Gourmet Coffees

Once upon a time, all coffees were gourmet coffees. They were also extremely expensive, so much so that the average person could not afford them. As time went by, the public demand for coffee was such that it made sense to grow coffee cheaply, to blend inferior beans to hide the weaknesses of each variety and generally do whatever could be done to make "okay coffee." This was a hit, and was how most people were able to have coffee in the first place.

Nowadays, in the west, most of us have more money than at any other time in human history. As a result, we are beginning to recognise the importance of quality over quantity. We don't just want "ok coffees." We are demanding gourmet coffees.

But the term "gourmet coffees" can be misleading, seeing as it covers the entire range of coffee that is better than instant coffee. So good coffee and great coffee is described as "gourmet" together with the most exquisite and rarest varieties known to man.

Jamaican blue mountain coffee is one of the varieties that is known to coffee aficionados the world over as "the best coffee in the world." And, although this is largely a matter of personal taste, I am inclined to agree. It is also, currently, extremely rare. Read the above article for the reasons why.

These days, a lot of attention is given to whether a coffee is traded ethically or not. This is a good thing. In the past (and in the present too) farmers in other countries have been shamelessly exploited by western companies who buy these gourmet coffees at a bare minimum amount (enough to keep the farmers alive and support the next year's crop, but not much more). Fair trade coffee is different. The farmers are paid a fair price for their crop, which cuts into the company's profits but is really the ethical way of doing things. Admittedly, we as consumers end up paying more for this coffee, but at least we can do so with a clean conscience knowing we are helping someone abroad to improve their life.