America and Coffee: There is More Than Just Brewing
Coffee has been a mainstay in American life for hundreds of years. For instance, in the U.S. Civil War, a sharp rifle with a coffee grinder was built into the stock. Moving forward, everyone from the G.Is abroad, parents around the kitchen table, NASA engineers, and even kids drinking Frappes will enjoy some form of coffee culture. In the U.S., whether we think about it or not, coffee serves a very large and diverse demographic of Americans. But what are some things we should think about regarding our coffee besides the taste?
Commodity
The National Coffee Association estimates that in 2022, coffee was a 343.2 billion dollar industry. What this means is that coffee as a commodity is economically substantial for the U.S. but also for the countries growing and exporting it. Something to think about is the balance between paying a higher price for the coffee we drink to ensure a reasonable wage is paid to everyone vs. pricing everyday Americans out of a drink that is so regularly enjoyed. If the prices are raised too high, then the workers won’t benefit from raised wages because no one will be able to justify the bag’s price. If prices are too low, then in effect, the industry reduces some people to slavery.
Both are extreme, but the point remains we have to have a balance. This should be a talking point because of the vast differences in prices, from as low as 8 dollars to as high as 45 dollars for some very exotic coffees. Most of the coffees I enjoy personally are in the 15-20 range, which, for most people, is high.
Culturally
As mentioned before, the Sharps rifle with a coffee grinder built-in shows the historical importance of Coffee to America. Another component to this is that cafes historically have been houses for academic conversation not only domestically but also internationally. But before we manipulate or change the cultural status of coffee, we should be careful because rarely does anything go as planned.
Because coffee can be a pastime, it has great potential to be a tool to bring people together, not necessarily ideologically but merely for the purpose of gathering and hanging out. Like bringing old and young together and neighbors by hanging out as neighbors, it keeps the relationships all around more stable than they would be otherwise. Coffee also allows us to plug into a small part of what it means to be American.
Whether that is a black coffee from the gas station on the run or sitting in a café drinking a fine cappuccino, coffee has been a major part of the American identity, and so it allows us to participate in American traditions. One of the best parts of this tradition is the ability to help people around the world.
Charity
I have said it in private with cigars and will say it out loud with coffee: the best charity is business. Why?
The best charity is business because your money goes further. For instance, when you fund an organization whose primary purpose is to collect money and then distribute it or goods to a particular group, you find how quickly your money stops. Vs. With a business coffee and cigars, you see that because the primary purpose is to deliver a good, your money goes further. Why, well, when you buy a single cigar, you pay taxes on it, you pay for the logistics, you pay the owners and the workers and the people who make the box for it and the lounge or business you bought it from. The other upside is that because you used a business to support people worldwide, there is a natural regulation built into it.
What do I mean?
While it would be nice to bring everyone in the world up to a Western standard of living, it’s not feasible, and they may want to live differently than we do. However, because the market is competitive, the pay each worker receives should be attractive to the market they are in, especially in commodities that are cutthroat, like cigars and coffee.
The convincing part of the Charity vs. Business debate was when I was in Macro Economics at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, and the Docuseries was showing Africa and how the charity was ineffective, but doing micro-loans and allowing entrepreneurs to start businesses improved the country drastically.
This does not mean Charity has no place. Rather, its place has been swelled too much. Charity should be short-term aid to help people overcome what they otherwise could not by their own means. A good example would be the Haitian earthquake in 2010, where the U.S. sent enormous amounts of private aid—a bad use of charity in the African continent for the past 20 years. A good indicator of why long-term charity is terrible in the instance of Africa is the theft and black-market trading of aid.
Overall, Coffee is an underutilized tool in the American culture. Coffee could be a great tool to bring Americans from different backgrounds together, especially in a café setting. Again, a great example is coffee with a cop. As a cultural icon, it allows people to plug into a small part of American culture, whether dining coffee or a well-crafted latte on the go.
While there is some decline in coffee drinkers in the U.S., I don’t think coffee is going anywhere because of its historical and cultural significance. Coffee as a business is an economically sound way to help others abroad. I am concerned about the rising prices of the product and how that will impact its status in the future.
What do you want to see your coffee do?
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