Andrea Illy Takes Aim At Coffee’s Climate Crisis – CoffeeTalk

Coffee production is experiencing a moment of introspection, with an estimated market value topping $200 billion. With 2.25 billion cups going down the hatch globally each day, coffee consumption continues to increase, fueling an industry with an estimated market value of over $200 billion. In the U.S. alone, two-thirds of adults have had coffee within the past day. However, climate change poses several crises, including droughts in Brazil and Vietnam, extreme weather in coffee-producing countries, soil erosion, and financial losses for over 12 million coffee growers, most of whom are small-scale farmers already in poverty.

Furthermore, there are higher costs of financing coffee production in developing countries, coupled with the volatility of coffee prices. Andrea Illy, chairman of Italian coffee company Illycaffè and co-chair of the Regenerative Society Foundation, tells U.S. News that as climate change accelerates, the future of coffee is under threat. A solution, Illy says, is regenerative agriculture, which focuses on environmental sustainability and resilience.

Regenerative agriculture sequesters carbon from the air to enrich the soil microbiota, producing fertility and natural defenses, retaining water, and preserving biodiversity. This leads to reduced emission, produced pollution, less land use, and water retention. United Nations talks on getting money to curb and adapt to climate change resume Monday with fresh hope that negotiators and ministers can work through disagreements and hammer out a deal after slow progress last week.

In New York City, Illy brought together judges and coffee producers to give a country-focused award based on coffees grown in areas that contribute to illycaffè’s own blend. This year’s “Best of the Best” award was given to Matheus Lopes Sanglard for the Fazenda Serra do Boné coffee lot, grown in Brazil.

Illy also wants to bring coffee to a level of quality, testing, and public interest akin to wine, which has at least a millennia of history, whereas coffee has only had centuries. Specialty coffees are fueling this type of renaissance, turning coffee into a beverage known not only for its caffeine-delivering function but also its form. Illy wants to work with coffee producers to bring the aromas, taste, and origins of the beverage to a higher level of understanding around the world, including in China, a traditional tea-drinking nation.

Read More @ US News