As a famous coffee retailer once said, the best part of the morning is the smell of brewing coffee. In the U.S., few of us can face the day without at least one cup of liquid ambition before we are capable of coherent speech. Almost everyone I know personally is on automatic pilot until they have finished that first cup of hot coffee. This Liquid Gold is one of Homo sapiens’ most favored beverages.
Well over 2.5 billion cups of coffee are consumed worldwide every day. It is estimated that in the U.S., the average person consumes over 25 gallons of coffee per year (I believe that estimate is significantly on the low side…). Over 150 million people in the U.S. consume coffee regularly, and 60% of U.S. coffee is consumed in the morning hours. It is considered an insult not to offer guests a cup of coffee in your home (…in the southern U.S., anyway). As a member of the Civil Air Patrol and the Red Cross Disaster Relief Team, I can testify that the first thing we do upon arrival at a disaster scene is pass out coffee and blankets to victims. No other beverage has the ability to warm your heart and soul like a good hot cup of coffee. The mere act of offering someone a cup of coffee carries deep social and spiritual meanings.
The Global Impact of Coffee
Coffee is unique in many other ways as well. It is one of the few agricultural products that are produced almost exclusively in developing countries but consumed mostly in industrialized ones. Over 25 million small coffee producers depend on coffee for their livelihood. Without coffee, they would have nothing. In Brazil alone (which produces superb coffee that makes up around one-third of coffee blends worldwide), over 5 million people are employed in coffee production, which is hand-labor intensive and requires daily attention. So far, coffee production has not been compatible with automated processes. So that cup of coffee you are drinking not only has the heart and soul of the earth it was raised in but also of the people who lovingly produced it.
This brain-boosting beverage also has an ugly secret: all coffees are not created equal. There are many factors that affect the price of what you paid for that Styrofoam-cupped repast you bought at a convenience store on the way to work. Different varieties bring different prices, and the prices on the world market are affected by many factors, both physical and political.
On the world market, coffee is one of the more important commodities, especially in futures trading. Coffee futures are traded on the New York Board of Trade. A Futures Contract is just a fancy way of saying that a contract is signed to purchase future units based on an estimate of what the market will be doing at that time. This type of speculation can affect the price you pay for coffee.
International coffee prices are monitored by the London-based International Coffee Organization. While they have no control over prices, they do keep a close eye on them. The coffee prices themselves, like other commodities, are dictated by the available supplies, the amount of trading, and the demand for the product. Coffee was very consistent at around $1.00 per lb (US) on the world market until the late 1980s. The collapse of the International Coffee Agreement, the end of the Cold War in 1991, the expansion of Brazilian coffee plantations, and Vietnam’s entry into the coffee market in 1994 (they produce tons of hideous-tasting Robusta beans that are used as ‘fillers’ in ‘Bargain’ retail coffee blends…) all combined to bring the price of coffee to 41¢ per lb. The rise in popularity of specialty coffees, coffee shops, the internet, and a general improvement in world relations has shored up the coffee market significantly, and the price has slowly worked its way back up to previous levels.
New purchasing and marketing models do not even show up on the commodities exchange, so the figures may not even be accurate. For instance, Starbucks buys almost all of its coffee through multi-year contracts that pay double the market value. This results in a larger quantity of better-quality coffee making its way to your cup, at a price you are willing to pay, keeping the producers in business, and everyone wins. Another new market is the internet, which allows consumers to purchase coffee directly from importers at prices that make everyone happy—from producer to consumer.
The variety of coffee also affects the price. Certain beans are in higher demand, produced in limited quantities, and bring a higher price. Like grapes, coffee only comes in two basic species: Arabica and Robusta. Robusta coffee is harsh and unpleasant no matter where it is grown, but it is much cheaper to produce, more prolific by an exponential amount, and is used as a ‘filler’ in some cheap coffee blends to stretch the supply of the higher-quality Arabica varieties. Arabica coffee is affected by the environment and soil it is grown in, even more than wine grapes. This results in many varieties with completely different flavors and characteristics, depending on where and how they are grown. Some examples are:
- Bourbon – Named for the island it was originally grown on, Bourbon Island, in the Indian Ocean. The island has since been renamed Réunion. The main coffee exported from Colombia, also known as Colombian Supremo, is Bourbon, transplanted to Colombia. It is heavy-bodied, robust, and very aromatic with a wonderfully bright acidity. It makes up the major part of most U.S. retail coffee blends such as Folgers, Maxwell House, and others. Colombian Bourbon makes up around 12% of the world market in coffee.
- Jamaican Blue Mountain – One of the most expensive and sought-after coffee beans in the world. Considered the ‘Champagne’ of coffees, 80% of this delectable bean goes to Japan, where coffee aficionados pay $100 per cup or more to experience this liquid Nirvana. Medium-bodied with a very complex flavor, it has musky, earthy, almost sensual overtones with no acidity. This is the coffee used as a base for Tia Maria Coffee Liqueur. While not my #1 favorite, it is certainly on my Top 5 list. I always keep some on hand.
- Ethiopian – There are a few sub-varieties, but they all have similar characteristics. Ethiopia is the birthplace of all coffee, and this coffee is almost like a return to the womb. One of my favorites, it has a wonderfully feral character with a soft floral aroma, mild-tasting, but with the promise of wanton, uninhibited flavor-debauchery, and an intense finish that leaves the taste buds feeling completely ravished. It is easy to see why this coffee is in high demand. It does not command the same price as Jamaican Blue Mountain, but it is well worth the effort to find a supply of it. You will not be disappointed.
- Kenya AA – Similar to Ethiopian but a little less intense. Kenyan AA has a wonderful ‘winey’ character, crisp acidity, a stoic body, and a smooth finish. My favorite all-around coffee.
- Java – Not a great coffee, but one of the most widely traded throughout history, especially by the Dutch. Strong, harsh, bitter, and not very aromatic, its name has become a slang term for less-than-stellar coffee. It is still used extensively as a filler, many times in place of Robusta, so they can state on the label that the coffee blend is ‘100%’ Arabica.
- Brazilian Santos – Currently the most used coffee on the planet, making up 30% of the world coffee market. Smooth, mildly aromatic, and right down the middle on body, taste, finish, and aroma. While great by itself, it is most often blended with Colombian Supremo to create various ‘Breakfast Blends’ very popular with morning coffee-drinkers because it has a wonderful medium taste, while being gentle on still semi-comatose central nervous systems.
There are many other varieties, and each commands a price range based on its popularity at the time.
Another factor that affects the price of your coffee is the way it is grown. Most small coffee producers grow ‘Shade Grown’ coffee, which means the plants are grown under a rainforest canopy of fruit trees. Organic Shade Grown means that chemical insecticides and fertilizers are not used, but natural ones can be. Natural fertilizer is one of those things like magic tricks and sausage—it’s more enjoyable if you don’t know how it is done. Shade Grown coffee is very environmentally friendly and sustainable. More and more larger coffee ‘plantations’ are using Sun-grown techniques, mostly under pressure from the United States, with financial incentives and assistance offered. Larger growers are destroying the rainforests to grow faster-maturing but lesser-quality coffees in direct sunlight, using tons of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. These coffees make up the bulk of retail ‘grocery-store’ brands in the U.S. Not only does this destroy the remaining rainforests, but also the surrounding ecosystems with agricultural pollution. In many cases, DDT (illegal in the U.S.) is used.
One of the best things to happen for coffee in recent years is the advent of Fair Trade coffees. These are produced by small growers banded together in ‘co-ops,’ allowing them many of the advantages of larger plantations. Most Fair Trade coffee is shade-grown and organic. Fair Trade coffees offer the best value for your money.
