The End of Coffee (Not Literally)

The coffee industry currently has a commodity chain that involves producers, middlemen exporters, importers, roasters, and retailers before reaching the consumer. Middlemen exporters purchase coffee directly from small farmers. They typically purchase the coffee below market price, keeping a high percentage for themselves. Large coffee estates and plantations often export their own harvests or have direct arrangements with a transnational coffee processing or distributing company. Under either arrangement, large producers can sell at prices set by the New York Coffee Exchange. These large plantations generally pay workers extremely low wages, typically two to three dollars a day, and offer poor working conditions.

Here in CR there are different prices for coffee compared to the states. Back home we import over 1200 thousand tons of coffee each year while CR has no reason to import any. The demand is normal and the supply is high in CR, while in the states the demand is high and the supply is lower. A one pound bag of Cafe Britt in CR is $5, but in the states it is $9 not including the international shipping costs. At Del Cafe Tal, we were able to purchase coffee for $10 a pound while in the states coffee boutiques and large scale stores purchase the coffee for $15 a pound. The mark up is created through middlemen and can be even higher, unless significant effort is put forth in order to reduce or eliminate them like in Del Cafe Tal's case. Starbucks sells a Costa Rican coffee called Tarrazu that is $13 a pound. The description is full of lavish descriptions to make the coffee sound different and great. The price of coffee depends on its classification. The price varies significantly if the coffee is Fair Trade, organic certified, shade-grown, or sungrown. Some of these methods are healthier for the environment in general, while others are not, so it is up to a eco-friendly consumer to purchase the more expensive coffee.

Fun Fact: Twelve billion pounds of coffee is consumed around the globe annually, and the United States alone has over 130 million coffee drinkers.

Dunkin´ Donuts

Dunkin´Donuts is my favorite coffee in the States so I thought I would share some infomation about it with everyone.

Dunkin´ Donuts claims to be the "world´s largest coffee and baked goods chain," serving 2.7 million customers per day at over 7,000 stores globally which includes approximately 5,300 Dunkin´ Donuts locations in 36 states throughout the states. This figure compares with the 10,800 stores of coffee chain Starbucks, whose baked goods are usually prepared out of shop. Over the past several years, Dunkin´ Donuts has heavily emphasized its coffee offerings and related coffee products, enough that the company added a Dunkin´ Donuts coffee cup to its logo in 2003. This is due to the company selling more coffee products than donuts in recent years. It now offers several types and styles of coffee drinks, in hot and iced forms.

Espresso, Cappuccino and Lattes - These traditional Italian style coffee beverages are available at most of its locations.

Flavored Coffee - The flavor options are: French Vanilla, hazelnut, cinnamon, toasted almond, caramel, coconut, raspberry, blueberry and chocolate. Each of these flavors can be added to any of their coffee beverages, allowing the possibility of combining more than one flavor.

Turbo - The product adds an extra shot of espresso to its contents. Its individual product slogan says that "Turbo provides you the boost you need to power you through your day".

Latte Lite Espresso is combined with skim milk and then Splenda for sweetness.

Iced Lattes - Their two varieties are Iced Caramel Swirl and Iced Mocha Swirl. Each of these drinks are made of espresso, caramel/mocha syrup, milk and is topped with whipped cream and more syrup.

Bulk Coffee - Dunkin´ Donuts sells its coffee and flavored coffee in bulk packaging for in-home consumer preparation. It offers whole bean and ground varieties in 1/2 pound, 1 pound and 2 ounce tester sizes. It is sold at most Dunkin´ Donuts restaurants, online from their web site, and at other retail outlets.

Organic v. Non Organic Coffee Showdown

Last week at Cafe Britt I did a little shopping and I bought a bag of one of their blends and a bag of their organic coffee and it got me to thinking what is the difference in what I am paying for. I've done a bit of research and found that it basically (most simplistic) comes down to pesticide and fertilizer use.

Organic-grown coffee does not have artificial, toxic pesticides used to cultivate the bean. If the organic label is accurate, this means these pesticides don't even come close to it. Any pesticide used will be a natural pesticide, such as special soil, companion planting (planting different crops in close physical proximity on the theory that they will help each other), or even fungus-based pesticides. This makes sure that the consumer's health is better protected, as well as the environment. Cutting out these harmful pesticides also keeps them from being absorbed by the coffee bean, which in turn keeps the consumer from injesting trace amounts of pesticides.

Organic grown coffee will only use natural, organic fertilizers. This would include fully organic compost and mulch, as well as companion planting. The soil and environment also benefit both in the short and long term. Short term, the soil and environment don't have their natural chemical and ecological balance thrown off by the introduction of synthetic chemical fertilizers. Long term, the soil and environment will be able to support continued growing and harvesting for many years without drastic soil treatments being necessary.

Coffee Coffee Coffee

Well it was a little difficult waking up this morning after Bob Fest 2K8 last night at Sultans, but I was excited to visit a coffee plantation, since I will dabble with the beverage from time to time. It took around an hour, but we finally reached Del Cafe Tal plantation.

My purchases at Gander Mountain and Dicks definately paid off today, since we treked up and down throughout the muddy hills of the plantation. I have never seen nor relized that coffee comes from a plant and the measures it takes to reach the bottom of my cup. The hand picked berries are processes by having them scrubbed and washed to remove the fruity outer layer and dissolve the gummy substance surrounding the bean. The moist beans are then laid out to dry in the sun in the traditional manner. The leather skin of the bean is then removed by machine-rubbing, and the beans are sorted according to size and shape before being shipped off to the States and Europe. Del Cafe Tal's product has just been recognized as the best coffee in Costa Rica, which some indicate as the best in the world.

The owner sat us down at a pavillion near where the beans would dry and gave an overview of her business that she has been operating for the past 10 years. She has gone back and forth in producing the coffee organically and inorganically, but has settled to produce inorganically since she can produced 800 sacks to only 30 sacks organically. I learned the key to their success is location. Growing coffee at a high elevation and having an extended drying period due to the shade allows for a greater quality and higher caffine concentration in the bean. We were given a sample of their product at the end, which I enjoyed. The coffee is definately stronger here and will definately leave a lasting impression when I go to get my coffee at Dunkin Doughnuts back in the states.

Tomorrow we are heading to Cafe Britt, a large commerical producer of coffee in CR, it will be interesting to compare the two plantations and their products...


Thought I should speak some knowlege on fair trade coffee...

The United States consumes one-fifth of all the world's coffee, making it the largest consumer in the world. But few Americans realize that agriculture workers in the coffee industry often working under terrible conditions and wages. Many small coffee farmers receive prices for their coffee that are less than the costs of production, forcing them into debt traps and poverty. Fair Trade is a viable solution to this crisis, assuring consumers that the coffee we drink was purchased under fair conditions. To become Fair Trade certified, an importer must meet stringent international criteria; paying a minimum price per pound, providing much needed credit to farmers, and providing technical assistance such as help transitioning to organic farming. Fair Trade for coffee farmers allows for community development with improvements towards health, education, and environmental stewardship. I also believe that Miami sells free trade coffee and Tuffy's and maybe at the King Cafe.

El Pescados tonight to finish up Bob Fest 2k8.