Editor's Note
Editor's Note Specialty Co ee Retailer (ISSN 1077-3460) is published monthly by M2MEDIA360, a Bev-Al Communications company, 1233 Howard Street, Suite. 2-i, San Francisco, CA 94103. Copyright 2009 by M2MEDIA360, and may not be reproduced without wri en permission. Postmaster please send address corrections to: Specialty Co ee Retailer, P.O. Box 2121, Skokie, IL 60076-7821. Periodicals postage paid at San Francisco, CA and additional mailing o ces. G reen co ee markets are forever in ux. Traders deal with everything from the immediacy of a Honduran coups d'à tat and hurricanes to the glacial evolution of Maxwell House and Folgers as they transition from Robusta blends to Arabica. Consumption in 2009/10 will reach 132 million bags according to the International Co ee Organization, a two million bag increase over 2008/09. Demand is largely attributable to emerging markets like China, where middle-class co ee drinkers are developing a taste for specialty co ee. As demand outpaces supply, classic economic theory suggests producers will bene t. Somehow it never goes according to plan. In our story Origin's Obstacles to Quality Co ee on pg. 34, six experts o er insight into how even doubling yields through the revolutionary application of micro-nutrients and simple pruning isn't a panacea. Agricultural advances o er hope, but price stability remains the key issue and price stability on the New York Commodity Market is particularly troubling right now according to CEOs and traders. Exactly why is the co ee commodity market behaving like it does these days? asks a co ee chain executive. It doesn't seem to be following any of the rules anymore. It requires a company to constantly monitor the market and develop very strong relationships with suppliers. It is a specialized skill to be able to navigate the markets and keep quality and selection where they need to be, he says. e continuing buoyancy of world consumption is keeping prices rm around $1.45 per pound according to the ICO. is makes it very di cult for growers to subsist, much less invest and improve. Unfortunately market volatility is less about demand, political upheaval and bad weather and more a product of greed and speculation. When buyers guarantee stable, pro table prices to growers in return for reliable supplies of quality co ee, they are less susceptible to the nancial vagaries of commodity exchanges. Starbucks, for example, purchases nearly all of its co ee in private, multi-year contracts, o en paying much more than the commodity price. But that practice is not without risk and it carries the expense of nurturing close relationships with growers and grower cooperatives. is makes it wise to also acquire co ee futures and contracts on the free-market. at, in turn, requires hedging. Ultimately better production techniques give hope to skeptics who have witnessed devastating cycles like that of the late 1990s when prices plummeted to a low of 41.17 cents in September 2001 and remained depressed until 2004. In the article, consultant Willem Boot expresses hope that one day agricultural advances combined with greater awareness among consumers may elevate prices to levels that bring farmers what they need instead of what the NCY market dictates. Ultimately a taste for higher-quality co ee leads to higher consumption that will help us restore balance in supply and demand, he says, But the process will be slow. 4 January 2010  www.specialty-coffee.com Specialty Co ee Retailer (ISSN 1077-3460) is published monthly by M2MEDIA360, a Bev-Al Communications company, 1030 W. Higgins Road, Suite 230, Park Ridge, IL 60068. Copyright 2009 by M2MEDIA360, and may not be reproduced without wri en permission. Postmaster please send address corrections to: Specialty Co ee Retailer, P.O. Box 2121, Skokie, IL 60076-7821. Periodicals postage paid at Park Ridge, IL and additional mailing o ces. EDITORIAL OFFICE 1030 W. Higgins Road, Suite 230 Park Ridge, IL 60068  (847) 720-5600 Visit us online: www.specialty-co ee.com E-mail: specialtycoffee@m2media360.com EDITORIAL STAFF Editor-in-Chief Dan Bolton dbolton@m2media360.com (415) 839-5063 Managing Editor Patricia McCartney pmccartney@m2media360.com (847) 720-5617 Contributing Editor Sue Gillerlain sgillerlain@m2media360.com PRODUCTION STAFF Art Director Britt Menendez Production Manager Robin Walton CIRCULATION STAFF Vice President of Circulation & Collateral Services Joanne Juda-Prainito SALES STAFF Sales Manager Brian Grau (314) 487-6568 List Rental & Cheryl Naughton Reprint Services (678) 292-6054 EXECUTIVE STAFF Group Publisher Charlie Forman cforman@m2media360.com Associate Publisher Bill McIlwaine bmcilwaine@m2media360.com PRESIDENT/CEO Marion Minor VP FINANCE & OPERATIONS Gerald Winkel VP OF CIRCULATION & COLLATERAL SERVICES Joanne Juda-Prainito PRODUCTION & OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Mary Jo Tomei SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION AND REQUESTS Phone (847) 763-9565 Fax (847) 763-9569 Subscriptions: $39 for one year, $61 for two years, U.S.; $48 for one year, $72 for two years, Canada; $110 for one year, all other countries (includes airmail postage). Single copies $10 each; Annual Buyers Guide $25. Payable in U.S. funds only. Customer Service: (847) 763-9565 PRESS RELEASES: Press releases on supplies, services and new products are welcomed and encouraged. Direct them to Patricia McCartney, managing editor. Color print photography is preferred, slides and transparencies are accepted. Specialty Co ee Retailer reserves the right to edit all submissions. Corporate O ce: 1030 W. Higgins Road, Suite 230 Park Ridge, IL 60068 Coffee Market Upheaval EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Terry Davis, Ambex Inc. Desiree Farden, Big Train, Inc. Jack Groot, JP's Co ee And Espresso Bar Meghan Hubbs, Equal Exchange Lon LaFlamme, Dillanos Co ee Roasters Kate LaPoint, Sound Provisions, Inc. Joe Monaghan, La Marzocco Maryann Oletic, Innovated Products Mfg. Tom Palm, Design & Layout Services Steve Schnitzler, Port City Java Jennifer Stone, Stone Cup Roasting Co. Andi C. Trindle, Atlantic Specialty Co ee Bill Waddington, TeaSource