Climate Impacts

I love my coffee.

Have you ever wondered why coffee prices are so high?

We often hear about the impacts of climate change in apocalyptic terms. Floods and fires ravaging the planet. We all can list climate impacts, if not, go ahead and ask AI.

This apocalyptic damage is often pushed out in the future, and it sometimes feels like the story of the boy who cried wolf or Chicken Little, warning us that the sky is falling.

I have a different perspective on climate change that might change your reference point. Why are coffee prices so high? Two years ago, I could get one pound of my favorite coffee for $6 or $7. Last year it was around $13. It is now $15 or $16.

If you look into the issue you will find two drivers. The second and most recent is due to politics and tariffs. But the initial reason for the jump relates to climate. The US happens to purchase most of its coffee from Brazil and Vietnam. Coffee production in these two countries has been strongly curtailed by weather (more details here specifics about drought and cold)

My take-home here is that we don't grow coffee in the US because we don't have the soils and weather needed to grow coffee. Michigan and Colorado is known for peaches. Washington grows apples. The Midwest US is the breadbasket of the nation growing corn, soybeans, and wheat. These agroeco regions are most suited to these crops. Subtle changes in precipitation patterns or temperatures in these regions alter crop production. Coffee plantations in Brazil and Vietnam can't just 'relocate'. Finding the right soils, temperatures, and rainfall are not easy.

XXX lots of work here still.