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SWEET IN TH

SOUTHEXPLORIN

THE SOUTH

SWEET TETRADITION

AN

RIC

HISTOR

FEBRUARY 2012 | SOUTHERN EDITION

5Uncommon

avors toput with

your cup of

coffee

Alls fairin tradeandcoffeeJust how fairis fair trade?

Counter

CultureThe Durham,N.C. coffeeroaster teachesthe art ofcupping.

DownBean &

fori

fromApp St


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25 |BEAN AND LEAF JUNE 2011 | 2

Early mornings.Im lovin it.


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Meet Bean & Lea.

Were a magazine or the coee and tea drinker or anyoneattracted to ca culture and the industry. It is our mission tocomplement our readers daily cup by inorming and entertainingwith word and picture. Just as cas serve as local gathering places,B&L osters that same community, looking to bring together thosein the coee and tea industry, as well as the everyday enthusiastand all those in between.

We want to celebrate our rst sip with you. I your B&L copyboasts wrinkled, browntinted pages and aint coee rings onthe cover, then weve done our job. We think our magazine readsbest when stained and waing the aroma o espresso or spicedtea with every page turn. We think B&L belongs on your shelves,bookended by wellloved novels and old coee canisters. We see its

pages olded and worn, sticking out rom your sketchbook.Coee and tea are important to you. Grinding and brewing,

boiling and steeping have become daily rituals. Tis is how youwake up and wind down, and we think that deserves our ullattention. Te trends in the industry are constantly changing, andstories o its growers, roasters, owners, innovators and consumerscontinue to surace. More than just beans and leaves, were amagazine that celebrates peoples stories and one o the mostdelicious aspects o lie.

In this issue, were ocusing on coee and tea below the MasonDixon Line. Te Northwest may be the betterknown ca hub, butthe South can hold its own with a culture rooted in a rich coee

and tea industry. Tis issue o B&L acquaints you with some othe regions best caes and companies, and you know we had toexplore the Souths avorite traditionsweet tea, yall. Althoughwe couldnt nd a place or ried okra or honkytonks in this issue,other Southern icons werent a problem. A ew ice cubes, cooledcoee leovers rom the morning and a splash o cream taste betterrom a Mason jar.

I youve had enough Southern hospitality, keep reading ornationwide industry trends, topics and traditions, or go straight toour In the Ca section or some artistic inspiration.

Join us, and raise your mugs. Heres to the rst sip.

Best,

FROM THE EDITOR

Kelsey SnellEditor

EDITORIAL STAFF

Kelsey Snell, editorIsaac AdamsLucie ShelleyMolly Green

Miranda MurrayBailey Holman

Margaret Croom

DESIGN STAFFKelly McHugh, art director

Anne Marie Gaines,asst. art director

Dylan Gilroy,asst. art director for iPadCourtney TyeLydia Harrell

Rebecca RiddleChelsea Pro

PHOTOGRAPHYLauren Vied

Rebecca Yan

Special thanks toLinda Brinson,Terence Oliver,

Stephanie Willen Brownand Laura Stoltz

DownloadBean & LeafforiPad from

the App Store!


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Burnt and Bitter is No Way forA Coffee Bean To Go Through Life.

Where the Laws of Nature Apply.


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WHATS INSIDE

FROM THE EDITOR

EVENTS CALENDAR

HOW TO BREW YOUR OWN SUN TEA

WHICH TEA IS RIGHT FOR YOU?

COFFEE CAPITAL: WASHINGTON, D.C.

BY THE NUMBERS: COFFEE AND TEA

UNCOMMON FLAVORS FOR YOUR CUP

BEAN BREAKDOWN

FAIR TRADE COFFEE

SUSTAINABLE TEA?

CORPORATE VS. KITSCH

THE SOUTHS SWEET TEA TRADITION

SUBSTITUTING COFFEE

WHERE HAVE ALL THE FRAPPUCCINOS GONE?

TASTE AND SEE: THE ART OF CUPPING

COFFEE ON THE SMALL SCREEN

BREWING GADGETS

TEA AS A NATUAL REMEMDY

TEA TRADITIONS AROUND THE WORLD

INDUSTRY PROFILE: OLD WILMINGTON TEA

COFFEE TRUCKS HIT THE SOUTH

EDITORIAL: COFFEE MONSTERS

IN THE CAFE

4

8

10

13

14

17

18

21

23

30

34

38

44

48

53

58

60

62

66

68

71

74

76

Far left: Explore the Southssweet tea fetish. See page 38for story.

Top: Tea has been a natural

rememdy for centuries. Seepage 62 for story.

Left:Counter Culture Coffee inDurham, N.C. teaches the art ocupping. See page 53 for story

Below: How fair is fair tradecoffee? See page 22 for story.


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25 |BEAN AND LEAF FEBRUARY 2012 | 8

2012 EVENTS CALENDAR

FEB.25-26 COFFEE AND TEA FESTIVAL NYC

o 7th annual festivalo Open to the public and the tradeo Event offers classes/lectures/

demos from industry pros andpioneerso New York Cityo www.coffeeandteafestival.com

JAN.20-29 WINTER ANTIQUES SHOWo The most prestigious antiqueshow in Americao Features antiques through the1960so New York Cityo www.winterantiquesshow.com

MARCH9-11 COFFEE FEST NEW YORK

o Includes coffee retail education,training and workshopso Specically for all those involved

with retailing coffeeo New York Cityo www.coffeefest.com

JULY2- 5 TASTE OF CHICAGO

o Worlds largest outdoor foodfestivalo Chicago, IL

o www.tasteofchicago2012.eventbrite.com

JUNE8-10 COFFEE FEST CHICAGO

o Includes coffee retail education,training and workshopso Specically for all those involved

with retailing coffeeo Chicago, ILo www.coffeefest.com

SEPT.1-2 CHICAGO JAZZ FESTIVAL

o The longest running of the cityslakefront music festivalso Labor Day weekend tradition forthe past 33 yearso Chicago, ILo www.explorechicago.org

APRIL6 -7 RIVER BEND FILM FESTIVAL

o Opportunity for lmmakers to

screen their shorts and featuresand network with others in theindustryo South Bend, INo www.riverbendlmfest.org

SOUTH NORTH

MIDWEST

SEPT.21-23 COFFEE FEST SEATTLEo Includes coffee retail education,training and workshopso Specically for all those involved

with retailing coffeeo Seattle, WAo www.coffeefest.com

APRIL19-22 NATIONAL BARISTA COMPETITION

o The winners of the countrys6 regional barista competitionscompete to represent the U.S. inthe World Barista Championshipo Portland, ORo www.usbaristachampionship.org

APRIL18-19 SPECIALTY COFFEE ASSOCIATION

OF AMERICA ANNUAL EXPOSITIONo Annual gathering for specialtycoffee growers, roasters, baristaso Portland, ORo www.scaaevent.org

WEST

FEB.11-13 SOUTH EAST REGIONALBARISTA COMPETITIONo One of six regional competitionsthat lead up to the U.S. BaristaChampionshipo Atlanta, GAo www.usbaristachampionship.org

MARCH9-18 SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST MUSIC

CONFERENCE AND FESTIVALo A music, lm and interactive

festival

o Austin, TXo www.sxsw.com

JUNE7-10 BONNAROO MUSIC AND ARTS

FESTIVALo Multi-stage camping festival.Brings together performers inrock, jazz, Americana, hip-hop,electronica, etc.o Manchester, TNo www.bonnaroo.com

APRIL28-29GREAT AMERICAN PIE FESTIVAL

o Pie lovers, bakers and eatersgather together to eat and makepieso Celebration, FLo www.piecouncil.org

APRIL13-15 WORLD GRITS FESTIVAL

o A wholesome family festival with

various events for people of all ageso St. George, SCo www.worldgritsfestival.com

MARCH22-24 FULL STEAM AHEAD

o Presented by the NationalCoffee Association of U.S.A, Inc.o Charleston, SCo www.ncausa.org


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all NATURALmade with milk, cream, sugar & natural avor

Good Food. Good Life

four ingredients


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25 |BEAN AND LEAF

By Bailey Holman

Asanotherseas

onomug-clutc

hingcoziness

drawstoaclos

e,warmermont

hswillbehere

beoreweknow

it.Firingupthe

stoveonthose

hotdaysseems

likeadaunting

task,buttheres

anotherwaytogetyou

rdailyteafx.T

esuns

shiningandyou

rrontporchiscalling

time

tounleashthep

owerothesola

r-brew!

IF YOU CANT STAND THEHEAT GET OUTOF THE KITCHEN

FEBRUARY 2012 | 1

Brew your own sun tea:

LOOKING FOR ANALTERNATIVE?TRY REFRIGERATOR TEA:

5. Drink tea within a day Enjoy!*

Servings:Makes about 8 cupsEstimated prep time:2 hours (active time:5 minutes) 1. Put 4 to 6 tea bags into

a clean 2quart glasscontainer.

2. Fill container with waterand cap with lid.

3. Place container inrerigerator.

4. Let it sit overnight.

5. Enjoy!

2. Fill container with water and capwith lid.

3. Place outside in direct sunlightor 2 1/2 hours. Move thecontainer i necessary to keep itin the sun.

4. Remove container rom sunlightand keep rerigerated.

*Brew at your own risk: eathats steeped in a glass containermay not reach temperatures hotenough to kill o all bacteria, sothere has been concern over thesaety o sun brewing.

FOLLOW THESE TIPS FORTHE SAFEST SUN TEAEXPERIENCE:

Wash your tea jug thoroughlybeore use.

Dont let tea steep in sun ormore than 3 to 4 hours.

Make only enough tea to drinkor one day.

Use caeinated teas theyght bacteria better thandecaeinated teas. (Note:Most herbal teas are naturally

decaeinated.)

Do not add sugar or sweeteneruntil aer tea has been brewed

Dont drink tea i it appearsthick or cloudy.

1. Put 4 to 6 tea bags into aclean 2quart glass container(Make sure container is rstwashed thoroughly with soapand hot water).


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FEBRUARY 2012 | 13

Which Tea Is Right For You?By Margaret Croom

START:

Do you want amorning tea?

Do you want anaernoon tea?

Do you need apick-me-up?

Do you want itto be sweet?

Do you want an

aer dinner tea?NO

YES

YES

NO

NO

NO

NO

YES

YES

Tea can both li youup and calm youdown whatever

you need! Coee cant!says Lourie Cosper, coowner o Old Wilmingtonea Company (see page68). Cosper shares heradvice on what type o teato drink depending on thetime o day.

Black ea withno avor

Has morecaeine thanother teas

ones o honeyin the avor

A oral blendperect oraernoon tea

Lots o avor

Good with alight lunch ora sandwich

From SouthArica

Does notcontain anycaeine

Has a lightlemon avor

A raspberrychocolate tea

Sweet but withewer caloriesthan a dessert

Drink withoutadding sugar

An herbal teawith a subtlepepperminttaste

Does notcontain anycaeine

English ManorBreakfast

Duchess EarlGrey

Rooibos(Rou-bus)

RaspberryChocolate Kiss

Forget-Me-NotHerbal Tea

YES


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SOVAEspresso and Wine

Location: 1359 H Street NE | Metro Stop: Union Station

(On the Red Line)

Contact: (202) 397-3080 | www.sovadc.com

Hours: Mon- Fri: 6:30 a.m. until 9:00 p.m., Sat: 7 a.m.

until 9 p.m., Sun: 8 a.m. until 7 p.m.

EBENEZERSCoffee with a cause.

Location: 201 F Street NE | Metro Stop: Union Station

(On the Red Line)

Contact: (202) 558-6900 | www.ebenezerscoffeehouse.com

Hours: Mon-Thurs: 7 a.m. until 9 p.m., Fri: 7 a.m. until 10

p.m., Sat: 8 a.m. until 9 p.m., Sun: 8 a.m. until 8 p.m.

POUNDWere not just any ordinary shop were Pound.

Location: 621 Pennsylvania Ave SE | Metro Stop:

Eastern Market Metro (On the Orange/Blue Line)

Contact: (202) 621.6765 | www.poundcoffee.com

Hours: Mon-Thu: 7:00 a.m. until 9:30 p.m., Fri: 7:00 a.m.

until 10:00 p.m., Sat: 7:30 a.m. until 10:00 p.m., Sun: 8:00

a.m. until 8:00 p.m.

SWINGS COFFEEThe monuments on the mall arent the only pieces of history.

Location: 1702 G Street N.W. | Metro Stop: LEnfant Plaza

(On Blue, Green, Orange and Yellow Line)

Contact: (202) 863-7590 | www.swingscoffee.com

Hours: MondayFriday7:00am6:00pm

TRYSTNo corporate coffee, no matching silverware.

Location: 2459 18th Street NW | Woodley Park/Zoo/

Adams Morgan (On the Red Line)

Contact: (202) 232-5500 | www.trystdc.com

Hours: Open daily from 6:30 a.m. until midnight Sun-Wed,

until 2 a.m. on Thurs & 3 a.m. on Fri-Sat.

Its easy to nd monuments and pieces o our nationshistory in Washington, D.C., but where do you ndthe citys best coee? Here are some reviews o the bestcoeehouses our great capital has to oer. Te city isquickly becoming home to some o the most excitingand diverse cas or both tourists and natives to enjoy.

TRYSTryst has been on one o the liveliest streets in D.C. ormore than 10 years. Te coeehouse, which is also oneo the citys best bars, eatures a huge lounge with comycouches strewn about it. Every month, dierent artistscover the walls with their work, giving the coeehousean unpredictable buzz. ryst is proud to claim that its

culture stands in contrast to common coee chains.With mismatching silverware and a rejection o thetrademarked, premade caramelnillrappacinnoculture, ryst ocuses on community commitment andquality ood and drink. It also has a variety o looseleateas and tisanes, which can be inused with alcohol orwater. ryst uses Counter Culture Coee as its primaryroaster because o the quality coee as well as itscommitment to sustainability and air trade.

SOVATe Northeast side o Capitol Hill is undergoing arenaissance, with new businesses and homes appearingdaily. Te owner o SOVA looked around H Street andsaw a neighborhood lacking something: a place to go orquality coee and tea, and a good glass o wine. Whatgoes better with a renaissance than a shot o espressoand a glass o vino? he asked himsel. SOVA was hisanswer. SOVAs mission is to serve the community withthe best products possible by working with diligentand thoughtul vendors who are committed to theirproducts. Te people at SOVA are rm believers in thephrase, youre only as good as the company you keep.Tey oer coee rom Intelligentsia, one o the countrysmost respected and acclaimed coee roasters, and their

tea comes rom Rishi ea, which works only with themost skilled artisans with generations o tea producingexperience. SOVA helps create t he incredible eel o thisD.C. community and is a great space to work, to relaxand to enjoy highquality coee.

EBENEZERSWhen you buy coee at Ebenezers, youre not just gettinga delicious cup o air trade coee youre also helpingthe community. Tis coeehouse not only serves the

Capitol Hill community delicious coee, but it alsouses the proceeds rom each cup or l ocal outreachprojects. Owned by National Community Church inD.C., Ebenezers has been open or ve years. Not onlydoes it sell air trade coee, but Ebenezers also wantsto entertain you while youre drinking it. Ebenezersuses its lowerlevel space in many in novative ways,rom meetings to concerts, poetry readings to open micnights. On Saturdays, the coeehouse also hosts a churcservice. Located behind Union Station, arguably oneo the busiest stops in the city, this is the perect shopto go to whether youre touring around Capitol Hill oryoure on the way to work. Ebenezers lets you help thecommunity with a simple brew.

POUNDPound uses only one word in reerence to its coee:serious. Te people at Pound are serious about bringingyou the best product, shown by its partnership withKickapoo Coee, the top microroaster in the country.Pound is also serious about the ethical issues behind thecup it serves only coee that is organic, sustainable,air trade and most important, delicious. Lastly, it canseriously boast a prime location, as it is just a ew blocksrom the big white house where the president lives. Itsgoal is to connect you with the coee youre sipping the people at Pound pride themselves on being able totell you the name o the armer who painstakingly grewthe coee in your recycled and biodegradable cup. ButPound wants to bring you more than just a good cup ocoee. Its menu includes gourmet tea rom Mighty Lea,and oers a gourmet lunch. I youre looking or a D.C.specialty, try the Nutella latte!

SWINGS COFFEEWant to taste history? Swings Coee has been D.C.sprime coee roaster or more than 100 years. When youenter Swings, you wont be ordering just another delicioucup o coee at just another specialty coeehouse you

be standing on history. Watch the coee grinders churnor touch pieces o mahogany wood that have been arounsince the 20s. Te threeoor coeehouse is practicallya museum itsel. Te roasters here are extremely handson and know their stu, so whether you want to learnabout what youre drinking or simply take in the historyand enjoy your coee Swings is the place or you. Itprovides the perect haven or both the tired employeeand the curious tourist. I you smell coee beans roastingdowntown, youll know Swings is hard at work.

Coffee Capital By Isaac Adams


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25 |BEAN AND LEAF


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FEBRUARY 2012 | 17

In 2003, the leading revenue source for the U.S. ready-to-drink tea and coffeemarket was the iced tea sector, which accounted for 65 percent of sales.

TheUnitedS

tatesis

thewor

lds

large

stcoffeemarket.

132 pound bags of coffeeare imported into the U.S.

from February to July.20millionof all teaconsumed in

the United Statesis taken over ice.

Seattleconsumesmore coffee

than anyother city.Boston issecond.

The U.S. is ranked 27th in coffeeconsumption, with an average of 9.3

pounds of coffee consumed percapita, compared to No. 1, Finland,which averages 26 per capita..

The UK has the highesttea consumption worldwide, with 4.85 lbs. per capita.

of people in theU.S. consume

tea every day.

The South and Northeast have the greatestconcentration of tea drinkers in the U.S.

Scientistsand lab workers

need their

coffee most tomake it through the dayaccording to a surveyfor Dunkin Donuts.

Miami consumes more tea than anyother city in the United States.

Some like it

hotCoffee and tea by the numbersBy Miranda Murray


14/51

EGGTe incredible, edible, mixable

egg. We made the traditionalbreakast o eggs and coee

more o a togo concept bycracking a raw egg into a cup

o black coee. Suppo sedly,stirring the egg would make

the coee simply creamier. Itended up being worse than the

skillet cheese experiment. Eggsand coee work better in their

traditional roles at breakast.

SKILLET CHEESECheese? And coee? ogether? Tats what we thought, too. Acco rding to

one sta members research, skillet cheese, which is precooked, is supposed tocomplement coee pretty well. All we discovered upon opening the package was

a pungent, shy odor. Still being brave, however, a ew sta members cut o aslice and dipped it in their coee anyway. What was most appalling was hard todetermine the shy avor, the chewy consistency or the ailure to complement

coee at all. urns out cheese and coee should remain separate avors.

Uniquely good flavors for

your morning cup

TRADER JOES PUMPKIN BREADIts like Christmas in your mouth.Te cinnamonspice, pumpkin avorblends perectly with the strong coeetang. It tastes like a specialty blend.ruthully, some o the sta preers

the bread as a complement to coee,instead o dipping it. But either way,pumpkin bread is a denite hit.

By Molly Green

18 |BEAN AND LEAF

BANANAStrange, but true.

While dipping a banana in acup o coee wasnt the mostpopular choice at our tastetest session, sta memberLucie Shelly says it wasntthat bad. It tastes like a sobanana biscuit, she says. Iwould consider dipping mybanana in my coee.

OREOTat tasty treat o chocolaty goodness and cream doesnt just complementa spoonul o peanut butter. ry dipping it in a cup o straight black coee,or with a creamer o your choice, or a wellrounded, mocha avor. Eventhe selproclaimed noncoee drinker o the sta enjoyed his sample.Its like a new kind o Oreo, says Isaac Adams. Its a nice complement.

common knowledge that cream, sugar and honey go withcoee like milk goes with cookies. Even chocolate, hazelnutand caramel blend into specialty drinks on a regular basis these

days. But heres a list o the top curious and bizarre oods rom the supremely delicious to the notsoyummy

avors that the Bean & Lea sta recommends toput with your morning cup o coee.

Its

FEBRUARY 2012 | 1

Photo by Lauren Vied


15/51

25 |BEAN AND LEAF

Apple cinnamon tea:better than the real thing


16/51

By Lucie ShellySome coffee secrets, like those of magicians, will forever remain with the masterbrewers and roasters with generations of practice behind them. There are certainmysteries, however, that we can clarify for you right now. The only thing thatshould come between you and your desired cup is a slow inhale of the spellbindingaromanot the jargon were bombarded with these days.

sustainable coffee:Organic, shadegrown and air trade methodsNo articial ertilizersNatural, exotic orests are not destroyedMinimized water consumptionCoee husks are reused

BUST THE BUZZ-WORDS:

AMERICANO

brewedcoffee

espresso

hot water

BLACK COFFEE

espresso

foamedmilk

CAPUCCINO

CAFE AU LAIT

brewedcoffee

milk

LATTE

espresso

frothed milk

steamedmilk

MACCHIATO

espresso

cream

half + half

espresso

BREVE

shade-grown coffee:Grown in the shade o surrounding treesCreates nutritious soil naturally and organicallyConserves orests and their inhabitants

fair trade coffee:Purchased directly rom growersHigher sale price than normal about $1.26/lbTird party certicationGrowers are part o a coop

Coop determines use o protsStandard working and environmental conditions

direct trade coffee:Similar to air trade, but no third party certierrade criteria decided by buyers and growersMore exible

See page 53 or a look at leading direct tradeoperation Counter Culture in Durham, N.C.

ESPRESSO SHOT

espresso

FEBRUARY 2012 | 21


17/51

25 |BEAN AND LEAFHOTOS BY LAURA KIRCHHOFERerative leader, Andres Tells,Kirchhofer the in and outs of

trees.

FEBRUARY 2012 | 2

Your barista hands you thatdelicious cup o coee youve beeneagerly waiting or. Your handssoak up the warmth rom the mug as theresh scent o joe was up to your nose.Resting on the coeehouses couch, youveound that eeling youve been searchingor. Youre elated.

Its air trade, the manager assuresyou, trying to convince your consciencethat, indeed, you did buy the best coeepossible or yoursel and the world. Butthe question still lingers in your head andheart. Was there really a air trade or thiscoee? What does that even entail?

FAIRBROKENDOWNFROMEVERYSIDE.

By Isaac Adams

AllsFairin

Trade&Coffee?


18/51

24 |BEAN AND LEAF

FROM THE CERTIFIERSFair trade humbly began

in the 1940s, when a ew smallNorth American and Europeanorganizations reached out to povertystricken communities in Tird Worldand developing countries to helpthem sell their products to marketsaround the world.

In 2010 more than 100 millionpounds o air trade certied coeewere imported into the United Statesin a single year, according to Fairrade USA, the leading thirdpartycertier o air trade products in theUnited States.

o date, more than 500 millionpounds o Fair rade certiedcoee have been imported into theUnited States since certicationorganizations began.

Paul Rice, CEO and president oFair rade USA, says air trade isabout much more than mitigatingprices that are benecial to bothsides o coee transactions. Fairtrade is a comprehensive approachto sustainable development thatsupports armers with qualityimprovement; environmentalstewardship; business capacitytraining; access to credit; andcommunity development, such asthe development o local schools, tohelp improve lives, he says.

I you see a Fair rade certiedlabel on a product, that means itmeets the set standards or social,economic and environmentalsustainability. For a air tradetransaction to occur, these rigorousinternational standards have to bemet and evaluated by a thirdpartycertier, such as Fair rade USA.

On the producers side, the armerselling the product must be a part oa cooperative.

I the transaction occurredwithout thirdparty certiicationbetween the coee roasters andproducers, it would be considereddirect trade. But this orm otrade is considered airly traded

only i the business transactionis ethical and air to both parties especially considering thevulnera bility o disadv antagedarmers who dont have the beneito joining a cooperative.

Te Fair rade logo has beentouted by coee producers and usedin various marketing strategies inan eort to appeal to more greenminded consumers.

All this sounds great, but do theroasters and companies buying thecoee truly think these trades are air?

Laura Kirchhoer, a senior atthe University o North CarolinaChapel Hill, comes rom Dallas,exas, and claims to be a coeeconnoisseur. Ive always loveddrinking coee, she says. But herpassion or working with coeearmers wasnt ignited until shestudied abroad in Cameroon duringthe spring semester o her junioryear, in 2010.

I lived with a coee armingamily who had to abandon coeebecause the international price ocoee had dropped so low, she says.

For them, coee wasnt justtheir livelihood it was theirheritage, it was what their greatgrandather and their grandatherdid. It was dear to their hearts.

Kirchhoer says because theamily couldnt make ends meetproducing coee, they began toproduce more cash crops instead.

Tat was hard or them and sador me to witness.

Kirchhoer argues that there isa huge inconsistency between howexpensive coee can be in the UnitedStates and how little coee armersneed to receive to get a air price. Shethinks a lot more could be done toreduce this inconsistency though sherecognizes that there are eorts to dothat with air trade and direct trade.

Tradenary

Fair Trade Certied coffee

[fair treyd sur-tuh-fahyd

kaw-fee]noun - The goal of

Fair Trade Certied coffee isto alleviate poverty in farming

communities around the world

in ways that are socially and

environmentally sustainable. To

guarantee the trade between

consumers and farmers is

fair, a third-party certier must

ensure fair, and sustainable

standards are being met; the

farmer must be in a cooperative

for Fair Trade certication.

fairly traded coffee

[fair-lee treyd-ed-kaw-

fee]noun - The same

goals apply for fairly traded

coffee. The difference is that

coffee roasters have direct

relationships with coffee

farmers so they can purchase

the coffee without traditional

middlemen and certifying

organizations. The coffee is

said to be fairly traded if the

standards of Fair Trade are

being met.

FROM THE AMERICANCOFFEE DRINKER & THEINTERNATIONAL FARMER

FEBRUARY 2012 | 2

Honestly, those eorts are justnot widespread enough, she says.

Aer her time in Cameroon,Kirchhoer came back to the UnitedStates a changed woman. She beganmeeting with coee roasters andstudying air trade. She even lmeda documentary about CounterCulture Coee a coee roaster inDurham, N.C.

Trough her studies, experiencesand relationships with coee roasters,she has developed a passion or Haiti,which in the 1930s supplied a thirdo the worlds coee. Because shewas procient in French, a relativeto the Creole spoken in Haiti, shesaw an opportunity to learn more

about the industry. She saw a brokencountry that was positioned close tothe United States. She withdrew romUNC and went to Haiti in September2011. She plans to return to UNC inthe spring o 2012.

I was excited, she says. I prayedabout it, and I elt like it was whatthe Lord was calling me to do.

I was excited, Iprayed about it, andI elt like it was whatthe Lord was callingme to do.

-Laura Kirchhofe

For a month, Kirchhoer livedwith ony Jones, a missionary, andhis amily in the mountains o GrandGoave, Haiti. Kirchhoer workedwith coee armers, collectingsamples o their coee and helpingwith development projects.

Kirchhoer returned to the U.S.with 30 pounds o Haitian coeesamples. She oers them when shemeets with roasters and churchesin North Carolina and exas to seei theyll start buying Haitian coeeto support the developments there.Kirchhoer explained that Haitianarmers dont think about air tradeand that its not as simple as air andunair to them. She says what was

most interesting to her is that beoreJones lived in Haiti, a lot o the coeearmers in Grand Goave didnt knowthat air trade even existed.

Its not something they haveexposure to, she says. Teydont even have the belie that itssomething they should try to standup or. Tey sell their coee or

When coffee cher

tree turn red they

harvest.


19/51

26 |BEAN AND LEAF

much less than its worth and or lessthan they deserve to be paid becausethey dont even know that theydeserve better.

Kirchhoer says the armers arevery eager to sell their coee toJones because what they dont sell tohim or other air trade buyers willbe illegally sold at a very low priceo 50 U.S. cents to the DominicanRepublic or elsewhere in Haiti.

Tey have to sell their crop soit doesnt go bad and so they cansurvive, she says.

Jones pays the coee armers inHaiti about $2 per pound, which isour times more than the price oselling the coee illegally or within

the country. Te international airtrade price ranges rom $1.26 to$1.40 per pound.

A big problem with air trade isthat its not country specic, and thereare dierent prices or producingcoee in dierent countries basedon supply and demand and the costo dierent ertilizers, she says.

But because its an internationallymonitored thing, there has to be aninternational at rate.

Kirchhoer says in Haiti, air tradedoesnt have a huge impact becausethe running price o coee is higherthan the air trade demand price orcoee exported to the United States.Direct trade pays a higher pricethan air trade in general, she says.

What excites the Haitian coeearmers most about Jones directlytrading with them is that he invests intheir community and gives back to it.

Teyre so appreciative o what hesdoing, Kirchhoer says. Tey want tosell him as much coee as possible.

But what Kirchhoer says she

remembers most about the armersis their hands. She says she doesntknow why, but she always elt weakwhen she extended her smooth,unworked hand to theirs.

I remember meeting coeearmers and shaking their hands,she says. Tey were strong, theywere rough, and it just elt like these

men had been working in reallyharsh conditions. Harvesting coeeis a harsh trade and environment.

When asked whether he believedtrades were actually air or airlytraded and Fair rade coee, .J.Semanchin, owner o KickapooCoee, condently responded withone word: Denitely.

In 2010, Kickapoo Coee wasvoted No. 1 microroaster in theUnited States byRoastmagazine.Kickapoo Coee is a onelocationoperation in Viroqua, Wis.

As a microroaster, Kickapoo

Coee sells less than 100,000 poundso coee a year.

But aer the attention thenational award brought, well beselling a little over that this year,Semanchin says. I guess wed now beconsidered a standard sized roaster.

Semanchin says the benets oairly traded coee are essentially

Tells and

Kirchhofer visited

many coffee

farms in the

mountains of

Jacmel, Haiti.

FROM THE ROASTERS ANDCOFFEE SHOPS

Women descending the mountain at Cap Rouge to go

Farmers walk up to seven hours twice a week to reach mar

they will sell their crop and buy anything

endless. Te trades airness isimmediately assured because oKickapoos direct relationships withcoee armers, he says.

Te armers are getting muchbigger percentages o the proceeds.

Brent Feito, who works asa barista at wine and espressocoeehouse SOVA in Washington,D.C., (to learn more about SOVA seepage 14), says he personally preers

to buy direct trade coee.It allows a more diverse group

o armers to enter the market, hesays. Fair rade requires too manycertications, and the wealthierarmers usually end up getting to selltheir products.

Semanchin and Feito agree thatthere are roasters who trade poorlyand others who do it well.

But a big distinction about

Kickapoo is we only work witharmers who are in small armercooperatives, says Semanchin. Wehelp them get market access.

Semanchin says that or Fair radto be certied, armers must be a paro a cooperative. A small armercooperative is made up o armerswho own ewer than 20 acres.

hree acres is the average sizeo land that each armer usually


20/51

28 |BEAN AND LEAF

owns, he says.Te size o the cooperatives can

vary rom 100 members to a ew

thousand members. Te averagesize o small armer cooperatives isbetween 500 to 600 members.

Semanchin says that he knowsrsthand that airly traded coee isa winwin situation. And the cost tothe ca owner is not much greater.

David Fritzler, who is the beveragemanager at ryst Coeehouse inWashington, D.C., says that airlytraded coee is air or the customersand reects their values.

People in our market generally

care about this stu and are willingto pay a little more or it, even ithey arent aware o the intricaciesor the ramications o theirpurchases, he says.

Fritzler says ryst deals with airlytraded coee, not Fair rade. Hesays the people at ryst work hardon having a transparent, trusting

relationship based on common valueswith the roaster who supplies theircoee Counter Culture Coee.

We arent concerned with sellingcoee that is certied, Fritzlersays. Instead we want our guests todevelop a trusting relationship withus where they know that we careabout the eects o what we sell onthe people who produce our coeeand the land and communitieswhere its grown.

IF ITS FAIR, IS IT GOOD?Tough the people at Kickapoo

have the credentials to prove that

the quality o the airly tradedcoee they roast is worldclass, Fairrade or airly traded coees dontnecessarily mean that they tastebetter, says Fritzler.

But its generally better becausepeople who care about these issues alsotend to care about quality, he says.

Also, when you know that passion

and hard work went into the coee,then you denitely dont want to blowit when brewing and serving it.

ryst barista Pearce Arnoldsays airly traded coee doesntnecessarily taste better and that thetaste can greatly vary rom shopto shop.

Maintaining a good consistencyin brewing the coee is whatseparates a good shop rom amediocre shop, he says.

Direct trade, air trade and airly

traded coee will never provide theperect trade. Tere will always beinequity somewhere and somethingmore to do. But you can be assuredthat rom Haiti to the ca down thestreet, airer and more ethical eortsare being made every day, and theseeorts are appreciated rom everyside o the transaction.

These school children in the

mountains near Grand Goave

attend one of the schools funded

by Seeds of Hope.

SO IS ALL FAIR IN TRADE ANDCOFFEE?


21/51

JUNE 2011 | 26


22/51


By Miranda Murray

he amiliar Liptonea logo seemsout o place in thephotograph o a

large white signsurrounded bykneehigh dark

green shrubs until you read thesecond line o text directly under thelogo: Kericho, Kenya.

Yet this is where Lipton tea is mostat home, the beginning o its longmetamorphosis rom a sundrenched

lea to a steaming, ragrant cup. ruetea, the most popular beverage inthe world aer water, comes romthe Camellia sinensis and Liptonbuys about 12 percent o the worldsentire production o this one plant.

Because o the size o the company,its actions have had a huge eect oncommunities across the globe.

With that in mind, Lipton eawas one o the rst tea companies tocommit to purchasing its tea romsustainable and ethical sources in2007. In the same year, LiptonsKericho plantation in Kenya received

Rainorest Alliance Certication.Te Lipton website says it began

the process o certication or its ownestates because it ound that it wasonly air to certiy its own stash beoreasking its suppliers to do the same.

wo years later, Lipton announcedits commitment to sourcing all oits tea bags rom Rainorest Alliancecertied estates by 2015. It also nowprovides ree housing and medicalcare, as well as primary schooleducation, or its workers and theiramilies at the Kericho estate. In2010, Lipton ea purchased more

than 20 percent o its tea romRainorest Alliance Certied arms.

We decided that the RainorestAlliance Certication was themost appropriate because o itscomprehensive approach towardssustainable arm managementcovering social, economic andenvironmental aspects. Tis is in linewith the way we have been managingour own program or over a decade,Michiel Leijnse, global marketingdirector or Lipton, told Internationalrade Forum magazine in April 2010.

Lipton eas initiative has putit on the crest o the sustainabletea wave, increasing pressure onother multinational tea companiesaround the world to also commit.In response, etley ea, the UnitedKingdoms bestselling tea brand,has also committed to RainorestAlliance certication by 2016 as well.

SUSTAINABLE ORGANIZATIONSTe Rainorest Alliance is one

o many accrediting organizationsthat ensures armers use sustainablearming methods. Once theorganization certies a arm, itnegotiates livable prots or thearmers with tea lea purchasers.

Diana Ortiz, communicationsassistant or Rainorest Alliance, saysin an email, Farms are audited againstSustainable Agriculture Networksstandards, and i they meet the criteriaor responsible management, theyare awarded the Rainorest AllianceCertied seal o approval.

Te alliance was ounded in 1986aer a conerence on disappearingrain orests in New York City.

We became an organization

whose sole ingredients includedpassion and commitment detailslike bookkeeping, undraising andmanagement came later, writesDaniel Katz, board chair and oundero the Rainorest Alliance.

Te Rainorest Alliance has sinceskyrocketed, thanks in part to thegreen trend. Coee is one o the

best known products undergoingchanges to become more sustainableand airly traded. Now, tea, as well asmore than 100 other products, canalso qualiy or certication.

However, Mark Milstein, directoro the Center or Sustainable GlobalEnterprise at Cornell University,says he is somewhat skeptical othe popularity and useulness osustainability certication companiessuch as the Rainorest Alliance.

From a policy perspective, theydont make a lot o sense, he says.You punish people who dont meetthe minimum, and the people whomeet it dont have a reward.

Milstein says that certication

programs, such as the RainorestAlliance program or FairtradeInternational, tend to restrictinnovation and exibility in businessand make companies more alike losing the competitive advantage thatthey need.

Certication schemes,

undamentally, are about regressingthe group to a mean, he says. Ascheme is saying that i you hit thesemetrics we determined are important,youre good or the environment.

Milstein says large companies,such as Lipton, may choose to investin sustainability measures, bothenvironmental and social, because o

KENYA

K NY

D NM K

N T H L N DS

M NY

S W D N

I N L N D

H U L I

U ST I

I T L Y

T U K Y

T N NI

SOUTH

I

172

2

1

12

12

IS L

1

6

1

2

1

N O W Y2

S I1

M OO N

1

S N L

O L N D

1

NAIROBI

KERICHO

WHERE IS KERICHO?

SOURCE: THE WORLD FACTBOOK

marketing advantages, but that simplgreening a product is not a longterm plan to keep a product selling.

ROADBLOCKSDespite the trumpeting o its

sustainability investments, Liptonea still has some kinks to work outbeore meeting its goal.

In April 2011, the Centreor Research on MultinationalCorporations, a Dutch nonprotresearch network, published allegationthat some emale workers at the Liptonea Kericho plant in Kenya weresexually harassed by their supervisors,and that the living conditions or someemployees were deplorable.

Gender discrimination is stillpresent in many teaproducingcountries. Most tea pickers areemale, avored or their perceivedadvantage in picking as well asdocility, writes Sanne van derWal, in a comprehensive study oncontemporary tea issues published bthe Centre in 2008.

Women workers are asked orsexual avors in exchange or avorsby supervisors, and reusal can lead

to repercussions, such as beingallocated too much work or beingsent to work in lonely or dangerousplucking zones, he writes.

Lipton and the Rainorest Allianchave denied the allegations.

In the November 2010 audit,no evidence was ound to support[these claims], wrote the Rainorest

Although Lipton has taken steps toward sustainability,cracks in the tea giants eorts are beginning to show.

Women workers areasked or sexual avorsin exchange or avors bysupervisors, and reusalcan lead to repercussions,such as being allocatedtoo much work or beingsent to work in lonely ordangerous plucking zones.

- Sanne van der Wal

PHOTO BY REBECCA YAN

cracksystema

in the


23/51


Alliance to Te Ecologist, an onlineenvironmentalist magazine. Whatwe have said is that we need evidenceand specics so that independentauditors can ollow up theallegations. Without these it wouldbe difcult to do more than thethorough research audit conducted.

Cases such as these highlightsome o the social issues that acethe tea industry today as producersattempt to esh out their roles withinthese teaproducing communities.

DISCRIMINATIONLike coee, tea is mostly grown

on the equatorial line, where there isalso a higher concentration o poverty.Tis poverty is oen tied to a poorlyeducated population, who oen haveno other option besides working

temporary agricultural labor positions.Ethnic minorities also make up a highpercentage o the agricultural workerpopulation because o their limitedoptions or social mobility.

In 2007, ethnic conict in Kenyareached a peak when the local t ribesdrove out the mostly oreign teapickers. At least 14 people were killed

at the Unilever estate during theviolence.

People here eel disadvantaged,because the oreign tribes who camehere to pick tea live under betterconditions than them, said KimutaiKigen, a local barber, to Reuters.

Tey dont pay rent in companyhouses; they get benets.

Milstein says that companiescan reap just as many benets romcorporate social responsibilityeorts as the communities theyinvest in, especially in countriessuch as Kenya where risk o socialupheavals is high.

Teyre going to alleviatepoverty, but they also may eelthat theres risk in Kenya, and byinvesting, theyre creating a morestable product, he says.

LIVING CONDITIONSOther issues o concern, especially

on Arican tea plantations, areworkers health and saety. In2006, HIV was prevalent in morethan 6 percent o the Kenyanpopulation, according to AVER, aninternational HIV and AIDS charity.

Liptons Kericho estate has beenproactive in tackling this nationaldisaster since early 2002, according toa case study rom the Global BusinessCoalition on HIV/AIDS, uberculosisand Malaria. Te company providesree health care to its 75,000 employeeswho live on the estate, and in 2009,won an award or its HIV/AIDSeducation, prevention treatment andcare programs, said its website.

Lipton also provides ree housingto workers on its Kericho plantation,but the Centre has called intoquestion how sanitary and wellmaintained these acilities are, notingthat during peak tea season, thehouses tend to become overcrowded.

Van der Wal writes in his studythat a temporary Unilever workersaid to him, You can imagine living

with someone you have (a) characterclash with, you are squeezed betweenharsh working conditions and harshconditions at home, this is not easyor many people.

Many o the workers needs andwants could be solved throughnegotiations with Lipton, yet unionsare inefcient in Kenya, which makes

them ineective, writes van der Wal.Te Kenya Plantation and

Agricultural Workers Union,he writes, has no work plan, notransportation and no direct accessto unds. Te union did have somesuccess in helping organize a strikeprotesting the use o pruningtechnology in 2010, which it claimedwould threaten jobs.

THE ENVIRONMENTWhile coee can boast o shade

grown varieties o beans that canourish without aecting rainorests,there is no simple solution or teaat this time. Like all agriculturalproducts, tea requires the clearingo land to grow, which leads to adecrease in biodiversity and highersoil erosion.

Another energy problem in thetea industry is how the tea leavesare dried a process that typicallymust happen 24 hours aer the leais plucked. In Kenya, burning woodis generally the heating method used,which has led to treelogging issues,writes van der Wal.

Lipton has been taking activemeasures to address these concerns.It writes on its website, Specicallyin Kericho, 98 percent o our energyneeds are rom renewable sourcesthrough our hydroelectric powerstations and renewable uel wood orour actory boilers.

SOLUTIONS?Even though Lipton has been

proactive in increasing its sustainabilityeorts or both the environment andits workers, these measures still have alot o progress to make beore the 2015

goal can be reached.Milstein says the sustainability

trend has been on the same upticksince the 1990s and is being takenever more seriously by businesses.

Several nongovernmentalorganizations have sprung up inthe last decade on the heels o thesustainability movement.

Tese thirdparty certicationsystems help businesses such asLipton negotiate with its tea producersto identiy areas where they canbecome more sustainable and then tond solutions and methods towardtargeting those areas.

Once these goals are met, thecompany can label its products withthe proo o certication, which canraise its consumer appeal.

HELPING HANDTrough the Sustainable rade

Initiative, a Dutch air trade initiativeinvolving several dierent crops,Lipton and other large tea companiesare reaching out to now help smallarmers also become more sustainable.

In an email to the initiative,Pauline Oyugi, a actory unitmanager o a tea actory in Kenya,writes, Te Sustainable Agricultureproject has trained our armereld school members to becomeagricultural experts. Tey are nowresource persons who train the otherarmers on sustainable agricultureprinciples on eld days and duringarm demonstrations.

Te Ethical ea Partnership,ounded in 1997, also works toestablish air trade practices onboth sides o the tea supply industryUnlike other air trade NGOs, its therst partnership ocused solely onissues relating to the tea sector.

Weaver Street Market, acooperative commercial center withstores in Orange County, N.C., is onestore capitalizing on air trade andcertied organic oods, including tea.James Watts, head merchandiser orWSM, says that meeting customer

demand isnt the only reason theystock air trade goods.

Te reason Weaver Street Marketinvests in air trade is because wethink its the right thing to do, hesays.

Anytime you can purchaseproduct rom producers that canraise their standard o living.

25,000 EMPLOYEES

= 5,000PEOPLE

200,000 TONS OF TEAPRODUCED ANNUALLY

= 5,000TONS

11 FACTORIES BY THE NUMBERS

98%Energy needs met by

renewable sources

(hydroelectric and

renewable fuelwood).

20%Amount of tea bought

by Lipton from

Rainforest Alliance

farms in 2010.

2015Year by which all

Lipton tea bags will

be certied by the

Rainforest Alliance.

12%

Portion of the worlds

entire production of

tea that Lipton buys

each year.

KERICHO STATS

The new Rainforest Alliances

Certication Program, through

which Lipton has committed to

certify all of its tea by 2015, is

guided by ten principles of the

Sustainable Agriculture Network:

Ensure farms adherence to

certication standards

Conserve eco-systems

Protect wildlife

Conserve water

Provide access to decent

housing, potable water and

healthcare for workers and the

families, and access to

education for their children

Ensure safeconditions for allworkers

Foster positive community

relations

Practice Integrated Crop

Management

Conserve soil

Manage waste responsibly tosafeguard health and protect

the environmentTo nd out more information

about the Rainforest Alliance,

their efforts with sustainability

or to make a donation, go to

www.rainforestalliance.org.

SOURCES: WWW.LIPTON.CO

WWW.RAINFORESTALLIANCE.OR

HOW DO PRODUCTSBECOME CERTIFIED?

100,000 DEPENDENTS

4 HEALTH CENTERS

SOURCE: WWW.LIPTON.COM


24/51

FEBRUARY 2012 | 334 |BEAN AND LEAF

vsCorporate Kitschy Lucie Shelly

A COFFEE DRINKERS TAKEON THE BATTLE FOR BALANCEBETWEEN CHAIN COFFEEHOUSESAND INDEPENDENT CAFS

Orders like these reect achanged coee culture. TeStarbucks way o operatinghas ltered down through our

overall perception o the ca. Someargue that both the coee experienceand the coee itsel have been dilutedby corporate chains, and the smallerindependent caes are being troddenon like discarded beans.

hats an easy plot to believe,but there are multiple sides toevery story.

Matt Souza manages 3CUPS, alocal and independent coee, teaand wine house in Chapel Hill, N.C.He suggests that the independentcoeehouses actually owe thechains or broadening the coeedrinking market.

Honestly, I appreciate placeslike Starbucks or turning peopleon to some idea or consciousness oquality, Souza says.

Te corporate chains are thereal marketing powerhouses. Fromcultivating a dcor to brandingtheir coee, everything is aboutconstructing and contriving animage that looks like a unique,homey ca. Te dierence, Souzasays, is that the independent calets the image and atmosphereemerge organically. By highlightingelements that contribute to ahigh quality drink, such as directsourcing o the beans, the eel o theca naturally develops.

On the other hand, the Starbuckscompany philosophy is based onpromoting an exceptional employee

experience and diusing thatcomort to the customers. Drinkerscan consistently get exactly whatthey want at any o the thousandso Starbucks throughout the world.With orders like the above, however,its a wonder these customers stillthink theyre drinking coee. Just

because it doesnt say Dairy Queendoesnt mean its any better or you.

THE RISEIn the past two decades Starbucks

has le ast ood chains like DairyQueen in the dust. Te coeecompany had an exponential boomin openings in the 90s. In 1998,Starbucks had about 10,000 stores.Te Onion, a webbased satiricalnews source, ran the headline, NewStarbucks Opens in Rest Roomo Existing Starbucks. Currently,the chain has about 17, 000 casglobally. Teir gross revenue in the

previous twelve months was $11.51billion USD.

In 2008, it introduced a card

based loyalty program. Customerswho use the cards get variousreebies extra syrup pump, sir? and earn stars that eventuallyamount to rewards. Like somesort o extended hotdog eatingcontest, the more coee you drink,the higher you climb up the ranks,eventually earning a Gold Cardand rewards such as ree drinks.Starbucks says there is so muchdaily uctuation in the programs

membership or its system tomanage the data, thus makingit impossible to keep track o areliable statistic.

So, this leaves us with thequestion, who are the peopleenrolling, or rather, investing inthese programs? Furthermore,

where does this leave theindependent ca, the careulroaster, or even the subtle drinker?

In the late 90s and early 2000s,the same decade when Starbucksbegan opening a new location everyweekday, independent cas tooktheir biggest hit in customer trafc.Ten, the cups ipped upside down

CRUMBLING CORPORATIONSIn the early 2000s, even the

supertanker that was Starbucksstruggled to stay aoat in asudden economic downturn. Tecorporation had to cut employee

benets, such as personal days andhourly pay. In an ironic testamentto the corporate ethos, growingemployee dissatisaction led tocustomer dissatisaction.

Tis was the moment or largerindependent operators to gainback some ground. Starbucksspremise o quality coee no longerhad the marketing boost that apowerul brandname or trademarkcan give lesserquality and massproduced goods. Companies suchas Intelligentsia Coee & ea, anindependent roaster that began inChicago, Ill., were able to captureenough o a customer base in theeconomic downturn to maintainactual growth. Local cas saw slighbut optimistic increase in patronage

3CUPS was originally locatedless than a quarter mile rom aStarbucks, and it was around thecorner rom McDonalds recentoray into the ca industry, McCa

Souza says this actually worked tothe cas advantage.We take that awareness that

Starbucks and McCa bring toespresso coee and try to broadenthe experience, and the people comeor it, says Souza.

Since the early 2000s, there has

CAN I GET A QUADRUPLE-VENTI-DOUBLE-PUMP-HAZELNUT-DOUBLE-PUMP-CARAMEL-SOY LATTE PLEASE?

Honestly, I appreciateplaces like Starbucksor turning peopleon to some idea orconsciousness o quality,

-Matt Souza

ART BY LYDIA HARRELL


25/51


26/51


By Molly Green

The Souths

SweetestTradition

FRESH BEGINNINGSIt all began in South Carolina.

Tat was the rst state to grow tealeaves, brought to Charleston, S.C.,by Francois Andre Michaux in theearly 19th century, according to thewebsite or the Charleston Countygovernment. Originally, greentea leaves were used in tea drinks(occasionally, but not always, servedcold), and the drinks were very oenheavily spiked with liquor. Teywere called tea punches and werepopular in places all around the U.S. not just in the South.

Sweet tea didnt develop just inthe U.S. South, but in England aswell, says John Boles at the Journal oSouthern History in Houston, exas.

It was a quick energy source,he says. [It] began to developalong with industrialization. Peopleworking in actories needed a break.

For workers in industrial England,adding sugar to their midaernooncup o tea provided a muchneededpickmeup during the long, difcultdays in the actories. Sweetening teain the U.S. was inuenced partly by theBritish practice.

SERVING IT COLDTat rereshing, icecold glass o

tea on a summer day wasnt alwaysaround. Tis treat became availablein dierent regions over time. Manycookbooks rom early in the 19thcentury provide recipes or servingtea with ice. Te oldest recordedrecipe or sweet iced tea was oundin the cookbookHousekeepingin Old Virginiaby Marion Cabellyree. Tis recipe still used greentea, with a slice o lemon. Althoughsuch recipes are present so earlyin U.S. history, serving up a cold

glass in mass quantities becamepopular right along the time thatrerigeration came into existence.

Te ice house, ice box andcommercially rerigerated ice blockwere popular by the late 19th earl20th century and so made thecreation o cold beverages easier andconvenient, especially or those wholived near towns and in cities. Still,in these early days, green tea leaveswere used.

Boles says the iced tea beveragedidnt really become dominant in

the South until the 1930s, whenelectric rerigeration became morepopular and could help make hotsummer days better and the drinkmore popular with armers andother laborers. Beore electricrerigeration, Southerners couldmake ice tea in the winter time

Deep in the heart o Dixie there are some traditions so unique to the region that

theyre just plain curious rom an outside perspective. Hush puppies and gritsare two menu mysteries to many an outotowner. But sweet tea that sweet,

sultry glass o smooth deliciousness ound on most tables in the South at any

meal, any season is the vital staple in the diet o any Southerner. B eyond the borders o the

MasonDixon Line, many people remain in the dark about the Souths drink o choice. More

than likely, theyve also never tried it. Te Souths unique hold over sweet tea brings up lots o

questions about its origins and why it isnt more popular anywhere else on Earth.

OTOS BY REBECCA YAN


27/51

25 |BEAN AND LEAF JUNE 2011 | 2Ca. 1799

Francois Andre

Michaux brings

tea leaves to

South Carolina.

1879

The first recipe for sweet iced tea

appeared in the cookbook

Housekeeping in Old Virginia by

Marion Cabell Tyree.

1811

Green tea punches, which often

include alcohol are introduced. One

is called "Regent's Punch" for

English Prince Regent George IV.

1930s

Electric refrigeration

becomes widespread,

making sweet iced tea

more readily available.

1884

The first recipe using black tea

leaves is printed in Mrs. Lincolns

Boston Cook Book: What to Do and

What Not to Do in Cooking.

1904

The summer heat at the

Worlds Fair in St. Louis

makes sales of iced tea

soared.

1917

Most green tea suppliers are cut

off from the United States during

WWI, so, black tea leaves from

India are sent in huge supply.

2003

Rep. John Noel presents legislation to

the Georgia legislature requiring

restaurants that offer iced tea to serve

sweet tea. It is an April Fools joke.

TEA TIMEA look at the history of southern sweet tea.


28/51

FEBRUARY 2012 | 442 |BEAN AND LEAF

by carving up ice and storing itunderneath saw dust, says Boles.

SHADES OF BLACKTe supposed rst recipe using

black tea leaves, which are the mostpopular tea leaves or iced tea today,was printed in 1884 inMrs. LincolnsBoston Cook Book: What to Do and

What Not to Do in Cooking. Itsthought that this recipe is the rst oits kind that recommends making presweetened iced tea, the kind that mostSoutherners make today. Te recipe isalso proo that iced tea itsel was not adrink popular just in the South.

Aer 1900, black tea becamemuch more popular to serve cold,especially aer the start o World

War II. When the war began , mostgreen tea suppliers were cut orom the United States. So, blacktea leaves rom BritishcontrolledIndia were sent in huge supply.Americans came out o the wardrinking primarily black tea. Alltea including black, green, whiteand oolong leaves comes rom theCamellia sinensis bush, which growsin India, China and Sri Lanka.

TAKING OFFWhile its almost impossible to

imagine a world ignorant o theblissul avors o ice cold sweet tea,its true that beore 1900, the worldjust wasnt ready or the drink on alarge scale. Many stories suggest thatit wasnt until the 1904 Worlds Fairin St. Louis that the drink becamepopular. Te story goes that thesweltering summer heat made it toouncomortable to toss back a hotbeverage, so sales o iced tea and

lemonade soared. Emily Wallace,who works at the Center or theStudy o the American South atthe University o North Carolina atChapel Hill, says that many sourcespoint to this St. L ouis origin theory.

But, according to Beyond TeIce Cream Cone - Te Whole Scoop

absolutely unheard o in others.Morgan Sheppard, a history

major and junior at N.C. StateUniversity, had such an experiencewhen traveling.

When I went to New Englandor a amily vacation, we all askedor sweet tea at a restaurant andliterally got the most insane looks,says Sheppard. I never realized howSouthern it was.

Bullock believes that sweet tea isso popular in the South primarilybecause its something Southernerscan take pride in.

It is something Southerners

can say is just ours, she says. [Its]something traditional that we holdonto as a sign o our Southernness.

Boles, writer or theJournal oSouthern History, also attributesthe love and popularity o sweet teasimply to culture.

All over the nation there are

regional kinds o ood, he says. Ithink that one o the ways that peopleidentiy with being Southern is theood and things we like. I thin k thaticed tea is a part o that mixture thatwe associate with being Southern.

Its so integral to the culture o theSouth that in South Carolina, sweettea is the ofcial hospitality beverageo the state. South Carolina is also theonly state to commercially produceblack tea. In the state o Georgia in2003, Rep. John Noel, along with ourother members o Georgias Congress,presented legislation to the StateHouse o Representatives requiring

restaurants that oered iced tea toserve sweet tea. It was supposedly anApril Fools joke.

Even i it were a joke, sweet tea isjust that important to Southerners.Boles couldnt imagine a Southwithout sweet tea.

Its part o our culture, he says.

When you identiy with the South,[and you travel out o the region]you miss Southern cooking, and apart o that cooking is sweet tea. Its part o what we think about whatgoes together to make a good meal.

Even though the nal product isthe same, Southern amilies make thecreation o sweet tea a amily t raditionDierent amilies brew it dierent way

Bullocks mom no longer makessweet tea the way she used to, butBullock hopes to continue thesummer tradition every now andthen in her own lie.

Te mixture o sweet iced tea int

everyday Southern lie has becomeso common place that to think oa South without it would be a sadthing indeed, even when it may notbe wellknown or the most populardrink with those outside Southernborders.

It all brews down to preerence.

RECIPE FOR SOUTHERN-STYLE TEA

You will need:

6 regular tea bags

2 cups boiling water

1 - 2 cups sugar

6 cups cold water

1/8 teaspoon of baking soda

Directions:

1. In a large glass measuring cupplace the tea bags and add thebaking soda.

2. Pour the boiling water over thetea bags.

3. Cover and steep for 15minutes.

4. Take out the tea bags and do

not squeeze them.5. Pour the tea mixture into a2-quart pitcher; add the sugar.

6. Stir until the sugar iscompletely dissolved.

7. Add in the cold water.

8. Let cool; chill and serve over ice

Sweet tea has

been enjoyed

in the South for

decades, but

its avors come

from across the

globe. Regardless

of origin, theres

nothing like a

glass of sweet

Southern tea on a

hot summer day.

The recipe on the

right provides a

unique twist to the

tradition.

on Food at the 1904 Worlds FairbyPamela Vaccaro, the man credited insome stories with the popularizationo the drink, Richard Blechynden,was also present 11 years beoreat the Chicago Worlds Fair and,according to Vaccaro, it wouldlikewise be odd that, in the 11intervening years, he would havebeen totally oblivious to the drinksinclusion in cookbooks and onmenus.

Regardless o conicting theories onhow the drink was popularized, aer1900 is when things really took o. ByWorld War I, many Americans werepurchasing iced tea glasses, tall spoonsand lemon orks and reerred to the tallgoblet in crystal sets as tea glasses by the1930s. When Prohibition hit the U.S.,iced tea became even more popular asa replacement or all the lost alcohol.It was here that sweet iced tea recipesbegan to appear rather routinely inSouthern cookbooks.

A SWEET CULTUREIn the small backyard o Beth

Bullocks home in Lucama, N.C., manya summer day growing up was spentlling jars with tea with her mom andwaiting or the sun to do naturallywhat stove tops normally do.

I think she would put tea bagsin water inside o one o those large,clear glass jars, says Bullock, a junior

at UNCChapel Hill. I actually thinkit was a pickle jar. Ten, she wouldset it outside on our picnic table sothat it would be in the sun or a while I think or several hours.

Aer the tea had brewed or along time, Bullocks mom broughtthe tea into the house. She thensweetened the sun tea, while it wasstill warm, poured it into a pitcherand placed it in the ridge.

She would only do it this way inthe summer, says Bullock. I thinka large motive was that it wouldntheat up the kitchen and make ithotter inside. It is a little more mildwhen it is made this way because thebrew strength is reduced. I guessthats why I liked it.

Bullocks method or brewing teais just one o many or Southerners,and represents a large part o whatmany Southerners consider integralto their culture. It is perhaps thebest way or explaining why thedrink is so popular in the South.

ravel all around the South andorder tea, and it will come to the

table iced and sweet. o get unsweet tea requires asking and maybeeven braving a ew dirty looks rompeople. Hot tea requires an evenmore specic order, especially inwinter. But, when one moves outo the South, sweet tea becomes aspecial order in some places and

INTERNATIONAL INFLUENCESMapping the influence of different regions on the Souths sweet tea.

GRAPHIC BY KELLY McHUGH


29/51


By Kelsey Snell

For many, a cup of coffee perfectly starts the dayor complements time with friends, but for peoplesuffering from eating disorders, this favorite can bean agent of abuse.

Carrie Arnold, reheaded and rail, ignored herchurning stomach all day at work. One cup oblack coee had turned into two pots by closintime, and she made up or t he lunch hour she skippedby taking a dozen bathroom breaks. wo pots werentunusual or Carrie, and neither was missing breakastand lunch. Te caeine rom her coee ueled herdrive home. Usually, it was al l she could do to staggerrom the doorstep to her bed like a toddler taking hisrst steps, but today she beelined or the kitchen. Hershaking hand hesitantly reached or the pantry door asthe duel began between her belly and her brain. Likein a classic Western lm, hunger and ear squared owaiting or the others draw inside Carries ghost townbodyan abandoned stomach and dusty roads ointestines. Her growling stomach rumbled with victoryas she opened the pantry.

Carrie stared. One box o granola bars had more

calories but less at, and the other brand had lowercalories but more sodium. Ten there were the proteinbars that would make up or t he missed meals, but shecouldnt possibly eat that many calories at once, not tomention the sugar.

Carrie stared. She stared into the pantry or 45minutes, eeling more overwhelmed with every labelshe calculated. Her second pot o coee only added


30/51


to the anxiety, and she began to cry,too hungry and panicked to choose.She dropped to the kitchen oor,barely le with enough energy tohold her ace in her skeleton handsas tears ell to the linoleum.

Carries case is not rare. Millionso Americans suering rom eatingdisorders stare into pantries, mirrorsand toilets every day, gripped by theear o weight gain. Te positive andnegative eects o caeine and coee,more specically, are manipulatedby people with eating disorders inorder to control yet another aspect otheir bodies. Although people witheating disorders dont drink morecaeine than the average person,their motivation and mentality

behind drinking coee is completelydierent.

DISORDERED EATINGEight to 11 million Americans

suer rom anorexia nervosa andbulimia nervosa. In 2013, theAmerican Psychiatric Associationwill add binge eating disorder as anew classication in the h editiono the Diagnostic and StatisticalManual o Mental Disorders, alsoknown as DSM5. Including bingeeating disorder, the most commondisorder in America, nearly 24million Americans suer rom eatingdisorders, according to a study bythe Renrew Center Foundationor Eating Disorders, which haslocations nationwide but rst openedin Philadelphia in 1985.

Carrie is still recovering romanorexia nervosa aer 10 years.Anorexia is characterized by anextreme ear o weight gain, an

underweight body mass index,and a reusal to gain weight, saysAntonia Hartley, University o NorthCarolina at Chapel Hill CampusHealth clinical nutrition specialist.

Bulimia nervosa is alsocharacterized by an extreme ear oweight gain, but bulimics engage in

a cycle o bingeing, or eating largecalorie amounts at one time, andpurging, or getting rid o the ood bymethods such as vomiting or usinglaxatives. Binge eating disorder iscompulsive overeating without purging.

Hartley says that people withdisordered eating look to controltheir outocontrol environment with avariety o mechanisms such as purging.

Marlena Moore is a UNCChapelHill junior majoring in psychologyand currently researching binge

eating among Latin and AricanAmerican women. She says manysuering rom eating disorders wantto substitute inner emotional painswith the pain rom starving, overexercising or other means o control.

Many think that all they have istheir own body, says Moore. Teysay, Why cant I control what I have?

Carrie, who grew up outside oDetroit, says that her perectionistattitude and ear o ailure, which arecharacteristics o anorexics, resultedin high stress and anxiety. She pickedup extreme exercising during herjunior year o college, which workedso well as a stress managementtechnique that she began to developan eating disorder.

WHY COFFEE?I was a workaholic, and I was

chugging coee trying to make itthrough the day, says Carrie.

She also used coee to manage

her stress, but soon it began tocontrol more than that.When Carrie elt hungry, she

assumed she needed more coee.When she elt tired, she began torely on coee to pick her up as acalorieree energy source.

Cynthia Bulik, director o the

UNC Eating Disorders Program,says that coee overuse amongeating disorder patients is a realproblem because it gives the illusiono energy to someone who doesnthave any because he or she isstarving.

Coee seems to be the Holy Grailor people with disordered eating. Itsan appetite suppressant that expandsand lls the stomach, but not orlong because it is also a diuretic.

Coee is also an energy booster

that can be packed with articialsweeteners to quench a sweet toothand uel hours o exercise despite adeciency o natural caloric energy.

Carrie used to steal her momscoeeavored yogurts as a child,and she began drinking coee inhigh school, which she says becamenecessary with her eating disorderbecause it kept her warm. woeects o an eating disorder arelow body temperature and oversensitivity to the cold.

While caeine has its beneits,Hartley says that i you drink morethan one to two 8ounce cups aday, the negatives start to outweighany positives.

While Carrie spent years addictedto coee, there was a time she wasscared to drink water.

She buckled with ear at thethought o anything being in herstomach. Tis phobia led to manytrips to the emergency room due

to dehydration and malnutrition,and in 2005, she began a residentialtreatment program. Carrie wasdischarged aer seven months,and shortly aer she relapsed intoanorexic habits.

As bizarre as my symptoms were,I didnt nd them disgusting, she

As bizarre as my symptoms were, I didnt fnd themdisgusting. I thought it was good to work out or hours eachday and that it w as fne to eat only apples and lettuce.

says. I thought it was good to workout or hours each day and that it wasne to eat only apples and lettuce.

I JUST NEEDED A CUP.Hartley asks every nutrition

patient she sees what his or heraverage daily caeine intake is.Onethird o these patients haveeating disorders.

Once you get over 500milligrams o caeine per day,which is the maximum thatwould be in two 8ounce cups,negative eects include insomnia,nervousness, irregular heart rateand gastrointestinal issues such asbloating and diarrhea, says Hartley.Someone suering rom an eating

disorder already struggles withanxiety and other physical eects, sohigh amounts o coee or caeinecan make things worse.

Coee is a diuretic and a laxative,so when causing a bowel movementit can portray a alse sense osecurity or an anorexic patient whoisnt eating. Instead o using a naturaldigestive such as ber, coee stealsan opportunity or your intestine tobe strengthened by working hard todigest, says Hartley.

In reality, theyre using achemical to do something that theirbodies cant do naturally, she says.

In addition, skipping meals orusing laxatives ushes out importantvitamins and minerals. I coee isbeing used to suppress an appetite orreplace a meal, it doesnt add to yourbody; it actually blocks iron absorptionleading to an iron deciency.

Lastly, i someone with an eatingdisorder ignores hunger cues with

caeine or coee, that could lead tobinge eating once the coees illusiono ullness wears o.

Your hunger rears its ugly headand can lead some to overdo thingslater, says Hartley.

Carrie says that vomiting romthe acidity o coee wasnt the worst

part o her caeine abuse. When shewas hospitalized, she suered severewithdrawal migraines rom goingrom two coee pots a day to zero.

I used to ght with my doctorswho wanted me to go to groupsessions, but I couldnt move, shesays. I just needed a cup.

THE PERSON & THE DISORDERMarlena Moore says that the

person and the eating disorderare two separate things. She saystheres a mental block, or a sicknesso the mind, in which the disorderactually takes over the person.Anorexia has the highest death rateo any mental disorder.

Its a common misconception that

eating disorders are a ad or trendinstead o the deadly illnesses theyactually are, says Cynthia Bulik.Carrie saw the same size womanin the mirror she had always seen,blind to her emaciation because othe disconnect and an inability torecognize her illness.

People think that its a choice,Carrie says. Its like a gun to yourhead. Youre not in control, and itsnot as simple as choosing.

Carrie says she has relapsedmultiple times since 2006, when shewas discharged rom the residentialtreatment program, but she hasntbeen hospitalized because she knowshow to identiy and tackle therelapse. Part o her recovery journeyhas been starting a blog calledEDbites. Te tagline o the blog is,Recovering rom anorexia, one biteat a time.

She now lives in Williamsburg,Va. and is a reelance science writer.

Her book about anorexia, whichmixes the science o the disorderwith her personal recovery story, willbe published in the summer o 2012.

Carrie didnt have to give upcoee, but two pots o anxiousobsession are now replaced by twomugs o blissul enjoyment.

caffeinecount

Although caffeine amountsare hard to pin down from

one roaster to the next,here are a few averages,in milligrams, for 16 oz.beverages. Get to knowwhats behind your buzz.

INSTANT COFFEE 100

148

78

310

70

165

225

175

76

150

75

16

BREWED COFFEE

ESPRESSO (1 OZ.)

MCDONALDSICED MOCHA

DUNKIN DONUTSICED COFFEE

DUNKIN DONUTSICED LATTE

DUNKIN DONUTSCOFFEE COOLATTA

STARBUCKSCAFF LATTE

STARBUCKSCAPPUCINO

STARBUCKSPIKE PLACE

STARBUCKS CAFFAMERICANO

STARBUCKSCAFF MOCHA

SOURCES: dunkindonuts.com,mcdonalds.com, starbucks.com,

the Mayo Clinic

88BLACKANDGREEN TEA


31/51

Where Have Allthe FrappuccinosGone? By Bailey Holman

I

Is the worlds supply of coffee in danger?

youre a coee drinker, two words hold the power tostrike ear in your racing heart: coee shortage. Asyou read this, visions o city streets crawling withshorttempered, caeinedeprived zombies send chillsdown your spine. You know what youre like beoreyour morning x; now multiply it by the millions ocoeedrinkers spread across the globe, and shudder.

Even i this is the rst youve heard o a coeeshortage, youve probably noticed that your daily habithas gotten more expensive this year. Whether in the aisle

at the grocery store or in line at the coee shop, youveseen prices go up. I youre like most o us, youve

grumbled but shelled out the necessary cash, notwilling to go without your caeine hit but never

really understanding what was behind the risingprices. A ew weeks ago, I heard it explained withthose two dreaded words coee shortage asthey came out o a riends mouth in ominousslow motion. With sayitaintso resolve, I setout to prove this couldnt possibly be true.urns out, it is true sort o. Te issue is acomplex one, with various pieces playinga part. Te problem lies in an increasing

PHOTOS BY REBECCA YAN


32/51

50 |BEAN AND LEAF

demand or coee and a decreasingsupply in some major coeeproducing countries. Supply anddemand imbalances are nothingnew, according to Scott Conary,president o North Carolinabased Carrboro Coee Roasters,a wholesale coee roasting andconsulting company.

Tere have always been supplyand demand issues, Conary says.Its what dictates the market.

In coeegrowing countries,several elements have been workinghandinhand in recent years toproduce the current imbalance,Conary says. o begin with, internaldemand in these countries is rising.Developing countries, such as

Brazil and China, once exportedall o their best coee but are nowexperiencing a greater domesticdemand rom their middle andupper classes.

Previously, they sold their bestcoees and never drank it theyprobably didnt even know what ittasted like, Conary says. Now, theupwardly mobile middle class wantsand can aord better coee, whichmeans theres less available or therest o the world.

As internal demand withinthese countries builds, so doesglobal demand. Since the early1980s, consumption has risenon average by about 1.2 percentevery year, increasing to an annual

growth o more than 2 percentin recent years, according to theInternational Coee Organization.Market growth has slowedsomewhat in Europe and the UnitedStates except in the specialtybrand sector but countries such asJapan have seen remarkable growthin coee consumption.

Demand or coee iscontinuously increasing, JacobIbarra, client support or AustraliasFive Senses Coee, says in anemail. Particularly in your Easternmarkets; China is slated to becomethe next biggest drinker o coee,and once that traditionally teacountry moves into the coee arena,with its millions and billions o

people, it will change everything.Tis is where people begin to

worry. While demand continuesto rise, environmental issues arecausing production numbers toall in some o the worlds mostimportant cofee-growing countries.

In the last ew years, pests,diseases, tree renovation programsand poor weather have aectedharvests, according to the U.S.Department o Agriculture.Decreases in Columbian productionbecause o bad weather have beenparticularly troubling.

Te coee trade had been ora ew years very worried about ashortage o Colombian coees,says Volker Sachs o Costa RicasPanamerican Coee rading Co. inan email interview. Colombia usedto produce steadily 12 million bagso 60 kg o coee and since 2008only 8 million have been produced.

Aer Brazil, Colombia is the

worlds second leading producero Arabica coee beans, which areused to make specialty and gourmetblends. Rising temperatures andrainall have damaged coee cropsand brought an inux o ungalpests such as coee rust to thearea. Arabica beans are extremely

sensitive to environmental

conditions, and even the slightestinconsistencies can render themunusable.

It may be that the weather is notjust unlucky; climate change mayalso be to blame. Regarding thesituation in Colombia, Ibarra says,One might attribute this to globalwarming, which seems to be moreand more a topic o discussion inthe agricultural realm.

Im talking to armers constantlywho tell me that they see t he globalwarming that people laugh aboutand say doesnt exist every day,Conary says. Tey cant do thethings they used to.

Despite these drops, the 2011to 2012 world coee crop is stillorecast to outpace consumption orthe second year in a row, accordingto the USDAs market report.Production is orecast to all to2.9 million bags, which the USDAcalls moderate when compared to

declines o close to 16 million bagsin previous years.Te overall harvest meets world

demand, said Al Mildenberger,owner o Quantum Coee Inc.,a specialty coee importingbusiness based in Annapolis, MD.Colombia has had bad weather, but

While demandcontinues to rise,environmental issues

are causing productionnumbers to all insome o the worldsmost importantcoee-growingcountries.

FEBRUARY 2012 | 5

countries like Vietnam have seen atremendous amount o production,he says.

A real coee shortage is debatablebecause i you compare consumptionto production numbers, theyare pretty close to equilibrium 135 million consumption to 133million production, Sachs explains.Conary says he isnt worried

because or Carrboro CoeeRoasters, its about the caliber o theproduct, not the amount. Were

ocused on quality and not volume,he says. I you narrow it down towhats available it actually helps we never cant get enough.

Consumers have come to expecta certain quality and consistencyrom their coee, Mildenberger says.Tis poses some difculties, and

coee companies may have to lookto other countries to maintain thatquality standard.

According to Sachs, this is alreadyoccurring. Roasters have startedto get more exible with the use ospecic origins or their blends to tryto bring their price or coees down.

Areas in Arica, such as anzania,Uganda and Rwanda, and areasin India have great potential orcoee production, according toom Campbell, a senior advisor or

CNFA, an international agriculturaleconomic development organization.Arica has typically been knownor the production o the Robustabean, a variety used to makelowerquality coee.

So what does all this mean orprices? Unortunately, the high cost

o your morning latte might be hereto stay. Partly, this is because o highstock market speculation causedby alling production numbers andincreasing global demand.

Sachs explains that risingconsumption numbers 129 millionin 2009 and 135 million in 2010 have caused alarm and consideringthis, speculation might stayor a while.

Last May, Starbucks CEO HowardSchultz blamed speculation or a

34year high in the price o coee.Starbucks raised the price o itspackaged coee by as much as 17percent in July.

Conary adds that coee is acommodity, meaning that its pricingis based on the market as a whole,with no connection to the quality o

Each coffee bean on the map above represents a country where coffee is grown


33/51

52 |BEAN AND LEAF

specic varieties across the market.Ibarra calls the current situation a

perect storm o things combiningto raise prices and cause peopleto talk. o a certain degree, youhave coee being traded on thecommodity market like it neverhas been beore. Commodities are

denitely in right now to trade andmake money, much like the dotcomor real estate booms were just a ewyears back, he explains.

Te world economic crisis withweak currencies European andU.S. Dollars and investors tryingto protect themselves againstthese uncertain times o growth intraditional markets is contributingto wild swings o commodity prices,like gold, oil, coee, sugar, cotton,etc., Sachs says.

According to Conary, roastersare constantly absorbing thesecommodity prices, which havedoubled. I you want to stay inbusiness, you have to raise prices.Te retail market or the productis inelastic.

But Conary says that priceshave somewhat stabilized theyve

just stabilized high and will likelyremain high.

Prices, while they have comedown a bit rom their alltime high,will in my opinion remain high orthe years to come, Ibarra agrees.

Conary adds that prices havebeen articially low or a long time.Tis is just the real cost o coeerearing its head, he says. Now its

just a matter o getting used to it.

Both Conary and Mildenbergerindicate that the increase in pricemay not be as severe as many makeit out to be. On a daily basis, it isactually just a matter o pennies,Conary says.

A pound o coee makes about60 cups o coee. I you pay $5.00,

$6.00, $7.00 a pound, the increase inprice per cup is cents, Mildenbergerreiterates. O course, i you arebuying a $4 caramel macchiatorom Starbucks every day, thats adierent story.

However, there is some goodthat comes rom higher prices.Price increases have had an eecton more than just consumers androasters the positive impact onthe producers has been tremendous,Mildenberger says. Coeearming

amilies, who Conary says havebeen paid poorly or a long time, aregetting paid more or each pound ocoee they produce, which can havea direct inuence on their qualityo lie. Tese amilies typicallysuer periods o poverty due tocrop cycles because it takes yearsor coee plants to mature. Payingthem more raises their standard oliving, Mildenberger says. Increasedprot can be put toward uses suchas literacy programs and accessto resh water.

I they produce 50 poundsannually and get 100 or 105 centsper pound, thats a very big impact,Mildenberger says. Te U.S. dollarbuys more, and the cost o livingis lower.

Addressing the current high pricetag on coee, Ibarra says, I dontnecessarily believe this is such ahorrible thing. Coee armers mightnow be able to lead a better lie.

Keeping this in mind may easethe sting o higher prices, but theact remains: i this keeps up, some

o us may have to spend our daysnursing a single cup o black coeeat the coee shop, i we can aord itat all. It will denitely be somethingthat we will have to learn to dealwith, says Ibarra.

Many coee drinkers arentyet aware o the shortage, but anInternet search produces enoughcoeeisdoomed orecasts to makeyou cringe and the rumors arententirely untrue. When asked iconsumers really need to worry,

Conary says that worry is not theright word.

Tere are always things to beconcerned about, he says. Hissuggestion or coee lovers is tokeep supporting qualityocusedcompanies that use sustainablepractices, and then they will getgreat coee.

When asked i we need to starthoarding our avorite blends, ascertain earmongers propose,Conary says he wouldnt suggest

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