Recap #18 | September 24, 2020

 
 

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, DaVinci

This 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. 

Further Reading: 

Listen, RecapSCA Staff