Caffeine Magazine - April - May 2018

In this issue

Coffee has an epic history and is enjoying a vibrant present, but its future is far from certain. While millions of us enjoy a cup of coffee every day, the path from crop to cup has many stages and at each point there are problems to be solved and opportunities to be realised.
This issue of Caffeine explores the future of coffee by following the supply chain from farm to café. We haven’t been gazing into a crystal ball or trying to read the coffee grounds; instead, we’ve identified the developments, trends and people working on the issues that will shape how coffee is produced, processed, transported and consumed in years to come.
In doing so we’ve discovered inspirational stories of everyday people doing extraordinary things. Wherever we’ve looked, we’ve found people who are responsible for incredible endeavours and deserving of tremendous credit. Furthermore, they’re often continually overcoming adversity, in challenging circumstances and with limited resources.
But whether it’s a farmer at origin, a broker travelling in the back of a pick-up truck, a worker in a warehouse or a barista in your local coffee shop, each link in the chain embodies the best of the speciality coffee industry’s qualities: a profound concern for humanity and the environment, a generosity of spirit and warmth towards others, an unbridled optimism for what can be achieved, and a passion for their product.
So, while there are a great many uncertainties facing the coffee industry as a whole, we have high hopes for what lies ahead in the speciality sector. And we’re sure that on reading this special issue of Caffeine you’ll agree that, while none of us can be certain about our tomorrows, the future of coffee is definitely in safe hands.