Blog

The musings of Pour Richard

03/15/2019

Coffee's Uncertain Future

Extinction on the Horizon?

Coffee is a finicky plant.

It requires specific natural conditions to thrive. Unfortunately, human activity is changing those conditions, namely temperature and rainfall, which affect the viability and future of coffee.

Scientists predict some species of coffee will go extinct in 30 years or less (1). This is a result of a warming planet, compounded by deforestation.

There are currently over 120 varieties of wild coffee, and over 50% of them are at risk of extinction (1). Let that sink in for a moment. This bean we all take for granted might go extinct! This isn’t some fruit from another continent we’ve never seen or heard of. This is coffee!

Coffee is important to us and so is our global impact! We know our human activities affect things on a global scale and that’s why we are committed to sustainable, ethical farming, while reducing our negative impact on all fronts!

Here are the things WE do to achieve that:

1) Develop DIRECT TRADE Relationships

We travel to coffee farms and meet the farmers and families who own and work on them. These farmers grow specialty grade coffee, and every coffee cherry is handpicked and scored for their specialty distinction.

These farmers learn and use sustainable practices, and such care and attention is something we value! One sustainable practice they employ is selling coffee by-products. This way, farmers receive 600%-700% more profit per pound of coffee.

This is a win win for the farmers, their families, their futures, our planet and you!

2) Support Small Farms

We received two new coffee shipments from small farms in Rwanda! Both varietals are Rainforest Alliance and Fair Trade Organic certified! Did you know that small farms are more productive per hectare and employ more people?(3) That sounds sustainable to us!

3) Reduce Single Use Plastic

Most disposable coffee cups and bags are lined with plastic, a plague to the environment because they are NOT recyclable, and they are byproducts of oil production. We use biodegradable materials for our single use coffee cups, coffee bags, and paper products.

Did you know that we offer a discount when you bring your own mug? We call it the BYOM discount!

With over 2 billion coffee cups thrown into landfills each year (2), BYOM makes SENSE and saves CENTS.

AND, instead of offering plastic bottles, we sell beverages in glass bottles.

Water,

Apple Juice,

Sparkling Water, and

Kombucha

4) Electric Charge

We installed three electric car charging stations! Our energy comes from a carbon free source too, so you can be sure that you’ll be driving away fueled with the best coffee and the best electricity!

5) Support Local Businesses

No coffeeshop is complete without delicious pastries! We support local pastry chefs who raise the bar on the Philly foodie culture! Because we support local bakeries who use local ingredients, we can limit our carbon footprint while serving up yummy treats.

6) Compost

Even waste has a purpose! We compost our roasting and brewing waste products and keep a composting bin filled with our coffee grounds and chaffe which are always free and available to our neighbors and customers.

Join Pour Richard’s Coffee as we work to reuse, repurpose, and recycle. Let’s keep our planet healthy so we can keep doing what we do best!

Making great coffee!

What can we do together to protect the future and the future of coffee?