Episode Details

Advertising Sponsor
This episode is brought to you by Arcadia Green Coffee, Colombian coffee exporters taking fresh green coffee from Colombia to the world, farm to roastery, direct. New office now open in the UK.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arcadiagreencoffee/
WhatsApp: https://wa.me/353877871523

Episode Description

This is episode 1 of a five-part investigative series of The Daily Coffee Pro Podcast by Map It Forward examining what happened between Benecke Coffee in Germany and coffee cooperatives in Peru pursuing claims for coffee they say remains unpaid.

Across this series, we are asking a larger question: What happens when trust, trade and accountability break down in the global coffee supply chain?

In this first episode, podcast host Lee Safar is joined by Emerson Carrasco, General Manager of Sanchirio Palomar Cooperative; Anabel Barrientos, General Manager of Ubiriki Valley Cooperative; and Óscar Inocente, a lawyer working with four of the affected Peruvian cooperatives. Ana Maria Donneys from Café Primitivo joins the series as translator.

Before getting into the Benecke dispute itself, this episode establishes who these cooperatives are and the role they play in the lives and businesses of hundreds of smallholder coffee producers.

**Correction: In this episode, Arthur E. Darboven was described in a way that could suggest he remained part of Benecke Coffee’s executive management during the 2025 payment crisis. Subsequent verification of corporate-register information indicates that he ceased serving as Managing Director of Benecke on 25 April 2024. His ownership position after that date, and any continuing involvement in Benecke’s affairs, remain under investigation. We are updating the record accordingly.

Emerson explains that Sanchirio Palomar represents 633 small coffee producers, including 220 women, while Anabel describes Ubiriki Valley as a cooperative with 845 members. The conversation explores the work cooperatives carry out across production support, certification, quality control, processing, financing, transportation and access to international coffee markets.

That context matters because when an international coffee transaction fails, the unpaid invoice is only one part of the risk.

The cooperatives have already financed coffee purchases, supported production, processed and prepared the coffee for export, managed certifications and logistics, and assumed significant commercial and financial exposure before receiving payment from an overseas buyer.

The conversation then turns to how the cooperatives began working with Benecke Coffee.

Anabel says Ubiriki had worked with Benecke for more than five years and historically had a good commercial relationship with the company, with approximately 25–30% of the cooperative’s sales going through Benecke.

Listen Now