Part 1 of 5: Sustainability in coffee is about far more than carbon emissions or environmental claims. Cropster co-founder Norbert Niederhauser joins Lee Safar to explore what a truly sustainable coffee supply chain requires, who carries responsibility, and why economic viability, transparency, and long-term thinking all matter.
Read MorePart 5 of 5: Colombia’s coffee sector faces years of recovery after the earthquake. Ana Donneys and Angel Barrera discuss reconstruction, mental-health strain, unequal access to resources, and why continuing to buy Colombian coffee and maintain long-term relationships may be one of the most meaningful ways the global industry can help.
Read MorePart 4 of 5: Colombian coffee is still moving, but the risks are building. Ana Donneys and Angel Barrera explain how damaged infrastructure, water rationing, El Niño and processing constraints could affect coffee quality and exportable volume through 2026 and into 2027.
Read MorePart 3 of 5: Colombia’s coffee sector now has to rebuild while continuing to produce. Ana Donneys and Angel Barrera explain the damage to wet mills, homes and infrastructure, transport constraints, and why El Niño could compound the pressure in the months ahead.
Read MorePart 2 of 5: The day after the earthquakes, communities across Colombia began responding while many people were still without safe homes, electricity, communications or road access. Ana Donneys and Angel Barrera describe the solidarity that emerged, damage across coffee-producing areas, and the first signs of disruption to Colombia’s coffee supply chain.
Read MorePart 1 of 5: Colombia’s coffee sector was already dealing with smaller harvests, rising costs and currency pressure when the August 10 earthquakes struck. Ana Donneys and Angel Barrera describe what happened that morning in Armenia and Pereira, the immediate damage they witnessed, and the first hours after the disaster.
Read MorePart 5 of 5: Lee Safar closes the Benecke series by examining the unanswered money trail, Fairtrade, brokers, J.J. Darboven and the insolvency process, and asks what the case reveals about how risk, accountability and payment are distributed across coffee.
Read MorePart 4 of 5: Lee Safar examines the role of brokers in the Benecke controversy, including allegations of pressure on Peruvian cooperatives, disputed creditor-registration advice, commission structures, and possible conflicts between producer and buyer interests.
Read MorePart 3 of 5: Lee Safar examines the warning signs surrounding Benecke Coffee and asks what the company, Fairtrade, buyers, brokers, lenders and other stakeholders may have known before producer cooperatives continued shipping coffee.
Read MorePart 2 of 5: Lee Safar follows the disputed Peru and Honduras coffee through the Benecke supply chain, examining downstream payments, brokers, shipment records and insolvency timing to understand where the money stopped flowing back to the cooperatives.
Read MorePart 1 of 5: Following the Peru and Honduras cooperative series, Lee Safar reconstructs the Benecke Coffee timeline and examines what we know so far about the unpaid coffee, the warning signs, the stakeholders involved, and the questions that remain unanswered.
Read MorePart 5 of 5: COMSA reflects on what must change after the Benecke insolvency, from payment security to buyer due diligence. The cooperative also questions whether current certification systems provide enough protection when importers fail to pay.
Read MorePart 4 of 5: COMSA says Benecke’s insolvency forced the cooperative into German creditor proceedings after its coffee had already been shipped. The episode examines payment promises, contract obligations and what happened to the coffee after delivery.
Read MorePart 3 of 5: COMSA says Benecke was already paying late when it insisted the cooperative continue shipping coffee. The cooperative borrowed heavily, fulfilled the contracts and says roughly USD 2.7 million remains unpaid.
Read MorePart 2 of 5: COMSA explains how cooperatives borrow money to purchase, process and export coffee before importers pay them, and why that financing model became critical when Benecke failed to pay as expected.
Read MorePart 1 of 5: COMSA explains how a group of small Honduran coffee producers built a major cooperative and developed a commercial relationship with Benecke spanning more than two decades. Part 1 establishes the history, trust and business structure behind the dispute that follows.
Read MorePart 5 of 5: In the final episode of this five-part series, the conversation turns from the Benecke dispute to what the wider coffee industry can learn from it. The guests discuss due diligence, financial transparency, certification, financing, producer protection and why long-standing commercial relationships cannot replace proper risk management across the coffee supply chain.
Read MorePart 4 of 5: In Part 4, the series examines what happens after a coffee trader enters insolvency and the cooperatives become creditors. The conversation explores communication with the insolvency administration, the sale of Rehm-related assets, the financial impact on Ubiriki Valley and Sanchirio Palomar, and the unresolved question of how specific coffee shipments are being treated inside the process.
Read MorePart 3 of 5: In Part 3, the cooperatives explain when repeated payment delays became something more serious and how they were drawn into Benecke Coffee’s insolvency process. The episode follows the promises of payment, the October 2025 insolvency communication, the process of becoming recognised creditors in Germany, and the cooperatives’ growing questions about transparency and the treatment of their unpaid coffee.
Read MorePart 2 of 5: In episode 2, the series follows the coffee from the farm in Peru through the cooperative, the port of Callao and into the international trade process with Benecke Coffee. The conversation explains the cooperative’s financial exposure, the payment expectations under the contracts, the retention-of-title issue, and the point at which Ubiriki Valley began recognising that something was seriously wrong.
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