Tag: coffee sustainability

coffee, industry news

Certified Or Not? USDA Updating Its Regulations For Coffee Brands

Ashe

It’s difficult to figure out which brands are legitimately organic and which aren’t. That’s the point.

It’s hard to demand better when you don’t even know where to start, right? The coffee industry’s supply chain has long since danced on a thin line between necessary and highly convoluted, with many today calling for ‘snipping the links’ to improve transparency. This could mean farmers also operating as roasters. This could mean importers receiving less money. It’s a lot of talk with not much action…but the USDA has had about enough.

Short for the United States Department of Agriculture, the USDA is a well-known organic label on many specialty coffee brands. So well-known, in fact, it’s starting to lose meaning entirely. New standards are now being implemented to better manage a severe lack of oversight on ethical and eco-friendly farming standards in the coffee industry. Inconsistent implementation, misinterpreting the rules and a lack of consequences for those that shirk responsibility are cited as common issues with the label.

You can never ask too many questions. Do you often look into organic labels when buying a product? If so, do you go the extra mile to see if they’re legit?

coffee, industry news

The Coffee Crisis Is Worse Than You Think

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It’s hard to comprehend the magnitude of an entire planet on the brink of no return.

Climate change is a powerful-yet-nebulous force that only seems to manifest in detached news reports and the occasional quip we make about the weather feeling ‘off’ this year. The plight of farmers makes our hearts ache, yes…and we can still feel entirely powerless on how to actually hold corporations responsible for the damage they do. It’s all a lot of numbers and shrinking minutes, not at all helped by a lack of awareness.

Fortunately, we still have time left.

Vox just published a video on the global coffee crisis — with a predominant focus on Colombia — and what it means for the people who work there. They explore the differences between the two major coffee varieties, how even mild changes in temperature completely overhaul the coffee growing process, and the change of coffee prices over the decades. It’s very telling how some of the rhetoric bragged about in the 1920’s is rather similar to the rhetoric used today. A lot of fluff about respecting farmers without the numbers or working conditions to match.

Give this video a watch if you need to catch up on what’s affecting one of today’s top coffee producers. While there’s still more work to do on the consumer end of things, knowledge can only make things better.

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Travel Around The World Without Leaving Your Room: Atlas Coffee Club Subscriptions

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Coffee is such a trip sometimes, both metaphorically and literally. It’s a taste of somewhere else right in the palm of your hand.

The coronavirus has added a few caveats to the day-to-day coffee experience. Cafes are a health hazard. Grocery stores are much the same. Homebrewing is an increasingly popular option…provided you have a little disposable income left for equipment, that is. Atlas Coffee Club is one of many coffee subscriptions to crop up over the past year, though with additional incentive: they want to give you a worldwide tour through single-origin, specialty coffee delivered to your doorstep. Nicaragua, Uganda, Ethiopia, Colombia, Mexico, the list goes on.

That’s not the only appeal. They offer two coffee sizes — 6 oz and 12 oz — if you don’t want to over-commit to a blend you’re not quite sure you’ll love. You also get different shipping frequencies depending on your coffee drinking habits. It takes me between two to four weeks to get through a 12 oz bag, as I switch off between coffee and tea. I originally wasn’t interested in a coffee subscription due to preferring direct orders, as well as concerns about freshness. It just seemed like another middleman without the benefits of being selective.

Reading this, though, really has me reconsidering. This could be both cheaper and much more fun in the long run. …Also, the packaging is gorgeous. I could look at these bags all day.

coffee, industry news

Variety Is The Spice Of Life: Five Interesting Products Made From Coffee Supplies

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One of the most common starting points for sustainability conversations are building materials: the ingredients we use to craft where we live and how we move.

To recycle something is to keep valuable materials out of toxic landfills and back into the hands of the people and businesses that need it. You don’t have to be a sustainability expert to know about the viability of recycled cardboard for storage. In fact, one of my earliest school memories was making my own paper out of recycled bits! Things get a little interesting when you see just how many materials can be reused and for what. Since this is a beverage blog (and I put the hook in the title), you can likely guess where this is going.

Coffee is a daily staple. A lifestyle and, for many, a passion. The old coffee grounds, as well as coffee-related supplies, can be a practical ingredient for all sorts of products. Let’s take a look at whether this is mere novelty or an actual change to get excited about.

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