I enjoyed this interview, as I have a long interest in coffee and cocoa production and chemistry. You covered a lot of topics very well, but I think you missed some opportunities to educate your listeners.
1. Kopi Luwak was once an incidental coffee product collected from the ground by farmers while they were harvesting their regular coffee crop. This is no longer true. I investigated this when I was last in Sumatra. Kopi Luwak today is produced by force-feeding captive civet cats who live miserable lives in tiny cages. It is the coffee equivalent of foie gras. There are companies who claim to collect kopi luwak from free-living animals, but nearly all of them are lying. Consumers should be encouraged to avoid kopi luwak altogether. The one exception is a couple of kedai kopi in the highlands of Sumatra run by farm families, where you can see them collecting in the coffee groves; needless to say, this is very rare and obviously not exported.
2. At the end, you spent some time discussing climate as it relates to both coffee and cacao, did not talk about the clear solution to the problems of smallholder poverty and the climate crisis. Right now, there is a small number of coffee and chocolate companies engaging in direct trade with suppliers, in contracts that assure a good livelihood for farmers and sustainable production. Smallholders who are paid adequately can better deal with climate change through careful selection of cultivars, growing coffee in shade, and intercropping with other plants. The same is true of cacao farmers. Companies like Stumptown Coffee, Torque Coffee, Askinosie Chocolate, and others, are transforming the economics and environmental impact of coffee and chocolate. (Fair trade, in the opinion of many, does not work).
Direct trade coffee and chocolate that benefits farmers and the future of these crops is critically important. It does raise prices, but if we are buying inexpensive coffee and chocolate, we are participating in systems that keep farmers, especially smallholders, in poverty. We need to do better.
I enjoyed this interview, as I have a long interest in coffee and cocoa production and chemistry. You covered a lot of topics very well, but I think you missed some opportunities to educate your listeners.
1. Kopi Luwak was once an incidental coffee product collected from the ground by farmers while they were harvesting their regular coffee crop. This is no longer true. I investigated this when I was last in Sumatra. Kopi Luwak today is produced by force-feeding captive civet cats who live miserable lives in tiny cages. It is the coffee equivalent of foie gras. There are companies who claim to collect kopi luwak from free-living animals, but nearly all of them are lying. Consumers should be encouraged to avoid kopi luwak altogether. The one exception is a couple of kedai kopi in the highlands of Sumatra run by farm families, where you can see them collecting in the coffee groves; needless to say, this is very rare and obviously not exported.
2. At the end, you spent some time discussing climate as it relates to both coffee and cacao, did not talk about the clear solution to the problems of smallholder poverty and the climate crisis. Right now, there is a small number of coffee and chocolate companies engaging in direct trade with suppliers, in contracts that assure a good livelihood for farmers and sustainable production. Smallholders who are paid adequately can better deal with climate change through careful selection of cultivars, growing coffee in shade, and intercropping with other plants. The same is true of cacao farmers. Companies like Stumptown Coffee, Torque Coffee, Askinosie Chocolate, and others, are transforming the economics and environmental impact of coffee and chocolate. (Fair trade, in the opinion of many, does not work).
Direct trade coffee and chocolate that benefits farmers and the future of these crops is critically important. It does raise prices, but if we are buying inexpensive coffee and chocolate, we are participating in systems that keep farmers, especially smallholders, in poverty. We need to do better.
Thank you, Tom! These are both such important points. I appreciate you sharing these here.