Lost in the coffee aisle? Navigating the complex buzzwords behind an 'ethical' bag of beans is easier said than done
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Friday, September 29, 2023
Overload, Fair trade certification, Database, Partnership, Industry, Marketing, Method, Farmer, Starbucks, Tree, COVID-19, Pittosporum eugenioides, Research, Folgers, Vieira, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Conchita, Certification, Climate change, Animal, Reading, Coffee, Ethics, Conservation, Intercontinental Exchange, Environment, Family, Wine, Farm
Perusing the shelves in the coffee aisle, though, you see too many choices.
Key Points:
- Perusing the shelves in the coffee aisle, though, you see too many choices.
- Yet when it comes to commodity goods like coffee, the complex production chain can turn an uncomplicated habit into a complicated decision.
- As a coffee enthusiast and marketing professor who researches marketplace justice, I’ve long been fascinated with how ethics and coffee consumption are intertwined.
- Marketers attempt to simplify this overload by using buzzwords that sound good but may not get across much nuance.
- However, you might consider some of these terms when trying to decide between “100% Colombian” and the Vieira family.
Fair trade
- “Fair trade” implies the coffee is fairly traded, often with the goal of paying farmers minimum prices – and fixed premiums – above the C-price.
- There are a few different fair trade certifications, such as Fairtrade America or Fair Trade Certified.
- These relationships potentially allow the importers to work directly with farmers over multi-year periods to improve the coffee quality and conditions.
100% arabica
- There are several species of coffee, but approximately 70% of the world’s production comes from the arabica species, which grows well at higher altitudes.
- Like with wine, there are several varieties of arabica, and they tend to be a bit sweeter than other species – making arabica the ideal species for satisfying consumers.
Single-origin
- If someone labeled a peach as “American,” a consumer would rightly wonder where exactly it came from.
- Others have developed blockchain solutions where each step along the coffee’s journey, from bean to retail, is documented in a database that consumers can look at.
Shade-grown
- Farmers or importers are left justifying the cost and wondering if the specialized label can attract a large enough market to validate their decision to certify.
- That said, many farmers who have the ability will do shade-grown regardless, since it’s a better farming practice and saves some costs on fertilizer.
- In the end, all this information – or lack thereof – is a tool for consumers to use when making their coffee choices.