Coffe Buzz

Coffee is a very popular drink that comes in a variety of assortments and is consumed by many people on a daily basis. It is a beverage of habit, and many people cannot start their day without having at least one cup of coffee. However, what consumers fail to realize is that each cup of coffee tells a story. These stories are grim, bleak, and speak of the oppressions faced by the people who tediously toil under the sun to produce the beans that give life to the coffee we drink with delight. The lives of these people are tied to the coffee market, and their livelihood is connected to the consumers who purchase coffee.
 

 

In the film Black Gold, the lives of Ethiopian coffee farmers were documented, and the hardships associated with their arduous labor was projected on the screen in detail. One story in particular was that of Burte Arba; a farmer located in Bule Hora, Ethiopia. Arba stated that his work is very time consuming. It takes four years for coffee trees to fully grow, but it takes an additional year for the beans to become suitable for use. Despite the strenuous work load and amount of coffee beans produced, Arba receives only a minimum amount of money. Due to this, he and many other farmers are unable to generate sufficient income to support their families. Burte Arba’s story illustrates to coffee consumers the actual longevity and effort associated with producing coffee beans for sell. It further demonstrates the subjectivity of Ethiopian farmers to the demands of the coffee market and how this mistreatment contributes to the poverty that many of these families face.
 

 

It is important to note that Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world. Thus, Arba’s story and the lives of Ethiopian farmers are not definite representations of the lives of all farmers. The life of an exploited farmer living in Ethiopia may differ from that of a farmer living in another country. In fact, the lives of the Ethiopian farmers documented in the film may differ from other undocumented Ethiopian farmers. What is important to consider however, is that we, as consumers, tend to underappreciate the production process behind the products we enjoy and consume without hesitation. Consumers tend to overlook how the decisions they make, in reference to certain food items, can affect the lives of the people producing those food items. By choosing certain coffee brands over Ethiopian coffee, Ethiopian farmers like Burte Arba are forced to sell their coffee beans at lower, insufficient prices and live a life of destitution.

 

This concept of exploitation within the coffee market is further demonstrated in Daniel Reichman’s article “Justice at a Price: Regulation and Alienation in the Global Economy”. In this article, Reichman discusses the injustices associated with the production and selling of coffee, and further asserts that social connectivity is necessary for citizens to understand their roles in the global market (103). This is particularly true in the case of Taiwanese immigrant Tony Chan. Tony Chan, a former McDonalds employee, sells his coffee in the cargo area of the JFK airport in New York. Chan doesn’t grow the coffee beans himself. Instead he has a farm in La Quebrada, Honduras where the beans are grown and picked by workers and shipped to the United States (104). Chan’s workers however, felt that they were being under paid for their labor and decided to lash out against him. They resorted to stealing his crops, burning his home, and even attacking him with machete-like weapons (105).
 

 

In this instance, Chan was wrongfully accused by his workers of exploiting them for their work and benefitting at their expense. Ironically enough, Chan’s coffee sells weren’t providing him with a stable income either. He himself was, in a sense, being abused by the coffee market in the form of companies and major brands that were taking business away from him. Fundamentally, both parties were struggling to live a modest life and were at the mercy of the global market. Consumers don’t realize that they play a crucial role in the economic market at large. Reichman believes, in this instance, that people are able to recognize their positions within the global economy by using the production and consumption of coffee as a reference point (102). His article emphasizes the importance behind recognizing the status of all parties involved within the exchange of coffee. Both the lives of Chan and his workers are directly related to the success of the coffee trade, and we, the consumers, are linked to their lives by our consumption of their coffee. In this sense, the life of the coffee consumer becomes integrated with the lives of those who produce the coffee.

 

Coffee is more than just a beverage. What seems like a simple commodity for most is a crucial way of life for others. There is no need for consumer to change their coffee brands or daily coffee routines. Consumers simply need to recognize that time and effort produced the warm liquid swirling around in those Styrofoam cups. Appreciate every sip.

In reference to our trip to Buona Caffee Artisan Roasted Coffee: How often does the roaster receive new coffees?