Russian entrepreneur Alexey Matveev, who has been working in Rwanda for more than 20 years, expressed concern about the quality of coffee coming to Russia from African countries. In an interview with aif.ru, he noted that high-grade Arabica coffee in packs coming to Russia is often replaced by the cheaper Robusta variety.
Matveev emphasized that some businessmen from Moscow, trying to get rich on coffee, actually do not show interest in the quality of the drink. He spoke about the practice of “butting”, in which only 15% Rwandan coffee is present in the package, and the rest is replaced with cheaper Indian beans. Matveev said the samples of Rwandan coffee he has seen in Russian cities seem to be watered down with coffee from Sri Lanka, which is considered lacking in taste. Also, according to him, the cheap variety Robusta is often added to the premium Arabica variety.
The businessman also noted that even in British supermarkets it was found that some samples of Arabica contained up to 33% Robusta. He expressed concerns about the situation in Russia and suggested that “robusta” could also predominate in Russian coffee packs. Matveev emphasized that the problem is that some businessmen seek to buy cheaper and sell more expensive, ignoring the quality of products and care for the consumer.
About 63% of coffee supplied to Russia comes from four countries: Vietnam, Brazil, Italy and Indonesia, while the share of African coffee supplies is only about 2%.
Source: Rosbalt
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
