Bad news for coffee drinkers: experts warn of global coffee crisis
News that might make you shake, sweat and become very alert. At least, if you’re a fanatical coffee drinker. A global coffee crisis is apparently on the horizon. More than 200 studies show that the future of coffee is not looking good, says coffee expert Aaron Davis. And it’s disastrous in several ways.
Whether you’re a true specialty coffee lover or prefer drinking a tasty filter coffee from the supermarket, your cup of joe is under threat. It remains to be seen whether, in a few years’ time, you’ll still be able to drink your familiar black, liquid fuel in the morning, or waste work time hanging around the coffee machine with your colleagues.
Coffee crisis caused by climate change
What’s going on? Good coffee is becoming scarce. And it has everything to do with climate change. Coffee plants grow in the coffee belt. That’s the area between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. If you look closely at a world map, you’ll see that these are the countries around the equator. The climatic conditions there are perfect for growing coffee plants. It’s warm enough, there’s plenty of rain, the soil is fertile and there’s plenty of elevation: all conditions coffee plants thrive on.
But those conditions are no longer so perfect. In Brazil, the largest coffee-producing country in the world, frost and drought are becoming increasingly common. Other coffee-producing countries around the equator are also seeing their climate change. The forecast for the future of coffee is therefore not good. It is feared that by the end of this century, between 35 and 75 percent of all coffee worldwide will have disappeared…
Nasty, expensive coffee
That is obviously terrible news for coffee drinkers. Because this doesn’t just mean that coffee will be harder to obtain in the future. It also means that we will have to pay more for coffee, and that the coffee you drink—compared with what you’re used to now—will be undrinkable. The coffee will become darker, more bitter and considerably stronger because of its higher caffeine content. At least, that is the prediction made by Massimo Battaglia of the Italian Accademia del Caffè Espresso.
Danger for coffee farmers
It’s obviously very selfish of us as coffee drinkers to think of ourselves first, because this coffee crisis will of course also get coffee farmers into trouble. In many coffee-producing countries, coffee is the product that keeps the economy running. Imagine what this does to a country’s economy when its most important export product is in such danger. The crisis therefore also means that more and more coffee farmers will personally struggle to survive financially. Take Colombia, where half of all coffee farmers already live below the poverty line. What does their future look like?
Coffee crisis: what can we do?
The solution? Experts think we may have to start producing other types of coffee. To clarify: at the moment, we basically only drink coffee made from arabica or robusta beans. The chances are greatest that you drink arabica coffee, as this variety accounts for around 60% of global production. So it’s possible that you’ll be drinking completely different coffee in the future.
For now: brace yourself for change. Enjoy the coffee you can still drink today. And perhaps give yourself a kick up the backside if this news drives you up the wall.
Also read:
- Barbajada is Italy’s most delicious coffee, and this is how you make it
- The ultimate iced coffee: hot, cold or somewhere in between
- 10 ways to make the milk in your coffee taste much better
Sources: NOS, About Coffee and Tea
