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Growers afraid our taste for coffee is going off the boil
As Fairtrade fortnight begins, Craig Butcher asks if trouble is brewing for the world's coffee giants?
LAST month, protestors angered by Israeli military action in Gaza turned their attention to a nearby Starbucks, smashing windows and looting equipment during violent clashes with the police on London's Kensington High Street.
Starbucks – which has recently announced plans to use
all-Fairtrade espresso coffee by the end of the year – is perhaps the most pilloried brand on the UK high street. But can it be held responsible for actions in the Middle East? Are commuting coffee addicts condoning military violence by purchasing a warming latte on a cold winter's morning?
Of course not. But consumers should acknowledge their role in deciding which coffee farmers succeed, and which do not.
"What we, the coffee farmers, fear is that people in the UK have less money to spend and may reduce their coffee consumption or switch out of Fairtrade," says Willington Wamayeye, general manager of Gumutindo Coffee Co-operative in Uganda, which supplies Cafedirect.
But does Wamayeye really have cause for concern? A recent survey of 1,051 shoppers conducted by retail analysts IGD found consumers have stuck by their food ethics despite the economic downturn.
A quarter bought foods that support Fairtrade in the previous month, up from 23 per cent the year before and almost three times more than in 2006.
"While becoming increasingly price sensitive in these challenging times, shoppers are not leaving their ethical concerns at home when they go food shopping," says IGD chief executive Joanne Denney-Finch.
"The aspiration for high quality, more sustainable food remains, but people are scrutinising closely to get the best value for their values."
Coffee has proven itself robust during financial crises and is the world's second most traded commodity, after oil.
Pret A Manger typically sells 700,000 cups of coffee every week, all of it triple-certified – Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance and organic. This accounts for just 22 per cent of the sandwich chain's sales.
Even so, they are trying to stay ahead of the credit crunch. A recent 99p cup of filter coffee trial in the regions has been so successful the company is extending the offer to London in March.
"Customers are trading down in their coffee choices, and whereas they may have bought five coffees a week, that's now down to three," says Rebecca Hemsley, Pret's head of coffee.
"We also know that when it rains, our coffee sales drop significantly. Consumers are highly influenced by shop location, the weather, and where they live. Consumers outside of the urban centres are less likely to pick up a breakfast coffee than in London because it's not part of their routine."
While we might be drinking less takeaway coffee, things look different at home and in the workplace.
Stephen Leighton of online specialty coffee e-tailer HasBean.co.uk says business is booming. "We haven't noticed any slow-down – quite the opposite," he says.
"December is usually our busiest month, with January and February our quietest – this year, those months have exceeded December. The quality end of the market is holding up well."
This is supported by the experience of another coffee brand, Percol, which is mostly sold in supermarkets.
"Consumers are now trading in their daily coffee shop latte for a cafetiere in the office," says Brian Chapman, Percol's founder and managing director.
While our high streets are packed with big-name cafe chains, Britons actually drink less coffee per capita than Bulgaria.
Our average coffee consumption per capita is less than 3kg a year, trailing the EU average of 5kg. The Finns are the biggest caffeine addicts in the EU, consuming a whopping 12kg a head. Coffee tastes also vary internationally.
"Whereas in the EU, a straight-up espresso is preferred, in the US, they love milk-based drinks like latte and cappuccino," says Colman Cuff, managing director and vice president for coffee and tea at Starbucks.
"The tea-drinking north of India contrasts with southern India, which is the fifth largest coffee producer in the world."
While Cuff says the low coffee consumption here is explained by Britons' taste for tea, others see it as a question of quality.
"There is a direct relationship between the quality of raw coffee beans imported to a country and its per capita consumption," says Stephen Hurst, director of coffee importer and supplier Mercanta.
"Put simply, the typical UK coffee drinker does not like the coffee he or she is drinking – that's why they're not drinking very much of it."
When it comes to Fairtrade, Hurst is adamant that quality should speak for itself.
"Prices for raw coffee beans should be determined by the quality of the beans purchased, not by the fact that someone happens to grow coffee," he says.
"In 2008, Mercanta paid 25 per cent more than the Fairtrade minimum guaranteed price averaged across all our specialty coffee beans... that has to be good for farmers and for the quality of coffee."
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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