Coffee - It's Worth A Few Quid!

23 November 2021

Unbelievably, coffee is the world’s second most traded commodity after oil.

Over 80 countries produce 140 million 60 kilo bags of the stuff every year; that’s nearly 9 billion kilos of green coffee from something approaching 3.5 trillion coffee trees…

That makes 3.5 billion cups of coffee per day & allows 25 million families worldwide to make a living from the broader coffee trade - 5 million of them alone in origin, managing farming & harvesting - 70% of which takes place on small family holdings. As an example of the reach & scale of the coffee trade - in Latin America, nearly 50% of all cropland is taken up with coffee agronomy, whilst in Burundi, 80% of all export income is derived from coffee. It is big business!

What is more, the global coffee market is, despite the pandemic, snowballing, with consumption from emerging BRIC economies & repertoire growth here in Europe & the US expected to drive production to 160m bags pa, that’s a staggering 10 billion kilos! For many consumers, it has been the rise of the High Street Gourmet Cafe Bar chain. These bars introduced & created great coffee & fuelled their addiction to daily caffeine hit & at the heart of it all is the espresso, each requiring 42 beautiful beans to make a perfect caffeine moment!

Espresso NOT Expresso!!

Espresso coffee was ‘created’ as a brewing process only some 80 years ago by equipment pioneers such as Dr Illy, who discovered the optimal brewing process to extract the aromatic oils & essences that make up an espresso. Perfect espresso made ‘expressly for you’ is a sweet & delicate combination of the master roasters skills & the correct recipe of temperature, pressure, & quantity of water.

Our world is true; you could argue, run on & by coffee! With this in mind, it’s interesting to note that a one a day gourmet coffee habit would, over a typical working / commuting lifetime, amount to fifteen thousand pounds or more spend! Then for good measure, throw in the mix an annual intake of some 50 litres of brown liquor & semi-skimmed milk, equating to (wait for it) c 60,000 calories every 12 months – Erm, Black coffee, please!

But fear not if you are dieting - Espresso, Americano, plain old black coffee (simple is often the best & frequently overlooked) boast almost no calories (less than 10 per shot) plus all those antioxidants & no worries about saturated fats... So, it seems espresso is not now only the choice of the connoisseur, The cognoscente, hipster or those simply wise enough to enjoy their coffee straight & true without adulteration.

Who runs the world? Coffee!!

Our world is run on, by & with coffee – without it, the world would indeed be a poorer place - so please doff your caps to Khaldi the goat herder, who knew he was on to something when he saw his flock dancing merrily after eating the fruits of the coffee tree that we now all adore.

So, if caffeine adoration is your business, or if you are interested to know how an excellent coffee service can drive your profitability, then take the chance to have a free consultation with the expert Inn Express team. Our in house consultant has created blends for some of the Globe’s largest chains, as well as managing some of the UK’s favourite coffee brands - so put us to the test!