What to Do About the Coffee Crisis?
BACK in the 1930’s coffee was in such oversupply that Brazilian growers reportedly burned 70 million bags of it! And in the 1940’s, a New York Post coffee advertisement offered two one-pound bags for 77 cents.
As coffee drinkers well know, things have changed considerably in the 1970’s. Coffee at $4 to $5 a pound made what used to be an almost insignificant market-basket item into a major purchase. In Tokyo, when a cup of coffee rose to 300 Yen (about $1.00) in some shops, the owners were accused by the Daily Yomiuri newspaper of “reaping opportunistic profits from the price rise.”
High coffee prices are not such a great problem for the tea-loving Japanese, who drink an annual average of only about 100 cups of coffee. But for the Swedes, who average over 1,300 cups a year, coffee can be a real expense. The average American’s habit lies between these extremes, at about 800 cups annually. Thus coffee brewed at home became about a $75-a-year habit for them.
Behind the Price Rise
But what triggered the lofty prices? Is there any truth in the charges of a conspiracy among coffee-growing nations to jack up their prices, as the oil cartel did? Or was there truly a shortage that drove up the prices due to market pressures? The issue became highly charged among some coffee lovers. Angry accusations erupted from consumers and politicians. A coffee boycott was called for, those responsible hoping to force the prices down by lessening the demand.
The evidence seems to indicate that there is more than one cause for coffee-price escalation. And there may be truth both in some of the charges by consumers and in the defenses by coffee producers.
The starting point, of course, was the 1975 killer frost in Brazil that cut her annual production by over two thirds in 1976. New coffee bushes could not begin producing until 1978 at the earliest. Additionally, problems in other coffee-growing countries combined to hinder production somewhat. The war in Angola, troubles in Uganda and Ethiopia, the earthquake in Guatemala and the flooding in Colombia have all been cited as causing crop reductions or delays.
Still, 1976 world production dropped only about 15 percent below the previous year. With generally large reserves to draw upon, this was not an intolerable blow to the supply. In fact, Brazil reportedly was able, by drawing on her reserves, to supply even more coffee to world markets in 1976 than she did in 1975. Then why the enormous price increases?
Well, some authorities say that part of the cause was the uncertainty created by the production difficulties just cited. This was enough to trigger a flurry of buying in the international coffee markets. Speculators and wholesalers bought up coffee in anticipation of shortages. Snowballing demand rapidly multiplied the prices. Similarly, many housewives will recall the sudden steep rise of sugar prices before collapse of these not long ago. Of course, greed and profiteering no doubt played their usual role in both cases.
But market pressures were not the only factor behind the sudden price rises. Some producing countries raised their export taxes drastically, doubtless taking advantage of the increased demand. Thus by mid-January, Colombia was getting nearly $1.50 a pound in export taxes, while Brazil had quadrupled hers to almost $1.00 a pound by early March. Taxes alone amounted to as much or more than consumers had been paying retail for coffee not too many months before!
Of course, there were some benefits to the generally underpaid small coffee farmers in the producing countries, though many coffee pickers reportedly still only received about $1 a day for their work. But the large landholders and buyers reaped rich windfalls and the coffee countries greatly improved their balances of trade with other nations. Brazil, for example, more than doubled her coffee earnings in 1976, and expects to nearly quadruple them in 1977.
However, portents of change are looming. The U.S. Department of Agriculture now estimates that in 1978 world supplies will again exceed demand, by about 25 percent. Another ominous sign for coffee producers was the 20-percent decrease in American coffee consumption during 1976, matching the steady price increases.
Some experts warn that the same thing could happen as occurred in England in the mid-nineteenth century. Rust destroyed Ceylon’s coffee bushes and the price shot up. The English, who had been coffee drinkers, switched to tea—permanently. Now they drink nine cups of tea for every cup of coffee.
Will skyrocketing prices ‘kill the goose that laid the golden egg’? Well, the sudden rise and then collapse of sugar prices a few years ago may be a portent of what could happen to coffee. To forestall such a boom-and bust cycle, coffee-producing nations have tried to work out a price stabilization program before conditions of overproduction return. But what can the world’s coffee drinkers do if their favorite beverage has become too costly for their pocketbooks?
The Alternatives
In their desperation to have a refreshing hot drink, many people are trying different methods of stretching coffee or are turning to substitutes. The National Observer tells of a California family who dry used coffee grounds in the oven for use a second time. Others just use fewer grounds the first time, making a weaker brew.
Experts suggest other ways to get more “mileage” out of coffee grounds. To keep ground coffee strong, they recommend that opened cans be stored airtight in the freezer or refrigerator. Another way to get the most out of coffee beans is to grind as you go, using the small electric grinders sold for this purpose. Some believe that this fresh-ground coffee is the best tasting of all. The whole beans stay fresh for several months, while the taste of ground coffee fades much faster. At least one company is marketing also a flaked coffee that is said to extract about 15 percent more flavor from the same amount of coffee.
You might try less expensive kinds, including store brands. Some people are surprised to find that they like these just as well, or can tolerate them for the price difference. Switching to instant coffee may also save. One investigator found that a nonfreeze-dried instant worked out to be about one third less costly per cup than a name-brand ground coffee.
For those who are not purists, adding extenders such as chicory can make the coffee go farther. Chicory is sold already mixed with coffee or separately for those who want to make their own blend. Though the cost of a commercial blend can be about the same as plain coffee, only about half as much may be required to get the same strength brew. Acceptance of the flavor depends on individual taste.
“Hard-times coffee,” made from roasted barley mixed about half-and-half with real coffee, is reportedly an economy measure Americans learned during the Great Depression. In fact, roasted barley is used in Japan and Korea today to make a dark barley tea whose roasted nutty flavor is said to resemble coffee. It can be purchased in many Oriental markets.
Coffee substitutes have been marketed under various brand names in the United States and Europe. They are primarily made from cereals, and, of course, do not contain the caffeine that gives coffee drinkers the “boost” that many seem to desire even more than the taste. However, tea is an alternative that does satisfy this desire. As a replacement for coffee, tea seems to be without equal.
Try Tea and See
“The high price of coffee is the best thing that’s happened to tea,” declared the secretary of London’s Tea Council. A ten-year decline from almost five daily cups of tea per Briton down to just over four cups was apparently halted by the stiff price rise of coffee. Americans, too, imported almost 15 percent more tea in 1976 than in 1975.
Tea prices have also multiplied rapidly with increasing demand, and tea is not cheap by the pound, ranging from somewhat less than coffee to as much as $35 for one variety from China. But a pound of tea makes four to five times as much to drink as a pound of coffee—about 200 to 250 cups compared with 50 or less from coffee. The exotic $35 tea from China can be steeped more than once and may yield as many as 700 cups per pound.
Another favorable aspect of tea is that there are varieties and blends available to suit almost every taste, except perhaps that of the most hardened coffee drinker. Some experimenting with different kinds will usually reveal one that pleases you.
Tea contains about half or more the quantity of caffeine that coffee has. Therefore it provides some of the boost that coffee drinkers expect from their beverage. But, additionally, The Wall Street Journal reports, “brewed tea contains other ingredients that slow the release of caffeine, thus making it less of a shock to the nervous system than coffee and prolonging its stimulating effect.” Two British. industrial researchers also claim that tea has “the unique property of eliminating unpleasant side effects of caffeine without altering its ability to relieve hypertension.”
Hence, if the high price of coffee is bothering you, you are certainly not without choice. The coffee crisis opened the door to new pleasures of taste for many who would not otherwise have explored beyond their present favorite hot drink.
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Did You “Taste” Your Coffee This Morning?
Not exactly. The book The Human Senses tells us: “The sense of taste . . . fails utterly to encompass the full flavor of meats, fruits, butter, and coffee. These, together with nearly all other foods, depend for their appreciation mainly on their appeal to the sense of smell.” Yes, without the ability to smell there would be little enjoyment in eating and drinking. You would have to force yourself to eat to keep your energy and strength. It would be almost as mechanical as putting coal in a furnace to keep it running. Aren’t you glad that your Designer made this necessary procedure so pleasurable?