On a Coffee Auction with Jad Belmezouar
In East Africa, there is a very special system for selling coffee: the coffee auction. It’s a fast-paced, transparent process where every lot finds its true value. We spoke with Jad Belmezouar, who shares his insights into the heart of coffee bidding in Kenya and Tanzania—and shows what makes this system so unique.
Virtual Tour: NKG Fazenda da Lagoa
Located in Santo Antônio do Amparo, Minas Gerais, in the heart of Brazil’s coffee production region, the history of Fazenda da Lagoa (NKG Fazendas Brasileiras) dates back to Colonial Brazil, when the Portuguese settler Manoel Ferreira Carneiro received these lands in 1764 for sugarcane cultivation and cattle raising. In 1860, the first coffee tree in the Campos das Vertentes region was planted at Fazenda da Lagoa, and in 2003, the property joined the Neumann Kaffee Gruppe, which is fully dedicated to sustainable coffee production.
Mail from Group Comms: A personal Update
Dear MAG-readers,
Sometimes, when I’m sitting at my laptop in Hamburg, it seems to me as if I was quite far away from our product, especially the beginning of the coffee supply chain. Then, I remember that I’m only a phone call, email, or Teams message away from the farms and exporters. Every time I talk to colleagues who work in coffee cultivation or at our export companies, I feel that this is not that far. Although we live in different time zones and work in different realities, something common emerges from our exchanges. And here, where the coffee journey begins, is also where our new MAG series starts: From Farm to Shipment – Where Coffee Begins.
Pursuing Progress: Change Starts on the Inside
At NKG, we are no strangers to navigating complexity – whether it is adapting to regulations like EUDR or responding to broader global events like climate change. While it is easy to feel overwhelmed by the weight of these challenges, we are also uniquely positioned to grow stronger together. Resilience is not just about weathering the storm; it’s about building the capacity to thrive despite uncertainty.
Interview with Dominique Vaudour
For the past 16 years, Dominique has been an integral part of the NKG family, taking on roles as first Finance Officer and then Chief Financial Officer at Maison Jobin since 2007. Her coffee journey, however, started even earlier as an accountant at Sté Raoul-Duval, a company trading coffee and cocoa.
Interview with Valentina Molano Paredes
Valentina Molano Paredes started working in coffee as an International Marketing Analyst at Juan Valdez. Before her first day there, she had never even tasted coffee! It was there that she fell in love with the diversity of coffee-based recipes and began to appreciate how a single plant can transform so many lives. Valentina has been with NKG for three years. Starting in the Sustainability Department as a Communications and Social Media Manager, she then moved on to organizing events with coffee-growing families.
Interview with Joeri Kalwij
Joeri Kalwij found his way into the coffee world in 2008, when a commodity trader approached him to establish a sustainability and certification department in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Eleven years later, he joined NKG and as General Manager at New Guniea Highland Coffee.
NKG Integrity Champion: Thumbs up for reliable colleagues
As a dedicated Coffee Stock Supervisor and member of the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Committee, I am passionate about fostering a safe and healthy work environment that supports operational excellence. My focus is on ensuring strict compliance with safety protocols during stock handling to protect our team members and maintain the integrity of our coffee products. Preserving coffee quality is vital to our success, and I am committed to upholding the highest standards to ensure safe, efficient, and responsible operations.
Coffee Culture: A Bean of Knowledge for the Future of Italian Coffee
Interview with Deborah Righeschi, Project Manager of Bero Italia’s Cultural Initiative.
Accelerate Action: Why Gender Equity in Coffee Matters
Gender equity is not just a moral obligation – it’s essential to creating stronger, more innovative teams and businesses. In a world where many companies and countries are experiencing setbacks in gender equality, it is more important than ever for us to stand by our values and promote diversity, equal opportunities and inclusion. At NKG, we have identified three key areas of focus for the upcoming years to foster our commitment to advancing gender equity: closing the gender pay gap, fostering equity in recruitment, and empowering women in trade and commercial roles.