A Coffee Crisis Is Brewing And It Could Make Your Morning Joe Less Tasty

LOADING ERROR LOADING Whether it’s a quickly chugged-down morning cup, a lukewarm afternoon jolt from the coffee machine at work, a pumpkin spiced latte in the fall or a specialty cold brew in the summer, coffee has cemented itself as an important ritual in the lives of many Americans. “I think there’s a lot of people today who are looking to coffee for more than just a caffeine delivery service.” Coffee is big business, worth around $90 billion globally. “Individuals should try to support anyone growing food in their neighborhood as they are the ones maintaining that diversity.” For coffee, any lasting solution must include getting more of the money consumers pay for their latte back into the farmers’ pockets, said Kettler. “It works on a commercial level as it’s generating revenue, but it’s skewed against farmers.” Kettler pointed to a report published this month by economics professor Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University that called for minimum prices for coffee growers and assistance to help them sell directly to consumers. “Unless something changes,” Kettler said, “in 20 years you’ll only have two choices of coffee when we walk into a cafe: Brazilian or Vietnamese.” If it matters to you, it matters to us.