For paid subscribers: Coffee is increasingly used to burnish the United Arab Emirates’ international image. Now it is being supercharged by merging with the popularity of the Dubai chocolate trend.
The coffee scene in Dubai is thriving, and the city is set to welcome the Specialty Coffee Association’s World of Coffee event next month. But underneath the glitzy facade and marketing buzz lies a moral quagmire.
This year’s Best of Panama coffee auction was the most expensive ever, and was once again dominated by the gesha variety that put Panamanian coffee on the map. Now, the country’s coffee association is seeking to brand and trademark its most valuable asset.
Coffee brands love to tout their ethics and human rights policies, yet the supply chain is still built on poverty. At some point, we have to judge the industry not by what it says but by its actions.
Companies in the Global North capture most of the profits generated along the coffee supply chain. But farmer-owned coffee roasters offer a more equitable model—and a path forward for the industry.
Coffee is widely considered to be healthy—for the drinker, at least. For those who handle and spray the pesticides that fight pests and boost production, however, it can be anything but.
Coffee collected from the droppings of civets is sought after by the rich and deplored by animal welfare advocates. Caught in the middle are the farmers who produce it.
Although it produces some of the world's best coffee, domestic consumption in Kenya remains low. A new generation of coffee professionals wants to change that.
