The words of Lázara Francisca Álvarez, secretary general of the union of the Bureau of Luis Bocourt Coffee Processing Company , in Bahia Honda, caused the embarrassment of those present at the Central Workers of Cuba(CTC) Provincial Conference, in late September : coffee is burned each year with husk or threshing, which could be used for other purposes.

According to this experienced woman in the cultivation and benefit of the grain, the problem had been addressed in different places , in front of many authorities, and still no answer.

La China, as friends and colleagues know her , only asked not to throw away several tons of this product, highly demanded in the world and national market. She even requested that the case be evaluated by specialists and, if it was not suitable for human consumption, to determine with precision its incineration.

Her concern kept in the memory of this reporter, until we visited the company and verified the presence in store of just over two tons of rejection coffee, from the close of harvest in March.

Yuselis Enríquez, head of the processing factory , explains the importance of saving it as surplus, in order to avoid a shortage later.

Perhaps someone could question the transcendence of the so-called threshing, with no commercial value; that is why our press team chose 100 grams and, when separating the broken grains, we found that almost 40 percent (%) is usable, which varies according to the type of coffee.

We did the test in the company of Humberto Serrano, taster of the processor and a great experience in the job, who assured that "the roasters reject the product, because the particles of grains penetrate the mesh of the roasters and the shell is completely burned.

"That could cause a fire. It would be necessary to condition them and to process them, as the loss of coffee is inconceivable. "
Humberto is aware of the existence of a percentage of losses, but "alternatives must be found . In fact , this coffee has a quality superior to that of the one sold in markets ".

Since 1981 he has witnessed the inconvenience and, when asked to estimate the average threshing in each harvest, between washed and natural coffee, he said that they deposit "in storage about eight tons, depending on the quantities received."

Every year ... the "same story"

The ton of coffee consumption is sold to the roasters to just over 93 000 pesos, but threshing is not accepted.

During a visit to the Coffe roasting UEB in Artemisa, from Cubacafé Distributor and Trading Company, Juan Carlos Quintana, specialist in technological processes, confirmed that the husk burns in the criollo toasters, and the very small grains go through the mesh and get lost. "I have not seen it; a performance test should be done and processed with appropriate equipment "and nonexistent, at least in this plant, to which Luis Bocourt productions are not included ; but, last year they did process their coffee.

Leonel Guevara has headed Luis Bocourt company for three months ago, so he has not experienced this issue; however, "this has happened because of the bad follow-up to the whole process: from the collection to the industry", and said that they work in the training and control of producers and in the pulper.

"We already have a technical instruction that explains these and other procedures; how to form the lots according to the size of the grain, which would reduce the number of broken ones , and we will implement the manual threshing before the obsolescence of the selecting machines¨.

According to Carlos Alberto González, who has been a coffee drier for 28 years ago, "the same thing happens every year.

We raise the problem and there has been no response. This happens when the coffee goes dry-less than 12 percent humidity; the mill divides it and the taster separates it from the rest ". Unhappy with such a destination, he points out that "Cubans like to taste a cup in the morning or at any time. There are sacks of coffee without straw, which can be used in commerce and service to workers, if it is grinded and toasted with care. "

On the other hand, he talks about its favorable income during the harvest: "about 3,000 pesos. When concluding, they relocate us in other areas such as self-consumption; on the other hand, this year there were many workers, and those who could not join this activity went to their houses without a salary, which represents another concern ".

According to workers and managers, in previous harvests some 12 tons were incinerated in the presence of party leaders , governmental authorities and leaders of mass organizations.

Another cause of the surplus is the absence of a team or technique to separate grains and husk, lacking alternative solutions in the movement of innovators and rationalizers.

Mijailoby Rodríguez, head of the processing company's brigade, is at the head of 12 workers. "We have benefited in one day up to eight tons of dry coffee, without classification, a figure that depends on the properties, if you can take advantage of the direct mass or if the grain has the appropriate standard", because they benefit it according to the size of the grain (from major to minor) and the order: extraturquino, turquino, height, mountain, caracolillo and cumbre.

"The threshing or loss of the coffee mass is considerable. I've been seeing the same thing for 15 years. They remain stored without commercial value two, three, up to four tons. We are not even allowed to roast it and use it in the dining room or sale to the workers.

"It is only allowed to reincorporate it into production or incinerate it. The first is not possible, "and the second is unworthy of even thinking about it.

No one has to remain indifferent to this valid claim of the workers of Luis Bocourt company . There are always convincing options or explanations about a procedure like this, harmful to the economy of the country, to the effort to rescue the coffee culture and the well-being of those who taste the delicious drink, long recognized as the nectar of life.

TRANSLATION BY LMMS