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Surprise! Americans love specialty coffee. Plus, a new study looks at value distribution in the coffee supply chain, and drinking coffee at your desk is good for you.
A new study commissioned by Solidaridad, Sustainable Trade Initiative, and the Global Coffee Platform examined how value is distributed across the coffee industry. Using the German coffee market as an example, the report found that there is indeed enough value within the industry to support everyone involved, but that value is concentrated at the consuming end of the supply chain.
“The study highlights that there is an overall profit to be made on all aggregate coffee products for the German market,” the report’s authors write. “What is very clear for each of those, however, is that the added value concentrates in the downward part of the chain (from importer to retailer) and is limited at the farmer level.”
Other key findings include:
Family labor is undervalued. The work of spouses and children often goes unpaid and isn’t considered when calculating farmer profits.
Increasing what consumers pay for coffee doesn’t necessarily mean farmers earn more. “If we ask today for consumers to pay more, there’s not a mechanism for that trickle down to producers,” said Andrea Olivar, the strategy and quality director for Latin America at Solidaridad Network.
Interventions need to be direct—despite there being value in coffee, processes aren’t in place to distribute it fairly. “One of the calls for action that we want to ask the industry after the report is launched and validated is to try different mechanisms to see what it will look like if we redistribute value because there is enough value,” Olivar said.
For a more detailed look at the report, read the full story here.
Cold brew safety is a hot topic within the coffee industry at present. Because of its brewing process and lower acidity, cold brew is particularly vulnerable to contamination and bacteria growth. At the same time, cold brew sales are booming in the US, with many, if not most, coffee companies getting in on the action.
Snapchill recently announced a pre-emptive recall of all its products due to the risk of botulism. The manufacturer uses a patented hot-brewed-then-flash-chilled process to can cold brew products. The recall affects over 150 coffee roasters and retailers.
“The problem was identified when the [FDA] notified Snapchill that the low acid canned foods process for manufacturing the recalled products was not filed with FDA, as is required by regulation,” Snapchill said in a press release announcing the recall.
“No illnesses have been reported to-date, and Snapchill is not aware of any instances in which the company’s products contained botulin toxin. Snapchill is working on filing the appropriate notification with FDA.”
While there are growing concerns about cold brew safety, the National Coffee Association (NCA) stresses that “cold brew is perfectly safe when prepared, stored, and served properly.”
Snapchill says any products included in the recall should be destroyed or returned for a full refund.
We know that Americans love coffee. But did you know that they love specialty coffee even more?
The National Coffee Association and Specialty Coffee Association teamed up to compile a specialty-focused consumer trends analysis based on the Spring 2024 edition of the NCA’s National Coffee Data Trends report.
They found that 67% of those surveyed had consumed coffee in the past day. Of that number, 45% enjoyed specialty coffee, compared with 44% who preferred non-specialty coffee. This marks the first time since the NCA began its surveys that more people consumed specialty coffee than non-specialty coffee.
Past-day consumption of specialty coffee has increased by 80% since 2011. Much of this increase is driven by the younger generations, with those in the 25-39 range drinking the most coffee of any age group.
Other interesting findings include that the Northeast had the highest past-week coffee consumption in the US, while specialty drinkers consumed more coffee on average than their non-specialty counterparts: 2.8 cups per day compared with 1.8.
“Coffee’s enduring popularity and growth shows that America’s favorite beverage keeps up with consumers’ taste for tradition just as well as it meets changing needs and preferences over time,” said NCA President and CEO Bill Murray in a press release.
“Consumers’ interest in specialty coffee also coincides with a growing interest in health and wellness, another area where coffee delivers unique benefits as demonstrated by decades of independent scientific evidence showing that coffee drinkers live longer, healthier, happier lives.”
‘International Coffee Organisation Announces Coffee-Industry Outcomes of G7 Summit‘ – via Global Coffee Report
‘Westrock Coffee Opens Massive Beverage Factory in Arkansas‘ – via Daily Coffee News
‘Kansas City Welcomes Nicaraguan Cup of Excellence‘ – via STiR Coffee & Tea
‘Sabrina Carpenter’s Barista Shift Marks the Latest Celebrity’ Customer Service Cosplay” – via the Philadelphia Inquirer
‘Cafe Imports Launches Groundbreaking Interactive Cupping Form, The Coffee Rose‘ – via Daily Coffee News
‘Coffee-Obsessed Koreans Say Nay to Nestlé’s Nescafé‘ – via JoongAng Daily
If you work at a desk, coffee could help you live longer.
Sedentary actions, like sitting at a desk all day, can contribute to adverse health outcomes. Coffee, however, could help.
New research from Soochow University in Taiwan analyzed ten years of self-reported data from over 10,000 adults in the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and examined what effect drinking coffee had on their health outcomes. The study, published in BMC Public Health, found that those who drank coffee were 33% less likely to die from all-cause mortality (death from any cause, including disease or accident) and 50% less likely to die from cardiovascular disease (CVD).
“All-cause mortality was reduced in the highest quintile of coffee intake,” the study authors write in their conclusion, “and the decreased risk for CVD mortality was significantly associated with any amount of coffee consumption.”
‘Is Asking Consumers to Spend More on Coffee Just Trickle-Down Economics?’ by Ashley Rodriguez
‘Varieties of Varieties and Mistaken Identities’ by Christopher Feran
‘The Coffee Industry Needs Innovation and Effective Implementation’ by Diana Denjoubi
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