Part 1 – Coffee’s Tumultuous History
“A good cup of coffee can turn the worst day tolerable, provide an all important moment of contemplation, rekindle a romance. And yet, poetic as its taste may be, coffee’s history is rife with controversy and politics.” – Mark Pendergrast, Uncommon Grounds
Get Out Your History Textbooks!
Coffee – who knew that the small tree and the fruit it produces has had such an enormous influence on the shaping of our modern world?!? Coffee is the second most valuable traded commodity in the world, second only to oil, the other “black gold.” Indeed, the tiny cherries that come from a coffee tree contain within them two small beans (seeds technically) that, once processed, roasted, and brewed, produce a cup of dark brew that is considered “black gold” to many throughout the world. Coffee contributes billions of dollars to the global economy every year. Yet, perhaps because it is so valuable, coffee’s history has been surrounded by inequality, oppression, and strife. However, even among coffee’s tumultuous history there have been a few voices crying out in the desert who have sought to bring awareness to coffee’s turbulent surroundings and instead use coffee to bless others.
This is the Mission of Mission Brew Coffee – we believe we have been blessed to be a blessing and so we hope to bring awareness to coffee’s injustices while simultaneously making a positive contribution to our local and global economies, the environment, and by blessing San Diego neighborhoods. We hope to offer a superior quality cup of coffee that all of our patrons can enjoy knowing that we have done all we can to ensure that our coffee was procured through ethically sourced means.
So grab a hot cup of coffee and follow us on a journey through the highs and lows of coffee’s history and help us fight for a brighter future ahead.
Coffee’s Tranquil Beginnings
The Legend Begins
Today coffee is so prevalent that it is difficult to imagine that not all that long ago in human history it had not even been discovered. Coffee’s humble origins began among the isolated Christian people of Abyssinia in what is modern day Ethiopia. Legend holds that coffee was discovered in the 9th century after a goat herdsman observed that his goats, upon eating bright red cherries from a particular tree, became energized and would not stop dancing and jumping around. The goat herdsman tried the cherries himself, and his newly found exhilaration prompted him to report his findings to the abbot of the local monastery. The abbot soon made a drink from the coffee cherries and realized that it was quite helpful in keeping him alert during evening prayers. He shared his new creation with the monks who after having enjoyed the beverage discovered to their astonishment that they could pass the evening in stimulating conversation and a happy state of mind without fatigue.
Whether or not the legend has any validity, it certainly expresses what we all still love about the stimulating effects of coffee and the friendships it helps to create. Coffee still has a special place in Ethiopian culture. Ethiopians still serve coffee as they always have in an elaborate ceremony which takes the beans from raw green to roasted to brewed in nearly an hour. The Christian monks of Abyssinia were very likely the first to cultivate the coffee plant and prepare what is now the world’s favorite beverage. They did so with the mission to benefit all mankind.
Coffee’s Reputation Spreads
Coffee’s fame soon advanced to the Arab world. By the end of the 15th century Arabs had spread coffee to all of the Islamic world through cultivation and trade. Arabs also started to enjoy coffee outside of the home in public coffeehouses known as qahveh khaneh. Coffeehouses were a place not only to enjoy coffee but also to enjoy the social activity that accompanied the new drink including conversation, music, entertainment, and games. It seemed that coffee really was benefiting mankind.
Eventually, by the 17th century coffee made its way to Europe through Venetian merchants. The first coffeehouse in Venice opened in 1683 named caffe. Coffeehouses rapidly became popular, especially among the Italians and British. Coffee’s popularity soon spread even to the New World. The coffee tree was brought to the New World by Europeans in order to cultivate in the favorable climates of Central and South America. However, as coffee’s popularity grew so did its value as a traded commodity – corruption, oppression, and strife soon followed.
What Went Wrong?
“In Guatemala, the contrast between poverty and wealth is stark. Land distribution is lopsided, and those who perform the most difficult labor do not reap the profits. Yet there is no quick fix to the inequities built into the economic system, nor any viable alternative to coffee as a crop on these mountainsides. The workers are in many ways more content and fulfilled than their counterparts in the United States. They have a strong sense of tradition and family life. I am confused. As the workers bring in the harvest, I ponder the irony that, once processed, these beans will travel thousands of miles to give pleasure to people who enjoy a lifestyle beyond the imagination of these Guatemalan laborers. Yet it would be unfair to label one group as ‘villains’ and another as ‘victims’ in this drama. I realize that nothing about this story is going to be simple.” – Mark Pendergrast, Uncommon Grounds
People Exploited
In 1788 San Domingo, modern day Haiti, supplied HALF of the world’s coffee! They did so using slave labor. Coffee’s value as a traded commodity meant that humans soon exploited their fellow man in order to profit from it. Throughout the New World and Africa people were forced into slavery in order for wealthy plantation owners to reap the profits. Haiti still suffers from the lasting effects of this cruel system of forced labor. It seemed that coffee was no longer being used for the benefit of all mankind but was being used to bring immense profit to a few at the expense of many. Large plantations sprang up throughout Central and South America and, more often than not, the native population or African slaves were exploited or forced into slavery in order to provide the labor needed to cultivate the coffee crop.
Environment Exploited
Not only were humans the victim of this thirst for wealth, but so was the environment. In Brazil, where slavery was legal until 1888, owners of coffee plantations would use slash & burn agricultural methods. They would completely destroy thousands of acres of rain forest in order to plant coffee trees, which ironically grow best in the shade of larger trees. The coffee trees, exposed to the open sun and left alone to deplete the soil’s nutrients, would quickly become unfruitful. As a result, the plantation owners would soon find new rain forests to clear in order to plant more coffee trees.
Markets Exploited
From the late 1800’s well into the 20th century wealthy coffee businessmen and traders also discovered that they could increase their profits even more by manipulating markets and consumers. This led to dishonest practices both globally and locally in the United States. Traders’ corrupt practices led to price manipulation of coffee markets though the farmers themselves rarely benefited. Coffee advertisers in the United States made dishonest claims about their competitors. Even more appalling was the fact that many large coffee roasters in the United States adulterated their coffee with non-coffee “fillers” such as chicory or in some rare instances even dirt! Even when mislabeled food products became illegal in the United States many coffee roasters continued to find ways of intentionally reducing the quality of their product in order to increase their profits per pound of coffee sold. A comment made by an astute observer of the 1959 National Coffee Association convention summed up the growing trend among American coffee, “There is hardly anything that some man cannot make a little worse and sell it a little cheaper.”
Coffee’s Story – Past, Present, and Future
Much of coffee’s history is yet to be written. Certainly coffee does not stand alone as a commodity that has been abused by humans to the detriment of other people, the environment, and the economy. Many injustices continue to this day and the solutions are not always readily apparent. As Pendergrast observed, even when social inequalities seem clear it “would be unfair to label one group as ‘villains’ and another as ‘victims’ in this drama.” Nothing about coffee’s past, present, or future is simple.
There have been rays of light even in coffee’s tumultuous past. We hope to explore the practices of many of these pioneering individuals in Part 2. Today many coffee growers, roasters, cafes, and consumers work hard to reverse many of the negative trends of coffee’s stormy and often violent past. They have demonstrated that there is nothing evil about coffee itself, only the exploitation of it by humans brings about evil consequences. However, coffee can also be used to bless others. It provides gainful employment to millions around the world and brightens the morning, afternoon, and evening of millions more who enjoy drinking it. Furthermore, there is nothing inherently negative about the coffee tree that is a detriment to the environment. In fact, coffee is a plant that can be cultivated and harvested with little to no negative impact to the surrounding forest if done properly. Moreover, coffee is a beverage that creates community. Business partners, new acquaintances, old friends, family, and more gather around warm cups of coffee across the world everyday. Ideas are shared, games are enjoyed, conversations are cherished – all as a result of coffee bringing people together.
We still have a long way to go, but with the help of those who grow, sell, roast, brew, and consume coffee perhaps coffee can still fulfill the original mission of the Abyssinia monks to benefit all mankind.
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