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Single-origin specialty coffee can cost over $30 per pound, more than five times the average price of 1 pound of ground coffee in the US. “Specialty” is the term for the highest-quality coffee, and aficionados describe its taste with words more frequently used by sommeliers, like “floral” or “fruity.” Reaching this level of quality requires investment and labor at every step of production. But despite the prices a roasted bag of single-origin coffee can reach in the world’s wealthiest countries, the farmers who handpick each coffee cherry struggle to earn a profit.

We went to Kenya to find out what it takes to grow high-quality coffee, and why it’s so expensive.

Intro 0:00
Growing coffee 0:44
Harvesting 2:01
Commodity vs. specialty coffee 2:56
Sorting 4:23
Washed process 5:09
Roasting 6:46
Drying and Milling 10:13
The price of coffee 11:48

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Why Single-Origin Coffee Is So Expensive | So Expensive | Business Insider

44 Comments

  1. Kadar kandungan gizi dan biomineral bentukan dari masing masing tanaman kopi memang berbeda beda, ini yang menjadikan cita rasa kopi mempunyai rasa khas masing masing

  2. I live in a coffee growing region. It was interesting to learn about this difference between single-origin and commodity coffee and their prices. I buy coffee in a local farmers' shop, so it is definitely single-origin, and 1 lb costs me 5.14 usd.

  3. Middle men screw the farmers. The whole world is made up of people trying to get rich without working off other people.

  4. It's interesting how she frame the entire Brazilian Coffee industry as low altitude, mechanized, high yield, low quality stuff, when that's not even close to the truth. Yes, there are high yield coffee insanely big coffee farms, that mass produces the of the coffee most of the people in the world ends up drinking, but there are also higher altitude coffee farms, forest shade coffee farms, bird eaten/pooped coffee farms, Brazil coffee production is spread over a geographic area around 1/3 of the size of Europe, and there are farmers producing coffee in about any way and quality you can imagine.

  5. The attention to detail in producing single-origin coffee is incredible! It’s no wonder the price reflects the care that goes into it.

  6. Single-origin coffee is like the fine wine of the coffee world! 🍷☕ The attention to detail at every step—from the specific region it’s grown in to how it’s processed and roasted—really sets it apart. But yeah, that extra care definitely drives up the price. Do you think the flavor difference is worth the higher cost, or is it just fancy marketing for coffee lovers? 😄

  7. The price has gone up for us and income has not grown for farmers because of the greed of companies… they have not lost any profit in the income crisis they are creating it.

  8. Why should chocolate and coffee be so bloody cheap…. Single origin costing the way it does; is in part cause how abusive some models are (for selling so cheaply). If the employer and employee are to get paid fairly, that money has to come somewhere. (For maybe in specific models, their packaging and distribution of the final good, these costs could be streamlined as they scale operations but we are talking marginal gains).

    Which is to say, live and work on a plantation and in that region, then you can start to understand the costs.

  9. There are some small coffee growers in Palani Hills growing it. If the consumers adopt responsible consumption and leading brands come forward to promote them, small growers could reap better price to match the dropped yields due to climate change.

  10. Hopefully the farmers start to make cooperatives not just for processing the coffee but also for growing in steps of the supply of coffee to the world. They will be part of the profits of each step and wont be left out doing an amazing job but in poverty

  11. Derrr, covfefe blends better mor thain sigle orign…. Derr, sigle orign mor better thain covfefe blends…. Ahh, it hurts!

  12. I understand the need for a catchy title, but considering the whole process of coffee and all the work that is done by the farmers SO coffee Specialty Coffee is not expensive. Compare a nice coffee to the price of a nice liquor or wine and you will see that—like these others—coffee is a beautiful product with amazing aromatics and flavor complexity well worth the price. IMO, good specialty coffee should have a min price of around $15-20usd/12oz. This would guarantee that the farmers and roasters get what they deserve. Traceability is an important thing, too. We should be pushing harder to get the coffee traced back to the farm it came from, and in doing so give credit to these hardworking people.

  13. The specialty coffee farmers deserve more income, people in the world especially the exporter and buyer are too greedy, hopefully the farmers can be stronger in the negotiation side

  14. Fake guy saying they're investing on the farmers.
    Let us see if they use modern machinery, transportation and techniques of farming.
    Let me guess, they're focused investing on the brand, and nice packaging.

  15. SEMPRE A MESMA HISTÓRIA. VOCE OBSERVA UMA FATO : "O CAFÉ NO BRASIL É RUIM.". ISTO É IMPORTANTE CASO ALGUEM QUEIRA INVESTIGAR VAI SE DEPARAR COM UMA INFORMAÇÃO VERDADEIRA. E NÃO QUESTIONARÁ AS OUTRAS INFORMAÇÕES. A PARTIR DESTE PONTO VOCE INCLUI VÁRIAS PEQUENAS MENTIRAS E TODAS AQUELAS BOBAGENS DE AROMA , PALADAR, CORES…NUANCIAS DE ALGO ESOTÉRICO PARA JUUSTIFICAR O PREÇO ABSURDO DE VENDA E O BAIXO VALOS PAGO AOS PRODUTORES.

  16. what are those white guys doing in kenya if i may ask ,, co founder my ass ,,, the cofounder is supposed to be the farmer not someone who doesn’t even know how the plantation of coffe grows ,, ,,.my africa people you need to wake up

  17. Thank you for this video and for shedding light on the core issue. Establishing direct relationships will greatly benefit the producers and lead to significant improvements.

  18. Justice for all this poor farmers whos been exploited. All farmers in the world deserve a piece for their hardship.

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