Good Coffee is in Trouble

Coffee is in trouble around the world because farming is in trouble around the world.

Climate change is making it harder to grow good anything. Farmers are dealing with higher temperatures, too much rain, too little rain, and plant diseases and soil nutrient depletion. 

At the same time, many coffee farmers are not paid enough to make a stable living. Some are leaving coffee farming because they simply can’t survive on what they earn.

Meanwhile, in countries where coffee is consumed, we focus a lot on roasting styles, flavor notes, awards, and trendy processing methods like anaerobic fermentation. Those things matter, but they don’t fix the bigger problem.  The global coffee supply chain needs rightsizing. Farmers often earn the least, while traders, exporters, and big companies capture more of the profit. The “C market” and hedge fund speculation can push prices up and down in ways that don’t reflect what farmers actually need to survive. When prices crash, farmers suffer first and often the most.

Even small specialty roasters are part of this system. If we don’t actively work to make the supply chain more fair and transparent by paying sustainable prices, building long-term relationships, and reducing unnecessary middle layers we contribute to the problem, even if unintentionally.  But simply paying a “fair” price doesn’t guarantee anything. 

If farmers can’t afford to keep growing great coffee, great coffee will disappear.  The future of coffee depends on making a different system not just chasing “better” creative flavors, but supporting better livelihoods.  If we don’t make a change away from the “C” I believe there will be overall lower quality, more Robusta, less unique/traditional flavors.