Thursday, February 06, 2003


more on the coffee crisis

just want to note 2 great articles on the human face of the coffee crisis. and unlike many articles, this one nails all the facts head on. just a wonderful article. the single most relevant fact we coffee drinkers should remember?

"on average, those who produce coffee receive less than 1 percent of what a [north american] consumer pays for a cup of coffee in a restaurant or coffee shop, and roughly 6 percent of the retail price of coffee purchased in a grocery store." i'll do the math for you. that US$3.50 latte in starbucks generates only US$0.03 (3 pennies, 3 cents!) to the native coffee farmers. that 39 oz. can of folgers you buy at the supermarket generates just US$0.66 for the farmer -- yet you paid something like US$11 for it!

(and by the way, please remember that after earlier small price cuts, last year p&g raised that price by US$0.45, on top of an earlier announced US$0.15. do you think any of that went to the coffee farmer? not on your life!)

read this great piece now. in sum, you now know why i'm such an advocate for buying fresh, high-quality coffee from your local independent roaster; why despite its many flaws i've slowly come to support fair trade; and why i so strongly support that great charity coffeekids.

also, i've written about jhai coffee before. from the same source, a nice article on developments with that project. . .

posted by fortune | 5:07 PM | top | link to this | email this: | | | 0 comments