The dark story of poverty in your coffee cup
Posted by TheShot on 05 Feb 2006 | Tagged as: Beans, Fair Trade, Robusta
Today’s Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported on: The dark story of poverty in your coffee cup.
In particular, it discusses the coffee paradox — i.e., how there could be a coffee boom in the consuming countries at the same time as a coffee crisis in the producing countries. Despite citing the impacts of the Vietnamese robusta glut and the Big Four coffee retailing giants, it goes on to suggest that, “One inescapable conclusion is that the coffee paradox exists because what coffee farmers sell and what consumers buy are becoming increasingly ‘different’ coffees. It is not material bean quality that coffee consumers pay for. It is mostly symbolic quality and in-person services.”
It also makes mention of the National Federation of Coffee Growers in Colombia, which has opened retail coffee shops under the Juan Valdez name in a few U.S. locations. The truth is that the only people who believe Colombia grows “the richest coffee in the world” are the Colombians and the brainwashed marketing subjects of years of Juan Valdez TV commercials. But you cannot fault their intentions.
2 Comments »
on 31 May 2006 at 6:48 pm -05:00T 1.TheShot.coffeeratings.com » Colombian coffee icon steps down said …
[...] But with Colombia coffee producers having already invested so much in their brand iconography (not to mention Juan Valdez-branded cafés in the U.S.), the successor to Mr. Sanchez will be announced next month. [...]
on 21 May 2007 at 12:10 pm -05:00T 2.Espresso News and Reviews - TheShot.coffeeratings.com » Coca-Cola FoodService Partners with Juan Valdez said …
[...] It appears Coke’s strategy is to lay claim to a chasm-crossing beachhead — their Omaha Beach or Anzio if you will — securing some footing in the restaurant coffee business. And they are making their assault on multiple fronts — Juan Valdez branding being just their latest tactic. This also presents a branding oddity for the National Federation of Coffee Growers in Colombia, which has opened retail coffee shops under the Juan Valdez name in a few U.S. locations. However, the Juanistas may feel they can avoid brand confusion because their Coke deal markets to restaurateurs and their cafés market directly to consumers. UPDATE: May 21, 2007 Coca-Cola’s Juan Valdez system now has something in common with what rugged outdoorsmen drink for caffeine while writing their manifestos at their wilderness compounds: The Food Network’s ‘Unwrapped’ to feature Java Juice(R) Liquid Coffee Extract - Food & Beverages News from Send2Press Newswire Mon, 21 May 2007. There’s no denying it — shelf-stable liquid coffee extracts are all the rage! [...]