What is Sustainable Coffee and How Does it Affect My Wake Cup?

Gourmet coffee lovers have been seeing a few new terms in the local premium coffee shop as they file past the seasonal retail displays of roasted whole bean bagged coffees. Phrases include eco-friendly, organic, shade grown, fair trade and certified sustainable. Most often those beans seem to the casual buyer to be simply more expensive than the corporate mega-brands.

But these few phrases represent far more than at first glance, including economic and social gains for the growing regions and farmers, harvesters and processors of green coffee beans at the local level. Sustainable coffee means premium prices and quality coffee due to organic farming practices, fair market payment for beans to local growers and quality controls being adopted by the "certified" coffee brands.

Those premium coffee prices reflect growing concerns worldwide of paying fair wages to growers, using more expensive ecologically friendly organic farming practices, better pay for traditionally underpaid harvesters and processing workers and strict quality controls being adopted for "certified sustainable coffees."

Daniele Giovannucci consults with governments, international agencies, and businesses on coffee markets and production strategies to improve competitiveness and support innovative environmental and rural poverty reduction work. Giovannucci has authored exhaustive studies, including the 2003, "The State of Sustainable Coffee Report - A Study of Twelve Major Markets."

http://www.cec.org/files/PDF/ECONOMY/CoffeeSurvey_EN.pdf

This study discusses coffee market forces in Europe and Japan and the growth of sustainable coffee around the world, estimating that fair trade, organic, and eco-friendly coffees represent less than 2 percent of coffee consumption in developed markets.

Another Giovannucci authored study, "Sustainable Coffee Survey of the North American Specialty Coffee Industry," he estimates the Global market for sustainable coffee to be approximately $565 million retail for over a million 60 kilo (about 132 pounds) bags of green coffee beans.

http://www.eftafairtrade.org/Document.asp?DocID=391&tod=21534

It is estimated that growers of certified sustainable coffees can nearly double their income from otherwise depressed coffee prices. So economically challenged third world countries see small farmers adopting organic growing techniques as a ticket out of poverty and subsistence. Corporate buyers are attracted to sustainable growers by consumer goodwill and health concerns related to those organically grown coffees. This leads to dubious claims by some of the corporate coffee representatives and has lead to the need for certification authorities.

One group, Fairtrade Labeling Organizations International (FLO) has been active in monitoring and certifying, auditing and verifying standards for sustainable coffees. Another, named Transfair USA, carries on similar activities in the American coffee market. Consumers are justifiably confused when many terms are applied to sustainable coffees and fail to differentiate between organic, eco-friendly, fair trade and sustainable terms.

Premium prices are sometimes supported by certification, labeling and monitoring by third-party organizations and sometimes by local governments such as the "Jamaica Coffee Industry Board." But some labeling is simply slick sales and PR by greedy corporations seeking premium prices for average coffee beans, so support for labeling initiatives and independent certification is growing.

Fair Trade and sustainable coffees are seeing increasing production in Central and South American growing regions, most notably in Mexico and Peru. Columbia has seen some pressure and attempts to divert production of cocaine with coffee crops for the fair trade market with little major success to report so far. Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia are big participants in sustainable coffees in Africa while East Timor, India and Indonesia are major supporters of sustainable coffee in Asia.

With the North American coffee market dominated by multinational giants Sara Lee, Kraft and Procter & Gamble, little interest has been shown in adopting sustainable coffee by major corporate coffee producers. Meanwhile, Brazil and Vietnam, the world's No. 1 and No. 2 coffee producers, respectively are flooding the market with poor quality beans and driving down coffee prices.

But major grocery chains are seeing demand for sustainable coffee and may adopt fair trade and organic coffees to sell nationwide at Safeway, Kroger and Albertson's stores. Increases in availability, demand and awareness of sustainable coffee are leading to more of the same in a spiraling increase for fair trade organic and shade coffees in premium markets. Some sustainable coffees are even finding their way into instant coffees, but the vast majority of the sustainable market is in premium and specialty markets.

Tastes of The World coffee company http://www.tastesoftheworld.net focuses on specialty gourmet coffees which are not readily available in the United States. Rare Gourmet Coffee from Jamaica Blue Mountain to Kopi Luwak exotic and fine Italian Espressos from Illy and Marcafe as well as a selection of premium Puerto Rican coffees including Cafe Tres Picachos.

Come discuss your favorites in the coffee talk forums at http://www.tastesoftheworld.net/talk/

MORE RESOURCES:

RELATED ARTICLES

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Coffee Consumption
Coffee is heavily studied, but study results contradict one another. If science says that it is bad for you today, wait a day or two and another study will be published claiming the exact opposite findings.

Make Money In Your Own Coffee Business
A 2001 survey by the National Coffee Association indicated that over 100 million people drink coffee on a daily basis and that nearly 60 million more occasionally consume coffee. Based on average drinking habits, the daily coffee drinker will consume multiple cups per day - totalling hundreds of millions cups of coffee being consumed every 24 hours.

Make the Switch! Coffee to Tea
Having a hard time giving up your 4 cups of coffee each day? Evidence shows by switching to tea you can add some significant health benefits. The health benefit of drinking tea is chalked up to one explanation, antioxidants.

Arabica Coffee Beans Are Pricey Yet Priceless!
Arabica coffee beans are known for a better-flavored coffee. There are two main species of coffee beans that are grown for sale: Robusta and Arabica.

Gourmet Coffee Stops Decrease Gas Mileage;Home Brewed Premium Coffee Reduce Traffic Congestion
A researcher has stirred up the commuter coffee mug with the suggestion that morning rush hour traffic is worsened by stops for daily morning gourmet coffee at Starbucks and other premium coffee houses. Nancy McGuckin, a travel behavior analyst, studied a report called "National Household Travel Survey" by the U.

History of Arabian Coffee
Arabian coffee is the quintessential coffee of the world. Arabia lends its name to the highest quality coffee plant in the world, Coffea Arabica.

Coffee Commodities and Starbucks
If we look at commodity trading from a purely conceptual standpoint, we find that the true reason for having a commodity exchange in the first place, was to stabilize pricing so that the American farmer could have a better idea of what his agricultural product would sell for once the harvest was complete. It also helped manufactures who needed raw materials to know how much money could be charged in their end product, by knowing their costs.

Starbucks Coffee History
To summarize something as phenomenonally successful as Starbucks coffee history might be a challenge. Many volumes have been written on the subject, it is examined and taught in business schools, and whole semesters are dedicated to the marketing genius of the company.

History of the Coffee and Espresso Machine
A large percentage of the population loves to drink both gourmet coffee and espresso drinks. We are all aware of the fact that coffee and espresso provide a boost of energy and they also warm your body up on those cold winter days.

The Great Bean Mystery - Find the World's Best Coffee
Who doesn't love solving a good mystery? Is the Loch Ness monster real? Who built Stonehenge? Does Big Foot really exist? What is the world's best coffee? While you may need to be an expert to solve the first three, no advanced degree or special knowledge is required to unravel one of the greatest mysteries of the 21st century: What is the world's best coffee?All you need to solve this caffeinated mystery is equip yourself with the right information. And, thanks to the Internet, finding the information for your coffee trekking adventure is as easy as the click of a button.

Ganoderma Coffee - Can It Be Good For You?
Are you a coffee addict? Are you searching for a healthier coffee alternative? Do you enjoy a good cup of coffee, but choose other beverages, because it does not agree with you? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are in for a pleasant surprise.Believe it or not, all coffee is not bad for you.

Gourmet Coffee Beans
You can be a coffee lover without knowing much about coffee beans, but learning a little bit about the different types of coffee can help you get the perfect cup every time. There are many types of gourmet coffee beans.

Diabetes and the Preventive Power of Coffee!
Type 2 diabetes mellitus is one of the most rapidly accelerating diseases today in terms of number of people afflicted. Theories abound as to why this is the case; however, scientists are now looking at new ways to improve the overall health of those both at risk for and suffering from this disease.

Arabica Coffee
As you may have guessed, Arabica coffee gets its name from Arabia, the land of kings. When it comes to coffee, Arabica is definitely king.

Creating the Perfect Foam
Most places that serve cappuccinos in the United States have not trained their baristas in the art of properly frothing milk. The foam that they create is usually a dry, tasteless, large celled collection of bubbles that sit on top of the espresso like a meringue.

Heating Vegetable Oil to Frying Temps Forms Toxic Compound
New research by a University of Minnesota professor and a graduate student shows that when highly unsaturated vegetable oils are heated at frying temperature (365 F) for extended periods-or even for half an hour-a highly toxic compound, HNE (4-hydroxy-trans-2-nonenal) forms in the oil.A.

There is More to Motivation Than Meets the Coffee
The stress of unemployment can really take a toll on ones confidence and state of mind. For some individuals, it could lead to depression, for others - a mere lack of motivation and feeling of hopelessness.

Mocha Coffee: Learn About the Source and Try Our Recipes for Making Great Mochas
Depending on how we look at it, mocha coffee may be the tall drink made of coffee, cocoa and milk, often served with cream or, on the other hand mocha coffee may refer to the source.Yemen is the source of true Mocha coffee.

Cappuccino Secrets: Creating the Perfect Foam
Here is an article that tells the secret of creating the perfect foam with steamed milk for making a wonderful cappuccino. As you'll see creating the perfect foam isn't as easy as it may seem .

What Makes Hawaiian Coffee So Special?
Coffee was first introduced to the Islands by Chief Boki, the Governor of Oahu, in 1825. He acquired coffee plants in Rio de Janeiro while aboard a British warship, the H.