The stories behind your morning cup of joe
Coffee. So much more than just a morning cup, the world-wide phenomenon is a financial powerhouse. According to the National Coffee Association, coffee-related economic activity comprises approximately 1.6 percent of the total U.S. GDP.
Wait…1.6 percent of the total Gross Domestic Product? Of the United States?
These numbers are staggering. A 225-billion-dollar industry in 2015 responsible for 1.6 million jobs and generating $28 billion in annual tax revenue. And this is all just in the United States.
More staggering yet is that these numbers are so high, yet almost all coffee beans are imported from other countries. (There are small coffee producers in Puerto Rico, Hawaii, California, etc., yet virtually all coffee in the USA comes from abroad.)
Let’s get it out of the way. Starbucks. The mega-successful (and bitterly over roasted in my opinion) coffee juggernaut owns 39.8 percent of the market share in the United States. Starbucks boasts more than 28,000 locations worldwide. There are spots in airports where if you stand just right, you can see two Starbucks without even moving your head. But is it valid to hate on Starbucks? Enter the first gray area.
With these kinds of numbers, worldwide influence, and let’s face it, epidemic-level addiction to the drink, massive socio-political issues surround the sourcing of the tiny beans that might as well be made of platinum.
Ethical sourcing—is it an important phrase? Does it mean anything? Is it a self-righteous buzz concoction with little actual influence in the world that just allows us to ignore the fact that we have it better than almost anywhere else on earth? How many hands touch your coffee before it goes in the cup? This too, we’ll consider as we dip our toes into the surface of what it actually takes for us to fill our cups with the new version of black gold.
I was naive when I started writing this. I wanted to find answers. I foolishly thought I could talk to a few people and figure out what fair trade means and how much money is going to the farmer all the way across the world in Ethiopia. What does it mean to source ethically? Do we, as consumers, have a greater responsibility to the growers? These questions, as it turns out, may not be answered after a lifetime of dedication and research.
“I think ethical sourcing is quite important but hard to have a lot of faith in,” Sarah Brinkley tells me. “There are certain certifications that have a better reputation but can be very costly to the farmer and can be corrupted by people who try to cheat the system.”
Sarah is a native Chattanoogan and Ph.D. student at Texas A&M in the Horticultural Sciences Department, where she studies how the environment affects coffee quality with the Center for Coffee Research Education. It’s a gray world even to her.
Another statistic for you. It’s projected that by 2050, coffee production will decrease by 50 percent while consumption will double. Let’s take a moment to consider the ramifications of such an idea.
“Younger farmers are dipping out on coffee farming altogether because it isn’t economically viable,” says Michael Rice, founder of Mad Priest Coffee Roasters.
Farmers, faced with economic burden, are migrating to cities in hopes of a better life. These supplier shifts, mixed with drastically changing climates in prime coffee growing regions, make statistics like this a harsh reality for the people who grow the beans that we all love so much.
When asked about ethical sourcing, Michael gives me an answer that’s about an hour long, yet barely scratches the surface of the interconnected complexities of the question.
“On the surface level as a customer, you’ll never find the real answers,” he explains.
There are lots of buzzwords that make it seem like beans are being responsibly sourced, but in reality, there is a massive lack of clarity on what ethical sourcing means.
“There is a direct correlation between coffee growth, conflict, and displacement,” continues Michael. “Why is that?”
Every ethics based question that I asked while researching for this article just left me with ten more questions that would also end up unanswered. Every corner turned is another gray alleyway, an endless labyrinth that seems to expand without limit.
Michael summed up how I felt: “I wish we could be more honest about the gray zone and be okay with that. We don’t need to be comfortable with it, but we need to constantly be in the place of being challenged and accepting of the ambiguity and gray area of coffee.”
But hold on, what am I doing wrong here? This was supposed to be about how exciting coffee is and how many cool things are happening. I have tens of thousands of additional words to write about ethics, but I’m already more than halfway through and I haven’t said anything positive.
For instance, Chattanooga will soon have an incredibly special coffee from Yemen. The extremely rare bean from the war-ravaged country is said to be some of the best in the world. At a staggering $180 per pound, it is in the company of exceptional wines. Grown at over 8,000 feet of elevation, the beans have a unique ecosystem unlike anywhere else on earth, resulting in fruity notes of blackberry and citrus with a sweet, buttery body.
“Yemen has always been a special place for me,” says Ian Goodman of Goodman Coffee Roasters. “The country is intriguing as an origin and they have a deep history in coffee. Proceeds from our lot helped fund a school there, which supplied clean water, among other things.”
Goodman is exceptionally excited about this roast and has dreams of eventually traveling to Yemen to visit the region. Stay tuned in the coming months on how to get yourself a taste of what may be the greatest coffee on earth.
“I love getting to know the people and the things they are doing,” continues Goodman. “Last year I did an origin trip to Guatemala. We help fund and support a scholarship program that focuses on young girls and their education all the way through college. The girls don’t tend to do a lot of schooling and have less opportunity than the boys, so we focus on scholarships for them.”
This kind of involvement drives farmers to produce better coffee. Ian plans to do an origin trip every year and has massive involvement in the entire process of coffee, from farm to cup. Ian is a proponent of good coffee and has constantly pushed education. Goodman will begin offering a more high-end line of coffee for people interested in diving deeper into the magical fruit.
“Coffee is the cheapest luxury item in the world,” Goodman notes. “The amount of man hours that go into getting coffee, even to me, is staggering. All good coffees are handpicked and often sorted by hand for size and color. A hundred hands may touch your coffee before it even gets to the roaster.
“Coffee is hard work. It takes around 2,000 cherries to make a pound of coffee. A bag weighs over 150 pounds and these guys sling bags around all day long.”
I see the bags sitting all around his roaster and they certainly do look heavy. He shows me a video from his trip to the coffee farm of the workers moving the massive coffee bags. No surprise, they are not wearing comfy hiking boots and Carhartts.
What about that roast from Myanmar that I’ve been seeing all over social media? Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, is typically only known for its decades-long history of British imperial rule, civil unrest, ethnic cleansing, and global isolationism. Why bother with a coffee from such a complicated place?
“To make an impact in the industry, we have to think through how to participate in other levels,” explains Michael Price. “We need to buy from other places that are underrepresented and we need to stop being afraid to talk about it. By participating in a newer region, you help that region develop its abilities.”
Mad Priest uses Atlas Coffee Importers for this and many other of their green beans. The coffee was initially rating in the high 70 to low 80 range (not very good), but within a year, they were able to flip the coffee to a staggering 90-point rating.
“It speaks to how a seemingly impossible task can be achieved through intense drive and dedication,” Micheal says. Mad Priest is also featuring a coffee from Burundi, another unique source.
Want to learn more about coffee? Mad Priest is hosting an educational series of conversations and classes. Discussions of ethics, sourcing, tasting, how to brew, and more will be on offer. Check out their Facebook page for more information.
Oh yeah, Starbucks. Can you name an employer with a more diverse workforce or customer base? Or that pumps more money into coffee farms around the world? The giant may very well be the most diverse company on earth. Michael turned me onto this otherwise very obvious idea.
I still don’t like their coffee.
Alex Curry has explored the world as an entertainment technician and traveler. During his three-year stint working in Asia, he fell in love with the cultural and culinary delights of the world.