Ask About the Cost of Production With Junior's Roasted Coffee

Junior’s Roasted Coffee hosts The Cost of Production event, urging consumers to ask about where their coffee comes from and at what price.

BY ASHLEY RODRIGUEZ
BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE

On Tuesday, November 27, Junior’s Roasted Coffee in Portland, Ore., will host The Cost of Production event. Part lecture, part discussion, the event encourages consumers and other members of the coffee supply chain to confront problems of wage disparity and coffee costs in producing countries.

“We decided to host the event because we believe that the cost of production conversation is a conversation that needs to happen right now in terms of low C-market prices and in a city with a big coffee industry presence,” shares Mike Nelson, co-founder of Junior’s Roasted Coffee. As of this writing, the commodity price for coffee (the “C market price” Mike refers to) is $1.08 per pound. Earlier this year, the price dipped as low as 92 cents and hovered under $1 for weeks.

The Cost of Production event invites folks to talk openly about the stagnation and decline in coffee prices for farmers, and urges attendees to think critically about ways to improve wages.

This event is an effort to be more transparent about the realities of coffee sourcing, growing, and buying. To illuminate these issues, Junior’s invited Chad Trewick of Reciprocafé. “We wanted to bring in Chad as our keynote speaker because of his expertise in the coffee market, and believe that he would be able to talk about cost of production and trade dynamics in an objective way,” Mike says. “Chad will be speaking about the C-market structure and the urgency of addressing inequitable trade dynamics.”

Along with discussing the pitfalls of the C market, Chad will also speak to the ways in which individual actors along the supply chain can help understand, and potentially correct, the discrepancies in the pricing structure for coffee. “Participants should also expect to learn about where cost of production fits in a greater sustainability context, and about case studies and efforts under way that challenge traditional trade practices,” Mike shares. “Attendees will then participate in a World Cafe exercise, a collaborative group activity that involves addressing three questions related to Chad’s talk.”

“With this event we hope to create a space where everyone (consumers, baristas, roasters, importers, other industry professionals) can come together and talk about this openly and honestly,” Mike continues. “We hope that people leave the event thinking critically and proactively about the way they purchase coffee, but also hope that participants make broader connections to other goods they regularly consume.”

You can get tickets for the Cost of Production event here—Junior’s is committed to making sure anyone, regardless of their financial circumstance, has a chance to attend this event, so please reach out to co-founder Caryn Nelson for scholarship opportunities.