Norwegians love coffee. We are second in the world in coffee consumption, only behind Finland. But the drink could become one of the first victims of global warming. A recent study from the University of Southern Queensland in Australia shows that coffee production may plummet in the countries that account for 75 percent of the world’s supply of Arabica coffee. This will happen if the trend towards two degrees of global warming continues. Frozen coffee berries in Minas Gerais in Brazil last July Photo: ROOSEVELT CASSIO / Reuters The Australian researchers have concluded that the arabica plant (which accounts for most of the coffee we drink) is very susceptible to changes in humidity and temperature. The plant thrives best in tropical highlands. The temperature there is between 18 and 23 degrees. If it gets hotter or colder, coffee production collapses, the researchers write. More expensive When production goes down, the rough-healing cup also becomes more expensive. In the last two years, the price on the coffee exchange has been twice as high as in previous periods. The reason is, among other things, frost and drought in Brazil, by far the world’s largest coffee producer. Only now is the price starting to drop, thanks to a year of good weather in Brazil. It might not just be good. Robert Thoresen visiting the coffee bar Java, which he started in the 1990s. It is from here, among other things, that Norway became familiar with specialty coffee, light-roasted espresso and indigenous coffee. Photo: Philippe Bédos Ulvin – The price of coffee is already extremely low, explains Robert Thoresen. He imports local coffee in Collaborative Coffee Source, and is one of the people who know the most about coffee in Norway. – Compared to the time and energy it takes to produce coffee, they are usually paid too little, if not too little, says Thoresen. He tells of farmers who occasionally sell their coffee at a loss in order to survive. According to the sustainability analyst Enveritas, at least 44 percent of small-scale coffee farmers live below the poverty line of 3.2 dollars per day. The world’s ten largest coffee-producing countries. (Source: International Coffee Organization) Hopeful At the same time, Thoresen believes we will find new ways to fill our need for coffee. – I am hopeful. Coffee is so widespread, both where it is drunk and where it is grown, that a solution will be needed. It may well be that it will be different. But from experience I also know that the best coffee is found where it is not so easy to grow it, says Thoresen. Thoresen has also worked for a long time to build a more sustainable value chain for coffee. From when he started as a coffee bar entrepreneur in the 1990s to today, he feels that there has been great progress. Robert Thoresen weighs coffee he is going to test and taste in the office at Ryen in Oslo. Photo: Philippe Bédos Ulvin / news He thinks we can start the day with the black drink for a long time to come. – I would not say that climate change leads to a one-sided decrease in the opportunity to grow coffee. I know that work is being done on many fronts to maintain an offer. This could mean that we start cultivating new species or that we find alternative areas to grow in, says Thoresen. Robert Thoresen tastes a coffee from Brazil in the office. Photo: Philippe Bédos Ulvin / news And these adaptations do not have to mean that the taste becomes worse. Thoresen refers to an example he himself observed in Colombia around 15 years ago. – The farmers there went from growing tastier species to growing more hardy species because they tolerated disease and the climate better. It was a difficult choice for us importers to accept. I am concerned that the coffee should be as good as possible. – But what has happened over time is that this new, “worse” species has been allowed to spread. So the farmers have developed new ways to refine the coffee. This new refinement means that the coffee gets new and more interesting flavors anyway. Coffee is roasted at Kaffa AS’s brewery in Ryen. Photo: Philippe Bédos Ulvin / news Hoping to avoid deforestation Thoresen says a challenge in the future will be that farmers face the dilemma between finding new plants to grow on the same patch of land or cutting down forests and continuing to grow coffee. Robert Thoresen looks at a sack of coffee in the premises of Kaffa AS. Photo: Philippe Bédos Ulvin / news – We talk to the farmers about this, and say that we will not buy coffee produced in deforested areas. Even if it’s good, or even the best, says the coffee man. At the same time, he notices that there is an increased awareness of climate and environmental issues among producers. Many of them plant trees and protect forests to prevent erosion and water loss. – All the farmers I speak to know that they must take care of the environment around the farm in order to be able to operate in the future. How does the global coffee market work? Photo: LUIS ROBAYO / AFP Every year, 10 billion kilos of coffee are consumed around the world. The item is among those that are traded the most. The price of a standard type of coffee can range from around $0.50 per pound (lbs) to $3.50 per pound. The market was long regulated by a series of international agreements. This collaboration broke down in 1989, and the market is now free. This led to a collapse in the price of coffee. In general, the market is divided into two. One trades Arabica coffee, mostly on an exchange in New York, the other trades Robusta coffee, mostly on an exchange in London. The trade mainly takes place in forward contracts and options, i.e. contracts that give you the right to sell the coffee on. Source: International Coffee Organization.
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That’s why you should be happy that coffee is getting more expensive – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
