When it comes to coffee, Thaleon Tremain has always tried to ignore what the market is telling him.
As the CEO and co-founder of Pachamama Coffee in California, Tremain sells his specialty beans for more than what the global commodity price might dictate. He wants his customers to think of coffee as a luxury product and pay for it accordingly, so that farmers who grow his beans in countries like Peru, Nicaragua and Ethiopia can cover their costs.
But now, Tremain is worried that coffee is getting more expensive for the wrong reasons. In recent years, repeated droughts and flooding have strained the global supply of coffee, frequently causing prices to soar, as climate change has done for other staples, like cocoa, olive oil and orange juice. At the same time, global demand for coffee has kept rising, with few signs that java drinkers are cutting back. This month, prices in one market broke a nearly 50-year high.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.