity buyer. Some of the more confident farmers had asked us if we would be able to open any new opportunities for them through coffee sales and despite not having any experience in the coffee sector, we agreed to take green bean samples back to the UK and reach out to some roasters for feedback to see if there was any potential. Luckily for us, one person (Anette Moldvaer from Square Mile) got back to us with feedback and said that whilst the coffee was speciality grade, it would need to be slightly higher quality to compete with the exacting standards required of the UK speciality market. She suggested focussing on improving processing methods to elevate quality so that’s what we did! We did a lot of research, asked people in the industry for advice on how to improve the processing of fully-washed coffee and then passed this information directly to farmers through training sessions which we delivered in the field. For those farmers that wanted to sell parchment (like farmers from the village of Tau-Rema, the coffee which Steampunk have supported these past 3 years), we supplied the necessary materials such as fermentation buckets, African drying beds and new pulping machines. For those that wanted to sell cherry, we built a small processing facility and employed a team to oversee the processing of this. It was during this period that we could really see for the first time that we were gaining the trust of the community. We were living and working alongside partner farmers which included sourcing all cherry every day from each individual household in our pick-up truck (something we continue to do till this day) and also collecting all parchment ourselves at the end of the harvest; the community was definitely surprised that we weren’t afraid to get involved and get our hands dirty and they respected us for this! We were completely self-funded so all materials and our time were provided free of charge. The community could see that we were taking a big risk and even though they thought we were mad, started to buy into Karst’s vision. After that year’s harvest, we sent further samples back to Anette and she cupped four lots at between 84.5 – 85.5 points and subsequently became our first buyer. The hard work and investment had paid off, and we managed to export a total of 4.8 tonnes in our first year: not a large quantity at all but processing manageable quantities that focus on quality not volume was – and still is – our priority.
The trust that we have built with our partner farmers has grown from strength to strength over the past 7 years of exporting from Timor-Leste and an important part of this is the pricing strategy that we have adopted. On our side, we have steadily increased our purchase price from $0.40c per kilo to $0.85c per kilo for high quality red cherry and increased our parchment price from $2.85c per kilo to $4.00 per kilo for speciality grade parchment. When you bear in mind the $0.32c per kilo purchase price of commercial companies back in 2018, we have definitely offered an alternative option to the commercial model for those willing to put in the work and this has made a significantly positive impact on an average household’s income. We have now guaranteed that even if market conditions fall, our purchase price (quoted above) will not drop and we are extremely proud of this.
Another contributing factor to the trust that we have built is that we have always tried to be farmer focussed and involve communities in the entire process. Over the last 7 years, each of the 7 groups that we work with have met some of our partner roasters on video call and also had an opportunity to try their coffee which we always take back to origin so farmers can cup and better understand the profile expectations of the speciality market in the UK. This has helped them to feel more involved in and better understand their position in the supply chain and with that we have seen an increased sense of pride and motivation. Before, we would sometimes have to say ‘no’ to a farmer if their coffee quality wasn’t quite good enough, but now, we can have complete confidence in each groups’ quality as they know that if they do not meet our partner roasters expectations, they will lose the opportunity to export their coffee to the UK, which has given them an opportunity to significantly increase their household income over the years."
Why is it important for Karst to focus entirely on coffee from Timor-Leste?
Stewart said:
"Prior to setting-up Karst, I (Stewart) worked for 4-years in Timor-Leste working in both the private and public sector. During that period, I witnessed the launch of many new projects and businesses, some of which were successful and some of which were not. It was soon apparent that those that were successful committed 100% of their time to their respective business or project and worked steadily to meet realistic objectives, build solid foundations and ensure that their efforts were sustainable. These companies and organisations understood the context of Timor-Leste: a young, underdeveloped country with bucket loads of potential but without the infrastructure, resources or human capacity to realise that potential. With this in mind, we opened our export company in Timor-Leste before we opened our import company in the UK with a view to building solid foundations upon which to export. As a registered business in Timor-Leste, we employ a team of local staff and pay salaries that are comfortably above the national minimum wage. We also make social security contributions to our employees and pay government taxes. With so much reliance on support from NGOs and foreign aid, we believe that the private sector should also be a vehicle to help establish and grow Timor-Leste’s economy.
We knew that if we were going to help our partner farmers unlock the full-potential of their coffee and for Karst to be a sustainable business, it would need to be a joint collaboration between ourselves and the farmers and the most important thing we could contribute would be our time, much like the organisations and companies observed before. Being on the ground in Timor-Leste for 6 months of the year means that we work in collaboration with the coffee farming communities so we can overcome the challenges that we face together during the harvest which (as discussed above) helps to build trust and strengthen relationships. As we have already alluded to, we buy cherry every day during the harvest in addition to overseeing individual household parchment processing which we purchase at the end of the harvest. This is a hands-on role which requires a solid 4-month commitment in the mountains and a role which we are not planning to step back from any time soon (or until our bodies don’t allow us to do so anymore!). Although time consuming, working in this way gives us complete traceability and we know exactly where our coffee comes from and who picked or processed it.
Our role as exporter has also kept us busy outside of the harvest time with coffee tree rehabilitation activities. We have been a part of the government’s rehabilitation scheme which started in 2022 and has encouraged farmers with financial incentives to stump their old coffee trees and carry out general forest maintenance with a focus on improving yields and ultimately increasing household income. Although we only work with 150 households, this took an incredible amount of time and careful monitoring over a 3-year period to ensure this ran successfully.
Focussing solely on Timor-Leste also means that we know our origin very well: we speak Tetun fluently (the national language of Timor-Leste) and we understand the cultural sensitivity required when working in such a highly spiritual and religious region such as Letefoho. Whilst we had previously discussed exploring another origin, such as Indonesia, Timor-Leste’s neighbour, we already have our hands full as it is and I don’t know where we would find the time in the day to commit to this in the same way that we have committed ourselves to Timor-Leste."
Climate change, infrastructure limitations and remote access are significant challenges in Letefoho and other communities you work with. How are the farmers you work with navigating these and what does the future look like?
Stewart said:
"Unfortunately, infrastructure limitations are still a major concern for the farming communities of Letefoho with a lack of investment at governmental level in roads, water and electricity supply. Of these the biggest challenge that we have seen during our time living and working in the region is the condition of the roads. There is currently a construction project aiming to create a main thoroughfare in Letefoho which is positive, however, work is yet to begin on the road connecting Letefoho to the district’s capital, Gleno, and until this happens it is very difficult for farmers to take their products to market and similarly, difficult for companies to transport goods and materials to Letefoho to help to develop the area. At the time of writing, we are constructing a new warehouse and cupping lab in Letefoho but work has stopped since mid-January as the muddy conditions are too dangerous to transport goods due to the heavy rains that the wet season brings. As Southeast Asia’s poorest nation state, it will come as no surprise that Timor-Leste relies heavily on foreign aid and the World Bank has initially agreed to loan approx. $40 million USD to help fund the construction of a new road from Gleno to Letefoho with work scheduled to start this year. Stay tuned to our Instagram account during this year’s harvest to see if this work does indeed go ahead and what it will mean to the farming communities we work with.
Most of our partner farmers don’t have a clean water supply or electricity installed in their households and we have also experienced long periods of time during the harvest when we ourselves don’t have electricity or water in our rented accommodation and will have to go to a well to collect water and use candles during the evening to provide light. We are continually asked by some of our groups for assistance with water storage solutions and whilst we have tried to provide storage tanks where we can, we do not have the expert knowledge required in this field to be as impactful as we would like (whilst we try to do as much as we can to help the community when asked we have to remind ourselves sometimes that we are a coffee exporter/importer, not an NGO). For this reason, we are currently looking to partner with local agencies who specialise in water provision to explore how we can resolve this challenge and in particular focus on solutions for rainwater catchment during the wet season.
With regards to climate change, weather patterns have definitely changed during the time that we have worked in Letefoho with extended wet seasons becoming more commonplace resulting in more challenging drying conditions during the harvest. For example, last year’s drying times for our fully-washed coffees were on average 10-14 days and in comparison, 2020’s drying times were on average 6-8 days. We are working together with partner farmers to navigate this challenge which has meant supplying mobile drying racks to each of the 150 individual households that we work with and also providing a moisture meter to each lead farmer of the 7 groups we support to check their members parchment to ensure consistency with moisture levels and quality."
Your way of operating (spending months alongside farmers during the harvest season and months in the UK selling coffee) gives you a unique perspective on the industry. What do you wish more people understood?
Stewart said:
"I think it’s important that people understand that this isn’t just about the relationship between us and our partner farmers and that the role of our partner roasters is equally important in the supply chain of specialty coffee. We are incredibly lucky to currently have great partner roasters here in the UK who understand the context of Timor-Leste and are happy to pay our offer price for our green beans. In the past - and before we became established – some roasters we approached loved our coffees but would try to squeeze us on price which was frustrating. Our green beans have always been competitively priced so to ask for a discount on an 85 point fully-washed coffee, knowing the labour involved (particularly in an origin such as Timor-Leste where everything is processed manually) was really showing a lack of understanding for what we were trying to achieve regarding our pricing strategy. If roasters squeeze us on price then it makes it very difficult for us to return to Timor each year and pay a price to the farmers for their coffee which makes coffee farming sustainable and allows them to support their families.
Thankfully, roasters like Steampunk understand that if our green bean price has gone up slightly each year (as it has), then this is because the price that we pay partner farmers for cherry and parchment has also increased: farmers feel that they are now being paid a price which is significantly higher than the commercial options they had before, we have a margin that we are happy with and hopefully the roaster’s margin is also workable for them too."
What's the best coffee you've ever had?
Stewart said:
"Wow, that’s a difficult question to answer as we’ve been fortunate enough to try so many amazing coffees that partner roasters have shared with us over the years. I think the one thing these had in common was that the coffee was fresh, it had been harvested with integrity, processed conscientiously and roasted perfectly by master roasters who knew how to bring the best out of each origin. We’d say that these are the best coffees we’ve ever had."
Currently we have Tau-Rema on our shelves, a washed coffee from Timor-Leste sourced through Karst Organics. It’s our third year of buying coffee from them. We first chose it for its quality and delicious flavour profile, and we’ve stuck with it as it continues to improve. The 12 smallholder farmers of Tau-Rema have conscientiously worked on caring for their coffee trees and improving the processing of their coffee. You can buy a tin here.