In Marcy Norton’s piece entitled “Tasting Empire: Chocolate and the European Internalization of Mesoamerican Aesthetics,” Norton posits that contrary to scholarly opinion, chocolate and coffee’s emergence as a popular commodity came not from the thought that they could “insert
it into existing flavor complexes and discursive categories” (Norton 660), which consequentially would have masked any “indigenous” flavors attributed to Mesoamerican terroir, but that the flavor complexes were unwittingly accepted by the Europeans’ palettes. The mechanism created to support Norton’s rebuttal of the popular belief is that in turn, and as a result of the somaticization of cacao and coffee, the commodity’s migratory power led to the “cross-cultural transmissions of taste” that transcended themselves into helping strengthen the global spice market. Norton doesn’t forget to mention that they did, however, develop in composition and style, but due to what’s referred to as the “technological and economic challenges posed by long-distance trade rather than a radical rupture in the aesthetic preferences of chocolate consumers.” (660)

The main questions that these questions pose for the latter parts of the article concern ideas revolving around how and what processes are responsible for how humans in a world with a global market learn to assimilate to foreign things. Norton briefly suggests that the sensibilities of people change when the goods carry the idea of “biological and economic essentialism,” but also toward what’s described as a sort of cultural functionalism. The question that might underline these two positions is that of what relation the biological and economic qualities of a commodity have with its cultural functionalism, and how the definition of “luxury” wavers in meaning and significance in this given circumstance.

Millions of Americans wake up in the morning and go straight to their favorite coffee shop, or walk straight to the kitchen half asleep so they can have a cup of their favorite cup of coffee to get their day going. Owning a good coffee shop is a very hard thing to do, not only because its difficult to produce a good quality cup of coffee but its also hard to compete with the huge companies like starbucks, and coffee bean. Getting good quality coffee beans can be hard to do because you often need to travel over seas to test the beans and then have them shipped over after for production. After you think you have found a reliable source for your coffee beans now you have to sell your product, find a way to convince people that your coffee is better than everyone else’s coffee so they will buy yours. If you can get a good coffee business started and selling coffee it is a very good business to be in because everyone loves a hot cup of coffee in the morning.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2012/12/20/whats-the-secret-to-a-successful-coffee-shop/

Coffee and soil have a idiosyncratic relationship with each other that can only be acquired through the presence of several specific factors which require varying external factors that impact conditions necessary for premium flavor, and minimal depletion impact. Much like the demands needed for proper Cacao growth, many principles can be assimilated with coffee, and in some cases both have interacted with each other. By diversifying local canopy providing trees which help regulate N, and Al levels can help with regulating soil temperatures and ultraviolet exposure.  Volcanic mineral toxicity as well as large-scale fertilizers, pesticides, and insecticide impact is also reversible to a degree with this effect. Tropical and Subtropical environments typically show heavily leached or oxidized soils which if not properly managed can lead to rapid depletion if used for agricultural production. The necessity of regulating Ca, K, Mg, and N for instance can heavily boost the quality in soils. By implementing a canopy structure with available host plants, support, or provider species, the accumulation and storage of organic matter, biota, and other biologic or chemical compounds can become utilized by root systems largely within the A horizon where the majority of Coffee roots benefit. Without this balanced structure in place or managed, the soils can easily revert to a more basic pH state, allowing less exchange between materials or matter. Through geoarchological analysis, the cultural management practiced by prehistoric Mesoamericans (as well as pockets of their modern descendants) involved annual organized slash & burn techniques which replenishes the soil through fortification from disease and pests. This activity can be seen both in the ethnographic record, and through the use of devices such as an infiltrometer to detect water ratios in soils and other determining factors in pyrogeography.

Flora and Fauna associated with coffee has been largely a knowledge reserved for indigenous, or traditional and family growers of small-scale operations that has been known to harbor an equilibrium in the production processes from seed to market. Within the last several decades however, extensive research and analysis from multidisciplinary perspectives have given promise to the well-being of coffee species related to the local flora. Nitrogen enriching trees such as various fruit bearing tropical varieties like Guava, Banana, and other local species that also double in providing shading canopies for temperature regulation. Through the promotion of provider species in direct adjacency to coffee shrubs, the biodiversity of birds, insects, and mammals has the potential to increase and stabilize at greater rates than when compared to the recent trend of mono-crop, sun grown operations. Butterfly populations and occurrences in particular, through the monitoring of natural behaviors have been linked to the vitality of ecosystems, favoring forest canopy and flora apart of biologically diverse ecosystems and landscapes. This has risen awareness over the debate of butterflies being an indicator species for malpractice, toxicity, or shrinking wildlife habitat. By understanding the sensitive requirements of indicator species with the native landscape, the relationship coffee has with complimentary flora for the development of its own requirements can be seen when biodiversity among the area is removed for sun grown production. The promotion of Epiphytes in particular, also has unique relationship with the potency of coffee yields by providing nutrients to host species, and harboring habitats for bacteria, funghi, and other support plants. If these processes are found in a balance, so too will the chances of higher grade cup quality at lesser impacts.

The intention of this article is to bring into conversation two opposing viewpoints regarding “il caffe sospeso”, known in the United States as, “the suspended coffee”, which is the practice of buying a cup of coffee in advance for someone less fortunate than oneself. There are varying accounts of the origin of this practice, the most popular being that it originated in Naples; groups of friends would lose track of how many cups of coffee were consumed, and would often pay for extras, telling the barista to give the free cup to a future, less fortunate customer—an act which “emphasized his or her refinement” (Buscemi). In Buscemi’s article, How ‘il caffé sospeso’ became ‘suspended coffee’: The neo-liberal re-‘invention of tradition’ from Bourdieu to Bourdieu, he contends that to engage in the “suspended coffee” movement acts more as a tool for improving one’s social position than as an act of true philanthropy. To exemplify this, Buscemi draws on the notion that people are more highly regarded when “they do not need to care about reality and everyday “vulgar” practices. This can be seen in the fact that those people buying the coffee do not have any contact with the people they are buying the coffee for. Additionally, Buscemi points out that there are many better ways to assist those in need of sustenance. On the other end of the spectrum is the Suspended Coffees movement—viewing the video posted below is very interesting when considering Buscemi’s argument. The viewer may notice that the first five minutes of the video focus primarily on the founder of the company, and how the company has changed his life. This is merely scratching the surface of Buscemi’s work—I’d highly recommend reading the article in its entirety. It is worth considering in this context what is signified by purchasing coffee with labels like Single-Origin, Fair Trade, Direct Trade, or Organic.

Heidegger’s idea of Dasein can be translated in multiple ways. First, as a verb it can literally mean “to be there” (da=there, sein= to be). Otherwise, Dasein’s meaning can fluctuate depending on how its context calls on it to function, as it’s been used by various philosophers and theorists to denote ideas varying from “existence” to “meaning of life/existence” to when Kant used it to refute the “ontological argument for the “Dasein of God.” (Rouse 77) Similarly, the definition of terroir has held equally ambiguous definitions as its usage has been popularized between different fields of study and commerce. Conventionally, what’s been regarded as the most accepted definition is that of “taste of place.” The attributes of place are mostly observed through a place’s soils, climate and terrain; with the consideration that each commodity demands specific geographical features (volcanic soils, high humidity…) However, the definition of “taste of place” omits the subject of “human interaction” (whether it’s seen through ideas relating to plantation history, labor practices or the individual taster.) To a degree, the argument for the idea of Dasein into the conceptual analysis of terroir can be made in accordance to considerations made regarding ideas of how ideas of personhood, nationality and time have had on a globalized perspective of food, diet and terroir. For example, we’ve discussed the perceptions different American classes have had on coffee, and how those ideas of perception have varied over time. If we as a class were to introduce a new perspective to the definition of terroir, I’d posit that we should look to Heidegger’s idea of Dasein, which is equally open and molded by time and context, to reconstruct terroir as a thing defined by Taste of Place in Time (from Being and Terroir.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image source: http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/images/martin-heidegger-2.jpg

Image source: http://bumbumbum.me/2010/12/10/richard-prince-cowboys-and-girlfriends-2/