Coffee to go: Is this the end of our favourite drink?

trap4

That's the heading of an interesting new article in New Scientist -

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21728971.500-coffee-to-go-is-this-the-end-of-our-favourite-drink.html

"COFFEE-LOVERS be warned. Whether you are a three-double-espressos-a-day addict or just indulge in the occasional cappuccino, enjoy it while you can: a coffee drought may be on its way. Changing climate threatens to reduce the flow of coffee that fills 1.6 billion cups a day to a trickle. It may not be long before that after-dinner espresso costs more than the wine and some caffeine addicts will be forced to go cold turkey."

Cora Mahoney

:eek:

trap4 wrote: »

That's the heading of an interesting new article in New Scientist -

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21728971.500-coffee-to-go-is-this-the-end-of-our-favourite-drink.html

"COFFEE-LOVERS be warned. Whether you are a three-double-espressos-a-day addict or just indulge in the occasional cappuccino, enjoy it while you can: a coffee drought may be on its way. Changing climate threatens to reduce the flow of coffee that fills 1.6 billion cups a day to a trickle. It may not be long before that after-dinner espresso costs more than the wine and some caffeine addicts will be forced to go cold turkey."

RATM

I remember reading a few years back that it takes a good few years of growing coffee plants before they're actually productive to a commercial scale. And that the westernisation of China & India means that supply is being outstripped by demand.Futures contracts on Arabica beans doubled in value a few years back and no doubt their march is continuing as more and more people globally get hooked on coffee.

mandarin

RATM wrote: »

I remember reading a few years back that it takes a good few years of growing coffee plants before they're actually productive to a commercial scale. And that the westernisation of China & India means that supply is being outstripped by demand.Futures contracts on Arabica beans doubled in value a few years back and no doubt their march is continuing as more and more people globally get hooked on coffee.

Actually arabica prices have more than halved in recent years and are back at 2005 levels...
http://futures.tradingcharts.com/chart/CF/M

folamh

RATM wrote: »

I remember reading a few years back that it takes a good few years of growing coffee plants before they're actually productive to a commercial scale. And that the westernisation of China & India means that supply is being outstripped by demand.Futures contracts on Arabica beans doubled in value a few years back and no doubt their march is continuing as more and more people globally get hooked on coffee.

I've heard the opposite: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-06/coffee-falls-to-lowest-level-in-two-years-commodities-at-close.html

"Coffee futures slumped to the lowest price in more than two years on signs that supply will outweigh demand because of a bumper crop in Brazil, the world’s largest grower and exporter."

On the other hand, the robusta bean is getting higher demand due to budget-conscious companies settling for poorer quality beans: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324906004578290081981687700.html

Gran Hermano

I noticed this article on Twitter yesterday
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinknews/9904544/Getting-your-morning-caffeine-fix-is-about-to-get-costlier.html

Looks like it is fuel costs and milk costs that are increasing the price of take-away coffee in the UK