black gold

I follow Square Mile on twitter (which is the medium I use for venting my ever increasing frustration and misery so it doesn't appear on facebook) and they just posted a link about the: increasing price of coffee.

I think I am in the minority of people who are happy to pay $6 for something outstanding rather than $1 for crap that makes tastebuds jump off a cliff, but shockingly, the mediocre, burned and sugar-laden beverages that most of the chain shops sell costs about the same as a drink using specially sourced, often locally roasted beans which is made by someone with years of training.

"Growing ranks of middle-class folks in (Brazil and India) are less interested in working on coffee farms and more interested in exploring cubicle life".

Y u condescending tho? I think it's less a case of waning interest in spending all day exposed to the elements picking coffee beans and a burning desire to explore "cubicle life" and more a case of wanting to earn a living wage without having to suffer what I assume to be a fairly physically demanding job.

"Commodity prices going up, however, subsequently drives specialty coffee into the stratosphere, so discerning consumers interested in keeping their afternoon coffee breaks should start reconciling themselves to $5, $8, even $10 cups as they quickly become reality."

 Even I won't spend $10 on a cup of coffee. I can't help but see this as some bizarre form of scaremongering. If anything it will just encourage people to make coffee at home. HOME ESPRESSO IS KILLING COFFEE.

 

"Buying great-tasting coffee isn't and shouldn't be an act of charity"

Absolutely true. However, people are more willing to buy beans marketed as union or fair trade because it gives them the sense of moral gratification they need to validate the unethical behavior they no doubt enact every day. It's part of advertising's emotional blackmail.

At the end of the day, you have control over what you spend your money on. I am a snob and will drop big bucks on coffee because it's something I get a lot of satisfaction out of and I am lucky enough to be able to afford to fund my habit (partly due to having no social life). If you want to keep drinking shitty diarrhea in a styrofoam cup then be my guest.

Sorry I'm an asshole. Not really #dealwithit.