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.
© Copyright 2005 - http://www.TastesOfTheWorld.net
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/
Contact Us Today For Ad Information... Ebooks, Scripts,
Websites, and more... American coffee? Technically there is no such thing, at least... Read More When you grab that morning cup of java, you're probably... Read More From the year dot, my mother taught all her children... Read More Civil War soldiers, Confederate and Union, used to... Read More Who the heck knows?According to two studies published in the... Read More There are many refreshing iced coffee recipes available, and we... Read More Coffee club membership is a joy for coffee lovers The... Read More If you are a gourmet coffee drinker, you may want... Read More Coffee - THE Drink of ChoiceDid you know coffee is... Read More The stress of unemployment can really take a toll on... Read More La Minita; Spanish for "The Little Gold Mine" says it... Read More Coffee, in all sorts, could be a "pick me up... Read More Marylyn Monroe famed amongst other things for her love of... Read More Juan Valdez is a fictitious character who was created in... Read More A good travel mug is a must when you need... Read More The beverage called coffee is the result of mixing dry... Read More At Starbucks they obviously need coffee. To insure that they... Read More To summarize something as phenomenonally successful as Starbucks coffee history... Read More About 850 A.D it is said that a lone shepherd... Read More Having a hard time giving up your 4 cups of... Read More Who doesn't love solving a good mystery? Is the Loch... Read More Ever wonder how to clean a coffee maker the right... Read More One look at a line at the local Starbucks in... Read More Coffee roasting from light to very dark, is an art... Read More Most places that serve cappuccinos in the United States have... Read More
Cheap Domain Names
Coffee in America
Coffee and Depression: Coffee as an Antidepressant?
Coffee and Health
Live the Life of a Civil War Soldier When you Drink your Mornin Coffee
Does Coffee Make You Fat or Help with Diabetes?
Iced Coffee Recipes for Enjoying Chilled Espresso, Thai Iced Coffee And Many More Variations
Coffee Club Membership Is A Joy For Coffee Lovers
Coffee Makers
The History Of Coffee
There is More to Motivation Than Meets the Coffee
La Minita Coffee ? It?s in the Green Beans
Gano Coffee - Can Coffee Be Good For You?
Tea at Sea
Who is Juan Valdez?
Tips For Choosing The Perfect Travel Mug
Extracting the Coffee Flavor
Coffee is a commodity
Starbucks Coffee History
Coffee ?Nectar of the gods
Make the Switch! Coffee to Tea
The Great Bean Mystery - Find the World?s Best Coffee
How To Clean A Coffee Maker
Coffee, Caffeine & Fitness
Coffee Roasting: Learning the Fundamental Art of Making Coffee Can be Fun
Creating the Perfect Foam
Contact Us Today For Ad Information... Civil War soldiers, Confederate and Union, used to... Read More Specialty gourmet coffee is a very hot commodity in today's... Read More Pure Kona Coffee is gourmet coffee grown only on the... Read More Does your morning coffee cause you pain? Are you frustrated... Read More From the year dot, my mother taught all her children... Read More Coffee, in all sorts, could be a "pick me up... Read More Coffee is heavily studied, but study results contradict one another.... Read More The stress of unemployment can really take a toll on... Read More Starbucks has seen tremendous growth in our cities and the... Read More Are you a coffee addict? Are you searching for a... Read More One look at a line at the local Starbucks in... Read More Marylyn Monroe famed amongst other things for her love of... Read More Home Coffee Roasting ? Makes all the differenceAs I sit... Read More Many sober, law abiding people who would never dream of... Read More Here is an article that tells the secret of creating... Read More Coffee cupping is a method to compare the different characteristics... Read More A good travel mug is a must when you need... Read More Arabian coffee is the quintessential coffee of the world. Arabia... Read More American coffee? Technically there is no such thing, at least... Read More Want to know a few secrets to making a good... Read More Want to brew the perfect cup of coffee?Here are 3... Read More Caffeine is big business. There are new coffee shops popping... Read More Having a hard time giving up your 4 cups of... Read More Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee, yet it is not... Read More Coffee roasting from light to very dark, is an art... Read More
Affordable and Reliable Web
Hosting Starting
Live the Life of a Civil War Soldier When you Drink your Mornin Coffee
Specialty Gourmet Coffee
Pure Kona Coffee
Does Your Morning Coffee Cause You Pain or Discomfort?
Coffee and Health
Gano Coffee - Can Coffee Be Good For You?
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Coffee Consumption
There is More to Motivation Than Meets the Coffee
Getting Fat These Days; Is it Starbucks
Ganoderma Coffee - Can It Be Good For You?
Coffee, Caffeine & Fitness
Tea at Sea
Home Coffee Roasting
Is Caffeine a Hero or a Villain in Your Life?
Cappuccino Secrets: Creating the Perfect Foam
Coffee Cupping For The Fun Of It
Tips For Choosing The Perfect Travel Mug
History of Arabian Coffee
Coffee in America
Campfire Coffee Recipes
3 Simple Tips For Making Perfect Coffee
11 Effects of Caffeine on The Body
Make the Switch! Coffee to Tea
Ethiopian Coffee
Coffee Roasting: Learning the Fundamental Art of Making Coffee Can be Fun
Coffee |