Honest Coffee
written by Zane Svarupe, CC Marketing Manager
Coffee is the most consumed beverage in the world and is grown in more than 70 different countries (Bilen et al., 2022). And we all want to drink good coffee, don’t we? When we start exploring, we first encounter two major groups – commercial coffee and “specialty” coffee. The initial associations with the first one are quite clear (for mass consumption, lower price, which certainly does not speak of the highest possible quality), but what is this “beast” – “specialty”? Can we replace it with something else?
Colleagues, let’s be thoughtful before replacing anything, as we need to understand what we are talking about – the term “specialty” coffee was first used in 1974 by Erna Knutsen in an interview with Tea & Coffee Trade Journal, describing the coffee she sold (SH Journal, 2024). Today, there are nine global definitions of this Knutsen’s “catchphrase” (International Coffee Organization, 2024), which differ in details, but their common denominator is the same – just like back then, today the term refers to the best possible coffee, or in simpler terms – coffee “where everything is done right.” Suitable growing conditions and agricultural techniques, proper and careful processing from coffee cherry to roasted bean, as well as skilled coffee preparation (Urwin et al., 2019), resulting in a true taste experience in the cup.
So far, everything sounds wonderful, right? Continuing with honest coffee – it seems that it could bring not only a delightful taste experience but also offer some additional, deeper value. But is it even realistic to expect that from your morning coffee?
What does the word honest even mean? One whose actions align with moral standards; one who performs their work and duties conscientiously and responsibly (Latvian Literary Language Dictionary, 1996). Based on this, honest must be something we can trust, something that creates a sense of security – and therefore, something we are naturally drawn to. Moreover, it is something we want to associate ourselves with. In relation to coffee, the first thing that comes to mind is what is postulated by the Specialty Coffee Association (the largest international organization in this field) – “specialty” coffee is unimaginable without the genuine dedication of all the people involved in its creation, ensuring a product of truly high quality. This applies to every worker along the coffee bean’s journey – from the coffee farmer to the barista.
It would be beautiful if honest pay for honest work would be the norm. Clearly, this is not always the case – 44% of coffee farmers live in poverty, and 22% in extreme poverty (Poncet et al., 2024). Moreover, this is not even the full picture – in many countries, child labor and forced labor are still used. The most frequently mentioned countries in the literature are Brazil, Uganda, and Ethiopia (Cordes et al., 2021). Although there are various organizations aimed at ensuring fair (or at least fairer) payment to farmers for their grown coffee, often it is merely a label on a coffee package rather than a real benefit to the farmer. For example, the well-known Fairtrade certification, on paper, guarantees a minimum coffee price, protecting farmers from sudden price drops. However, in reality, this price often does not cover inflation and other rising production costs. Furthermore, obtaining this certification, of course, is not a free process, which becomes an obstacle for very small farms (Crafted Coffee, 2024).
The journey of a coffee bean to the cup is very long. It includes coffee farmers, processors, exporters, importers, roasters, and finally, those who sell the coffee to the end consumer. Clearly, in such a long chain, monetary value is added at each stage, but usually the smallest share is received by the coffee farmer (Hansen, 2024).
Although all of this sounds depressing – there are conscious ways to improve the situation. Coffee roasters buying directly from small farmers and coffee drinkers purchasing from such a roaster. This means that both will have to pay more in this case, and the roaster will have to work hard to find coffee that is worth this price. But no one ever said that being honest would be easy.
Ok, honest work – “check,” what’s next? If coffee is truly honest, then it must not only ensure fair compensation for all the people involved but also for the environment in which this coffee bean grows (and, by the way – where we all live). With this, I want to emphasize that the environment in this case is not just some random coffee plantation in some corner of the world, but rather a comprehensive, all-embracing sphere in which coffee grows and is produced, as well as where the consumer lives and breathes.
Thus, the honesty of the coffee production process cannot be separated from planet-friendly farming. An important note – by this farming, I mean an ecocentric rather than an anthropocentric approach. Ecocentrism postulates the equal importance and conservation of the entire ecosystem, contrary to anthropocentrism, which focuses on the sustainable (or, if we tend be more honest – prolonged) use of resources specifically for human needs (Darnthamrongkul & Mozingo, 2020).
This means that in an ideal world, coffee production (by this, I mean the entire chain from coffee cherry to cup) should cause no or minimal negative impact on the environment. Clearly, achieving this 100% or close to that will not be possible, if we are still yet to be able to afford our everyday cup. However, there are many aspects where the specialty coffee industry has already made a significant contribution. For example, growing coffee trees in the shade of other trees, preserving biodiversity rather than cultivating vast monoculture plantations; growing coffee without additional irrigation (such as the Andrade family, whose Capim Branco farm produces our best-selling Brazilian coffee), as well as, from Closer Coffee’s side, keeping roasted coffee packaging as simple as possible (did you know that a black-and-white label has a lower environmental impact than a colored one?).
The journey of a coffee bean to the cup is long, and there are many parts of the story that “get lost in translation“. Is completely honest coffee even possible? Is every single person, involved in production going to be completely honest? Probably not. Therefore, acknowledging these unknown factors while offering coffee about which we know as much as possible regarding its origin and creation – that would truly be honest.
References
Books:
• Latviešu literārās valodas vārdnīca (1996) Latviešu literārās valodas vārdnīca. 1.–8. Rīga: Zinātne. Available at: https://tezaurs.lv/godīgs:1 (Accessed: 2 December 2024).
Journal Articles:
• Bilen, C., El Chami, D., Mereu, V., Trabucco, A., Marras, S. and Spano, D. (2022) ‘A systematic review on the impacts of climate change on coffee agrosystems’, Plants (Basel), 12(1), p. 102. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/plants12010102.
• Cordes, K.Y., Sagan, M. and Kennedy, S. (2021) ‘Responsible coffee sourcing: Towards a living income for producers’, Sustainable Investment Staff Publications, 199. Available at: https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/sustainable_investment_staffpubs/199.
• Darnthamrongkul, W. and Mozingo, A.L. (2020) ‘Challenging anthropocentric stormwater management: Advancing legislation for environmental sustainability in the United States’, Water Security, 10, p. 100064. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wasec.2020.100064.
• Hansen, M.M. (2024) ‘Mapping the past to model the future’, SCA News. Available at: https://sca.coffee/sca-news/25/issue-22/mapping-the-past-to-model-the-future-dalaz.
• Poncet, V., van Asten, P., Millet, C.P., Vaast, P. and Allinne, C. (2024) ‘Which diversification trajectories make coffee farming more sustainable?’, Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 68, p. 101432. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2024.101432.
• Urwin, R et al. (2019) ‘The rise of specialty coffee: An investigation into the consumers of specialty coffee in Gauteng’, African Journal of Hospitality, Tourism and Leisure, 8(5). Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/343473263.
Online Sources:
• Crafted Coffee (2024) ‘Is Fairtrade coffee actually fair trade? Exploring its impact, limitations, and ethical alternatives’. Available at: https://www.craftedcoffee.co.uk/2024/02/12/is-fairtrade-coffee-actually-fair-trade-exploring-its-impact-limitations-and-ethical-alternatives/.
• International Coffee Organization (2024) 2nd meeting of the Focus Group on Specialty Coffee, Annex 1. Available at: https://ico.org/documents/cy2024-25/fgsc-3e-definitions-specialty-coffee.pdf.
• SH Journal (no date) ‘Erna Knutsen – kvinnen som forandret kaffeindustrien’. Available at: https://sh.no/en/journal/erna-knutsen-kvinnen-som-forandret-kaffeindustrien/ (Accessed: 15 January, 2024).
