I think this is worth reading. It seems even P&G is selling "gourmet" coffee! How their Mountain Moonlight coffee will be differenciated from their mainstream coffee? Specialty coffe is not so abundant, there is much marketing than reality here.
posted by Jorge @ 5:04 PM
Tuesday, September 23, 2003
Starbucks to Help Costa Rica
Weather World Coffee Crisis
Well, this is news, and big news for us gourmet coffee farmers in the Tarrazu Region. First question, would the increasing demand of Costa Rica coffees by Starbucks mean the our Tarrazu Appellation will be diluted or eliminated?
Given the fact that the majority of coffee beans in Costa Rica are NOT highland coffees ( meaning 1300 mts above sea level or more ) How would this our harvest? ) We fear this expansion would mean Starbucks implementing the competition game to
lower our premium and eliminate regional appelations such as Tarrazu.
Thirdly, this is big news for whom? So far, Starbucks have been dealing directly with the greedy exporters (call them ICAFE), not the farmers themselves. They have a precedent, and such precedent dictates Starbucks is a voracious monster that need to be fed constantly with cheap coffee beans for them to call them "gourmet" in their worldwide stores.
Visit Tarrazu and the specialty coffee farms and roasters that make gourmet Costa Rican coffee so famous around the world
