Coffee and Business

Coffee is a ubiquitous beverage that is one of the most traded commodities next to petroleum. According to the International Coffee data, 100 million Americans drink coffee everyday.(citation) In 2013 alone, Americans spent 30 billion dollars drinking coffee, making the United States the largest consumer in coffee by a huge margin and the demand continues to grow. If you were to place every Starbucks coffee shop next to one another, it would be larger than Central Park in New York City. Some would even suggest that America’s demand for coffee is egregious. In order for this enormous demand to be fulfilled, a vast network of people from all around the world work tirelessly to provide the American consumer their morning jolt. Coffee is grown by 50 different countries around a small band of the equator. Although only 50 countries are able to grow good coffee, they account for the largest agricultural industry in the world. These countries are responsible for 60 million hectares of coffee producing land. After coffee is farmed, harvested, de-pulped, dried, and sorted it’s bagged and sent overseas where it’s traded on the international market at a premium price and sold at an average of 300% increase at local coffee shops.(citations) Despite the nearly unbelievable amount of coffee that is traded and consumed by the United States and other 1st world nations, its rare that farmers in developing nations have an adequate income. The disparity between consumers and farmers is shocking. (et al. citation)