Do you remember when you first started drinking coffee? Perhaps you started simple: a sugary drink from Starbucks with a hint of coffee. Once you began to accept that taste, you started drinking one cup each morning. Then, as life went on and school got harder with lots of late nights and early mornings, coffee became a backbone. That one cup turned into several cups a day. And now that you’re in college, your appreciation for the drink is entirely gone, and it is simply a push to get you through the day.
If you ask me, coffee is regularly abused by most people. In fact, I think coffee has been steered entirely off of its tracks in recent years. The warm, smooth, and deliciously bitter morning beverage that was once considered “the favorite drink of the civilized world” by Thomas Jefferson is now a milky, sugary mess that can be consumed at all hours of the day.
Understandably, the flavor is not enjoyed by everyone. So, if a venti iced caramel macchiato from Starbucks is your preferred daily caffeine intake, that’s perfectly fine. I must emphasize, however, that it is not coffee. A coffee-based drink? Sure. But to equate a venti iced caramel macchiato from Starbucks with a simple, natural beverage that dates back centuries to the Ethiopian plateau is outright absurd. In fact, I think it’s an insult to those who have worked hard to preserve quality coffee beans and provide them all across the world.
This recent uprise in the coffee-based drink industry has become devastating to coffee farmers. In the 1970s, the ratio between what the coffee farmer made versus what the retailer made was 1:3. However, the Northeast Organic Farming Association now reports it to be 1:10. Most farmers make less than $1 for every pound of coffee. So, where is all the money we spend on our overpriced Starbucks going? I don’t know, but it’s likely not going to the farmers who deserve it the most.
The more we abuse this industry, the more at-risk our planet is for issues with climate change, decreased soil fertility, and of course, human rights for the farmers. In 2021, extreme weather massively damaged crops in Brazil, which is the world’s largest coffee exporter. Political protests paused exports out of Columbia. Because of these problems, the current price of coffee is increasing greatly. Small, independent coffee shops will struggle greatly, whereas large corporations like Starbucks are totally fine. I strongly urge you to reconsider your coffee choices and support these small businesses that know coffee and respect the handling of the beans.
To me, there is nothing more magical than waking up to a warm, quality cup of black coffee in the morning. And that’s all I have throughout the day. If I desire a caffeine pickup, I drink tea or even an energy drink. But, I believe coffee is a sacred beverage that should be appreciated and thoroughly enjoyed. Drinking it several times a day is bound to cause it to lose its charm. Sure, I spend more money on my quality beans and french press. But, at the end of the day, paying a little more for coffee that treats its farmers well and drinking it once a day is still significantly less of a cost than supporting? A poor-quality, unethical brand several times a day. It’s a big step in improving the livelihood of the coffee industry for years to come.