and the Americas. Today, coffee is one of the most popular beverages worldwide.

Coffee berries, which contain the coffee bean, are produced by several species of small evergreen bush of the genus ''Coffea''. The two most commonly grown species are ''Coffea canephora'' and ''Coffea arabica''. These are cultivated in Latin America, southeast Asia, and Africa. Some controversy is associated with coffee cultivation and its impact on the environment. Once ripe, coffee berries are picked, processed, and dried. The seeds are then roasted, undergoing several physical and chemical changes. They are roasted to various degrees, depending on the desired flavor. They are then ground and brewed to create coffee. Coffee can be prepared and presented by a variety of methods.

Coffee has played an important role in many societies throughout history. In Africa and Yemen, it was used in religious ceremonies. As a result, the Ethiopian Church banned its consumption until the reign of Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia.Richard Pankhurst, ''Economic History of Ethiopia'' (Addis Ababa: Haile Selassie I University, 1968), p. 198 It was banned in Ottoman Turkey in the 17th century for political reasons, and was associated with rebellious political activities in Europe. Coffee is an important export commodity for many countries: in 2004, coffee was the top agricultural export for 12 countries; and in 2005, it was among the world's top fifteen legal agricultural exports in value.To retrieve export values: Select the "commodities/years" tab. Under "subject", select "Export value of primary commodity." Under "country," select "World." Under "commodity," hold down the shift key while selecting all commodities. Select the desired year and click "show data." A list of all commodities and their export values will be displayed. Many studies have examined the relationship between coffee consumption and certain medical conditions, but whether the effects of coffee are positive or negative is still disputed.

Etymology

The English word ''coffee'' first came into use in the early- to mid-1600s, but early forms of the word date to the last decade of the 1500s. It comes from the Italian ''caffè''. This, in turn, was borrowed from the Persian ''ghahveh'', Ottoman Turkish ''kahveh'', and the Arabic ''qahwa'' (قهوة) collectively. The origin of the Arabic and Persian terms is uncertain; they are either derived from the name of the Kaffa region in southern Ethiopia, where coffee was cultivated, or by a truncation of ''qahwat al-būnn'', meaning "wine of the bean" in Arabic. In Eritrea, "būnn" (also meaning "wine of the bean" in Tigrigna) is used.{{cite web | title =Coffee | work =The Oxford English Dictionary Online | publisher =Oxford English Dictionary | url =http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50043279?query_type=word&queryword=coffee&first=1&max_to_show=10&sort_type=alpha&search_id=G0C1-u4sQqW-24389&result_place=1
| accessdate = 2007-07-27 }} The Amharic and Afan Oromo name for coffee is ''bunna''.

History

Coffee use can be traced at least to as early as the 9th century, when it appeared in the highlands of Ethiopia.Mekete Belachew, "Coffee," in von Uhlig, Siegbert, ed., ''Encyclopaedia Aethiopica'' (Weissbaden: Horrowitz, 2003), p.763. According to legend, Eritrean and Ethiopian shepherds were the first to observe the influence of the caffeine in coffee beans when the goats appeared to "dance" and to have an increased level of energy after consuming wild coffee berries. From Ethiopia, coffee spread to Egypt and Yemen, and by the 15th century, it had reached the rest of the Middle East, Persia, Turkey, and northern Africa.

In 1583, Leonhard Rauwolf, a German physician, gave this description of coffee after returning from a ten year trip to the Near East:
From the Muslim world, coffee spread to Italy. The thriving trade between Venice and North Africa, Egypt, and the Middle East brought many goods, including coffee, to the Venetian port. From Venice, it was introduced to the rest of Europe. Coffee became more widely accepted after it was deemed a Christian beverage by Pope Clement VIII in 1600, despite appeals to ban the "Muslim drink". The first European coffee house opened in Italy in 1645.{{cite web
| last =Meyers
| first =Hannah
| authorlink =
| coauthors =
| title ="Suave Molecules of Mocha" -- Coffee, Chemistry, and Civilization
| work =
| publisher =
| date =2005-03-07
| url =http://www.newpartisan.com/home/suave-molecules-of-mocha-coffee-chemistry-and-civilization.html
| format =
| doi =
| accessdate =2007-02-03}} The Dutch were the first to import coffee on a large scale, and they were among the first to defy the Arab prohibition on the exportation of plants or unroasted seeds when Pieter van dan Broeck smuggled seedlings from Aden into Europe in 1616.''All About Coffee'' http://books.google.com/books?id=Y5tXt7aoLNoC&pg=PA43&lpg=PA43&dq=1616+dutch+coffee+aden&source=web&ots=Lm8gmDzn2B&sig=xcLB0g6HGCw8aSSjk_4Cj43IXSE The Dutch later grew the crop in Java and Ceylon. Through the efforts of the British East India Company, coffee became popular in England as well. It was introduced in France in 1657, and in Austria and Poland after the 1683 Battle of Vienna, when coffee was captured from supplies of the defeated Turks.{{cite book
| last =Pendergrast
| first =Mark
| title =Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World
| publisher =Basic Books
| date =1999
| isbn =0-465-05467-6}}

When coffee reached North America during the colonial period, it was initially not as successful as it had been in Europe. During the Revolutionary War, however, the demand for coffee increased so much that dealers had to hoard their scarce supplies and raise prices dramatically; this was partly due to the reduced availability of tea from British merchants. After the War of 1812, during which Britain temporarily cut off access to tea imports, the Americans' taste for coffee grew, and high demand during the American Civil War together with advances in brewing technology secured the position of coffee as an everyday commodity in the United States.

Biology

The ''Coffea'' plant is native to subtropical Africa and southern Asia.
It belongs to a genus of 10 species of flowering plants of the family ''Rubiaceae''. It is an evergreen shrub or small tree that may grow 5 meters (16 ft) tall when unpruned. The leaves are dark green and glossy, usually 10–15 centimeters (3.9–5.9 in) long and 6.0 centimeters (2.4 in) wide. It produces clusters of fragrant, white flowers that bloom simultaneously. The fruit berry is oval, about 1.5 centimeters (0.6 in) long, and green when immature, but ripens to yellow, then crimson, becoming black on drying. Each berry usually contains two seeds, but from 5 to 10 percent of the berries have only one; these are called peaberries.S. Hamon, M. Noirot, and F. Anthony,
''Developing a coffee core collection using the principal components score strategy with quantitative data '' (PDF), Core Collections of Plant Genetic Resources, 1995. Berries ripen in seven to nine months.

Cultivation

Coffee is usually propagated by seed. The traditional method of planting coffee is to put 20 seeds in each hole at the beginning of the rainy season; half are eliminated naturally. Coffee is often intercropped with food crops, such as corn, beans, or rice, during the first few years of cultivation.{{cite web
| title =Coffea arabica L.
| author=James A. Duke
| publisher =Purdue University
| url =http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/duke_energy/Coffea_arabica.html#Ecology
| accessdate = 2007-07-20 }}

The two main cultivated species of the coffee plant are ''Coffea canephora'' and ''Coffea arabica''. Arabica coffee (from ''C. arabica'') is considered more suitable for drinking than robusta coffee (from ''C. canephora''); robusta tends to be bitter and have less flavor than arabica. For this reason, about three-fourths of coffee cultivated worldwide is ''C. arabica''.{{cite web
| title =Botanical Aspects
| publisher =International Coffee Organization
| url =http://www.ico.org/botanical.asp
| accessdate = 2007-07-19 }} However, ''C. canephora'' is less susceptible to disease than ''C. arabica'' and can be cultivated in environments where ''C. arabica'' will not thrive. Robusta coffee also contains about 40–50 percent more caffeine than arabica. For this reason, it is used as an inexpensive substitute for arabica in many commercial coffee blends. Good quality robustas are used in some espresso blends to provide a better foam head and to lower the ingredient cost.{{cite web
| title =Robusta's Rehab
| author=Reynolds, Richard
| publisher = Coffee Geek
| url =http://www.coffeegeek.com/opinions/cafestage/02-01-2006
| accessdate = 2007-07-31 }} Other cultivated species include ''Coffea liberica'' and ''Coffea esliaca'', believed to be indigenous to Liberia and southern Sudan, respectively.

Most arabica coffee beans originate from either Latin America, eastern Africa, Arabia, or Asia. Robusta coffee beans are grown in western and central Africa, throughout southeast Asia, and to some extent in Brazil. Beans from different countries or regions usually have distinctive characteristics such as flavor, aroma, body, and acidity.''Coffee: A Guide to Buying Brewing and Enjoying, 5th Edition'', by Kenneth Davids These taste characteristics are dependent not only on the coffee's growing region, but also on genetic subspecies (varietals) and processing.{{cite book
| last =Castle
| first =Timothy
| title =The Perfect Cup: A Coffee Lover's Guide to Buying, Brewing, and Tasting
| publisher =Da Capo Press
| date =1991
| pages =158
| url =http://books.google.com/books?id=BOvMw4fnVZYC&dq=the+perfect+cup
| isbn = 0201570483}} Varietals are generally known by the region in which they are grown, such as Colombian, Java, or Kona.

Ecological effects

Originally, coffee farming was done in the shade of trees, which provided habitat for many animals and insects. Today, farmers use sun cultivation, in which coffee is grown in rows under full sun with little or no forest canopy. This causes berries to ripen more rapidly and bushes to produce higher yields but requires the clearing of trees and increased use of fertilizer and pesticides.{{cite web
| last =Salvesen
| first =David
| title =The Grind Over Sun Coffee
| publisher =Smithsonian National Zoological Park
| url =http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Publications/ZooGoer/1996/4/suncoffee.cfm
| accessdate = 2007-09-24 }} Opponents of sun cultivation say environmental problems such as deforestation, pesticide pollution, habitat destruction, and soil and water degradation are the side effects of these practices. The American Birding Association has led a campaign for "shade-grown" and organic coffees, which it says are sustainably harvested.Song Bird Coffee . Thanksgiving Coffee Company. While certain types of shaded coffee cultivation systems show greater biodiversity than full-sun systems, they still compare poorly to native forest in terms of habitat value, and some researchers are concerned that the push for "shade grown" coffee may actually be encouraging deforestation in ecologically sensitive regions.

Roasting

Coffee berries and their seeds undergo multi-step processing before they become the roasted coffee with which most Western consumers are familiar. First, coffee berries are picked, generally by hand. Then, the flesh of the berry is removed, usually by machine, and the seeds—usually called beans—are fermented to remove the slimy layer of mucilage still present on the bean. When the fermentation is finished, the beans are washed with large quantities of fresh water to remove the fermentation residue, generating massive amounts of highly polluted coffee wastewater. Finally the seeds are dried and sorted and labeled as green coffee beans.Kummer, Corby. ''The Joy of Coffee: The Essential Guide to Buying, Brewing, and Enjoying '', Houghton Mifflin, 38. August 19, 2003. ISBN 978-0618302406.

The next step in the process is the roasting of the green coffee. Coffee is usually sold in a roasted state, and all coffee is roasted before it is consumed. It can be sold roasted by the supplier, or it can be home roasted.Kummer, Corby. ''The Joy of Coffee: The Essential Guide to Buying, Brewing, and Enjoying '', Houghton Mifflin, 37. August 19, 2003. ISBN 978-0618302406. The roasting process influences the taste of the beverage by changing the coffee bean both physically and chemically. The bean decreases in weight as moisture is lost but increases in volume, causing it to become less dense. The density of the bean also influences the strength of the coffee and requirements for packaging. The actual roasting begins when the temperature inside the bean reaches 200 °C (392 °F), though different varieties of beans differ in moisture and density and therefore roast at different rates. During roasting, caramelization occurs as intense heat breaks down starches in the bean, changing them to simple sugars that begin to brown, changing the color of the bean.Kummer, Corby. ''The Joy of Coffee: The Essential Guide to Buying, Brewing, and Enjoying '', Houghton Mifflin, 261. August 19, 2003. ISBN 978-0618302406. Sucrose is rapidly lost during the roasting process and may disappear entirely in darker roasts. During roasting, aromatic oils, acids, and caffeine weaken, changing the flavor; at 205 °C (400 °F), other oils start to develop. One of these oils is ''caffeol'', created at about 200 °C (392 °F), which is largely responsible for coffee's aroma and flavor.Dobelis, Inge N., Ed.: Magic and Medicine of Plants. Pleasantville: The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc., 1986. Pages 370–371.

Depending on the color of the roasted beans, they will be labeled as light, cinnamon, medium, high, city, full city, French, or Italian roast. Darker roasts are generally smoother, because they have less fiber content and a more sugary flavor. Lighter roasts have more caffeine, resulting in a slight bitterness, and a stronger flavor from aromatic oils and acids destroyed by longer roasting times.{{cite web
| last =Cipolla
| first =Mauro
| title =Educational Primer: Degrees of Roast
| publisher =Bellissimo Info Group
| url =http://www.virtualcoffee.com/may/educate.html
| accessdate = 2007-07-19}} A small amount of chaff is produced during roasting from the skin left on the bean after processing. Chaff is usually removed from the beans by air movement, though a small amount is added to dark roast coffees to soak up oils on the beans.{{cite web
| last =Ball
| first =Trent
| coauthors =Sara Guenther; Ken Labrousse; Nikki Wilson
| title =Coffee Roasting
| publisher =Washington State University
| url =http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~gmhyde/433_web_pages/coffee/student-pages/6roasting/roasting.htm
| accessdate = 2007-07-18 }} Decaffeination may also be part of the processing that coffee seeds undergo. Seeds are decaffeinated when they are still green. Many methods can remove caffeine from coffee, but all involve either soaking beans in hot water or steaming them, then using a solvent to dissolve caffeine-containing oils. Decaffeination is often done by processing companies, and the extracted caffeine is usually sold to the pharmaceutical industry.

Preparation

Coffee beans must be ground and brewed in order to create a beverage. Grinding the roasted coffee beans is done at a roastery, in a grocery store, or in the home. They are most commonly ground at a roastery then packaged and sold to the consumer, though "whole bean" coffee can be ground at home. Coffee beans may be ground in several ways. A burr mill uses revolving elements to crush or tear the bean, an electric grinder chops the beans with blades moving at high speeds, and a mortar and pestle grinds the beans to a powder.{{cite book
| last =Perry
| first =Sara
| title =The New Complete Coffee Book: A Gourmet Guide to Buying, Brewing, and Cooking
| publisher =Diane Publishing Co.
| date =April 2003
| pages =27
| url =http://books.google.com/books?id=ixOUUoLWwEsC&pg=PA27&dq=Coffee+%2B+ground+%2B+burr+mill+%2B+mortar+and+pestle.&sig=1Pqog7y_wtPRG1jCPDdG-PrBxOM
| isbn = 978-0756777418}} The type of grind is often named after the brewing method for which it is generally used. Turkish grind is the finest grind, while coffee percolator or French press are the coarsest grind. The most common grinds are between the extremes; a medium grind is used in most common home coffee brewing machines.

Coffee may be brewed by several methods: boiling, gravity, steeping, or pressure. Brewing coffee by boiling was the earliest method, and Turkish coffee is an example of this method. It is prepared by powdering the beans with a mortar and pestle, then adding the powder to water and bringing it to a boil in a pot called a cezve. This produces a strong coffee with a layer of foam on the surface.{{cite book
| last =Ukers
| first =William Harrison
| title =All about Coffee
| publisher =Gale Research; 2d ed edition
| date =January 1, 1993
| pages =725
| url =http://books.google.com/books?id=Y5tXt7aoLNoC&pg=PA725&dq=
| isbn = 978-0810340923}}

Machines such as percolators or automatic coffeemakers brew coffee by gravity. In an automatic coffeemaker, hot water drips onto coffee grounds held in a coffee filter made of paper or perforated metal, allowing the water to seep through the ground coffee while absorbing its oils and essences. Gravity causes the liquid to pass into a carafe or pot while the used coffee grounds are retained in the filter. In a percolator, boiling water is forced into a chamber above a filter by pressure created by boiling. The water then passes downwards through the grounds due to gravity, repeating the process until shut off by an internal timer.{{cite book
| last =Levy
| first =Joel
| title =Really Useful: The Origins of Everyday Things
| publisher =Firefly Books
| date =November 2002
| pages =1948
| url =http://books.google.com/books?id=fyBb_Xh5hqIC&pg=PA1948&dq=Coffee+%2B+percolator+%2B+filter&sig=ItgZl7dugXO0nOCRit70b4-06RQ
| isbn = 978-1552976227}}

Coffee may also be brewed by steeping in a device such as a French press (also known as a ''cafetière''). Ground coffee and hot water are combined in a coffee press and left to brew for a few minutes. A plunger is then depressed to separate the coffee grounds, which remain at the bottom of the container. Because the coffee grounds are in direct contact with the water, all the coffee oils remain in the beverage, making it stronger and leaving more sediment than in coffee made by an automatic coffee machine.{{cite book
| last =Davids
| first =Kenneth
| title =Coffee: A Guide to Buying, Brewing, and Enjoying
| publisher =101 Productions
| date =1991
| pages =128
| url =http://books.google.com/books?id=IqJsIcYOPcQC&pg=PA128&dq=Coffee+%2B+french+press&sig=HA4Swu6PH_9_geJWAN8_jK8iHLQ#PPA128,M1
| isbn = 978-1564265005 }}

The espresso method forces hot, but not boiling, pressurized water through ground coffee. This results in a stronger flavor and more chemical changes, such as a higher caffeine content. It also results in more particles in the liquid than in coffee made by an automatic coffee machine, and the resulting beverage has a thicker consistency. It has a reddish-brown foam called ''crema'' that floats on the surface.{{cite web
| last =Rothstein
| first =Scott
| title =Brewing Techniques
| work =
| publisher =
| url =http://www.thecoffeefaq.com/3brewingtechniques.html
| accessdate =2007-07-19}}

Presentation

Once brewed, coffee may be presented in a variety of ways. Drip brewed, percolated, or French-pressed/cafetière coffee may be served with no additives (colloquially known as black) or with either sugar, milk or cream, or both. When served cold, it is called iced coffee.

Espresso-based coffee has a wide variety of possible presentations. In its most basic form, it is served alone (as a "shot") or in the style café américano—several shots of espresso, topped with hot water. Milk can be added in various forms to espresso: steamed milk makes a caffè latte,{{cite news
| last =Fried
| first =Eunice
| title =The lowdown on caffe latte
| publisher =Black Enterprise
| date =November 1993
| url =http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1365/is_n4_v24/ai_14651237
| accessdate = 2007-09-26 }} equal parts espresso and milk froth make a cappuccino,{{cite book
| last =Castle
| first =Timothy
| authorlink =
| coauthors =Joan Nielsen
| title =The Great Coffee Book
| publisher =Ten Speed Press
| date =1999
| pages =94
| url =http://books.google.com/books?id=x8z9jXVtRCYC&pg=PA94&dq=half+espresso+and+half+steamed+milk+%2B+cappuccino&sig=nM_KmsqR6trWCY5S6SfpOFjgjQU
| isbn =978-1580081221 }} and a dollop of hot, foamed milk on top creates a caffè macchiato.{{cite book
| last =Miller
| first =Emily Wise
| title =The Food Lover's Guide to Florence: With Culinary Excursions in Tuscany
| publisher =Ten Speed Press
| date =May 2003
| pages =12
| url =http://books.google.com/books?id=k6GdiP0mY_UC&pg=PA12&dq=caff%C3%A8+macchiato&sig=AbNicQ3d9uIG-uvPaw-AOqcLWXA
| isbn =978-1580084352 }}

A number of products are sold for the convenience of consumers who do not want to prepare their own coffee. Instant coffee is dried into soluble powder or freeze dried into granules that can be quickly dissolved in hot water.{{cite book
| last =Hobhouse
| first =Henry
| title =Seeds of Wealth: Five Plants That Made Men Rich
| publisher =Shoemaker & Hoard
| date =December 13, 2005
| pages =294
| url =http://books.google.com/books?id=s67iECV25gcC&pg=PA294&dq=Coffee+%2B+Instant+coffee+%3D+freeze-dried&sig=FaeTyeZL0PzQ0vmLEZlfDiive3M
| isbn = 978-1593760892}} Canned coffee has been popular in Asian countries for many years, particularly in Japan and South Korea. Vending machines typically sell varieties of flavored canned coffee, much like brewed or percolated coffee, available both hot and cold. Japanese convenience stores and groceries also have a wide availability of bottled coffee drinks, which are typically lightly sweetened and pre-blended with milk. Bottled coffee drinks are also consumed in the United States.{{cite web
| last =Associated Press
| title =Report: Coke, Pepsi faceoff brewing
| publisher =CNN Money
| date =2005-12-06
| url =http://money.cnn.com/2005/12/06/news/fortune500/coke_cinnabon/index.htm
| accessdate = 2007-09-24 }} Liquid coffee concentrates are sometimes used in large institutional situations where coffee needs to be produced for thousands of people at the same time. It is described as having a flavor about as good as low-grade robusta coffee and costs about 10 cents a cup to produce. The machines used can process up to 500 cups an hour, or 1,000 if the water is preheated.Regarding liquid coffee concentrate: Wall Street Journal, March 21, 2005, page C4, ''Commodities Report''

Social aspects

:''See also: Coffeehouse for a social history of coffee, and caffè for specifically Italian traditions.''
Coffee was initially used for spiritual reasons. At least 1,000 years ago, traders brought coffee across the Red Sea into Arabia (modern day Yemen), where Muslim monks began cultivating the shrub in their gardens. At first, the Arabians made wine from the pulp of the fermented coffee berries. This beverage was known as ''qishr'' (''kisher'' in modern usage) and was used during religious ceremonies.

Coffee became the substitute beverage in place of wine in spiritual practices where wine was forbidden. Coffee drinking was briefly prohibited to Muslims as ''haraam'' in the early years of the 16th century, but this was quickly overturned. Use in religious rites among the Sufi branch of Islam led to coffee's being put on trial in Mecca, accused of being a heretic substance, and its production and consumption was briefly repressed. It was later prohibited in Ottoman Turkey under an edict by the Sultan Murad IV. Coffee, regarded as a Muslim drink, was prohibited to Ethiopian Orthodox Christians until as late as 1889; it is now considered a national drink of Ethiopia for people of all faiths. Its early association in Europe with rebellious political activities led to its banning in England, among other places.{{cite book
| last =Allen
| first =Stewart
| title =The Devil's Cup
| publisher =Random House
| date =
| location =
| pages =
| url =
| doi =
| id =
| isbn =978-0345441492 }}

A contemporary example of coffee prohibition can be found in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a religion with over 13 million followers worldwide, which calls for coffee abstinence. The organization claims that it is both physically and spiritually unhealthy to consume coffee. This comes from the Mormon doctrine of health, given in 1833 by Mormon founder Joseph Smith, in a revelation called the Word of Wisdom. It does not identify coffee by name, but includes the statement that "hot drinks are not for the belly", which has been interpreted to forbid both coffee and tea.

Health and pharmacology

Scientific studies have examined the relationship between coffee consumption and an array of medical conditions. Most studies are contradictory as to whether coffee has any specific health benefits, and results are similarly conflicting regarding negative effects of coffee consumption.Kummer, Corby (2003). ''The Joy of Coffee'', pp 160–165.

Coffee appears to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, heart disease, diabetes mellitus type 2, cirrhosis of the liver, and gout. Some health effects are due to the caffeine content of coffee, as the benefits are only observed in those who drink caffeinated coffee, while others appear to be due to other components. For example, the antioxidants in coffee prevent free radicals from causing cell damage.

Coffee's negative health effects are mostly due to its caffeine content. Research suggests that drinking caffeinated coffee can cause a temporary increase in the stiffening of arterial walls. Excess coffee consumption may lead to a magnesium deficiency or hypomagnesemia.The multifaceted and widespread pathology of magnesium deficiency Some studies suggest that it may have a mixed effect on short-term memory, by improving it when the information to be recalled is related to the current train of thought, but making it more difficult to recall unrelated information. Nevertheless, the mainstream view of medical experts is that drinking three 8-ounce cups of coffee per day (considered average or moderate consumption) does not have significant health risks for adults.MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. ''Caffeine in the diet ''

Economics

Coffee ingestion on average is about a third of that of tap water in most of North America and Europe. Worldwide, 6.7 million metric tons of coffee were produced annually in 1998–2000, and the forecast is a rise to 7 million metric tons annually by 2010.

Brazil remains the largest coffee exporting nation, but in recent years Vietnam has become a major producer of robusta beans. Robusta coffees, traded in London at much lower prices than New York's arabica, are preferred by large industrial clients, such as multinational roasters and instant coffee producers, because of the lower cost. Four single roaster companies buy more than 50 percent of all of the annual production: Kraft, Nestlé, Procter & Gamble, and Sara Lee.{{cite web
| last =Stein
| first =Nicholas
| title =Crisis in a Coffee Cup
| publisher =CNNMoney.com
| date =9, 2002
| url =http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2002/12/09/333463/
| accessdate =2007-07-23 }} The preference of the "Big Four" coffee companies for cheap robusta is believed by many to have been a major contributing factor to the crash in coffee prices, and the demand for high-quality arabica beans is only slowly recovering.
Many experts believe the giant influx of cheap green coffee after the collapse of the International Coffee Agreement of 1975–1989 led to the prolonged price crisis from 1989 to 2004. In 1997 the price of coffee in New York broke US$3.00/lb, but by late 2001 it had fallen to US$0.43/lb.''Cost Pass-Through in the U.S. Coffee Industry / ERR-38 '' (PDF), Economic Research Service, USDA.

The Dutch certification system "Max Havelaar" started the concept of fair trade labeling, which guarantees coffee growers a negotiated pre-harvest price. In 2004, 24,222 metric tons out of 7,050,000 produced worldwide were fair trade; in 2005, 33,991 metric tons out of 6,685,000 were fair trade, an increase from 0.34 percent to 0.51 percent. A number of studies have shown that fair trade coffee has a positive impact on the communities that grow it.
A study in 2002 found that fair trade strengthened producer organizations, improved returns to small producers, and positively affected their quality of life.Ronchi, L. (2002). The Impact of Fair Trade on Producers and their Organizations: A Case Study with Coocafe in Costa Rica . University of Sussex. p25–26. A 2003 study concluded that fair trade has "greatly improved the well-being of small-scale coffee farmers and their families"Murray D., Raynolds L. & Taylor P. (2003). One Cup at a time: Poverty Alleviation and Fair Trade coffee in Latin America . Colorado State University, p28 by providing access to credit and external development fundingTaylor, Pete Leigh (2002). Poverty Alleviation Through Participation in Fair Trade Coffee Networks , Colorado State University, p18. and greater access to training, giving them the ability to improve the quality of their coffee.Murray D., Raynolds L. & Taylor P. (2003). One Cup at a time: Poverty Alleviation and Fair Trade coffee in Latin America . Colorado State University, p8 The families of fair trade producers were also more stable than those who were not involved in fair trade, and their children had better access to education.Murray D., Raynolds L. & Taylor P. (2003). One Cup at a time: Poverty Alleviation and Fair Trade coffee in Latin America . Colorado State University, p10–11 A 2005 study of Bolivian coffee producers concluded that Fairtrade certification has had a positive impact on local coffee prices, economically benefiting all coffee producers, Fairtrade certified or not.Eberhart, N. (2005). Synthèse de l'étude d'impact du commerce équitable sur les organisations et familles paysannes et leurs territoires dans la filière café des Yungas de Bolivie . Agronomes et Vétérinaires sans frontières, p29.