The Gloomy Story Of Coffee & The Climate Change

Global warming implies- rising heat, extreme weathers, and this in turn means that the highland bean is running out of cool mountain sides on which it flourishes! The Lifestyle Journalist Gaurav Goswami explains how this change of climate is affecting our favourite Coffee!

Sombre Note

The Coffee production of the whole world is under pressure! Environmental factors such as climate change and Coffee rust affect the production areas, product and producers. These factors thereby also increase the cost for producers, communities, traders, roasters and finally the consumers. Small farmers are likely to be hit the severest! The climate change increases their input and labour costs while at the same time decreasing their productivity levels. Decreasing margins threaten their livelihood.

Coffee Background

The sumptuous and refreshing Coffee we love is actually a perennial, tropical crop grown in humid lowlands and tropical humid or sub-humid highlands. It requires specific environmental conditions for successful production off course depending on the Coffee variety! Ideally the average temperature ranges between 15-24 degree centigrade for Arabica and 24-30 degree centigrade for Robusta Coffee varieties. Also 1500-3000 mm rainfall is ideal for Arabica variety, while the other varieties require less.

The consumption of Coffee as a social event has a history going back over centuries. Merchants saw people consuming Coffee in the Ottoman Empire, the first European Coffee houses appeared in Venice, London and Oxford in the mid-17th century. From there, they spread all over the continent and Coffee became an important ingredient during meetings. It was already a popular part of the public sphere by then.