Thursday, February 19, 2004


optimism's flames, redux

"i think we are turning the corner, i want to leave a message of optimism. we can now see for the first time in six years a deficit of supply in form of demand."

so said i.c.o. chief nestor osorio at the african coffee conference. he was referring to the recent uptick in coffee prices after years of the world-price depression known as the coffee crisis, that has caused so much human misery and hardship among coffee farmers, while threatening to reduce the quality of the coffee we consumers drink.

of course if coffee farmers can't make a living, they will stop farming coffee, stop producing the beautiful, rare, specialty-quality coffee we cafénatics enjoy. then the displaced coffee workers who pick the coffee are forced to illegally cross borders. near-bankrupt coffee farmers in latin america and africa will continue to turn to growing illegal drugs to generate the income to save their family's land.

long-time readers know that i often discusss the coffee crisis here, because market conditions affect us coffee lovers. not only in harming the coffee supply, but also in generating social problems like illegal immigration and drug crime.

so in effect, we pay three times for the crisis: once in dismay at our morning beverage, a second in the widespread drug problem, and finally in our taxes!

only 2 groups can solve the coffee crisis: the farmers -- who must grow less coffee, but of higher quality -- and we coffee drinkers, who must understand that coffee is a fine beverage deserving of a slightly better price. great coffee is worth paying a fraction more! consumers and farmers must bridge the knowledge gap that divides them.

i was so privileged this morning to have this same conversation with london-based industry maven mike segal, the editor of new publication, coffeeworld. i love meeting people in the coffee industry because many are surprised to encounter consumers who understand what is happening.

thus i was pleased to tell him that the scaa has been working hard to educate its consumer membership on these important issues. mike works closely with the european equivalent, the scae, who i soon hope will start a consumer program of its own.

just by patiently reading this yourself, you have become cognizant of the situation. and your actions count: even walking down to your local independent coffeehouse to buy a half-pound of fresh-roasted specialty beans to brew at home or buying a latte at starbucks marks you as someone contributing to the solution!

i hope we can all work together to promote better coffee for everyone. consumers win, farmers win, the coffee industry wins, and even market-makers like hedge-fund genius serge cantacuzene -- perhaps the first to predict the price increase -- win!

once again i swear the new tag-line here should be "one world under specialty coffee's passionate sway!"

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