The future of coffee

Our trusted cup of coffee seems so ordinary. But over time, it is becoming increasingly difficult to grow the coffee beans needed for it. Meanwhile, the demand for coffee is increasing. Especially for high-quality Arabicas. More and more coffee is being drunk here in Europe, but also in Asia. Prices will therefore also rise.

Already now

Climate change is already clearly noticeable to coffee farmers. Arabica bushes in particular, from which the best coffee is made, are struggling due to changing conditions. So the supply of good coffee is under pressure.

In a report by Nieuwsuur, it was recently explained what the impact of the changing climate is on coffee farmers, who, for example, previously harvested with dozens of people and now - due to the reduced yield - do the work alone.

View the Nieuwsuur article here.

New coffee

Coffee farming is already changing. Farmers, for example, are planting more and more coffee bushes in the shade of trees. In a kind of food forest.
This creates more diversity on the plantation, strengthening nature and soil life, which in turn helps the coffee bushes perform better. It also provides farmers with additional income by growing, for example, avocados. (But avocados, mangoes, and guavas are also affected by the changing climate.)

Wageningen University, among others, is already looking for new coffee varieties. Of all the varieties of the Coffea plant, only Arabica and Robusta are currently used for coffee production. But there are other varieties, they just don't make such a delicious cup of coffee as we are used to now. Further research and plant breeding may lead to the development of a new coffee variety.

We hope for you, and for the coffee farmers, that there will continue to be a future for good coffee.

* Photo by Tyler Lastovich from Burst