COVID-Coffee

Not to jump on the bandwagon about more news on COVID-19, but I want to talk about how this pandemic is going to and has already affected coffee and our industry. This isn’t a post to tell you to “beware or else” or to complain about the sales we are going to lose or have lost. We are just as tired of the global and national bad news as you are. This is more a positive commentary of how life will be on the other side of this pandemic, because, like ourselves, coffee is resilient and will survive this global disaster as it has survived other obstacles in the past.

To be resilient, you have to be able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions. Time and time again, humans have collectively shown resilience. Although the world has been through so many devastating eras, it has never stopped our planet from spinning. We always recover. We always evolve. We always find a way to create a new normal and way of life after a disaster. Coffee’s mere existence today shows the same history of resilience. Coffee has survived travel from Africa to the Middle East and Europe and finally to the new world in the 1400’s. It has survived ravaging pests and diseases across the globe, and with help from innovative farming and crop management practices, coffee will be here in the future. It has even survived commodity markets with mass production of low-quality coffees. Obviously, people’s love for high quality coffee, sustainable farming and the bigger vision of coffee’s potential had a lot to do with it; but none-the-less, coffee is still here and better than ever. 

Coffee is nothing short of resilient. The plant itself can withstand rough growing conditions. Actually, coffees thrive best in harsh landscapes with steep slopes and cool yet humid tropical temperatures. Even the flavor of coffee can hold its own in a cup. Mix it with cream and sugar, and it will still shine through. I could go on and on with this metaphor for coffees resilience, but I won’t because it will just get too deep. Plus, I’m already rambling.  Basically, I’m trying to say we both – coffee and people – are going to get through this tough time because we’ve done it before. History has a way of repeating itself. This isn’t going to be the last major devastation our industry will face, but that is good news. The world isn’t going to just stop spinning. We can take that and use it to encourage us to move forward and make changes that will propel us forward into the next circle of life. 

I hope these words encouraged you to keep moving forward. We become stronger by pressing on and learning from the past, so we make a better future. Let us use wisdom as well as innovation to create the best new norms of our new world. Change is good, and we will recover from the setbacks. Just continue to be resilient! 

Megan Wilson – 05/23/2020