Miscellaneous
Welcome to Recap, a brief overview of recent coffee developments every two weeks from the Specialty Coffee Association, made possible with the support of DaVinci. Special Thanks to Our Sponsor, DaVinciThis episode of Recap is made possible with support from DaVinci. With its heritage in specialty coffee and expertise in trends and menu innovation, DaVinci is the beverage brand of choice for the foodservice professional. Their product range is designed to provide end-to-end solutions and support specialty coffee professionals in their mission to create inspirational beverages. Follow us at DaVinci Europe, DaVinci North America, or using #WeAreDaVinciGourmet. Two economists from the International Coffee Organization suggest that a rise in protectionist economic policies has not yet resulted in trade barriers significantly impacting the coffee sector. In a feature for Global Coffee News, Dr. Christoph Saenger and Carmen Steinmetz shared a quantitative analysis of trade interventions implemented between 2009 and 2019. The analysis compares the number of “harmful” or “protectionist” interventions, like tariffs and state loans, against “liberalizing” interventions across member countries, but does not track the impact of individual interventions on the coffee sector. The feature also notes that interventions are reported with a time-lag, with the figures for 2019 and 2020 understating the true number of policies implemented in those years, which reflect a period of increased stress on the international trade system, including the ongoing Sino-American trade war. Coffee berry borer has been discovered on the Hawaiian Island of Kaua’i for the first time. The pest, whose larvae feed on coffee beans, has devastated coffee production throughout parts of Africa and the Americas for decades. Despite strict green coffee quarantining measures in effect for Hawaii’s islands, the borers have been previously found on the island of Hawai’i in 2010, the island of O’ahu in 2014, and on Maui in 2016. The island of Kaua’i is home to the largest coffee farm in the United States, Kauai Coffee, which maintains 4 million coffee trees on more than 3,000 acres. A coordinated effort to contain and manage the pest has begun as harvest season on the island—also home to several smaller commercial coffee farming and roasting operations—is already underway. Readers of the UK’s popular press have been inundated with stories of the London arrival of Neguse Gemeda Mude’s top-scoring lot from the inaugural Ethiopian Cup of Excellence competition, covered in Recap Episodes 10 and 12. Harrods, a luxury department store, and Difference Coffee, who specialize in producing specialty microlot capsules from rare and expensive lots, successfully bid for the top lot with a buying group featuring Japan’s Maruyama Coffee and Saza Coffee, the US’ Comeeter and Goodboybob Coffee, and Taiwan’s Orsir Coffee. Most of the coverage from the UK’s popular press is unfortunately focused solely on the price of the winning coffee as sold by Queens of Mayfair, who were granted exclusive access to some of Difference Coffee’s share. Offering only 15 total servings, two of which have been purchased by media outlets reviewing the coffee, Queens of Mayfair has priced its tableside service of Neguse Gemeda Mude’s coffee in a crystal wine glass at GB£50 per cup. Conversely, two long-form accounts of challenges facing coffee’s complex value-generating ecosystem and the impacts they’ll have on coffee farmers were also recently released. In the Atlantic, Maryn McKenna traced the history and impact of coffee leaf rust in a story spotlighting Guatemalan farmers. Acknowledging the role of colonialism in coffee’s history, the feature critically covers the historic and present role of the Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture at Texas A&M University, who are a part of the global research infrastructure working to find solutions to coffee leaf rust. Similarly, a video by VOX Atlas explores the impact of climate change on the future of coffee production with a particular focus on Colombia, featuring interviews with coffee farmers alongside historic footage of previous coffee crises. These popular media features mark a step forward in socializing the myriad impacts of the climate crisis on the complex coffee system. This episode of Recap was made possible with the support of DaVinci. If you want to dive deeper into anything you heard today, check out the links in the description of this episode. Recap will be back in two weeks’ time. Thanks for listening. Further Reading: ICO Economic Report: The Ultimate Disrupter (Global Coffee Review) Coffee Borer Discovered on Kaua'i Coffee Borer Found for First Time on Hawaiian Island of Kauai (Daily Coffee News) First Coffee Berry Borer Beetle Detected on Kauai (Honolulu Star-Bulletin) The First Kaua’i Coffee Borer Beetle Has Now Been Confirmed (Sprudge) Coffee Berry Borer Confirmed on Kauai (Hawaii Tribune Herald) Queens of Mayfair Promotes Arrival of Ethiopian Cup of Excellence Coffee ‘Reminds Me of Vegetable Soup’: How Does a GB£50 Cup of Coffee Taste? (The Guardian) London Coffee Shop Sells “Most Expensive Cup of Coffee in UK” for GB£50 (The Independent) Wake Up and Smell the GB£50-a-cup-coffee… and a Whiff of Money to Burn (The National) A Latte Dosh: The Most Expensive Coffee Served in the UK Costs a Staggering GB£50 a Cup (The Sun) Other recent coverage of specialty coffee has taken a more nuanced approach Coffee Rust is Going to Ruin Your Morning (The Atlantic) The Global Coffee Crisis is Coming (Vox Atlas)